The Christmas Box

life with carlie.

i could write a novel... no... a series of novels... thats right, multiple volumes, on the subject. carlie is passionate & inspired. when an idea crosses her mind, nothing else on earth deserves her attention at that particular moment. whether it be going for a run, a new artistic tangent with our branding, or in this case, christmas decor, carlie knows what she wants.

well, she knows what she wants most of the time, but more accurately, is mostly figuring out what she wants as she goes. so, as we prepared for a visit from our family over thanksgiving, carlie got inspired.

in our new home, where would we put our christmas tree?

well... after 3 complete re-designs of the living room, including the shifting of the layout for most of our major furniture, carlie decided.

we aren't getting a tree.

what do you think about that? but don't worry, her new idea will probably evaporate once we unload the christmas box. i know most of you have one. and, if you have been in the business of being a family for very long, you probably even have an entire quadrant of your garage dedicated to the holiday. seeing as carlie & i are just shy of one-and-a-half years of marriage, we have a single, rather small, box of yule-tide accessories.

so, with turkey day behind us, and the holidays before us, pray for me. think of me. because, the exciting part of a small christmas box is that we still have room to be inspired, room to grow; the difficult part is, we are inventing ourselves with each step. and that is tough work.

Dating My Wife

after a week long mancation with the mammoth men, she deserved it. so when i offered the notion of a lunch-date followed by a movie, her excited answer was...

can we stop by the candy store and sneak in some treats?

and, that was it. yesterday afternoon, my bride and i popped in the car and went on our first date in, well... i don't know how long. having only been married a short year-and-a-half, i wouldn't have expected the novelty to wear off so quick. but, yesterday, while simply enjoying a chipotle chicken panini [yum] and sharing a diet pepsi, i couldn't help but be struck by how in love i am with this woman. and, at the same time, i couldn't help but realize what an ass i can be some times, by simply not accepting the blessing that she is, and rather, focusing on the way things "should" be.

carlie, i love you. and i hope you will go on some more dates with me ;)

Still Rolling

in case you have been in a black-hole over the past week, or in st lucia [stephanie and mike, you are exempt], you know about the 24/7 shenanigans of awesomeness being dropped by the mammoth men. well, we are still on the road...

thus far, we have successfully hit the strip, blasted our ghats in colorado, discovered the tomb of stone henge, rocked out some chonies & socks football, and given the photo world a lesson in science.

at this point in time, we are chilling in las cruces, new mexico with tomorrow's plans for taking over a small town or two, between here and phoenix. so make sure to keep checking back at www.mammothmen.com for the unveiling of our story.

and as a heads up, the giveaways tomorrow are going to be extra insane, so it would definitely be worth your time to stop by and say hey.

rock.on.

It's Here

the day has arrived, for yet another adventure. over the next week, make sure to check our progress [or lack therof] at www.mammothmen.com, and as with the last trip, you can expect a double fist-full of posts each day... so, don't worry... we will give you your fill.

photo montage stolen from fred egan.

One Piece At A Time

another gabriel.ryan. video from The Bui Brothers on Vimeo.

24

i know i have written about it before, but i really am intoxicated by the idea of story. maybe it has to do with my spiritual beliefs, that a God who created me would actually care enough to craft the order of my life and that of others, weaving in and out of each other. for me, story seems like the ultimate in the application of creativity.

and so it goes, that unbeknown to me [i had just turned 3], my story changed 24 years ago today...

carlie, my bride, my partner, is perfectly fit for me. she challenges me to look inward at my own heart. she constantly reminds me, in the midst of hard times, that things will be okay... that things are okay. she sleeps in late. she cleans the dishes [every once in a while]. she holds on tight but still gives me freedom to be my own man. she supports our business while i am away. she is my sounding board. oh yeah... and she is smokin' hot!

carlie renee davis, i love you. thank you for choosing me, for letting me be me. and thank you for being you. you are exactly the woman that i need. and even in those moments, especially in those moments, i want to pull my hair out in frustration, or crawl into a corner of my own self-doubt, you bless my life. happy birthday beautiful!

Shannon and Jeff

every once in a while, maybe not always, but in those special moments far and few between, things happen just as they ought to. the kind of series-of-events typically saved for a screenplay... that's what i'm talking about. it is just as such with shannon & jeff.

i have known both jeff and shannon for some time now, and i have spent some of the best times of my youth with jeff hull the second. we learned to surf together (he can now officially surf at least 10 times better than myself), we spent a winter in the rockies snowboarding every day, and i've watched him take his business from a small corner of his dad's garage to a well respected and thriving surfboard manufacturer. i had the pleasure of joining a small group of guys recently for a surf trip to panama, and had the honor of being one of jeff's groomsmen this past weekend. to sum it up mathematically jeff hull the second + anything = awesome.

as for shannon, i've been there as she grew up; one of my sister's best friends. in fact, i know that shannon's life was a testimony to courtney and her influence as a friend probably shaped courtney during her short but passionate 19 years on this earth. i was there, 8 years ago, when at another friend's bachelor party, jeff called 'dibbs' on shannon, braces and all. jeff said something to the effect of that shannon donahue is going to be hot when she grows up... i got dibbs.

8 years later, and things panned out just as their story was written. shannon & jeff, thank you for bringing carlie & i into the process. we are so excited for you, and can't wait for the fun times to be had here on out. we love you.

and i have to give an extra special thanks to my incredible bride, none other than mrs. carlie renee, for rocking out as the main photog on this wedding. being that i was a part of the bridal party, i handed this one over to carlie, and looking through the images (though i did take a few myself) i am afraid carlie might put me out of a job. also, thanks to aaron of ahs photography, for second shooting with carlie on this one.

The Future Of Our Story

if a picture is worth a thousand words, and a video is technically made up of a lot of pictures, than a video should be at least worth a million words...

a gabriel.ryan. video from The Bui Brothers on Vimeo

It's A Lifestyle

eta: 236 hours 37 minutes

Mammoth Men 3 Trailer from FRED EGAN on Vimeo.

Happy Birthday Gabriel

today is gabriel's 27th birthday!!!!!

i just wanted to put up a quick post thanking my wonderful husband for being so patient and forgiving with me for the past year and a half. i dont always clean the kitchen, do the laundry, shave my legs, like to clean the toilets (yuck), i sometimes forget to brush my teeth in the morning, oops, i start to make dinner and then decide i dont want to do it anymore, i change mind every, oh i dont know, 2 minutes, i never make the bed in the morning, i read really late at night while the light's bright and your trying to sleep, i get us all motivated to run and eat healthy and half way through our run i throw a temper tantrum and want to go home and eat ben and jerrys, i am not organized, i keep the office a mess... but through all my shortcomings you still find beauty in them and how you do that will always amaze me.

i thank god so much for blessing me with such an incredible man. happy birthday babe!!!

Returning to Suburbia

the past couple weeks have been rad to say the least. i have found myself deep in central america, surfing in trunks in october, snorkeling in hawaii, and jumping from one plane to the next. and though it has been rejuvenating to leave behind wifi, and email, and cell phones... for the simple life, for a lazy afternoon with a couple of beers in a hammock, waiting for the tide to come up, i am amped to get back in the game. not to mention i'm stoked to sleep in my own bed.

so, carlie and i are about to pack up our bags and jump on our last plane for a while (until february at least), and leave the island life, for our daily life. i am sure orange county will be just as busy, as fast-paced, as we left it. and when we roll back into the neighborhood early tomorrow morning, after downloading all the photo & video from the past few weeks, i am actually looking forward to a nice dose of suburbia.


isn't my wife hot?!?! carlie chillin' in the jungle at waimea.