Michael Ellis & Alexis Bierman

00:01 I'm Allison Biermann. I'm 17 years old and I'm here with my sister and my uncle.

00:06 I'm Alexis Biermann. I'm 17 years old and I'm Allison's sister.

00:11 I'm uncle Mike. I'm 46 and I'm Dee's two's uncle. Can you tell me about someone who had a big influence on your life?

00:20 I would say my violin teacher because I've known her since I was three and I think she made me the person I am today.

00:28 Aw.

00:29 Yeah.

00:29 I would say these two's aunt, my wife, just cause she's helped me through everything and I wouldn't be here without her today. Aw. Can you describe one of your happiest memories?

00:45 I would have to say getting my cat Max at the shelter.

00:51 I would probably say when I had my own kids, but these two are pretty great too. Okay. What are you proudest of and why does it make you feel proud?

01:05 Um, shoot. I don't know. Hold on. Give me a second. This is a hard question. So many things.

01:18 I'm proud of our family and just where we're at today in life, and I wouldn't want another family. All great. All right. And what do you hope for the future?

01:28 I hope to live a happy life, stress free, full of happiness and, oh, I want to be rich and I want to live in like a nice cute house.

01:42 Do you want to go to college?

01:43 Yeah. Where you and R. Okay.

01:47 What about you, Uncle? I just want to keep seeing this family grow and just grow old with them. All right. What is your biggest regret?

02:03 My. My biggest regret is doing online school.

02:11 Why?

02:12 Because I feel like I could have, I don't know, had more fun at normal school and had more friends and learned more.

02:21 When did you do online school?

02:22 From sixth grade to eighth grade.

02:24 Wow.

02:25 Yeah. A long time. Yep.

02:28 I would say probably trying harder in school just because it made the rest of my life so much harder. And so pay attention to school, you two. All right, we will. What would you change about your past self?

02:44 This might take me a second.

02:45 That's okay. Take your time. I used to just always worry about the future. And I think if you just relax right now and just figure it out without stressing, then that's gonna be a big help. Moving on.

02:59 I think I agree.

03:00 Gotcha.

03:01 Like, what's up? Worrying about what's gonna happen next.

03:04 Instead, just worry about the now.

03:07 Wherever life takes you.

03:10 Gotcha. What's your favorite holiday?

03:14 My favorite holiday would have to be Christmas because I like the pretty lights and the trees and the snow and the movies and like drinking hot chocolate and Christmas Day. You, like, eat a lot of food and you even get presents. And you also get to give presents, which is a nice feeling.

03:38 Yeah. What about you, Uncle Michael Yeah, I'm gonna have to say Christmas too, just cause we're all gathered here. And I love being with you guys. Aw, we love being with you too. Where would you guys wanna live in the future?

03:53 In the future? Wherever I can live comfortably. But if, like, I had to pick somewhere not in the city, somewhere, like in, like out a little bit. Like not in the middle of the city on a little cute little house.

04:10 So like, like kind of like Oregon.

04:11 Where there's like trees and like.

04:13 Oregon or like outside the area.

04:16 Yeah, maybe Colorado. Whatever I can afford. But if I have the privilege to pick.

04:22 Okay. Right now I really love living in Hawaii. But if I had to move, I would probably move somewhere closer to family and you guys. Oh, yeah. Okay. What's your guys's favorite part about being in Reno, Nevada right now?

04:39 Well, normally around this time of year it's super snowy. So that would be my normal answer. Because I love going in the snow and I love, like going on walks in the snow. Because there's this like, trail behind our house. And our family used to go on walks on it all the time. But like, we haven't gone on a walk there in a really long time. And I want to walk in the snow there because it feels so quiet and like, it's so nice. And it's a pretty long trail. Like, one time we found like a dead coyote. Like, just. I'm sorry for laughing.

05:15 This is just really fun.

05:18 We saw just a dead coyote just like laying there. And like, I think that's like a very big memory for my childhood because I remember was being like, why is there a dead coyote?

05:29 Well, that's really funny.

05:30 No, no. Okay. I like. It's a pretty, like, good trail too. Like the sand there, all the trailbladder, it feels like the moon. Like it's like white. And all I want to do is just walk on that. So I guess my point is I like Rito because it's a mix of outdoor and indoor. Because I can go and walk and look at the mountains or I can look at the city. When I look at the mountains, it's just like there's snow on them and it's just so pretty. And I want to one day climb a mountain because I feel like that would be really cool. What mountain I don't know, but one time when I was in the car with my friend Kayla, she wanted me to climb a mountain with her. And ever since then, I've just wanted to climb a mountain. Like, yeah, it would be a huge challenge because that's definitely, like, multiple miles. But I think it will be worth it in the end because climbing a mountain seems like something you should do at least once in your life. And that's why I'm thankful for Reno, because you have the mountains, and on the other hand, there's the city part, and the city is just, like, full of lights. And I just think it's so pretty to look at. And I'm just thankful that you can have a little bit of both in right now.

06:47 Yeah, I agree with that. And I love our trail in the back of our house.

06:52 Yeah, me too.

06:53 Yeah.

06:54 And I want to walk on it.

06:55 What about you, Uncle Michael Yeah, I would definitely not say a dead coyote or definitely not the weather, but, yeah, I would have to say. Yeah. The Christmas lights, I just love driving around and everything's so festive.

07:08 Oh, my gosh. Yeah, there's a neighborhood right next to here, which is what he's talking about.

07:12 Is that the one you showed me?

07:13 Yes, it's the one that's filled with lights. And every house does lights. It's like this big cul de sac.

07:20 Wow.

07:21 Check it out.

07:22 All right. Speaking of Christmas and Christmas break in the snow, what is your guys favorite, like, tradition when it comes to Christmas?

07:29 So I actually have, like, three.

07:32 Okay.

07:35 Sorry, hold on. Why is this.

07:39 Really nervous when it comes to interviews that just get really awkward?

07:42 I'm sorry.

07:43 Okay, I'll start with this one. No, no, no.

07:44 I want to go.

07:45 Oh, wow.

07:47 Okay. So my first one is Secret Santa, because I like the surprise factor of, like, drawing names out of hat. And it's like, so much anticipation leading up to the day where you actually get to, like, do that. And like, another part about Secret Santa is that, like, you can give gifts to people. I think giving gifts is so much fun because seeing their face all happy is just like, I just love it, and I like it. Giving to other people. And when you're in Secret Santa, you don't know what. Who you have and what you're gonna get. So it's like a double surprise. The next Christmas tradition is Advent calendars, because I like counting down the days because it helps me keep track of the days. Yeah. And like, on my Advent calendar that I have every day, I get another chocolate, and it kind of Just makes my morning. And then another Christmas tradition I like is putting up Christmas lights, because I think it adds some fun to, like, the yard. And then you can look at other people's lights and you can see, like, how well they did, too. And then I also like eating, like, mashed potatoes and stuffing and stuff on Christmas and then opening presents, too. I think I just like the whole thing.

09:08 Okay.

09:08 Yep.

09:09 Do you have any other traditions?

09:12 Putting up a Christmas tree? Mm. Yeah.

09:14 I love putting up our Christmas tree.

09:16 This year we got a new Christmas tree.

09:18 We did.

09:19 And because our old one, it broke. Yeah, it did. And so we went to, like, five stores. We went to Lowe's, we went to Home Depot, and we went to a Lowe's and Sparks, and we found this tree. And it's different than the trees we normally have because it has, like, snow on it. And, like, I think that's pretty cool. And, like, we made a little theme this year. We made it, like, more of a red and green theme. Yeah. And, like, it was, you know, in the moment, it was kind of pain to, like, travel around the whole city just to find this tree. But, like, it was all worth it because when you go upstairs, there's this tree with snow all over it, which is different than what we normally have every single year. And I'm just so excited to just hang out around the tree on Christmas and open presents. Thank you. Yeah.

10:06 What about you, Uncle Michael Wow. I'm not as talkative as you two, but I would say just coming here and watching you girls rip open your presents in the morning, and then I know you girls probably don't like it, but the hog that I bring from Hawaii, I love that every year. Yeah. My next question is, like, what's on your guys Christmas list? And I'll say mine, too. Mine is just a bunch of just, like, clothes. And since I'm gonna go to UNR next year and live in the dorms with my friends, it's just a bunch of dormitory stuff and just, like, little things that would just help out my everyday life and stuff. And just warm clothes. What about you, Alexis

10:51 The first thing on my Christmas list is my AirPods. Because I have lost, like, maybe three sets of AirPods in the past, but I just have a better feeling about this time, and I don't think I'm gonna lose them. And, like, there just have been, like, a lot of cases where I just need AirPods and I just don't have them. And then the next thing on my.

11:11 Christmas list, trying to get me to buy you AirPods. Oh, yeah.

11:14 And the next thing on my Christmas list is a hair curler waver thing. Yeah. Because I think it'll make my mornings a little bit easier and I can have a better curling iron. And I just think it's nice. And then another thing on my Christmas list is sweatpants, because I need more of those. And oh, another thing on my Christmas list is a necklace, because I had a bracelet once and it broke into like 50 million pieces, and I just. That was my only bracelet.

11:49 Oh, wow.

11:50 So now I'm missing my bracelet. Yeah. And so now I have that one on my list. I don't want to go too in depth on my list.

11:57 Okay, well, it's a good list. I like the general idea of the list. It's a great list. What about you, Uncle Michael Ever since these girls were young and even my kids, I would tell them not to get me stuff. And I love their homemade stuffs, so probably just another homemade card from YouTube. Aw. Okay, so to wrap up this conversation, what is your guys favorite memory when you guys are with your families?

12:25 I would have to say playing Jenga with my family.

12:28 Oh, why?

12:30 Because I like Jenga and I think it's so fun.

12:32 And is it, like a good bonding experience for you?

12:36 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

12:38 Okay. What about you, Uncle Michael Well, growing up, me and your mom would always fight or get into some kind of controversy. So growing up, I think just like, seeing our family bond is my favorite thing. All right, well, thank you guys so much for helping me with this interview. I had a really fun time.

12:58 Yeah, me too.

12:59 Thank you, girls. All right, that's wrapping it up. Thank you.