My Ecuador Family

Last weekend, the family we lived with in Ecuador was in the United States for a visit! They came during conference so that they could go to a session. We were able to have a small reunion with them on Sunday night. It was so great to see them, even though it was a little weird to see them out of context! Jenny and Angel are amazing people who have had a great impact on my life. What they do for OSSO is inspiring and they are such good examples to me. They have three little kids, Grace, Jared, and Maibe. They have all grown up so much! You have to remember that they have new volunteers come through their every 6 weeks and they stay for 3 months on average and they have been doing this for years. When I saw Gracie, she ran up to me and gave me a hug and told me that she had the green pants that I had given her in her suitcase and she was so excited to wear them when they went to St. George! I had to stop and think...I didn't think I had given Grace green pants, but when I thought about it, my second trip to Ecuador, I did bring her some green pants! I was so surprised that she remembered...and she was so grateful for them. It made my day.

Anyway, here is a picture of Angel, Jenny, and my best friend from Ecuador, Beth and me. Also, there is a picture of Devin and me for good measure, since we haven't taken any pictures of us together lately! I know its not cute, but it is proof that we do sometimes do things together! : )

Family Birthday Party!

Today we had a birthday party in Brigham City for no one in particular, just everyone. My Grandma Clark put together the event since she figures we don't celebrate anyone's birthdays like we should. So as many of us that could got together for a fun little outing. We went to eat at Maddox, which is a really good restaurant. We ate at the guest house, which is a pretty fancy little place. I had no idea I should have dressed up! The funny thing is, we walked in and there was my dad and his wife too! They were there for Sharon's dad's birthday...but they were seated at the table right next to us and I had no idea they would even be there. Random that I run into my dad in Brigham City, UT at Maddox, where I have only been like two other times in my whole life. Funny.

Here are my cousin Che'Lyn and her husband Landon, who I had the privledge of riding up with since my husband was working. Che' and I are close in age and have always had an extremely close relationship. We have run the gamut of experiences together and I do have to say that we have had some pretty funny times in our day. Anyway, now that we are all grown up, its fun that we still get to see each other pretty frequently as she and Landon live here in Provo too.

Here is a shoutout to my favorite aunt Linda. Linda is expecting her third child in July! It will be a boy, so we are excited about that. Linda lives in Logan, so it wasn't too bad of a drive for her. Linda was kind enough (crazy enough?) to let Che' and I plus our sisters Cortney and Jennifer come stay with her for a week every summer during our young teenage years. She probably had no idea what kinds of things she would get into by letting us stay. She went to work during the day, so we were on our own! One year alone, amongst other things, we managed to start her house on fire (ok not the entire house...just a garbage can that we were smart enough to throw outside), break a screen door, eat an entire massive brick of cheese during the week, go out in public as often as possible with HUGELY ratted hair, offend her boss's young son by telling him his Garth Brooks shirt was hideous and that he needed to take it off, and throw glasses and have them shatter in the street at her then boyfriend (now husband, Brad) as he was driving away (ok, those last two were just me). Anyway, you can see why we love Linda and you can surely see why she loves us! Oh man, if only I had a scanner and could scan in the ratted hair day pictures...oh yeah, plus we would wear plaid shorts and go-go boots quite often. Oh well, use your imagination. While we ate, a mysterious person (my aunt Sue) attached these pictures to Linda's van. We think it is particularly funny because they are extremely popular these days, but it is NOT something Linda would EVER do. She was so embarrassed! She was trying to peel them off, but they would not come off. Haha...she might be stuck withthe lovely pics! Anyway, it was a good day and it was really fun to see everyone. I don't get to see everyone often enough, but when we do, we sure have a good time. Love the fam!

Send your ideas my way!

It is pretty funny that the only two callings I have had in my entire college career are activities committees and RS presidencies. So, this past Sunday I was called to be the 2nd counselor in my ward's Relief Society Presidency...and I will be leaving the activities committee for the new call! Well, that's all fine and dandy, except that means that I am the enrichment counselor. I think the Lord is trying to send me a message because I have NOT been to enrichment the entire time I have been in this ward. I can say I have good excuses, being busy with school and work and such, but could I have made more effort to be there? YEP, SURE COULD HAVE. So here I am! I am actually excited for the challenge ahead, but if any of you have had experience in enrichment or have brilliant ideas, I need them!!!!

Where have Kim and Devin been?

Well, we are still alive! Never fear. I don't have any fun pictures to post...but I do feel like we need to let everyone know what we have been up to. We have been as busy as ever, graduation day is fast approaching for me, so that is really exciting. Other than that, we have been doing the norm and a few extra things here and there. We were on our ward's intramural intertube water polo team (yeah, have you ever heard of that?). It was super fun and we were actually really incredible, so much that they bumped us up a division for the championships and we lost on our second game! It was single elimination, so we were out. It was particularly a rough loss too, since we were tied basically the whole game and the other team scored their last two points in the last 5 seconds! It was a buzzer beater...oh well. Devin actually wasn't at that game and I still maintain that if he were, we would have won. He has such long arms, he could just pull the balls out of the air anytime! Well, anyway, it was a really fun experience and we will maybe go for the championship next year! Good thing kickball season is coming up again...

Also, we got to spend some time with Devin's family last weekend for Easter and for his sister Alisa's wedding. That makes all 8 Perry children married people now! His sister Mesha was kind enough to have everyone over on Easter Sunday. What a big party it was too. We had a barbeque and enjoyed each other's company. Alisa and Ren's wedding was on Monday, so we saw them again the next day.

Today we had a ward pinewood derby. Don't worry, we are not a family ward, just a student married ward, so it was couple vs. couple. We lost miserably. Oh well....it was funny to see all the people (particularly the men) getting so into it! We had trophies and everything for the winners. Devin and I are on the activities committee, which has been a really fun calling as we get to help with such fun events as these.

As far as the summer goes, I am currently looking for a new job that I can start when I graduate. No luck so far...but I will keep trying. Devin got a $2000 grant for summer school, which we didn't even apply for! We are feeling really blessed that way, so he will go to school both spring and summer terms and also go back to his window washing job that he loved so much last summer. We also will be moving at some point in May...just around the block from where we live now. Some of our ward members are moving out and we jumped at the chance to move into their apartment. It is the upstairs of a house and is probably twice the size of the one we currently live in and has probably 4 times the storage space! Believe me, I was excited about that. I think I will enjoy living there a lot. It is a cute little house that we can decorate more and feel like it's somewhere we can stay for the duration of the college career.

I guess that is all for now for an update! Sorry to bore you, I just didn't want anyone to think we had gone off and died or anything...but we don't have fun and exciting things to report! It seems like everyone else does, but someday we will!

Ode to the people and places...

Top: Sarah, Danika, Beth, Wendy

Bottom: Me, Becky
This weekend, I was able to go to an Ecuador reunion with some of the only people who truly understand my feelings about the experience-the ones who were there doing it with me! Of course, everyone couldn't come, but we did have a good group. This picture was taken after one girl, Katie, left. I just have to say that these are the type of friends that it doesn't matter if we haven't seen each other for months (year?), it is like nothing has changed when we all get together. Even though we are all at different points of our life now, we did share three months where I don't hesitate to speak for everyone in saying it changed our lives. On that note, I think it is fitting to do a mini picture review of some of the good times we shared while we were in Ecaudor and also in celebration of it being nearly two years since we came home as well. Let me just tell you, I would post picture of us in the orphanages, but it is against Ecuadorian law, so I will just have to post some of the other fun things we did, which were many.

Here we are getting ready to go waterfall repelling in a place called Banos. Don't worry, those aren't really diapers, but they sure do look like it!

This is Danika and I on a hike we went in a town called Mindo. It was BEAUTIFUL as you can tell.

We went to the beach for one of our Friday field trips...here we are eating at a beach front restaurant. Don't worry that I look awful, I had been swimming in the ocean, plus I had had the nightshift at the orphanage the night before. We took vans to the beach, so everyone picked Ashley and I up from the night shift and we drove for five hours starting at 4 am. Don't worry, I slept on the floor of the van, since I hadn't slept at all prior. Rough! We then flew home. Don't ask me why we didn't just fly both ways, since tickets were only like $30.

Since we were so close to the Equator, of course we had to visit there! Here we are standing on the line. They had some pretty cool experiments for us to do as well, including standing on both sides of the line and watching which way water swirls when it drains! If you do it right on the line, it doesn't swirl at all, it just goes straight down.

This is one of my favorite pictures from the entire time! This wall is at the Center of the Earth museum, so of course we had to attempt to spell out "Ecuador" ourselves! That is what it is, if you can't tell. :)

I even got the chance to kiss a llama once! Once, we played in a big fountain to re-enact "Friends". It was in the middle of a round-a-bout and there were cops on each corner and no one cared!
This ball was in a park near our house and I always wanted to climb on it because we passed it on our drive every day to the orphanages. Finally, right near the end, we did it!
There is a tram that takes you to the top of the city and you can overlook everything! It was amazing. They also had these nice grassy fields that were perfect for re-enactments of "The Soud of Music." This is Ashley and me.

On one of our days off, we pained the house where our special kids boys lived. Wow was that an adventure. Let me just say two things: watered down paint and small brushes! It made for a LOOOOOONG day!

The month of March is the celebration of "Carnaval" which just means that everyone dumps water on everyone else whenever they get the opportunity. It doesn't matter if they are strangers, either. So one day, we had a HUGE carnaval fight, which started in the house (poor housekeeper who had to clean up all the water...) then it went to the street where eggs, flour, and massive amounts of water and water balloons were involved. The local seminary kids were there that day, so they were part of the fun!

At the end, we got to spend three days in the deep jungle near the Napo River. This lovely attire is what we got to wear, THE WHOLE TIME. It rains non-stop, so ya know. We got to do lots of fun things there, swing from vines, make baskets, swim with the anacondas, watch our guide catch an alligator, hike, and be cleansed from the local medicine man, to name a few. It was a good way to unwind at the end of the trip and to see some of the other parts of Ecuador before heading home.

Well, of course I have millions of other pictures, but here is just a sampling. I loved my Ecuador experience, as everyone can tell. I think it says something that I am still obsessed with it and it has been two years. Oh well!

Look at Her Now!

(picture missing...again until the adoption is finalized)
This little girl was a mere 1 year old when I grew to love her in Ecuador. Now she is 3 and she has grown SO MUCH. I can't even believe it. The latest news with her is kind of bittersweet to me. She is almost walking, which is incredible. Had you asked me when I was there if she would ever walk, I would have told you definitely not, especially with the care that she had been receiving. But in the past 2 years she has received incredible care at her new home and is doing amazingly well. The other news is that her paperwork has been finalized to make her eligible for adoption! Stacey, the person who runs her old home has been on a furlough for the past little while and in the meantime, MF has been living with a foster family. They might adopt her, or there is one other family who is a possibility for adoption. I think this is wonderful news and so great that she will be able to have a family of her own, but it also makes me sad a little bit for completely selfish reasons. From the day I met her, I thought of her as my own little girl. I don't have children of my own, but I imagine the feelings are somewhat the same. I think of her daily, I pray for her constantly, and I want nothing but wonderful things for her. But, I know that when she is adopted, that is the last that I will ever hear from her. She will no longer be in need of a "sponser" and I won't get the handy monthly pictures and updates that I have become so accustomed to. It will be hard for me to not know where she is and how she is doing and to see the milestones that she reaches, but I know that it is so much better for her to have a family of her own. I remember when I was in Ecuador feeling so overwhelmed one day that I couldn't do it anymore. I just loved the kids so much and it was too hard for me to think of the future and not knowing what it would hold for them. I recall praying that night and having a distinct impression that the Lord knew my feelings and that just as much as I loved these children, the Lord loved them too and would take care of them in the future. Those thoughts have stayed with me and whenever I think about the babies in Ecuador, I think about the love that the Lord has for them as well and know that wherever they are, they are His children and that He will take care of them.

Rascal Flatts!

This past Friday night, I went to the Rascal Flatts concert with my co-workers and friends, Meghan and Ashley. It was a celebration for Ashley's birthday, which was the next day. We first went to the Cheesecake Factory to eat, which is new in Utah and has been a HUGE thing. We went at 4 and luckily got in at 4:30. The food was so good and we had a good time there.

Since it was Ash's birthday, we of course let the people know and they came and sang to her and brought her a microscopic ice cream sundae with a HUGE pile of whip cream! Meghan helped her eat it and I ate the whip cream. haha. Then we headed to Energy Solutions Arena (formerly the Delta Center, which I still call it...) for the concert! We got lucky and got free parking and made our way down to the arena. By this time, we were all feeling extremely hyper, as demonstrated by this picture of Meg acting like a cowboy. She even walked the whole way to the place like that. Okay, maybe not the whole way, but a good portion of the way. :)

The opening act was Kelli Pickler, who was an American Idol winner. She was actually realllly good! Her voice is amazing and Meghan and I agreed that she is the best opening act we have ever seen. Then came the big show! I am a big fan of Rascal but I have never before seen them in concert. We had a great time and were well entertained. We left with hoarse voices and even more hyped up than when we came. Good thing because I had to drive home still...but I was wide awake. I felt it the next morning though when I had to be at work at 8 am. I am nice and didn't schedule Meg or Ashley, but of course I scheduled myself. Oh well. I only wish I would have been able to get better pictures of the band, but I didn't because we were up a ways and my camera is just not that good.

It's Official

I can't tell you the number of times I have used that title for a post. But this time, I really mean it!!!

Devin and I are going to Chicago for Stefani and Ronnie's wedding in May!!!! We got our tickets all squared away today and I couldn't be more excited. Let me just tell you that I love to travel and there is something about getting out that makes life so much better.

I have never been to Chicago, so for anyone who wants to give me ideas on what we should see and what we should do, feel free! I am looking for suggestions. I am a mastermind planner, so by the time this trip happens, you better believe that I will have down a minute by minute itinerary with exact travel plans and such. Can't have it any other way.

As a side note, even though Stef most likely will deny this, I am 100% responsible for this union (well maybe I will give some credit to Camille too). Ronnie was one of our friends our beloved freshmen year. He moved out after that school year to go to law school in Louisiana. The next year, Stefani moved in with us and we became great friends. We then gave Stef Ronnie's email address or vice versa and they started writing love letters, then they started dating, and now they are getting married!! WAHOO!!!

Happy Birthday Ol' Christopher!!!

Today happens to be the birthday of one of the best people ever, my brother-in-law Chris, or as we sometimes like to call him, "Skip Chris!". Chris turns the big 3-0 today and for his birthday Jennifer surprised him and took him to Sun Valley for a night. I am sure she will be posting pictures, so I will leave the details to her.

Chris is just an amazing person and we are lucky to have such a great example in our lives. Even though he is battling a brain tumor, he still has more optimism and goodness than most of us. Chris is a fighter and never ceases to amaze me.

So with that, HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRIS!!!!!

Neglecting the Blog....

I have not blogged in forever, mostly due to the fact that our lives are really not that exciting and there isn't much to write about. I have also been really busy lately....and I have taken on a new project: figuring out my life. Yep, it's a big project.

I have been just cruising along this semester like always when the thought suddenly occurred to me that I don't really know how to be graduated. I have been in school for so long that I am a pro at going to school and being in student-mode. However, when I graduate, what do I really want to do with myself? I hadn't really considered it.

So many things are changing, yet so many things are staying the same. Devin will still be in school, so we will be here for a while more, that is unless we decide to transfer schools and move (which is a possibility). Don't get me wrong, I have loved my time in Provo, but I feel like I have done my time here and I am ready for a change. But, if we end up staying here for another few years as Devin finishes up his education, I will be okay with that too. We are currently in the process of finding a new apartment. We looked at one place that I thought I was really going to love, but I didn't. I also just keep feeling like we need to stay in our ward. I don't know why...so now we are focusing our search to places within the ward. We just need something a little bit bigger. Our apartment now is great and has a lot of perks, but it just has NO storage space and we can't keep piling our junk in random places. You have already seen the picture of our food storage in our bedroom. It's just not attractive.

The other thing is that I need to start looking for a new job. I have worked where I do for FOUR years and that has been great as it has gotten me through school, but I feel that it is time to move on. The very thought just scares me. I know how to do what I doing and I am comfortable there and the bottom line is that I just don't like change. I don't even know where to start looking for a new job to be honest. It is a scary thought. I wish my internship would just hire me, but they unfortunately don't have any positions. Ah.....I also have debated on and off about grad school. I was in class the other night and my professor congratulated those who made it into grad school (the Social Work program at BYU just announced its grad school admissions) and I was totally jealous. I didn't even apply, but I still felt a twinge of jealousy about those who would be going on. I didn't apply because I feel so burnt out that I didn't think I could do it. But who knows, after a summer break, I might have been more than ready to go.

Well those are just some of the ramblings of my life right now. I am sorry this is a boring post and pictureless, but hey...it's my blog and I will do with it what I want! :)

Looking back...

My cousin Shawna did this on her blog and I thought it was so fun that I wanted to do it too! It is fun to reflect back on your life and see where you have come from and where you are going. So here goes

20 years ago:

• I was a unruly 2 1/2 year old terror. My parents called me the "corkscrew" because I never sat still. My Grandpa Ed would hold me during Sacrament Meeting to try to keep me contained during prayers, but inevitably I would end up on the stand waving at the family.
  
• It was probably about this time that I was receiving my first or second surgery for my kidney/bladder.
• I was also probably receiving my very first mushroom cut, which was the staple haircut that I would have for the next 5 years. Haha...gotta love it.

10 years ago:

• I was a 6th grader going through the awkward stages of bangs and purple glasses. We all loved our bangs so much in fact, that it was probably around this time that Haylee, Anneka, Camille, and I signed a pact that we would never get rid of our bangs. Well...that sure didn't last.
• The boundaries changed so I had a choice to stay at Sunnyside Elementary or go to Longfellow Elementary. Haylee and I chose to go to Longfellow and we never regretted it! That is when the two of us hooked up with Anneka and Camille and we became best friends through the rest of our school years.
• My rebellious nature had not yet subsided...this was the year that I cut a boy's hair in class, wiped dog poop on another during recess, and left books under my desk at night on purpose so I could fill out a "refocus" form in the next classroom.
  
• Hay, Anneka, Camille and I played YMCA basketball, started calling boys, took group counseling to get out of class, and rode our bikes to McDonalds for lunch from time to time.
  
  5 years ago:

• I was 17 years old and a junior in high school. I hated junior year because I took a lot of hard classes, including honors English, chemistry, and trig. I loved sophomore year and I loved senior year, but junior year? UGH.


• By this time we had expanded our group of friends a lot and we had all sorts of fun together.


• I moved to Rigby with my mom. That was really hard for me, but needless to say, I started "living" at my friends' houses instead.
  
• I was working at "Options Inc" where I worked with developmentally delayed children. I started doing a "home base" assignment that year with a sweet girl named Amy who had downs syndrome. I went to her house in the morning and got her ready for school and then I went back after school and worked with her until 6 pm when her dad came home from work. I learned so much from that job and I miss Amy like crazy.

1 year ago:

• I was engaged to Devin and we were going to school and preparing for our wedding


• I was taking the bulk of my social work classes and a marriage and family class with Devin


• I was living with Kylee, Camille, and Steffy...my favorite set of roommates. We had a great time together


• I was about to be promoted at work (finally!) after our manager transferred to another center.

So far this year:

• I have been as busy as ever, getting ready to graduate in April.
• I have been loving my internship at Wasatch Mental Health. It has been a really good learning experience
• I have enjoyed spending time with Devin and our friends and family

Yesterday:

• I went to my internship from 8-2
• Went to look for new housing with Devin at 2
• Did some homework
• Went to class from 4-7
• Came home and got ready for Valentine's Day
• Spent the evening with Devin eating dinner and relaxing

Today:

• Going to one Loooong class from 11-2:30.
• Calling my best friend Haylee to wish her a happy birthday!
• Going to work from 3-7
• Take Devin to dinner to finish off our Valentine's Celebration

Tomorrow:

• What a boring life I lead. I work from 8-1
• Go to my internship from 2-6
• Write a paper
• That's all I have planned! Whoopee!!!

In the next year:

• Hopefully Devin and I will move to a larger apartment where we actually have storage space
• I will finally graduate!
• Maybe I will get a new job
• Maybe I will get pregnant
• The rest of the future is a mystery!

I also tag whoever is reading this. I would like to learn more about EVERYONE! I think this is an interesting way to do it.

Farewell Mom and Dad P.!

Today Devin and I went down to his hometown of Fairview for his parents' farewell. They are leaving on a two year mission to Russia next Monday. Even though I know it will be a sacrifice and it will be hard for them and hard for the family to have them gone, I am so happy that they are willing to serve the Lord and I know that their doing so will bring blessings upon the entire family. Devin's oldest brother, Travis, has asked each sibling to pitch in every month to help them pay for their mission as it is one of the most expensive missions. Travis specifically asked that everyone pay what they can to the point of sacrifice. I am excited for this challenge as I realize it will bring further blessings upon Devin and I.

I am so blessed to have married into the family that I did. I love each and every member of Devin's family and I feel that they are my own. I couldn't ask for better in-laws and for better examples to follow. Being in their ward today, it was obvious that they are a huge part of their ward and that they are going to be missed. So many people spoke of the service that Mom and Dad Perry had given them and for the Christ-like attitudes they always have. I am also grateful for the son that they raised who is so good to me. I watch his dad and I know that Devin had only wonderful things to see of the way his dad treated his mom and his children growing up. Although raising 8 kids would be a challenge for anyone, they seemed to raise all their children to be great people. We will miss them, but we are so grateful for their service!

Devin's brother Travis and his wife Jenny, also blessed their 3rd little girl today. Her name is Samara and she is now 9 weeks old. She has got to be the cutest, wide-eyed little girl I have ever seen. A trend in Devin's family is that normally all your kids are all one gender. Its pretty funny...only one of his sisters has one boy and one girl and all the rest have either all girls or all boys. I wonder which we will get??

Speaking of babies, the funniest thing happened while we were all there eating lunch afterward. Devin's sister had us over for dinner last weekend and she told me that there had been some pregnancy rumors flying around the family about me and Devin. So there we were after lunch just hanging around and Devin gets everyone's attention and tells them that we have an announcment. His sisters started screaming and everyone was jumping up and down and so excited, then Devin announced, "Kim and I are not expecting a baby!" Hahaha!! They were all so mad. So funny. One day when we really are, it will be like the boy crying wolf and no one will believe us. Oh well.... :)

Enjoy some pictures of Devin's cute family.

B: Aaron, Mesha, Alisa, Travis, Jenny, Kim, Devin, Shane, Marcene, Travis, Kirston

F: Slava, Shawna, Mom, Dad, Jana, Karl.

PS. We dedicate this new blog background to Shane, Devin's brother who complained about our old one. He admitted that the problem is just that he is too old to read the print. Hope this works Shane.

Good Ol' Times at LA

Me, Ashley, Lisa, and Megster

There have been many ups and downs of my job, as with most jobs, but overall I can say that it has been a real blessing in my life as I have been able to provide for myself and pay my way through school. Besides that, I have made some of the best friends that I have while working at good old LA Weightloss. Since I have been there for 4 years, there have been quite a few people that I have worked with, but I count most of them as really good friends.

About twice a year we have a big event that we like to call "Open house" where we plan and prepare for weeks and weeks for a one day huge celebration and sale. I always enjoy Open House days because it takes a lot of preparation and we definitely see the fruits of our hard labor. I also like the adrenaline rush on the day of of getting ready and being just so busy all day long that I never have time to even sit down and barely have time to eat and drink. We have had some pretty fun open houses over the years. Well, this past Friday was another big open house day. I have been the "Assistant Manager" at LA for about 10 months now but we have no manager. Another girl, Meghan, and I are co-assistant managers since neither of us can work the hours to be a manager, nor would we want to. So this Open House was the first time that we together had the chance to prove ourselves. People sometimes under-estimate us I think since we are both young. But we had a great day and proved everybody wrong! Here are some pictures of us, of course at the end of the day, so two of the other girls had already left. But oh how I love those co-workers of mine!



Meg will probably kill me for putting this picture on my blog, but seriously this is what we look like after 11 straight hours of working so hard !

Again, Ash might not like this picture so much, but hey, she let me take it so its fair game! I am not really quite sure what to say about this other than it is her celebratory pose that we made it through the day. Haha!

Our cute decorations, it was cuter earlier in the day, but you get the idea!

In Tribute To President Hinckley

I know this is a little late, but better late than never, right?

When I heard the news of President Hinckley's death, I had such mixed emotions. First, I felt really sad and almost immediately after, I was so happy for him that he was again with his dear wife. I wrote about it in a previous blog, but I read the book "Letters" by Sister Marjorie Pay Hinckley this past summer and it was so refeshing. I loved getting a glimpse into the everyday life of the prophet and his wife and to see how human they were. The love that they shared for each other is something that I have always admired and something I want to emmulate in my own marriage.

I remember vaguely when Presidents Benson and Hunter were prophets, but I was young enough that I don't remember that much about either of their presidencies. I will definitely remember President Hinckley's vibrant spirit and the way he lived his life. Although I never met him, here are a few of the things that I will remember about his life and legacy:

*President Hinckley never seemed upset, down, or angry. Every conference, every appearance, every interview, he was always so happy and friendly. He had such a way with the media and I admire his charisma. His example of love and kindness no matter the situation is something I think we can all improve on.

*I will always be grateful for his legacy of temples. I always took for granted growing up that we had a temple so close by. I didn't know what it meant for saints all over the world to have to travel to the temple. Now I understand more fully his desire to extend the reach of the temples to members worldwide. I read in the Church News today that President Hinckley had the vision for the smaller temples while he was traveling on a bus in Mexico and wondering what could be done to help strengthen the saints there. I love this story because it just illustrates the love that he had for all people as well. This picture is of Devin and I at the Palmyra Temple this summer from the family reunion, one of the small temples built under President Hinckley's presidency.

* I just love his personality and wit. Never did a conference go by that he didn't have everyone cracking up with his jokes. When we were listening to the news last Sunday after we had heard the news of President Hinckley's death, the news interviewers were talking to some people walking around Temple Square about what they remember most about the prophet and a story that came up repeatedly was that once during a conference, President Hinckley got up and started to pretend to lead the Mormon Tabernacle Choir with his cane! Though I didn't see this, I just had to laugh because that seems just like his personality!

*I love that President Hinckley was so forthright and knowledgable about what is going on in the world today. He never beat around the bush, but he came right out and said things how they were. That is just another testament of his divine role because I don't know too many 97 year olds who were as in touch with all the technology and problems in the world today. Never did we have to question his stance on anything, he was honest, yet loving in his conference talks.

*Finally, I love that President Hinckley had such a strong testimony of the gospel and the work he was engaged in. He was such a hard worker and acheived so much through his presidency. I hope that what I can remember from President Hinckley is that he loved the Lord, loved the members of the church, and lived the gospel through his service! What an amazing legacy he left and an amazing example for all of us to emmulate.

Flash Back from the 80's?

My mom got me some fancy new pajamas for Valentine's Day. Don't worry, I know it's not Valentine's Day yet, but since she was here, she left them for me. They are so funny because they totally look like something straight out of the 80's. There are hearts in different colors all over the shirt if you can't tell. This is my best excited 80's pose. haha, just kidding, I don't really know what it is, so that is what I will call it.

Also, here is a picture with Devin in his flood pants. He refused to wear them as floods though, so at least it's something. Capris, floods, same thing, right? What a beautiful model he makes.

Weekend Happenings

This weekend we had a lot of fun, saw some people we haven't seen for a while, and had some visitors. On Friday night, Devin and I met my cousin Che'Lyn and her husband Landon in Salt Lake for the Jazz game. It is pretty pathetic that we live in the same town and we rarely see each other. Anyway, Devin and Landon enjoyed the game and Che' and I enjoyed catching up. (The Jazz beat the Clippers for anyone that cares!)

Saturday I went to work and then skipped my internship because my mom and Kylee were in town! We spent a good bulk of the afternoon at Costco and then did some shopping, went to dinner and just had a good time with them and my Uncle Lynn.

Here Kylee and I are at Lynn's house waiting before we went to dinner. Don't worry, that is a box of chocolates that we ate at least half of! Sick! Today we had everyone over for dinner. I was not quite sure how that was going to work since our apartment is about the size of a pea, but we all fit and we had a good time. Che' and Landon were here as well as my mom and Kylee. We played "Snarf", which is a family favorite game that Angela taught us when we were in New York this summer. Oh my...it is so intense! It is a good game to play with lots of people...gotta thank Angela for teaching it to everyone.

It is soooo good to have a fun, relaxing weekend. But, unfortunately, it is time to go back to the real world tomorrow!

Dev's Pants

Thanks to all who voted. It turns out I will be saving Devin's pants to give to Mike when he returns from his mission. I am sure he will be pleased. As he has lost 70 lbs., perhaps they will even fit him too!!

Schedule, Shmedule

So this semester is my last one, as I think absolutely everyone is aware of because I am so excited about it. Don't get me wrong, I love school and I have valued my educational experience, but I think I have also done my time here at BYU. This semester, however, is going to really challenge me because I have put off until now both of my civilization credits, which means I am taking Humanities 201 and 202 both!!! Wahoo! Well, it has been a little while since I have taken General Education credits, so I have gotten out of the mode of "busy work". Now, I pretty much am going to be spending the next four months reading a textbook and keeping up on the homework for these classes. I can't wait! :(



After this first week of classes, I was feeling really overwhelmed about everything that I was going to have to do this semester and how I was going to be able to balance my time. As most of you know, I am also working full time (well 32 hours, so pretty close) and doing an internship of 16 hours per week. I have five classes at school, three Social Work classes and then these two dang Humanities. I like to know ahead of time everything that I need to complete and I usually like to have everything mapped out (at least in my mind) of when and where I am going to complete things. But with all the extra humanities stuff that I have to complete, It was all just too overwhelming to me. So.... Devin and I sat down and made schedules of our entire semesters! With a little help from some poster board we bought at Smith's, we are ready to roll! I feel relieved all ready, knowing when and where I am going to get things done. We now have them hanging on the back of our door. They are one month at a time, so we will just switch them out as the months go by. Have a look:

Nerd at heart? YES!!!!

Gotta love it!

Our Cute Quilt

My mom actually made us this quilt for our wedding, but we didn't get it until Christmas due to the hard work that it took to complete. My favorite color is yellow so it appeals to me that much more because of the yellow theme it has going on. I just think it is so cute, I thought everyone should see! Devin is modeling it for us, isn't he just such a great model?

CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES! (If you so desire, you can hum or sing the song to yourself if it gets you in the mood!)

For New Year's we got to make a quick run home to Idaho to visit our family up there. We had to cram in as much as possible because there are just so many people to see and things to do. In the three days that we were there, we managed to spend time with my mom and her "friend" Dave, my sister Jennifer and her husband Chris, my dad and his wife Sharon, my aunt Angela and her husband Shawn from Colorado as well as their 5 children, my aunt Heidi and her family, Devin's sister Shawna and her husband Slava (who we stayed with) and their two boys, my old roommate and friend Kasie and her husband Scott, and of course my little brother Clark. Whew. We also ran into some of my old high school friends, so catching up with them was fun too.

We also managed to spend $450 at the eye doctor (don't ask) and eat out far too much. Here are a few of the pictures to highlight our fun weekend.

We went bowling one night. I can't say that I am a good bowler, but it was a good time anyway. Here are Chris, Jen, and my mom ready to rock-n-roll.

Devin in action. He definitely beat us all. Oh wait, I was only three points behind. NOT BAD!

Just waiting in between turns.

We also got to open our Christmas presents from my mom and her family. This is one of my favorite gifts that my mom gave me. She makes these calendars online and puts pictures of my childhood and growing up years. They are so cute. We all got one last year and I loved it so much that I asked for one again this year.

Devin got these fancy pajama pants from my Grandma. You can't tell, but they are major floods. Haha, he quickly re-gifted them to me. I can definitely put them to use!