Great Memories, Great Friends, Great Weekend

I wasn't originally planning on including this in the post of course, but I felt I needed to honor a great man and prophet. Shane and I had to speak in church yesterday and I thought it was fitting that we spoke about charity on the day that a man who possessed this virtue in every way passed on from this life. I am so grateful for his leadership during some very formative years of my testimony and life. It was interesting when I heard the news because I thought that when he did finally go, I would be very emotional, but I was surprised when I wasn't. I think I just knew that he had led life to the fullest and served the Lord with all his might and I couldn't help but feel joy for that. He had such a contagious zeal for life and love for everyone and will be greatly missed.


Over Martin Luther King weekend, we were able to dig up some old memories. Seriously, we're getting pretty old! We packed up and made our way to Rexburg. (yeah, I know it doesn't seem the most likely destination to pick in the middle of winter seeing as it was -25° at one point!) The main purpose was to go to the Rexburg temple open house, but because Shane and I both attended Ricks (well, when it was still Ricks) it was a walk down memory lane as well. Our first stop was Big Juds, home of the famous 1 lb. burger. We met up with our friends Will and Ashlee Jenson. (Will is an Econ. professor at BYU-I and they just moved there last summer) It was awesome to catch up with them and they were also nice enough to let us bunk at their house for the night. Thanks again you guys! Come see us soon!


This is us in front of the infamous Royal Crest 214 where I used to live and where we very first met. Who knew we would be here 7 years later with a son! Certainly not us!



After walking around campus until Max bawled because he couldn't take the cold anymore, we went to the open house. It was, of course, beautiful.


As we sat in a small room to watch a video before we went on the tour, I got a little sentimental and misty-eyed as the sister missionary talked to all of us. I remembered the awesome opportunity I had to do the same at the Sao Paulo Brazil temple re-dedication. What an amazing experience that I will never forget (all you ladies that were there with me know what I'm talking about!)


Hands down, the best part of last weekend was seeing our good friend Wade become a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He just moved here from Georgia and he and Shane met as they walked to Barnes and Noble in a snow storm. Kind of unlikely yes, but we are so glad it happened. Wade is truly an amazing person and it's always a blast when he's around. We're so happy for you Wade!!!

Happy B-day Shane!

I know I just posted this same thing, but it is already here again. Shane is now well into his 30's at 31. These are some early morning waffles we had before he headed off to combat sin.



New Robe



The day after his actual birthday, we celebrated at one of our favorite burger joints, Red Robin. It's partly a favorite because we went on our first date there and partly because, well, it's dang good. Shane actually drools at the mere mention of those two words. It was a blast because we got to celebrate with our friends Jimmy and Jen Macfarlane. We were stuffed to the rafters and had a pretty kooky waitress, but other than that, it was great. Our waitress was dumbfounded when Shane told her it was his birthday, asked what dessert he got, and then added, "They're not going to spank me again like last year, are they? That was awkward." We all busted up, but she didn't know what to think of this guy. Anyway, thanks Jen and Jimmy Mac for lots of laughs. It was fun to hear about all of your shenanigans. Don't worry, we locked them in the vault. :)

A little late, but here are a few Christmas pics