Washington

Jeff and I spent a couple of days in Washington visiting his sister Janiel, Klaas, and Baby B! It was such a great trip! We miss them so much!

Janiel and I riding a carousal at this cute petting zoo farm place. They had the yummiest apple fritters and cider. That sounds so good right now...
Jeff being silly...surprise surprise!

We went to the beach one day and it was a little chilly and windy but so beautiful!

We went to a Wolf Sanctuary one day. This place takes in wolves that people have had as pets or that were in zoos. It was pretty cool!

Reminded me of the days I was a Silver Wolf at Fremont :o)

At one point in the tour they all started howling! It was so cool but one of those things that gives you the chills and makes you thankful that there is a fence between you and them!

We went and played down at the water...

and no lie, Jeff could have spent all day down there! He was like a 10 year old boy playing outside and finding crabs!

As we walked up and down the beach he'd lift up every rock we passed and all of these crabs would so scurrying out. He had so much fun :o)

Sweet baby B! Isn't she adorable?!?

She was so fun and we are so glad we were able to spend some time with her and her mommy and daddy!

Thank you so much for letting us stay with you guys. We love you bunches and can't wait to see you soon!!!

Summer!

We've had a lot of fun since we've been back in Utah....

DRIVE-IN

Went to the Drive-in with Jake and Hailee one night. Sadly this is the only picture I got. But we had a great time!

LAVA

For the 4th of July we spent some time up at Lava. My aunt and uncle have some property so we took up the trailers and spent a few days eating, sleeping and having fun!

Sweet Gracie girl! This is what she does when you tell her to smile :o)

Katie and the cousins waiting for the fireworks to start.

Lauren, Lance, Katie and I being silly.

We had those glow stick things and tried to get a picture with them glowing...duh it doesn't work when the flash goes off! Thought it was a fun picture of us any way.

Ooooh...Awww!

Some 4-wheeler fun!

So sad that the weekend was over and we had to go home :o(

Thanks Jones family for letting us come play! We always have a BLAST and are so thankful we are family! Love ya lots!!!

S&S RAILROAD

This was the coolest place! Jeff's uncle found this place and we got the Mayberry family together to check it out!

I didn't get a good picture of everyone on the trail but there is Maddison, Merlin, Garrett, Dale, Hailee and Jake!

CHOO CHOO!!!

Jake, Hailee and Garrett (ha...this looks like a family photo)

The Mayberry clan eating some Famous Dave...yummy!!

We have loved our summer and can't believe it is almost over!

We are looking forward to....

Visit to Idaho Falls

Klaas, Janiel and baby B

Jake and Hailee wedding!

We'll post more soon!

Last Days in Vegas

Decided I'd better post this...it's only been like 2 1/2 months!

Our friends Jake and Nicole drove down to Vegas to help us move. It was such a blessing and we are so thankful for their help! These are just some pics before the move....

Jeff, Nicole, and Jake went down to Hoover Dam (I stayed at the apartment and packed)
The perfect way to say good-bye to Las Vegas! We were finally able to go to Phantom of the Opera!!! We got a great deal and the seats weren't too bad! I loved the show and would go again in a second :o)

Jake and Nicole before the show started

Some final cleaning before we left!

we made it!

Well we made it back to Utah and are happy to be here. We've had fun playing with friends and family and are so grateful for all of them! Here's what we've been up to since we've been back...

We found this sign in our kitchen the night we got here.

Thanks family for the food and welcoming us home. It was a great surprise!

Paige and Gracie spent a week in Ogden and it was so fun to see them.

I hadn't seen Grace since Christmas...she's so big!

Went to Alex's lacrosse game (such a violent sport!)
It was fun to see him play and just be together as a family!


This is our backyard and I love all the GREEN! It's nice to have a yard and to be living in a house. Jeff's uncles have been so good to us and we owe them big time!
There are also raccoons living in those bushes...yes raccoons. I want to plant a garden but I don't think it's gonna happen with those little guys living back there :o(

And our first Redneck event since we've been back...

DEMO DERBY!

(I'm sure there will be many more to follow!)

These are just a few of the things we have done since we've been back.

Jeff loves not having to go to school or studying every day. He has been studying a little, getting ready to take the NCLEX and then hopefully he'll be able to find a job fairly quick. He's been working with his friend doing some landscaping jobs so he's keeping busy. I've started working back at the pharmacy and I'm loving it!

That's our lives in a nutshell...hope everyone is doing well!

Changes

So an update on our lives....

In May it will be 2 years that we've lived in Nevada. I can't believe how fast time flies and how quickly things can change. Jeff has been working so hard while attending UNLV and has done so well, I am so proud of him and all that he has accomplished! He has been studying like crazy to get ready for finals which he takes the last week of April and then we are headed back to Utah!

It's a bitter sweet thing for us to be moving back. We are so very excited to be back in O-Town and be closer to our family and friends but there are family and friends here that we will miss so very much! Thankfully Vegas isn't too far we can come down and visit every now and then.

We originally had planned on Jeff taking his finals and then leaving mid May but our lease ends the end of April and they wouldn't pro-rate our rent. Rather they'd charge us a full months rent plus $100 fee for renting outside of our contract...lame! So Jeff takes his last final on the 28th and we have to be out of our apartment the 30th. Wish us luck! (I'm already stressing about having to move...I hate moving!) We have some awesome friends who have agreed to come down and help us move and we can't thank them enough, THANKS BURTONS, we owe you big time!

Some other good news...Jeff's little (well younger not little) brother Jake is engaged to this sweet cute girl Hailee and we are so excited for them! Congrats you two, we love ya!!!

That's our life in a nutshell. Thanks for all of the love and support everyone has given to us. We couldn't do it without the help of good friends and family!

Queen Esther

I was in a Young Women's meeting one day and the spiritual thought that was given was on Queen Esther. Since then I have been thinking a lot about this amazing woman and what was asked of her. She was raised by her uncle, married a king and stood up to him to save her people. We don't ever hear the whole story and the details of what happened. But I have to wonder what exactly happened and what did this sweet sister go through? I'm sure she never planned on her life ending up the way it did. Which is why I have been thinking so much about her.



We all do it. We make plans in our minds about how we want things to work out and we go through life trying to make these plans take effect. But we don't know what the Lord has in store for us and what is going to happen. It seems like this has happened over and over again the last little while...things have not gone the way I've planned. I have been reminded that I need to put my trust in the Lord and have faith that things will work out and I know they will; it's just sometimes easier said than done. I'm so thankful for the scriptures and the insight and blessings they bring to my life.

and it begins...

Went to the grocery store today and look what I found...

That's right folks, they're on the shelves ready to tempt me like crazy! I didn't even think twice about buying them.

Mmmm...how I love these little guys