Hot Date Night

It's 4:45 am. Josh and I have been working in his biology lab all night. He's been here since 9:15pm and I joined him around 10:30pm. The boy is finishing up a term paper that will be published in a scientific journal next year. It's titled Ontogenetic Shifts in Age in Utah Brown Trout (Salmo trutta) in Fall Months. He's a genius.

I've been working on some math homework and a peer review for a term paper and then a Christmas wish list....And I can't believe we're still here. The lab is three floors down from the main floor in the Widtsoe building so we have no idea what the early hours look like outside. It's probably still dark, which means it would still feel like 5pm or something. And we've loaded up on chocolate and Coca-Cola (and Lunchables and Hot Pockets) so we're probably still good to go for another hour.

Best date night ever.

Catching Up

We did a bunch of fun things this summer. Here are some of the favorites:
Payson Scottish Festival--twice. Once with Tim, Aubrey, and Maya Chavez where we wandered around and ate "authentic" fish 'n' chips. And once with Jill and Grant Ensign where we watched the competitions. Grant was playing with the Salt Lake Scots. Josh was just really happy to be able to wear his own kilt. He's so manly.



























Sheepdog Competition at Soldier Hollow We were able to see the splash dog competition, duck herding, and the main sheep herding competition. And then Grant Ensign's Salt Lake Scots group came trooping down the hillside at the end of the day.









































Ammon, Idaho
We went up with Whitney and Stetson Robinson for a family, um, "get together" at the Grandparent's house. All of my aunts and uncles were there and a handful of younger cousins as we gathered around Grandpa, expecting him to kick the bucket. But he didn't. We're happy he's still around to make us laugh.
This hamburger joint was a pleasant surprise on our drive back home. It was the most enjoyable Idaho road trip ever.

Alisa Izu Lujan
Izu was my trainer on the mission and my most, most favorite companion out of all thirteen. She was in Provo for a family reunion and made time for a visit with us. She brought along her sweet babies, Peyton and Cephas. We walked around a park trail and tried to catch up as quickly as we could. It was one of the happiest 36 minutes of my life! Love her!

Intramural Softball Josh had several softball games this summer. It was fun to sit in the grass and watch his little booty...I mean, his athleticism.


























Mountain Biking in Midway
The summer was gorgeous in Midway. We love visiting that valley.

























Rexburg, Idaho
My friend Jessie Nielsen and I made a spontaneous trip up to our campus to work out academic questions with our counselors. It was so wonderful to be up there and to soak in the Spirit of Ricks and drive around all of our favorite places. We didn't recognize much with all the massive amounts of construction they were doing on campus but we were still very happy to be there. And very thankful that Craigo's was still there. Oh glorious monster cookie...

The Great Road Trip: Destination Provo

After another brief stop at the luxurious Hotel Simpson where we cat-napped and brushed our teeth, we took a straight shot to Provo. It had been an exhausting road trip. Even with a two hour driving shift (except for Tim who didn't get much of a shift change) and plenty of time to nap or read, we were all spent.

But it was beautiful scenery all the way home.

Oh yeah, we were filling up on gas when the pump didn't shut off and spilled all around Tim's car. It was bad...but cool! I didn't know that gas would come gushing out like it did!

The Great Road Trip: Winter Quarters

30 July 2009
On our trek back West we stopped at Winter Quarters. This was our first time visiting there and I think we were both surprised by its overwhelming peacefulness. We wandered around the Visitors Center and tried our hand at pushing our own handcart around. Then we went across the street to the cemetery. It was really special to see the people who had been buried there. It helped us both to recognize the sacrifice they had made to help us have what we have today: Restored truths that are being spread around the world. Their courage and faith to follow the Prophet's direction, as commanded by the Lord, is humbling.

Complimenting the reverence of the cemetery was the Winter Quarters temple just on the other side of the gate. I think it's special to have the House of the Lord next to such a reverent plot of land. It's a miracle to have a holy temple built where so many people ended up sacrificing their lives. This was a very neat place to visit.

The Great Road Trip: Chicago

29 July 2009--The first thing we saw coming out of the parking garage: the Willis Tower, formally the Sears Tower.
At the Cubs game. This is where we paid $30 to stand for 3 hours. "Thank you, Illinois! The Land of Lincoln!"

Josh dropped his watch and it took three crew members to give us permission to go beyond the gate (Josh got far, didn't he) and get the watch back. With his ingenuity, he was able to retrieve his watch.
The boys that played outside the stadium the entire game.
It was a successful day at the ball park. I had my first hot dog at a baseball game, the Cubs kicked some Astros, and we learned the Cubs' post-game anthem "Go Cubs Go!"







Looking back at Navy Pier from the Riverfront walk.

A nice little garden we found on our way to dinner.
True Chicago pizza.
Don't be fooled. These are actually starving faces.