The Living Planet Aquarium

We have had a lot of opportunities to meet up with old friends in the few weeks that we have been here in Utah. The rest of this week, I am continuing to meet up with old friend but it is always fun to do that while doing something you have never done before.

Hyrum and I meet Christine West up at The Living Planet Aquarium today. I have always thought that the sounds of running fish tanks and watching them swim can be so relaxing.

But my favorite part was not relaxing....it was FUN! There is a "touch pool" there with a few stingrays in it. They swam all around but there was one in particular that was VERY friendly. He acted as if he liked being touched. He would actually come up to us and flip part of his body out of the water to touch us. I seriously wanted this guy for a pet!

I LOVE this picture! Christine was so sweet with Hyrum the whole time, showing him around. I got this picture right after our friendly stingray went up the side of the touch pool and got both of them.

We bought a family membership so I'm excited to bring the other boys later. I can't wait for them to see the otters. They only have 3 otters there......and they are brothers!

Happiness

I have felt so blessed lately. I don't think I could fully express how happy I have been lately. I love living in Utah. I love the apartment we live in. I love our cute older neighbors. I love being home with Hyrum again. I love living close to family and old friends. I have come to realize that when you are happy, it makes it easier to do certain things. It makes it easier to love yourself and so now I find myself exercising and not eating as much. I find joy in cleaning our apartment (as long as I have music :). I really do! I love having a clean apartment. I long for the temple now instead of going there just because I know I should. So many things can change in the way you look at things when happiness is a factor.
This reminds me of something a roommate taught me years ago. She had made a lot of poor moral choices in her teenage years. Her parents had sent her to a church college in hopes of getting her away from other influences. While at Ricks College she learned of repentance and the joy it can bring. Don't get me wrong, I witnessed many tears from this beautiful roommate of mine. It was not an easy task for her but I will never forget one of the many discussions of what she had learned. One day I walked in on her crying. She began to tell me that she remembers her Young Women leaders telling her that doing drugs, having premarital sex.....you know, all the things you shouldn't be doing.....was not fun. This roommate then told me that they were wrong and right. They were wrong because it actually was fun....really fun. But they were right in the fact that there is a difference between fun and joy. Fun is a fleeting thing. Joy can be lasting and there is no guilt in joy. I love her for teaching me that. I love the Lord for letting me know this to be true.

Snowman Potty Training Tips, Anyone?

A few nights ago I was folding clothes when I looked over and saw the most attractive thing: my husband showing Hyrum how to cut out a "Christmas" tree. I love those moments when David has no idea that I am watching him. I truly am so blessed to have such an involved husband in both my life and my childrens. So today he took the kids outside to let them play. Sure enough, it wasn't long before he was playing too!

Their masterpiece: a baby snowman, obviously, seeing as how he has peed all over his self!

Ok, maybe he had a little help from our neighbors dog, Buddy.

I see London, I see France....

I see London, I see France

I see Hyrum's underpants!

3 Brothers and a few wives :)

I'm pretty sure tonight was the first time David and his brothers went on a group date with their wives. We went to a Thai restaurant in Orem. This was David and I first time eating Thai food and it was so yummy! Well, David had a hard time wrapping his mind around all the different textures and tastes but I loved it!

Afterwards we made a stop for hot chocolate at "The Chocolate." Well, there is no way I am going into a shop called "The Chocolate" and only getting something to drink. Their cupcakes are divine!

Helen watched the boys tonight while we had our date. I am so grateful for her love for the boys. Hyrum was so cute when we came to pick them up. He said (pointing to Grandma), "My best friend!" They played wheel barrels tonight and they were on a team together. Apparently that made them best friends. Super cute!

We made it!

We left Oklahoma on New Years Day and made it to our destination on the following Thursday. We could have made it a lot sooner but after the hard few weeks leading up to the move, plus having the funds to do so, we decided to take our time and really enjoy ourselves. I loved watching the differences of cultures in each state we went through (especially New Mexico) and change of scenery (Utah would be my favorite).

Despite my constant threats of throwing Nico over the Rocky Mountains, he did make it safe and sound to Utah.

We stayed in Moab, Utah Wednesday night. The next morning while I slept in David took Brigham and Hyrum on a few dirt roads that lead to these beautiful pictures.

I wasn't there but I love this picture of Brigham being a big boy and climbing the rocks all by himself. To the left of the picture is a frozen stream that they walked over.

Often people will makes comments about the trip and sound as if I should be a wreck but honestly, leading up to the move was so stressful that the trip out here was really a vacation for me. I enjoyed it very much.

Before I left, I was able to spend time with old friends. April and Spring got a small group together for me for a farewell lunch (they know I don't do well with large crowds), ward family stopped by to say their goodbyes, neighbors came over to help and the list goes on. I was very blessed. But my favorite had to be with this girl....

This is Laura Ogden Snow. She was my best friend from 4th grade till our senior year in high school. Sure we had our typical friend fights but through it all we always found our way back to each other. I could always be my very silliest around her. I still can't believe that for as close as we were, that this picture captured the first time we saw each other in 15 years! We haven't seen each other since we graduated from high school! Soon after high school she moved to California and I was always gone for college or living in some other state when she would come home to visit family.

When she came to our house in Grove, just before we moved, I couldn't stop hugging her. I took her back to my room so we could just talk and honestly I just wanted her all to myself. I hadn't realized just how much I missed her until that moment she walked through that door.

Go figure, she and her family are moving back to Oklahoma this coming summer but that is ok. I am just so grateful I got to be young again as I talked with her that day. I will always love you, Laura!

Loading up and heading out West!

I wish I could say that the process in getting us out to Utah was easy but I can say that it ended with an amazing amount of love felt in so many directions. All the tears and worries of actually getting everything packed up, cleaned, and goodbyes turned out to be in vain as everything happened on time as it should be.

This picture was taken a few days before we left. April came over with Dad and her nieces and nephew to help us pack. The Whitney family may be blood related to April's family but there have been on more than one occasion as my boys have called the Whitney children THEIR cousins. So, it was so sweet that they helped us move......and wrote us messages on our boxes!

This morning started off shaky as I became more and more overwhelmed with wondering if I would actually get everything cleaned up and ready. My father came over early to help us, before everyone else got there, and I knew immediately that I would need a father's blessing. My father has faith in me and loves me so much. I honestly have a hard time understanding how our Father in Heaven could love me more. So, I am so very grateful that Heavenly Father placed me in the family that He did to show me how much He truly does love all His children.

Strong men and children got the work done!

I love how children just want to help. They loved helping us move everything and even cleaned walls afterwards.

Grape time.....I mean, break time!

Oh Cheyanne, how I love you! I served in the Young Women while in the Grove Ward and I can honestly tell you something about each of the girls that I love so much (and that is including the leaders!). I love that Cheyanne has such a playful spirit. she is always "picking" on me and today was no different. She wrote on my face with PERMANENT marker! And I was fool enough to take a picture with her after she had already marked me. I thought we were just "showing" in the picture what she had done to me previously but NO! She actually wrote on me again! It is a good thing that I don't care about how I look because I really thought it was such a fun way to say goodbye to my stinker of a friend!

Our strong men!

I am seriously so grateful for the church and its teachings of service. These men really stepped up to get this truck loaded up quickly.

And 2 beautiful pictures to end on. I can remember when Uncle Chuck would do anything to not be in our pictures. What a handsome man.

And I you.........