Saturday, August 29, 2009

THE Summer Update

So, life is crazy. :) We apologize to our followers for our serious neglect.

This summer has been absolutely amazing.

Here's a little of what we've been up to:

Grant worked full time over the summer and learned a lot of computery things.

Bri had finally settled on English as her major and is all set to start the new semester on MONDAY!

We made lots of new friends in the ward and had several people to dinner.

Grant did a Vocal Percussion Assembly for a local elementary school.
Both Bri and Grant's families came to visit us in Utah. We had a BIG family reunion in Bear Lake with Bri's mom's family. We visited LOTS of extended relatives who live in Utah (all the way down to St. George and Ceder).
We went camping, swimming, hiking, yogaing, gardening, visited SLC, and did all sorts of summer activities.

Our little garden (at the beginning of the summer)...
Day in Salt Lake...
We snuck away to Vancouver for the first weekend in August. We went with the Zs to visit the traveling Jim Henson exhibit that was in Seattle at the time. Henson was the creator of the Muppets and co creator of Sesame Street. It was a very inspiring trip for Grant, who wants to go into the field of Children's Media.
We played with Bri's family that Sunday and then Grant flew away to do a 2-week tour of Nauvoo with Vocal Point.

Bri spent lots of quality time with both families in Vancouver, which included (but was not limited to) a "beauty day", lots of walks, plenty of chick-flicks (because she missed Granto), a trip to Seaside, Oregon (and The Hat Store), gardening, cooking, the Clark County fair, and having lots of old friends to dinner.
The Hat Store at Seaside is one of Bri's favorite places on earth (seriously)...

Then, on Thursday, August 13th through Sunday, August 16th, Bri, Hannah, and Momsie all flew down to join Grant and Vocal Point in Nauvoo. We saw tons of sites and shows and the experience was a memorable one for all.




This is Bri on the Mississippi thinking about how beautiful America is and how very blessed we are to live here.
Then, we flew back Monday to complete our whirlwind vacation with BYU's Education Week! We had some wonderful experiences at Education Week, some personal and some hysterical. We were very grateful to meet and befriend everyone that we did.

The following week (last Wednesday) was our 1st Wedding Anniversary!! It was so wonderful! We rode a tandem (two-person) bike all around Provo and on the Provo City Trail (we rode a total of about 7 miles). Bri was very scared at first and it took a while to get used to it, but it was the funnest experience ever! People would laugh and laugh at us at intersections. We came up with all kinds of "Marriage Analogies" as well. (Sorry, no pictures)

Now, we're back to normal (well, almost... we've only eaten at our own home 2 days this week), and preparing for school to start on Monday. Bri will also start a new job transcribing at BYU. This is a huge blessing after being unemployed for a couple months.

We're very excited for all the next year will hold. We'll attempt to keep you updated, but of course, school, work, church, each other, and even housework comes before you... not that you aren't important. :) Hope all is well with you!

We love you!!!

10 comments:

Marissa said...

Such a fun post! It was so great to see you at church when you were in town, even if it was only for a few minutes. You seem so happy and giddy with life, it's wonderful to see. :) Good luck with school and the new job. Love the pictures. :) xoxo

TPlayer said...

Oh bummer! I was totally in nauvoo Aug 9-15th! We saw VP with the EFY kids the night before you came, I guess. It was fun to see Grant, as always! He loves telling people I used to babysit him. ha ha! You probably saw our EFY rascals runnign around all week, huh?! Darn! I would have loved to have seen all of you!

Bri... only she said...

Oh shoot! Sorry we missed you! Yeah, we saw some of your rascals... lol. Sounds like you had a great time!

Amber said...

Yay, I found your blog! Since we are moving I have to find some way to keep in touch with you two! I think you will absolutely love being an English major!

Sara Lyn said...

Ooo... Fun summer! What are you transcribing for BYU?

Bri... only she said...

Amber, Oh I'm so excited! :) Congratulations on graduating!! The future holds so much for you and Ben! It's been sooo good to know you both!

Bri... only she said...

Sarah Lyn,

I'm transcribing lectures for students who need it. I'm working within the Accessibility Department. So far, I LOVE it! I'm also taking ASL from my BOSS! LOL. She's a great lady! I love it!!

Dave in the Couv said...

Wow, what a great fun pasked Summer. Bummer to be back in school now after all that fun, but all us adults have to settle down and go back to school/work sometime.

Where is the picture titled "georgeousMountain.jpg" taken? That is quite spectacular.

Bri... only she said...

That is Stuart Falls of the Alpine Loop. We hiked it on our engagement anniversary on June 13th. That's the place where it started thunderstorming really bad on our way back down the mountain and we had to run the whole way back. The drive back was really scary because the roads on the Alpine Loop were flooding and there were mudslides and tree branches strewn across the road. It is one of our favorite memories from the summer. LOL

KayKay :D said...

I loved this! You guys are so adorable :)
This summer was such fun-I am sad to see it end :'( but Christmas is right around the corner and we will have grand times once again YAY!
I LOVE the Alpine summer story btw-so funny.
I'm glad everything is going so well for you two, you deserve it! And don't stress about those history classes, they'll work themselves out ;) just don't miss lectures and study for tests. Those are the only parts that actually matter hahaha
LOVE YOU BOTH!