Matt and Tylon's Graduations!

Back to back! Matt's was Wednesday night and Tylon's was Thursday night.

I can't believe our little brothers are all grown up and graduated from High School. It's so weird that their adults now, and will both be headed off on missions within a years time! CRAZY! Anyway, we love you both and are so proud of you!

























Matt's...



Tylon's...

The Prophet Shook my hand!

Today was the Dedication of the Gila Valley Temple. My parents were in the Celestial Room for the 9:00 session and said it was wonderful. My brother and sisters and I and our spouses all got to be in the Instruction Room for the 3:00 session and it was amazing! It was so crazy to think that the Prophet of the Lord was in the next room. It was all so wonderful but one of my favorite parts was when Sister Holland got up to speak and told a story about her family.

She said that her parents were called as Temple workers when she was about 12 years old. It was quite a drive from where they lived so she had to get out of school early to babysit her three younger brothers on the days they had to go. She said she complained to her mother once, that she had to babysit so often while her friends were playing. Her mother told her that when they were set apart as Temple workers that they had received a blessing that their family would always be watched over while they were serving, even that angels would be round about them to protect them. One day, she said, she was bored so she took her brothers for a walk to visit their grandparents. When they arrived her grandmother was just backing out of the drive way and her two year old brother slipped out of her grasp. She said she watched in horror as her grandmother backed over her brothers head. She said she screamed but the scream only frightened her grandmother who then went forward in fear, running over his head again. She said she knew her brother was dead. Her grandfather scooped him up and he and her grandmother drove him to the nearest hospital. She said she was so afraid and heartbroken because she would have to tell her parents. A few hours later she received a call saying that her little brother was alright. He had a great deal of stitches but there was so cranial damage. She said she knew then that the promises made to her family were coming to pass and that angels were truly watching over them. She said that was when she gained her testimony of temples. I just thought that was such an amazing story!

Like I said it was all very wonderful. After the Dedication we stood outside behind a rope waiting for the Prophet, his daughter, President Eyring, and Elder Holland and their wives to come out. They soon came and chatted with people in line as they slowly made their way toward the waiting cars. President Monsen wasn't really shaking hands, he was just waving and walking close by the rope. When he got close to me I said, "President Monsen, can you flare your nostrils?" Then I demonstrated what I meant. He and his daughter, President Eyring and his wife all giggled at me. President Monsen tried to flare his nostrils but ended up wiggling his ears. I said, "I can't wiggle my ears, I can only flare my nostrils." He then extended his hand and walked towards me smiling. He said, (as he shook my hand) "Well God gave some of us ears, and some of us nostrils."
People, the Prophet looked into my eyes and shook my hand! I can't even explain how surreal it was! Then he shook Randon's hand and went on down the line. We were both so excited! Pretty much all of my brothers and sisters shook his hand, too. Then Dena was kind of whispering to herself as Elder Holland walked by, "He's my favorite." So Leslie blurts out, "Elder Holland, you're her favorite!" He smiled and said, "Well then she's my favorite too!" and came over to shake Dena's hand. It was such a sweet experience. I was able to tell his wife how much I enjoyed her words. And then they were gone. It seems like a dream now. On the way to the car Randon said, "I just keep thinking, 'did I really shake his hand?'". Yeah....he did.

I didn't bring my camera because I'm an idiot! So I asked a stranger in the line who had a camera if she would email me the pictures she took! So these are them. But this is literally how close I was.

California here we come....

Dena and Jacob and Randon and I went to California this last week for a little vacation and adventure! We left at like 6:30 in the morning on Monday. Jacob drove the whole way which was really nice! So here's the vaca...Randon and I took pictures like this to make fun of people who take pictures like this...you know, pokey lips and a peace sign. Silly.

Day One: We drove half the day, checked into our Hotel, and went to Seaport Village. It was super pretty and had lots of cool shops and things. We bought matching San Diego shirts (totally touristy right?).

This man could stacks rocks like crazy! He had a tip jar and said, "Pay me for my hard work".This pictures cracks me up, Dena was trying to scare the pigeon, so she was stomping across the bridge!

Day Two: We went to the Temple. I was a little dissapointed to see that there had been lots of rain, causing leaks at the Temple, so there was tons of scaffolding around the Temple with men fixing the leaks. So no pretty pictures. But it was so beautiful on the inside. The Celestial room literally made me gasp. It was so amazing!

Then we went Gaslamp quarter, which was basically just an extension of Seaport Village. Just more shops and a cool downtown area.
We found a Ghirardelli Chocolate shop and bought some Candy Bars. I saw this Theatre that was playing Pump Boys and Dinettes, which is a show I was in my second year at EAC! So near and dear to my heart I had to take a picture!

Then we drove over this Ginormous bridge to Coronado Beach.

It was so beautiful! I love the beach! We didn't swim, just walked around picking up shells and enj0ying the beauty! Afterwards we ate at this great little seafood place on the water called Anthony's Fish Grotto. It was SO good. We sat by the window overlooking the ocean (even though you can't really tell in this picture).

Jacob order shark and we all tasted it. It has a fishy texture but tasted like chicken to me. I also tasted my first lobster tail, that Randon ordered. Eh, it was okay.
Then we headed over to La Jolla Cove. The sunset was so beautiful. There were these really cool caves that we went through to stand near the ocean. It was really fun.



Day 3: We headed to Little Italy. (This is us wearing the matching shirts! HA HA!)
This is a pretty painting we saw on one of the walls in Little Italy. While there, we got some cool art supplies at a little place called Blicks. We saw this great photography shop run by the cutest old lady. Then we ate at this great place called Buon Appetito. Delicious Italian food! Afterwards, we headed to the beach for some serious boogy boarding!
After a few tries on the board, Randon was done and he and Dena sat in the sand while Jacob and I played in the water.
Dena went to get something from the car and locked the keys in the trunk, poor thing. She had to call a locksmith. After we had been there about three hours, Jacob shouts to me over the waves, "I think I cut my foot on something!" I'm like, "Maybe you stepped on a rock or a shell!" He's like, "I don't know but it really hurts!" So we start walking to shore and I'm trying to shout to Dena what's going on. Just then a lifeguard drives by in his Jeep so I wave him down. I asked if he had a first aid kit because my brother got cut by something. He asks to see it so Jacob shows him (and by now it's SUPER bloody) and he's like, "Oh yeah, that's a sting ray sting."

Bummer! So they took him in the jeep over to their station and had him soak his foot in super hot water for about an hour to draw out the venom. When we got back to the hotel we all sat in the jacuzzi so he could have some more time in the hot water. We were all so tired after that, that we stayed in the hotel and watched Overboard.
The day we left, we did have one little mishap, Randon ran into a pillar in the parking garage at the hotel. Not too much damage, however.
It was a really fun trip! On the way home Dena said (quoting Hook), "That was a great game."