Doug and Kids

Doug has gone back to school at BYU in the doctoratal program for Clinical Child Psychology. It is 5 years of schooling, so I keep asking him, "Are you sure you want to do this?" He says he does...so I hope he's right.

He amazes me because he LOVES kids so much. He loves to just be funny with them and make then laugh. Here is a tribute to my husband, who is still a child at heart. I think he would rather hang out with kids than me sometimes. So, I have something to look forward to when we have kids: being alone.







Doug was on this slip n' slide for hours and the kids were lining up for their turn with Uncle Doug.

Engagement Photos

So, I looked at my sister Tiffany's blog and she had taken some fun engagement type photos with her husband, Tyler. I thought it would be fun and being that my photo master brother-in-law, Chris was there...I said, "Let's do it!"

Doug and I get practice at dipping when we go country dancing...he's a great dancer.

If you look closely, Doug is wincing in pain at holding me--I kept saying, "what are you saying..." Notice that this angel Moroni has his back toward us--it's the first time I'd seen that angle.

Look at that face...I love that face. He's so adorable.

We spent most of our time laughing...it was great.

We Love Lake Tahoe...are we hippies?

We visited my sister, Sarah and her husband Chris in Reno, Nevada on the way to California. I was waiting on photos from Chris to post because Chris is the camera master and takesexcellent photos...so we didn't take very many. We had a blast with them and their kids--Caleb, Ellie, and Levi. We played hard at Lake Tahoe and Doug and I decided we could live there. It's hippie land...so we think we're hippies now.

It's funny--Chris and Sarah were "warming up" to the idea of living in Reno and we were ready to pack up and move (that is, if Doug wasn't starting school in a week...) Here are a few photos from our excursions with the Kellers.

My adorable husband playing with Caleb.

Ellie--not wanting to get in the very cold water...it was crystal clear though.

Look at this face--seriously...it doesn't get much better than that. I showed Caleb and his sister, Ellie a man who had caught some very small fish to use as bait and Caleb was reaching the bucket and touching them saying how cool it was and Ellie was screaming, "Caleb, no!" It
was great!

I offered to get buried in the sand (mostly so my Caleb and Ellie would plasy with me) and I didn't realize how sandy you get when this happens! We stopped at Costco on the way home and I moved my swimming suit and sandy fell out on the floor in the PILE! Yes, a pile of sand on the Costco floor. I quickly moved away from the spot so no one would notice it was me.

Walnut Creek

Doug's brother Jeff was married in Alamo and we stayed in the Walnut Creek Marriott. I realized we would be minutes from a house I lived in when I was age 6 to age 9. I looked it up and got directions and saw that it was 2 miles from our hotel! So, we pulled up and I gasped when I saw it. Amazing how wood and brick can store memories...

So, after taking a few photos, the garage door opened and out walked the owner. His name was David and he was from Israel. He bought the house from my parents in 1990. He was a really kind man and offered to take me on a tour. I was really excited for Doug to see where I used to live and to be able to visualize all the stories I told him with a house!
Here we had Family Home Evening and Christmas morning I believe. (My sisters can correct me if I am wrong.)
Here we roller skated for HOURS! Sarah and Michelle would perform for all of us, dancing on their skates. We all thought we were so good. This deck seemed tiny to me. I remember it being huge! David said he hasn't changed it and they spend very little time outside. Boy, are they missing out!
This was my old bedroom. I told David that I rememered it being huge. He wasn't very happy with my comment and quickly chimed in that it was quite large for the area. haha.

Ode to the Beach

What is it about a beach that leaves me speachless and gigling? If I am close to a beach at any time, I have to go and put my feet in the sane and let the waves wash over my feet.

I like to watch my feet sinking in the sand...and stare out into the great beyond wondering if there is someone on the other side of the ocean doing the same thing.

I love the feeling of the sand between my toes and the sound of the waves crashing. They are so powerful with an awe inspiring strength.

I feel the need to see how close I can let the water get to touching my feet before running as fast as I can to get away from it...and feel like I have won when it doesn't catch me.

This is the beach we chose to my be regular Mecca this year. Isn't it beautiful? We drove along the coast up to San Fransisco from Big Basin Redwood State Park. It was only a 10 minute stop, but a highlight of our trip for me.

California Dreamin'

Well, Doug and I had our 2007 Family Vacation--yup, that's me and Doug on a vacation. Doug's brother, Jeff was married in California August 25th and we decided to make a fun week of it! We camped with Doug's sister Natalie and her husband, Dave and their kids--Amanda, Maren, and Spencer. Here, we are by Big Basin Redwood State Park in a Wildlife Reserve. There is a GIGANTIC male elephant seal on the beach behind us. It's a face only a mother could love...

The redwoods are amazing-so tall and beautiful. It made me feel so small and insignificant. These kids were the cutest. They were brave. It was a 3 mile hike or so out and back to see these seals.

Australian Memories

One of my favorite families from my mission in Sydney, Australia was the Torrens family. When I first came to Nowra, I met Sister Torrens. Her family didn't come to church. She came as often as she could. It was a long trip from Kangaroo Valley to Nowra to go to church. We started going out to the breath-taking Valley regularly. Sis. Torrens would make us dinner and we would share a message with her family. Bro. Kevin Torrens soon became one of my favorite people to teach. He asked passionate questions and wanted to understand why he should take time away from work to go to church on Sunday. We promised them blessings and that the Lord was mindful of them and his concerns. They took a leap of faith and he, Sis. Torrens, Josh, and Adam came to church.

Well, a few months ago I received an email from Josh. Attached was his mission call. He is about 24 and chose to serve a mission. I picked him up from their airport and took him to Temple Square. We took a few photos in the Conference Center. My brother, Matt came with me so I wouldn't be alone with him (missionary rules) and one of my former companions from Nowra works across from temple square and met us for a little bit. It was great to talk with him and catch up.