Girls Camp

This was my first year going to girls camp since I went myself as a teenager and now I have some great memories!

This is where we went to girls camp this year. It was beautiful!

This was the first year they've ever done tents.

Funny, they wait for my first year to do that :)

This is the pond that the girls swam and canoed in.

This is our camp flag with our standard of truth.

This is the cute baby owl we saw while we were hiking.

These are our girls at the peak of our hike.
This is me eating an apple. Not my best picture, but one of the girls insisted on it.

We all had gold glitter nails that went along with our value virtue.

*pics taken 7/6/10-7/8/10

Temple Square Aug 2007

I was just going through some old pictures and found these. They were taken Aug. 15, 2007.

I don't know if you can see Ethan, but as you can tell, he loves group pictures--NOT!!

I can't believe how much the girls have grown since this picture!

It's a good thing she didn't fall in going over there by herself!

This time Daddy held on so we didn't have to worry about her falling in head first!

Just a picture I took. I think it's beautiful!

MHR - You and God

This week Katy Lin's Prompt/Theme for Friday, February 27, 2009 is Free Form! No prompt this week! Share anything you'd like the world to know about your rocking awesome hubby! :)

(picture taken March 2008 after church)

This is part of what Katy Lin shared yesterday on her blog. "What if your relationship isn't as much about you and your spouse as it is about you and God?" (God's Design for Marriage by Carol Heffernan)

From the very beginning we both wanted a spouse who believed in God and who practiced what they believed. God is a very big part of our lives and our marriage and we wouldn't have it any other way. I have a rockin husband because he has a strong testimony and relationship with his Savior. Matthew has shown me that our relationship only gets better when we grow closer individually to God. My husband is my rock and my example and I love him for it!

My husband rocks! How about yours? See more about this group, click here.

Quote of The Day

It is my purpose to show that in troubled times the Lord has always prepared a safe way ahead. We live in those “perilous times” which the Apostle Paul prophesied would come in the last days.1 If we are to be safe individually, as families, and secure as a church, it will be through “obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.”2 (Boyd K. Packer, “The Test,” Ensign, Nov 2008, 88–91)

Rexburg Temple Dedication

This was such a wonderful weekend! Yesterday we went to a temple sealing in the Salt Lake City Temple for Matthew's sister and today we went to the Rexburg Temple for a temple dedication. Thanks to our bishop, we were fortunate to be able to be in the temple for the dedication. And thanks to Kenzie for watching our kids, Matthew and I were able to go together. It was such a great spiritual experience and both Matthew and I felt such an overwhelming presence there that we will never forget. What a beautiful day and what a beautiful temple. We are so blessed to have it in our city. It truly is the house of the Lord!

Our Beloved Prophet

We just found out moments ago that our beloved prophet passed away tonight. For those of you who don't know, he was the president of our church. He was an amazing man and we will miss him dearly. He always had such a great sense of humor and we always enjoyed listening to him speak. What a loving man he was. I'm sure that he is happy again to see his beloved wife.

"What a wonderful and grand opportunity opportunity that is for all of us to be able to sustain our living prophet upon the earth today—but not just to sit there and raise your hand in a haphazard way, but to feel it in your heart and soul that you not only sustain him but you endorse what he has been doing and what he has done for us in representing us to the world. We are thankful for the marvelous and inspired way in which he has communicated and spoken to the world,..." David B. Haight, “Faith of Our Prophets,” Liahona, Jan 2002, 24–27

We are so grateful that he is a prophet of God and that he touched our lives with his great example. He will be missed by many.

Rexburg Temple Open House Volunteers

Matthew and I were able to volunteer at the Rexburg Temple Open house yesterday. We had a 5 1/2 hour shift and it was a lot of fun. Jokingly Matthew was called one of the "frozen chosen" ones because he volunteered to work in the parking lot for that long. He got to direct traffic for parking and boy was it cold!!! He knew he was going to be out there for a long time, so he was prepared with the long johns, beanie and warm gloves. He still used hand warmers under his gloves to help keep him warmer. It was in the 20's just to give you an idea of how warm it was. I was lucky because I was indoors the entire time. I was able to help usher on the third floor, which is the floor with the sealing rooms. During my shift I was able to view all the sealing rooms and the children's nursery. The sealing rooms are so beautiful and they have gorgeous chandeliers. If you are unfamiliar with the temple, these are the rooms where families can be sealed for all eternity. When my shift was over I got to go down to the first level and view the beautiful brides room. It was such a wonderful experience for both of us to be able to help at the temple. This was a "once in a lifetime" opportunity for us and we were so blessed to get to participate. It was a long 5 1/2 hours and we were grateful to come home and relax afterwards, but it was such a special experience that we were glad to be able to have done it.

Rexburg Temple Open House

On Tuesday, Jan. 8th we were so excited to have gone to the Rexburg Temple Open House as a family. A few days before we moved here in Aug. 2005 they broke ground for a new temple here in Rexburg and our family has watched the temple being built since then. Our kids were so excited to have the chance to finally go in the temple. Ethan, like his Dad, just loves temples and knows many of them by picture. He was so happy for this occasion. It was a cold and snowy day when we went, so we were all bundled up for the occasion. Once inside it was nice and toasty and we got to climb the stairs to each floor, so by the end of the tour I was loaded down with five jackets and Matthew was carrying the baby. We must have been quite the sight. It was a fun occasion and we realize just how blessed we are as many people don't get this once in a lifetime opportunity. It was really special for me when we went into the sealing room as a family. Before we went in I told Kalin it was the room where you get married and she was so excited. I can't wait for the day that we get to attend our children's marriages in the temple. What a great day that will be for each of them.

This is the picture of the temple brochure that you get at the beginning of the tour. If you would like to see more pictures of the inside of the temple please visit the following site http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/new-temple-reflects-biblical-parallels

There are some beautiful photos on that site of the interior of the temple.

This is one of the napkins that we got after the tour when we had punch and cookies at the church next door. Isn't it pretty? We just had to share.