Mary and Luke Alley

Christmas Vacation!

2012-01-01T20:57:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas vacation with Mary's family this year. We went to beautiful eastern Oregon and stayed with Mary's sister Sarah and family. Mary was able to go out a few days before me to get some more time with her family. I took so many that I think they can do the talking better than I can...

Christmas Morning

Sexy and Pregnant!

"Dick Cheney" taking aim. :-)

Playing Wii Tennis

Bro and Sis on Christmas Morning!

Christmas Dinner
Lounging around on Christmas MorningThe Kerns FamilyMaximusThe Boys and their 21 Birds(undoubtedly the best pic of vacation)

While we went hunting Dave and Danny had a soda drinking contest. Can you gu

And for those of you who have several minutes to spare, you can watch most of the Nativity(I couldn't publish the whole thing because it was too long).

Max is officially walking- or should i say falling!!

2011-07-19T16:17:00.000-07:00

Max started taking is first steps a couple of weeks ago but it wasn't until the past few days that he has really been taking off around the house. He also has had some of his worst falls but I love watching him and seeing his determination to get right back up in good spirits.

2011-07-05T16:06:00.000-07:00

Max has officially turned the big 1! We celebrated with some of our neighbors and had a little pool party. The pool barely fit all three kids that were trying to stay alive inside. I let the water sit in the sun all morning so it would be warm enough to play in. But wouldn't you know, the first five minutes max was in there he threw up! Just a handful of milk curds were floating around as everyone got to the party and jumped in the water with him. But we didn't want to empty it out because it was going to be so cold if we re-filled it. So they all enjoyed a little bit of milky looking water for about an hour. Then chips and Twizzlers started making their own collection inside so we called it a quits.

For his birthday cake we let him dig into some chocolate pudding topped cake. He was a mess and we all loved it. We even let him rinse off in the yucky pool water before we dumped it.

Max got a a couple cards and some nice gifts that he has been playing with since we opened them. He got some new clothes as well with the gift money he received so thank you so much for thinking of him. I will post some pics of the b-day when I get them from luke.

Max's first few steps

2011-07-05T16:01:00.000-07:00

Max has been so fun these past few weeks. He wants to be all over the place all the time. He definately wants to do want HE wants to do and lets me know. But at the same time he is really easy going and such a sport when I have to drag him around for work or running errands around town. His latest thrill is walking. He wants to walk all the time but is still learning how to do it. As evidence below.

Enemy #1-Grass

2011-05-03T15:32:00.000-07:00

Max enjoys most things and is willing to try a lot of things. The other day he finally crawled through the grass because he had been sitting by himself for 10 minutes while i was weeding. He crawled as fast as he could till he finally reached the safety of mommy's lap. But even though he ventured to me, he still spends most of his first moments on the grass very uncomfortable, as depicted in this video.

Many faces and talents of max

2011-05-03T15:18:00.000-07:00

We finally had our first good day to take max outside and we spent it swinging. He loved it.

THe following video is max's first word besides momma and dada. You might not catch it but he sas "tood" which is max for food. He says it almost habitually when he eats rather then intentionally asking for food but it is still so cute.

Happy Birthday Broturkey

2011-03-28T21:59:00.000-07:00

Dear John(Broturkey),

It’s been a while since I’ve talked with you or filled you in on life. I figured this would be a good birthday present. I know this is coming a little late on your birthday but you’re used to that, we’re both usually late wishing a happy birthday or remembering to give a call back.

Since we last talked I got married to a sweet girl named Mary. I told you about her once when we were dating but things got more serious after that. She’s about 6 inches shorter than me, has big pretty eyes, has hair that is the color of Julie’s, and best of all she laughs at all my jokes(usually). Remember that time when I asked you if you liked Emily because she reminded you of Julie? I guess I was thinking about the hair color and thought you might have thought the same thing about Emily. Our wives seem to have a lot of great attributes in common with our sista.

In June Mary and I had a beautiful boy named Max Arthur Alley. The name Max was suggested by Kariesa because Grandpa Alley had a brother named Max. Kariesa said, “Couldn’t you hear your boy playing a sport and the crowd chanting, Max! Max! Max!”? That sold me. Maybe he’ll be a wrestler like us? As you may have guessed Arthur is for Uncle Art who has been great to us and has found a special place into Mary’s heart. He has light blond hair and smiles a lot. He laughs at my jokes too! It’s neat seeing him and Johnny grow up. They are partial replicas of you and me!

You’ll be happy to know I graduated from college. I don’t know if I thanked you for the call when you told me about staying busy in college. You said that you did better in school when you had a lot of things going on. Well I did that and it landed me a job with a company called Get Found First where I do internet marketing.

I miss ya bro. I don’t really tell you that enough but I think it a lot. I miss skiing with you. I miss playing tennis with you. I miss playing Settlers with you. I miss hanging out with you, Julie, and Anna. I miss your ideas for fun things to do over the holidays. I miss talking about Ohio State football with you. It’s funny how we both ended up loving that team because of Dad. It was fun watching and talking sports with you.

I remember the last time we hung out over Christmas. Do you remember when I beat you in Settlers and Rummikub? You don’t? You wouldn’t. :) I remember we went skiing for the last time in a while at Snow Basin. I remember you invited me to go build snowmen with Emily’s family down near Bountiful. It was about an hour away and I decided not to go. That seemed far for me to drive then. It doesn’t seem far for me to drive now to be with ya.

I wish I could hear your advice on life right now. You were always really good with finances. I want to be good with my finances too. You seemed to know the right career choices to make also. I wonder what you would tell me right now.

I hope you know we’re all doing pretty well over here right now. We miss ya but we all know we will see you soon. I’m sure you’re keeping busy over there. I know you were a faithful Elder here which means you’re continuing The Work over there. If you get a minute take some time to say hello.

Love ya bro. Happy 29th Birthday.

-Luke(Broham… I can’t remember why you started calling me that, but I always liked it.)

Dad and Son

2011-02-13T21:05:00.000-08:00

Mary is much better at writing on here than I am, but it's probably my turn to post something. We've had a lot of changes in the last two months and things are finally starting to settle down. I graduated from BYU-Idaho with a degree in Business Management and an emphasis in Internet Marketing. I am now working full time with a company here in Rexburg called Get Found First, you can see our website at www.getfoundfirst.com. We do internet marketing, including website design, search engine optimization, pay per click marketing, and Google maps. Know of anyone with a business that wants an online presence? Let me know! I enjoy what I'm doing and it has allowed us to stay here in Rexburg and keep a full-time management position at a girls apartment complex. Managing the apartment complex has been a huge blessing since Mary has been able to stay at home with Max and just head downstairs to the office. We didn't expect to be here in Rexburg after graduating, but we'll take what life gives us!

There have been lots of changes these last 2 months but the funnest changes are happening with little Max. He is my little stud! I think about him often at work and look forward to getting home to him and my wifey at night. Usually Mary has him in his high chair when I get home and as soon as I get in the door I start saying, "Where's Max?" and come up behind him while his little head looks to the left or right to see me until I pop out and smother him in kisses. He is just a ball of joy(when he is happy and rested and full and with a clean diaper). Here is a video of Max and I playing the other day! Life is wonderful!

Max's Lullaby

2010-11-09T13:18:00.000-08:00

I know we post a lot of videos of Max and he hasn't grown that much but he brings us so much joy and we wish we lived closer so that we could share him with our family but this is as close as it gets right now. Max has a daily and nightly routine of making noises to put himself to sleep. He is a pretty happy sleeper and I can lay him down with a blanket in his crib and he creates his own little jibber jabber lullaby's to put him to sleep. He was pretty relaxed in this video after a bath and being fed so I guess he started singing his lullaby for mom and dad. Enjoy

Big Boy!!

2010-11-03T09:37:00.000-07:00

Max is developing and growing so fast. He is using his hands a lot more. He can hold things, shove things in his mouth, pull toys off his mobile when they are hanging in front of him and even knock bottles out of my hand to make a big mess when I am trying to fill them with formula for him. Whenever we get close to him he can't help but grab our faces and noses. This video was taken last night. I had never seen him notice his hand like that and couldn't help but take a video of it. This picture is just a snap shot of how strong max is getting to be able to hold up his own bottle. We love our little boy!!

2010-11-03T09:34:00.000-07:00

Tami was kind enough to take some baby pictures of Max. She did so well, I feel so lucky to have these pictures of max forever. These are my favorite 3 of the many she took. It was so much fun to watch her take pictures of him.

Conference Weekend

2010-11-03T09:17:00.000-07:00

We visited home for general conference and had a blast hanging out with the family. Max is a lot more interactive now and will laugh and play with us. Grandma got a lot of laughs out of him. We also went out to the park for a little bit. Max had too much fun and didn't make it home befor he fell asleep. He was sooo tired.

Max Greets Dad at home From Work

2010-10-23T08:57:00.000-07:00

Max is so much fun for us. He get so excited about the littlest things and I can't get enough of his little laugh. He will be 4 months next friday, time has flown by so fast. IM trying to soak up every minute I can cause I don't want him to grow up yet.

Liz's Marathon-September 18th 2010

2010-09-19T12:52:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Liz!!! We love you and are so proud of you.

Max's Blessing

2010-09-19T12:41:00.000-07:00

It was such a blessing for us to have been supported by so many family members and friends. Luke and I felt so lucky to have such a selfless family that would support us even for such a short time. Thank you everyone for driving as far as you did and giving up your time to visit us and support max. We love you all so much.

2 going on ...Eternity

2010-08-29T20:09:00.000-07:00

We feel like we have been married a long time compared to the couples that live near us who have only been married a few weeks, but after reflecting on the past two years and realizing we still have an eternity, we were very humbled this weekend. We had a very fun and relaxing anniversary. We decided we would just spend the whole weekend together. We went on a long walk, ate lots of yummy food, went to Bar J Chuckwagon in Jackson Wyoming and had a yummy roast dinner and homemade blueberry pie, made by yours truly.
It has been a great ride for the past two years. Luke and I were reminiscing about the first few months and how we were so shocked by the little disagreements we would have and how we were wondering what we had gotten ourselves into. We both couldn't help but look at each other and appreciate the sacrifices that the other has made and that we stuck through the think and the thin.
We love being married and are so grateful we have so many good examples of strong marriages in our family to learn from and look forward to the future.

Chapter 2: Charish the little moments

2010-08-19T16:29:00.000-07:00

Max has taught me so much in just two short months. Yup, he will be 8 weeks on tuesday. I wrote in my journal for the first time since i have had him. I reflected on how at first I tried to fit max into my life and how I quickly realized it was a priveledge to be a part of his life. Even though life has changed for the better,I have started to see the same things differently. I don't have time to long for things in the future when ever hour I am thinking about how to make max happy.

I have spent a lot of time wondering about the greener grass on the other side but thanks to max, I am starting to learn how to appreciat right here and now before it passes me by. Last night all I was thinking about at first when max got up was how long it would take to put him back to sleep. In the middle of nursing him, in the dark he just pulled away from me, looked up at me and paused, then smiled and started cooing at me. My heart melted and I just talked to him for a few minutes and we both smiled and stared at each other. I won't get that exact moment again and I'm glad I had it. Here is another moment I am glad I have on tape so I can enjoy it over and over again.

Happy Anniversary Grandpa and Grandma

2010-08-15T16:20:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Grandma Remington

2010-08-10T18:49:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Grandma Remington, We love you!

Chapter 1:Adventures with Max

2010-07-14T10:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Started out as a promising day. I had to go back to the office and work and Max was there to keep me company. He was able to sleep almost the whole work day and everyone that came into the office just adored him and told me how cute he is. I thought that working and taking care of a baby is a piece of cake... lets just say I am very optimistic sometimes, or just silly however you want to see it.

It was about 20 min before closing and Max woke up very hungry and upset. The phone was ringing and I was very flustered. As I was trying to get the formula ready, I accidentally spilled it all over the desk and Myself...max is still crying at this point and getting louder. Once I finally got to feeding him, he gulped it down within a matter of minutes. I thought, "Wow, he is so fast that was great." That was my first lesson to learn as a mother. Lesson #1; Eating fast on an empty stomach is not good! We didn't even make it to the front door before he spit up half of his milk which got all over both of us and proceeded to drip onto our porch. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this point so I just laughed. He took his first bath and we just cuddled for a while to try and calm both of ourselves down from quite an adventure.

I am sure this won't be the last. :)

2010-07-03T12:06:00.000-07:00

Going Home

One of his many faces!

Thanks Allens, He finally had a companion!

Like father Like Son

Tuckered Out after a long day of traveling

Max Arthur Alley

2010-06-30T11:47:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the world Max

Preg-o Momma Update

2010-06-23T21:26:00.000-07:00

We took a little trip tonight and figured we should update the family on where we're at! Courtesy of Mary:

It's finally here!!

2010-06-04T14:30:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to start off by saying that I have had a very hard time being this big. I have strongly been rejecting people's requests to parade my hugeness to the world due to the fact that it only appeases them and not me. Well I found a good lists of reasons for myself to put up my picutre and here they are...

1. People will have sympathy for me
2. People will pray for me to have the baby soon cause I don't look natural this big
3. So max will one day appreciate the fact that I gave birth to him.
4. Lastely, so people stop making me feel bad for not showing them.

I am very serious about these reasons. I have righteous desires to have my baby early so everyone needs to pray :)

Alley's latest

2010-05-29T20:44:00.000-07:00

We have officially moved to our second home in the alley family. We are currently livng in a TRAILER. The greatest part is that it is an upgrade from our previous apartmet. At least in size :) But in all reality we really enjoy living there. We are assistant managing an apartment complex where I do the office work and luke helps out with occasional grounds crew work. It is a team job! We are still in Rexburg and will be till something drastically changes in our lives. I am starting to think this is home for us. We have both lived here for so long, I can't imagine living anywhere else at this point.

If your wondering what luke is up to these days and why he hasn't graduated yet, it's because he is working very hard to support us financially and finish school at the same time. This translates into him taking six credits this semester and next and working almost forty hours a week at his Internet marketing job.

I am finally starting to back out of my job, due to the fact that I can barely pull myself out of my chair and walk more than a few yards without having to sit down. This is due to the fact that I am weighing more now than I have in my entire life and due in less than four weeks. June 26 is the big day. Maybe sooner, cross your fingers. Other than not sleeping and other fun pains that aren't going to be put out for public to see, I am very healthy, as well as the little one inside me.

We are having loads of fun and just waiting for rexburg to thaw out so we can enjoy the summer and everything that it will bring with it.

Mary and Luke's Love Story - Told Through Google Search

2010-05-24T20:23:00.000-07:00

Ultrasound

2010-02-01T11:38:00.000-08:00

Been a while eh? Figured this would be a good time to post on the blog... Pics from this morning.

A profile shot of babies head...

Babys foot...

Babys healthy heart...

Can you figure out this next one?

Look closely at the picture if you need help... :)

BIG leagues VS little leagues

2009-10-04T20:07:00.000-07:00

On September 12, 2009 , the well known Lotoja Race took place. Bikers crossed Utah, Wyoming and Idaho covering a total of 206 Miles. Dave Alley , in a team of 4 diligent other bikers, completed this race with remarkable poise and composure...

A picture is worth 1000 words!

He only had one moment of weakness from his 48.6 Mile leg and I caught in on Camera. But really, he was so in shape that he easily walked away from that race excited for next year. He has been training for months and months, including treking up the steep hills of bountiful Utah. It was really inspirational to watch all those people put so much pain and sweat to conquer a race of Will over body. Dad has set such a good example that even luke and I want to follow in his foot steps....

So we though we would try the little leagues for starters.

On september 19 2009, BYU-Idaho hosted its first ever, temple to temple relay including 32 miles of open road. There were over 15 teams that participated. Luke and I did some hard , procrastinated training 2 weeks leading up to the relay, which was apparently just enough to help us finish...

Just before his 4 mile leg

Luckily, there were 8 of us running 32 miles instead of 4. Not quite in the Big leagues but you have to start somewhere.

In all seriousness though it was a good experience. We realized that we need to follow dad's footsteps a little more literally and exercise on a more consistent basis so that eventually we can accomplish a life defining moment that dad experienced.

Go Dave

Murphy Family Reunion

2009-05-26T15:34:00.000-07:00

This weekend we headed out to the Wyoming/Idaho border to be together with the family for the Murphy family reunion. We are related through my Great-Grandma who was a Murphy and married Lewis "Luke" Alley who I'm named after... If I remember right.

It was great because Aunt Lynette, Jami and fam, and Kariessa came out and we don't get to see them all together very often. Grandma and Mom, Dad and Anna made it to. So I took a lot of pictures and made sure they were "good ones" and deleted the "bad ones" so everyone would approve this time! Especially you Grandma. :)

Monday morning we first headed to the Cokeville graveyard and put flowers on Grandpas and others graves. After we headed over to Montpellier for the reunion.

Jami, Jean-Paul, Shelby, Karlee, Aunt Lynette, and Grandma in front of Grandpas gravestone.

This was take #5 because Shelby did not want to smile! Grandma finally got a little one out of her.

Addee enjoying her time after the long drive down and before the long drive back up! We were glad to see them.

Aunt Lynette lookin great. We were looking at Great Aunt Arlene talking about... something. Who knew she was so interesting?!Cousins! The Alley family reunion within the Murphy family reunion! Basically all the people we knew. :)

It was great to see everyone. There were talks of an Alley/Jensen reunion... Be ready!

GraduEaster!

2009-04-12T22:00:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a while since we've blogged(Emily reminded us over the weekend :)) so here is a little update of the past weekend. Mary graduated(with a degree in Psychology) and the WHOLE family came out. They all traveled so much just to be here a few days and we were very grateful to have them. Mary's mom even came out from Pennsylvania! Everyone made Mary feel so special as she deserved to feel.

I'm sure we'll get cute pictures from Julie and Emily so I figured we could do some of the "good" ones. Steve was great and made copies of all the pictures he took(about 6 gigabytes worth!). Here's a few we liked with our own captions...

Trenton(matter of factly): "Guys... Look. This is how you break dance."

Johnny turns away in disgust because Steve actually spit up on him!

I went fishing with Steve and it was THIS big!

For 25 cents a week, you can feed this neglected child. Visit orphanedchildren.com for more info.

Grandpa growling at Steve for taking so many pictures... just kidding, he was yawing.

Trenton. Caught.

Em striking a pose! We love you Emily :)

This child still needs a home. Please donate.
I love my grandma!

Guys! I don't like this song!

Hmm... Did I put to much liquid smoke in the bbq sauce?

Look Mom, the resurrection!(Trenton's own words after finding a ring with a cross on it. Mom got pre-filled eggs from Costco.)

My dreams of an Easter filled with chocolate are coming true!

This child was fed... with only 25 cents a week(Love you sis!)

The Family.

A New Begining!

2009-01-04T20:54:00.000-08:00

It is January of 2009, a season for New Year resolutions. I(Mary) have a New Year resolution just happens to be this blog spot! The title of this blog has both of our names so I thought it appropriate to help out with the adventures of the alley clan. "In the mouth of two witnesses...shall every word be established."(2 corinthians) We are a family now, eternal companions. I just love saying that.

We just got back from our 3 week long christmas vacation and are ready for the new semester. We spend the first week with my sister Sarah in Baker city. It was a winter wonderland the whole time. Living in the middle of now where as a lot of perks. We spent a lot of time just playing games with sarah and danny and getting to know or 5 month old neice Mikelle.

After that we made our way to utah with a detour in rexburg and continuing on to Utah. It was a long drive but well worth the time to make it to the Alley family Christmas. We got to spend so a lot of quality time with the allen's, alley's and Emily and her family. Blake as gotten so big now and has evolved from just sitting on the ground to skooting and walking, with some help. He might just skip crawling altogether. Baby john made all of us smile as he has gained so much expression and awareness of the world around him. It was great. It truly felt like a family Christmas with all the games, treats, wonderful dinners and late nights with our family.

On christmas eve we had an unexpected visitor come to Kali and Trenton. Who would have thought luke could fill out a santa suit so well but it was perfect. Trenton giggled so much he couldn't sit still and kali trembled so much she hid back in her bed. The next morning santa brought lots of great presents including a snow that fell almost the whole day.

The rest of vacation was a breeze. We got to have the Allen's for a few more days, got to see my sister Liz and brother John, shoveled lots of snow, and had a broken down car and now have AAA! Steven showed us how helpful they can be :) Now we are back up in good ol' Rexburg and ready for a new semester! Happy New Year!

The Rexburg Idaho Temple

2008-12-07T18:45:00.000-08:00

We are blessed to have a temple 10 minutes walking distance from us. Here are a few pictures we've taken over the last year of this sacred building.

"That the work of the gathering together of my saints may continue, that I may build them up unto my name upon holy places; for the time of harvest is come, and my word must needs be fulfilled. Therefore, I must gather together my people, according to the wheat and the tares, that the wheat may be secured in the garners to possess eternal life, and be crowned with celestial glory, when I shall come in the kingdom of my Father to reward every man according as his work shall be." D&C 101:64-65

Christmas in November?!

2008-11-16T18:31:00.000-08:00

So mom came into town about 3 weeks ago and with her she brought all these christmas decorations that my Aunt Sandy gave Mary and I. Because our apartment is so small we had them sitting out in plain view ever since and they have been whispering to us every time we saw them telling us to put them up! So we justified putting them up two weeks before the official "after thanksgiving so it's ok to put up the decorations" date because we figured we would only be able to enjoy them for two weeks before we went back down to Utah for X-mas break :)

Before...

After!

I talked with Dad while writing this post and he mentioned how he was feeling "jolly" this year and wanted to decorate early on the 22nd... the 22nd of December! I realized that our over-compensation with decorating may be caused by Dad making us wait so long every year! Merry early Christmas!

Family Matters

2008-11-02T18:46:00.000-08:00

We've had a great and busy week. Last weekend we got to go down and see our new little nephew John Harold Alley Jr. He has a few features of his dad, most notably his upper lip which sticks out like John's did.

John Harold Alley Jr.

It was great seeing the family also. Julie and Steve were in town so we were with them the whole time. Saturday we had the whole family together so we went to the park and played tennis and volleyball and had a little picnic.

The Fam at the park

It was great being home also because mom let me raid the food storage! I don't think she quite understands how much that means to us poor married college students. We had an eventful drive home also as my gas gauge decided to get stuck at 2 bars and thus running out of gas about 15 minutes outside of Idaho Falls. Luckily my cousin Kariessa lives in IF and she sent her husband out to rescue us and bring gas. We were so grateful they came out because we don't what else we would have done without them.

We finished our decorations up for Halloween for FHE. We carved some pumpkins and decorated the outside of the apartment. I'll let the pictures explain...

The outside of the Apt. Our theme was the "Great Pumpkin"

The pumpkin eating the scarecrow... haha!

We enjoyed more family time over the weekend too. Mary's sister Liz came up and got away from BYU life and stayed for a few days. We all went to the African Childrens Choir performance on saturday night which was fun and touching. One girl shared a story of how she walked 6 miles every day to go to school! I thought of how sometimes Im lazy and drive to the library which is about a 10 minute walk... It put things in perspective. We also got to have dinner with Kariessa and Jared and his family. We had tried to invite them to have dinner at our place to thank them for rescuing us but it ended being dinner at the Lamphs! It has been a joy being able to be with our family this last week.

Date Night!

2008-10-12T17:40:00.000-07:00

Friday night was date night and we had a fun time making a wreath and putting up some fall decorations in our little apartment. I told a single friend in one of my classes what we had planned because I was so excited on friday, but instead of having the same excitement that I had my friend made fun of me! Aparently making wreaths for the apartment is boring for singles. Personally though I loved it!

Us Starting on our Wreath

Mary's Fine Sign

The Finished Product!

It was a fun weekend also. Mom and Anna came up for Mothers Weekend and we enjoyed spending time with them. They all got to come to my work and see me lead Vision Conference. After we went to a Mother/Son banquet and then to an International Dance show. It was a great weekend! Oh and it snowed which I was very happy about :)

The Alley Blog!

2008-09-28T16:37:00.000-07:00

Since we were married a little over 4 weeks ago there has been a little voice in the back of my head... It kept saying things like, "That homework can wait... Go blog." and "Why havn't you started your blog yet?" Actually it was two voices. That of Jenna Jensen and Ty Jensen. At the luncheon after our wedding they very nicely suggested we start a blog so we could keep up... Well something to that effect, my mind was elsewhere at the time. So to keep our word here is our first blog!

I'm not sure what sort of things we are suppose to write about, or what the blog norms are, so if I say something innapropriate please tell me!

I guess I should start with what's going on in our life now. Mary and I were married on the 29th of August in the Bountiful, Temple(we don't have the wedding pictures just yet). After this hard summer it was a blessing to see all my family again on different terms and especially to be married to my Mary. We had a wonderful honeymoon in Hawaii, and got to go to the Polynesian Cultural Center, kayaking, snorkeling, visit Pearl Harbor, amongts other things.

Because of the timing of the wedding and honeymoon being so close to school we had a hectic time getting back. We had a redeye flight that left at 8 p.m. friday and after a layover in LA arrived in SLC at 11 a.m. We got home and immediately had to pack up to move into our new apartment here in Rexburg so that we could start school that monday! To make matters worse, we realized in Utah that we had left the camera Julie and Steve let us borrow in the LA airport! We felt and feel horrible :( With the help of mom and dad we made the drive up to good ol' Rexburg and moved into our first apartment!

School has started now and we are loving married life! I thought I knew how to be the perfect husband until we disagreed about which drawer the oven mits should go in! So now I am re-learning how to really communicate and what it means to give and take. We are in a great ward. Mary was called to be ward chorister and I was called to play flag football(for now). Mary is taking 18 credits and will graduate next semester and I'm taking 14 and working part-time. Life couldn't be better :)