Jackson Hole...

Do we really have to be home already?  I knew it was going to be a short trip but it was so relaxing and I loved going up there with Raymond because he'd never been there before! Even though the tree's weren't green yet it was absolutely beautiful up there and we're already planning our next trip in September! We had such a breath taking view while we were there...I think the Teton mountains are some of my favorite! Sorry about the picture overload!  We went into a shop in Jackson square and the next thing I knew Raymond was speaking Russian.  He heard a family talking and they ended up being from Ukraine! He was so excited because he really hasn't had the opportunity to use his Russian since he got home 6 years ago.  The man, Vadim, was so excited and said never in my wildest dreams would I meet someone who spoke my language.  So of course being tourist they video taped us and took pictures so I got one too!

The river was literally down a few steps from where we stayed and it was so much fun going on walks there in the morning...don't mind the pictures we just woke up!

My absolute favorite part of the trip was the river float that we went on.  My goal the whole time was to see a moose in the water but we never did.  We saw eagles, pelicans, blue herons, geese, and a beaver though! The beaver scared me to death because it was just chilling in the water and as soon as we got close it jumped up and slapped its tail on the water and went back in its dam. It was so worth it!

Gotta love raymond's face with his smores...he really was excited about them!

Our cute little cabin...sorry about the glare!

We got to see tons of wildlife while we were there but my favorite were the buffalo and the moose.  I was so dissapointed that I didn't see anything on the river but we saw these beauties on our way home!

I looked out the window and what did I see???

So remember how we live in Wyoming?  We woke up yesterday to snow that didn't stop for a day and a half...seriouslly! It's MAY! It wasn't just snow, it was the really wet kind so now that the sun came out today there is water galore! We have new ponds and lakes sprouting up everywhere...gotta love it!  Oh, and did I mention that we had a power outage at the school for three hours! I have to say that makes for some fun times with 16 five year olds!  But the good news is that we're headed to Jackson Hole tommorow...can't wait!  Raymond's laughing at me cause I keep saying we're going camping but I guess he doesn't count staying in a cabin with electricity camping.  What can I say?  Well I'll post pictures of our trip soon! :)

Here's one of our "puddles"!  Kinda crazy how there wasn't water here a few days ago but it makes it really pretty though!

And they lived happily ever after!!!

We have another sister-in-law! Ryan and Aimee got married this past Thursday and we're so glad to have her in the family! The wedding was absolutely beautiful minus the bitter cold wind. But I guess we started a family tradition because right after they got married they moved to Alaska!  Ry's selling for Apx, they are loving it up there already!  Here's some of the fun pictures we took from the wedding!

Here's Ryan's groom cake! I thought it was such a cute cake!

Love these pictures! It totally shows their personalities!

Ry's new look...what do you think? :)

Could you tell it was a long day!

Congrats you two! Miss you already but we're so glad to have you in the family Aims! Love you guys!

Patience is a Virtue! :)

So my dear sweet Mission President's wife, Sister Hacking, used to always remind us of this wonderful quote and lately I've really needed to remember this!  This is obviously something that I'm still working on since I have to be reminded of this often but I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father is so patient with us.  I wish I could say that moving to Wyoming has been easy and we just fell in love with everything about being here and the new culture we're learning about but to be honest it's been one of the hardest tests I've had in my life.  We have received numerous blessings since being here but it still doesn't change the fact that it's hard not being close to the people you love when you're in such a draining situation.  I should probably say that it's hard for ME because Raymond's always saying that all he needs is me! :) He's such a sweet husband.  But I've really been working on counting my blessings and I know that we we're meant to be here for many reasons.  I'm sure number one is so we could grow together as a couple and that part I love about us being here.  Being here is a totally different environment than I've ever been in and I've lived in a lot of new places.  But I'm learning to take one day at a time, I'm so grateful for Raymond and all the support he gives me! Thinking of all my blessings has really helped me put things into perspective and realize how much Heavenly Father truly is in our lives.  Even those little things like Spring finally coming and seeing beautiful flowers, simple but what a testimony of the love He has for us.  I have so much to be thankful for and I hope that this will someday be my biggest strength and I can look back at our time here in Fort Washakie, Wy being some of our greatest days of our lives!

We finally get a Honeymoon!

Since my dear husband had to move us to Wyoming a few days after we got married we didn't really have the chance to have a real honeymoon so I made him promise to take me somewhere after things got settled.  So it's finally booked...we're going here...

to stay here...

and go here...

I really am so excited! I have always wanted to go to San Francisco, you'd think growing up in California I would have already been but sad to say we never left SoCal. Raymond got to go right before we got married to visit a mission companion and I was jealous so I made him promise to take me! We'll be going in July and I'm already counting down the days.  I'm the most excited about seeing Wicked while we're there! Well I'll keep dreaming until we get on that plane! Can't wait! :)

"Spring" Break

Raymond & I were so excited for Spring Break and to get away from the weather! Of course we didn't have much luck going home to Utah...we were afraid that we weren't going to be able to go because they had the road closed between Evanston & Utah state line. They finally opened it and we decided to "try" to get home.  We made it through the blizzard all the way to right after Parowan...twenty mintues from my house and slid off the road. :( I love me some OnStar though because they came and saved the day! They had to winch us out and 2 hrs later we were on our way! Nothing like turning a 8 hr trip into an 11 hr trip! But it was so worth it to see our family!  We woke up the next morning to this...

We both weren't too excited to come home from break but it's good to be back in a routine...even if that means being head butted in the nose and bit on the arm by a five year old the first day back! I love my job! :)

Birthday Shout Out!

I just wanted to wish my little sis a Happy Birthday! I can't believe she's 18! But I'm so grateful to have her as my sister! She is so talented and gorgeous and I'm so excited to see what she will do in her life! We love you Britters!