Conference Weekend

It started with several hours of mission reunions :) Jaren had two presidents while serving in Chile, so, of course, we went to both! If you want to read about Jaren's mission, his mom did an awesome job updating his blog! He has been home for almost three years now!

We also saw Sara, Owen, and Francisco at the reunion! Sara served in Jaren's mission - we know them through the Howards! Uncle Richard taught Fransisco's dad years ago in Mexico. How cool is that? Small world. The gospel is everywhere. And Isn't that little girl soo cute!?

It was fun to meet President and Hermana Gillespie. Jaren spent the day before golfing with this guy - DREAM COME TRUE for my husband. I also go to meet President and Hermana Willhelm.

They hardly know any English, but they were sooo nice and friendly. We couldn't really communicate, so we just hugged a lot.
After reunion hopping, we met some other apartment dwellers in Farmington at our neighbors' parents' house to watch conference. It was soo nice and relaxing. This house had an inside bball court! They stayed up late every night playing. We live by such great friends!

Spring!

The weather is finally warming up which means Spring has sprung! Wahoo! Jar-Bear got an awesome internship with Digicert. He is a sales intern and gets 20 hours a week right now and maybe more this summer WHICH MEANS he is staying in Provo this year! No more pest control walking door-to-door, 6 hours away from me. We are sooo excited to be together this summer! We feel so blessed.

 With his internship he also gets ALL the food he wants - whenever he wants! I packed him a lunch on his first day, and then he told me he didn't even need it because they have a fully stocked break room. LUCKY! The other day he told me he ate a whole sleeve of oreos at work...woops. He really likes it so far and hopes that this opportunity will turn into a full time position once he graduates in April 2014. Cross your fingers! I'm so proud of him! He's staying really busy with work and school; Especially his two killer organic chemistry classes AND finance class...AND march madness... duh. Is that over yet?

Digicert is awesome and comes with a lot of perks. This was at the Real Salt Lake game. Our good friends and neighbors, Tina and Jon were there too because Jon works for Digicert and actually helped Jaren get the internship. Talk about great friends! :)

We also went home to Idaho for a baby shower for Jeni and baby Harper! Here's the invitations I attempted. Jeni is SOO adorable with her baby bump! She's due April 26th and we're really excited!!! Jaren also helped me with a Baby Concentration Game the night before. He's such a trooper. The game turned out great and Jeni got LOTS of cute cute stuff from her guests. 

Don't ask me how I managed to NOT get a picture of HER, but I did get some other gems of cute Jaren...  He wasn't even invited to the shower but hung out by the chocolate fountain for most of it. Jaren LOVES strawberries. And I made a chevron afghan for Jeni and baby! It was a lot of work... a lot! And it was my first attempt, so IF I ever do another one... IF.... hopefully I'll get better :) It was fun making something for someone else.

We went to Idaho again the next weekend for Easter! Just can't stay away. And on April Fools Day... I got him to eat an oreo with sour cream filling... and he short-sheeted our bed. We were meant for each other. Bring on Summer!!!

The House that Built Me

Where I laughed, cried, learned, and loved: Home. My favorite place on earth! Where I gathered easter eggs, played barbies for hours, and fought with my sisters over clothes. Where I created school projects, developed my talents and testimony, and got picked up for dates. Where several litters of kittens were raised, family home evening was held, and dinner was eaten at 6 p.m. sharp. A place to lay my head after long days filled with early morning gymnastics, school, and cheer practice on theee coziest bed in the basement, complete with flannel sheets.

When I moved to college, left for my Internship, or went far away to school in Hawaii... I cried every single time I drove away. Home was where my best friends lived, my favorite things housed, and my fondest memories made. And OH how I loved coming home!

I loved the way my mom decorated for holidays, and how it smelled a certain sweet scent that even my friends noticed. I loved walking through the house to see what had changed, and what was exactly the same. My sanctuary - my Home. 

Now that my family has moved to a new house, I still absolutely love coming home. A lot has obviously changed: the neighbors, the new house smell, the soft memory foam carpet... It's beautiful! I love it. I noticed last weekend that I didn't miss the old house - And now I understand why. The new house is still the same place where we laugh, cry, learn, and love. 

Where new memories will be made! Our old house will always hold a special place in my heart. How grateful I am for an eternal family and a gospel-centered home; those are constants. This past weekend, we finally got to enjoy each other's company together as a family. Only the essentials, like beds and a few pieces of furniture, currently exist in the house. That's why we love hanging out on
the floor :)
Mom's been working hard to get the old house cleaned up, and the new one ready for visitors so the decorating has been put on hold. However, I noticed a small object all alone on the kitchen counter by the stove: Home is where your mom is! Thanks for the reminder, Mom :) So true.