mace & bri

we've been having a lot of fun the past couple of weeks! brian doesn't have to teach in the evenings this spring, so we see each other a lot more than we used to & we are loving it!

family home evening is so much fun when you're married. it's sort of just like another date night & we try to always fit in a lesson/something spiritual. (my dad would be so proud.) we actually haven't really been able to have fhe much, because brian always, always works on monday nights. (those missionaries have got to get taught!) BUT, starting now it is going to be a weekly thing, & i am so excited. :)

i've lived in utah for 5 years & have never been to the tulip festival @thanksgiving point, so this year i was not going to miss it! & so that's what we did a couple weeks ago on our monday night. it was such a gorgeous night.  

we bought the pass of all passes for the summer. and i've done more miniature golfing in the past 2 months than i've done in my entire life. bri asks me almost everyday if we can go, and we would probably go a lot more if i didn't have to go to bed so early. it's been fun though, even though we're both a little too competitive. :)  

one of my best friends came down to provo for a visit & has been here for a couple of weeks. she had a baby in december & i have been so anxious to meet her. we've done lots of lunch dates & i've loved squishing that baby's cheeks!

we went home a couple of weekends ago to celebrate my grandpa's 80th birthday party. of course, i got no picutures but we had a great time seeing all of my aunts & uncles and cousins. we also participated in the MS walk on saturday morning in SLC. my dad's brother died of multiple sclerosis about 8 years ago & my cousins put a team together every year to walk. 

a few saturdays ago brian's little sister kirstin came down to orem for a soccer game. we love watching her play and were happy to go and support her. it was freezing, but still worth it. she rocks.

this is just a picture from one of our date-nights. i'm going to become a tennis player! (maybe) & brian has a hidden hoola hooping talent. who knew?

brian got released from the bishopric a couple of sundays ago. it is just a year calling & his year was up! we went out for a last little hoorah with the rest of the bishopric & their wives the other night.

we have been so blessed with such a wonderful ward. i've loved being in a married student ward the last year and am not sure any other ward will be able to top it. it's so fun sitting through lessons and sharing experiences with people who are basically at the exact same stage of life that you are. i feel so uplifted and strengthened every single week, and am amazed at the awesome people/couples we are surrounded by.

this last year has been such a great experience for both brian and i. he knew every single person in our ward by name (which is saying a lot because there is so much turnover & someone new moving in weekly) and he also took the time to get to know them personally, and know what was going on in each of their lives. i wasn't as awesome with the name thing, but finally felt like i was getting it down at the end of the year. :) but that was proof to me that he really was receiving special help while he was serving, because i am usually so much better at names than he is. we've made lifelong friendships with some of the people we have met in our ward, and i also felt like we got another set of parents. the bishop & his wife. they were so good to us and we loved spending time with them.

since brian got released we moved apartments! we outgrew our tiny little one bedroom apartment & spent this last weekend moving. i wish someone would have told me how terrible moving is.....i never want to do it again....

but thanks to my in-laws & my mom & sisters we got all packed, moved & unpacked over the weekend. i seriously think i would have died without their help. or just given up! (and we don't even own very much stuff!)

 we are loving our new place! i'm sure i'll post some pictures of it soon.