Idaho, BYU Idaho, Salt Lake and BYU

We recently returned from a marathon family vacation. We left on Friday, June 28th. It was John's 4th time on an airplane (he flew with me to Chicago and Seattle). It was so much nicer to have Seth with us! It was still difficult flying with a baby of course, but I know that in a few short years, we'll look back and remember how easy it was to fly with only 1 child! So we'll be grateful now, and I was indeed grateful for Seth's help! All things considedered, John was as good as a baby could be on the plane.

Seth's brother Ricky and his wife Kristin were kind enough to pick us up from the airport, and let us stay at they're home. It was so fun to see them. John was instantly Ricky's buddy! I think he was a little confused that Kristin has blonde hair, he's not used to that. But it's hard to compete with Ricky. Sarah and Jacob joked that Ricky bathes himself with sugar and candy to attract all the little children. But John definitely warmed up to Kristin, and now he thinks blondes are pretty cool :)

We went to the Johnson reunion (Seth's mom's parents, Walden and Gwen Johnson and all their posterity were invited). This was the first one that Seth and I have been able to go to together. We were able to see many family members that we haven't see for years (and that I have never seen!).  We had fun in Rupert Idaho swimming,  in the snake river, jetskiing, tubing and kayaking. There was a makeshift water slide, which everybody thought was pretty fun... I did too until the third time I went down and scraped my leg on the edge - causing the second worst bruise of my life, the size of a baseball.

We "camped" at the site - for us, who were so so blessed, and maybe even a little lucky, got to take over the grandparents cabin after they went home which had air conditioning (it was over 100 degrees!), a bed and a bathroom. It was pretty awesome! I have an aspiration to like camping, roughing it out in the wilderness...that day has not come yet, but maybe someday.

Unfortunately, I didn't get my camera out. We were too busy having fun and visiting with so many people. There had to be 50-75 there including the greatgrandkids.

Then, we got to go with Seth's brother Jacob back to Rexburg, ID. We figured since it was just a couple hours away, and we were all the way across the country, we might as well stop in to visit our old stomping grounds and show John the best school in the world (in our opinion :)

We went to Jacob's student ward, and it was pretty funny how silent it was and how loud John seemed when he wasn't very loud at all! We got to meet up with Jacob for lunch a couple times and spend some time with him. Jacob was so nice to let us borrow his car (that was an answer to our prayers, it would have cost so much to rent a car!)

Seth's Aunt and Uncle, Simone and Mike Wood were so kind to let us stay at their home in Idaho Falls, and feed us, and visit with us. It was great to get to know them, and they were genuinely interested in us, and we appreciated that.

We used to be able to see the Rexburg Temple out our bedroom window. How glorious! If you live near a temple, go there, often! If you don't, make plans to attend as often as you can. I can think of nothing else that could improve your life than the temple.

It is amazing how different the campus is since we graduated exactly 5 years ago. There are so many improvements, and enormous modern buildings that weren't even there before, or they were just a hole in the ground, like the I-Center (that is almost as big as the Conference Center in Salt Lake!) and the MC, and a bunch of fancy apartments. We passed by good old Bunk House and Royal Crest, where Seth and I met - where we used to live.

We got to visit with the Taylor family in Idaho Falls too. We will never forget all that the Taylor's have done for us. Alan was our student ward bishop when Seth and I met and started dating. And he helped us through our engagement, and Alan and Tammi even let me live at their home in Rigby for a month before we got married, so that I could go to school. They have done even more than that for us, and we are grateful for their love and generosity. It was great to catch up, with Tammi, Alison and Devin in IF, and then with Alan, Natalie and her husband Scott, on the way down to UT (they were driving back from Las Vegas).

BYU-I is such a place of giving and genuine desire to help others. Seth's former professors, Brothers Gifford and Galbraith took the time to meet with him and give him helpful advice and suggestions as he prepares for an MBA. We also met with dear friends (former professors), Ron Anderson and Eric Embree. After all these years, it's wonderful to still be in touch.

I also had an opportunity to meet with Rebecca Cheney who is in charge of the ESL side of the Pathway Program at BYU-I. I would love to be an online teacher for them. They can't hire in Ohio because of all the difficult laws, but it was a great chance to meet her and for us to get to know each other in case we live in a state they do hire in some day. It went really well, and she said she is looking for teachers with exactly my experience and education and that she hoped that I would keep in touch and let her know if I move to a state they can hire in. I certainly will!

We stopped over at BYU to see our friend Leah Anderson (who was on our debate team at BYU-I, and whom we went with to teach English in Guatemala). She teaches Spanish at BYU, and is just a bundle of fun. It's always great to see her!

We also got to go to Salt Lake with my sister Martha. We ate dinner at the new mall, City Creek, which is very cool. And we walked around temple square and the visitors center.

It is so wonderful to know that we were sealed (married) in this very temple, and that because of that, John was born in the covenant, and that he is sealed to us forever. We never want to lose him, so that is a great comfort to me to know he is our son, as long as we keep our covenants, and we are determined to do just that.

John took to Martha instantly. They were great pals.