Carter's big transfer

 Today was a big day for our missionary! When he wrote us today he let us know that he would be transferred again. He is currently in the Kissimmee North area in Orlando Florida and will be moving tomorrow to his new area. He didn't know WHERE he was going yet but he was surprised that it was him being transferred. His companion Elder Hamp has been in the area longer and they both felt it would be him to go, but to Carter's surprise he was called by the mission President, President Berry, on Sunday night and told that he would be a new District Leader.

He has been serving for 9 months and will already be a leader..... wow. He has been working SOOO hard and putting all he has into what he is doing. He is sad to leave the people behind that he loves, including this Ward family- the Hefner's- but is excited for this new opportunity and to meet more people in the mission field. Unfortunately he will miss the baptism of a family he helped convert next week (and this is the second time that has happened to him) but he is still so excited for them! I can't wait to see how he handles this next challenge! With each email I can hear how serving this mission is helping him grow and learn. He is so happy! Chan and I couldn't be ANY prouder of this kid! Sometimes we wish we could be a fly on the wall in the day in the life of Carter as a missionary because we miss him every day, but there's nowhere else we'd rather have him be! Love you Elder Crismon!!!!

Cottage Meeting May 2015

One of my favorite traditions in our Ward since Bishop Fitt has been put in is Cottage Meetings. We all meet at Bishops home on the 5th Sundays and he talks with the youth. They are always amazing! In fact, last night I told him not to be surprised if I still sneak in to them even after I am eventually released! :) Last nights we watched the question and answer event that Elder and Sister Bednar did. It was incredible! They are the sweetest people and I loved the responses they had to the youths questions. It was helpful for ALL of us! Leaders included!

I am so blessed to be serving with the youth!!!! I LOVE it! These kids are truly inspiring! They make me want to be better! I am lucky that in about a week I will be attending girls camp and then in July will get to be a part of the Stake Youth Conference. I am certain they are both going to be so fun! And it's even better when you get to participate with your own kids! Such a blessing!

I loved that I looked over at Brianne during the video and she was taking notes like crazy! She is really growing up and wanting to do better in everything! She was asked yesterday to serve as the Beehive Class President and she is so excited! She will only be in there for another 5 months but she is going to try her best to make a difference while she's in there!

Will passed another year of seminary and brought home a paper that had messages from his classmates. It was so cool to see their thoughts on Will and the strength they see in his testimony and how much they liked him as a friend. They all mentioned his humor, but several commented on his testimony. That just warmed my heart and made me so proud!

I hope that these experiences they have in our Ward, seminary and Stake will continue to grow their testimonies and will benefit them in their future! I know they do that for ME! :)

Spring 7 on 7's

 In the spring it is now 7 on 7 time! Not only does Will participate in the 7 on 7's, like this tournament down in American Fork this past Saturday, but he also is a referee for the ones held in Draper for the younger kids.

 These are great practice for the teams to see how their offense is running and also to see who some of their faster defensive players are. Will was able to go down to this tournament with the Varsity team and was very excited.

He didn't get a ton of playing time, but the few times he was in he played well! It was super fun to go and see how the new offense is shaping up! It just gets me supr excited for football season! :)

Here is one play, that was a short one, but he did well on!

St George Memorial Day fun!

On Friday right after work this whole crew came to pick me up right from work so we could hit the road! We let the kids each invite a friend to bring along so we had a full truck and were ready to hit the road! We knew we were going to hit some traffic going south so we tried a different route hoping to avoid some..... yeah, it was a BAD idea! We ended up in traffic anyway and it added about an hour to our drive- yuck!

We got there late Friday night so we let everyone sleep in a bit on Saturday. Matt got up and made us all German pancakes, which were DELICIOUS, and then Chan drove the kids up to the Washington City pool to swim for a couple hours. That left us to hang out at home and get dressed for the day! Bringing friends was a great idea! :)When they were done swimming I went to pick them up, brought them home to change and Chan and Matt ran to the store for groceries to make dinner. Tammy and I ran to buy the kids tacos from Jack in the Box to fill their tummies! YUM! Once Chan and Matt returned with the truck Tammy and I loaded up the kids in the truck and went to the new Desert Hills Gardens. It is stunning!

It is right next to Pioneer Park and the Sugar loaf area where the DIXIE is painted on the rock. It is gorgeous there and has many paths to walk, swings to relax in, and hikes to check out! We got lots of photos!

 Will's friend Rhett had never been to "St Geezy" so he was excited to go and hike up the mountain with Will and get some great photos! He brought his Go-Pro camera and got some really stellar pictures! (including water videos at the pool) I need to get copies!

 Brianne's friend Bergan has been there before, but never to this park! She really enjoyed it!

 This is Will at the top of the mountain! We were yelling to him to not fall! Haha!

 This area is not "real" rocks- it is part of the gardens and has a little waterfall as well as water areas that will eventually have a small aquarium of fish. I think, considering it's some kind of cement, they did an amazing job recreating the surroundings!

 This was right at the entrance of the gardens. I love that in all the water areas there are stepping stones so you can walk over the water! It's awesome!

This is a picture that Will was able to get using the timer on his cell phone! Isn't it awesome! The clouds just make it look even more majestic! :) I LOVE IT!

After our adventure at the gardens we all needed a drink so of course we went to SWIG! :) Everyone got their favorite drink/treat and then we went home to the guys to have dinner. Chan made his chicken enchiladas and we all pigged out! It was the perfect ending to a fun day!

Day two we decided would be spent first at the movies! Brianne had asked if we could go see Pitch Perfect 2 and Chan wanted to see Tomorrow land. So off we went...

Chan was a little later getting out of the movie than us so we were hanging out waiting for him! Pitch Perfect 2 was hilarious!! Tammy and I were literally "LOL-ing"!! I haven't laughed that hard at a movie in a while! Chan LOVED his show too and wants me to go see it with him again! :) It ended up being the perfect choice too because it was POURING outside!

 I had to sneak this picture in... aren't they adorable! After the show we went back to the house for a bit to drop off everyone but me and the kids. The kiddos wanted to go do a little shopping so I ran them over to Rue 21 at the factory stores and one other store before heading back.

 When we got home we had a BBQ! We made hamburgers & hot dogs and had quite the spread! Even eating some of the leftovers from the day before including Chan's yummy home made guacamole! MMMMMMM yummy! When Matt had his food he had ALL the dogs attention! Tammy calls him the dog whisperer! They all love him! :)

 We probably made way too much food, but with teenagers you just never know! Haha! And actually I don't think there was too much leftovers!

 Chan made himself a guacamole burger! Such a smart guy! Wish I had thought of that! But actually I had hot dogs and they were amazing!

Enjoying our super good food! And Tammy and Matt treated everyone to smores over a fire for dessert- perfect!

The absolute best part of the trip is spending time together relaxing, playing games and long chats. That is why it's our favorite spot to go- we always feel recharged when we leave.

The last night there the kids played Guesstures. It got quite competitive! It was girls against boys and it came down to a tie breaker and the boys won! It was so funny to watch them play it and I am thrilled that their friends were able to come along!

The weather may not have been the best, it rained almost the entire time we were there, but we made the best of it and had a fabulous time! Can't wait to go again!! :)

I love my BFF!!!

Chan's Birthday!

 On Chan's birthday this year we kept it very simple! Just a couple cards and a new shirt for work! He had already treated himself to his big birthday gifts.... a new iphone 6+ and an iwatch!

I totally spaced getting pictures when we were at dinner and I think it is because we ended up going to Chuck a Rama! We were up and getting food the whole time so I never thought to snap a photo! But it was a great idea- it's not expensive, you get great food and a LOT of it! :) Besides we left the weekend of his birthday to go to St George again for Memorial Day so we figured we'd keep the celebration small!

I am so lucky to have the most AMAZING husband! He treats us all like gold, works so hard, and is truly my best friend! I hope your birthday was as awesome as you! :)

Final Choir Concert for 2015

 It's hard to believe that school is almost out and with that comes the final choir concert of the year!

 They performed songs as a concert choir and the kids who were involved in the Honors choir also performed some of their songs from that experience. Brianne was able to do her solo again which she was excited about.

 It was a great concert and they all did a good job! I enjoy watching the choir at our school! The teacher is in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and he is strict with them but he is an amazing teacher!

 This class has been such a blessing to Brianne! She LOVES it and has made some wonderful friends in there that I am sure she will have for a long time!

The best part of the night was when Mr. Abbott introduced Brianne before her solo performance. He paid her a big compliment (which he NEVER does) and that made her, and us, VERY proud! Nice job Brianne! We can't wait for next year!! :)