Palmyra

Now that we've finally moved into a place and I have access to my camera cord, I can update on the last happenings in New York!

The Mr. and I found some wonderful things in Palmyra. The lovely Palmyra New York Temple was absolutely beautiful to visit and we enjoyed the peaceful spirit that always accompanies the temples.

The Sacred Grove was another peaceful and beautiful place we were able to visit, as well as the Hill Cumorah. The Mr. and I also loved the Hill Cumorah Pageant; if you're ever in the area in July, make sure to stop by and see it - it's worth it! It was during this time of the summer we were able to run into my brother, who was visiting some of these very sights.

Mickey loves his Uncle B!! He was so excited to see him for the short time he could.

Leaving the LR, AR

Wow, so crazy how quickly time flies! We've been home for 2 weeks now and it's crazy to think back and remember all the times in AR. Saying goodbye to the people was the hardest - all the friends we will miss . . . we will see them again . . . sometime.

Oh, we did get a chance to go to Mississippi for a quick trip before we left that side of the country! Got to see a whole bunch of family - including the newest edition, baby Thomas. - Wish I had pictures folks, he's so adorable, but somehow my camera managed to be lost at the time of all the picture taking.

We did get to stop at Waverly Mansion, couldn't take pictures inside, but it was very well restored (except the outside).

Older than most, if not all homes on the West

After one more week in AR, we said goodbye and made the 1600-mile trip back.

Bye-bye!

Funny story with the Tide pen . . . It was a long ride home . . . and I was bored . . . and I am super clumsy now that I am pregnant . . . :) It was a random, simple stain on my shirt I hadn't noticed before and we just bought a 3 pack of the Tide to-go pens . . . In the end, my shirt and skirt were completely covered in the bleach EXCEPT for the one spot I wanted to bleach in the first place. Tide pen = empty. Haha at least we know this type of chemical is safe on colors! Wahoo!

Pit stop at the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma temple. We got to go in and it was beautiful! Kinda reminded me of the Monticello, UT temple :) 

We also got to stop at the Denver, CO temple! This one reminded me of the Jordan River UT Temple - sorta - mostly because of the grounds. Man I have missed clear, blue water like that though!

A huge thanks to the Coloradudes for their hospitality at this last stop! It was so fun to be with family (and to watch Matt play with the children :) :) :) ).

Such a fun adventure! We're looking forward to this next one :)

Temple Trip

We were lucky to have the opportunity to travel with the youth in the ward to the Memphis, TN temple on early Saturday morning! A small temple, but very beautiful - and I was grateful to have the chance to help out!

That says "Tennessee" by the way

Weddings! I love weddings! . . .

Over the Christmas break, one of my best friends got married! I cannot tell you how happy Matt and I are for her and her new husband! They are super cute together! We were lucky enough to be able to attend the sealing - so beautiful. A temple wedding is the way to go! (In a pretty dress . . . in a 'castle' . . . for a happily EVER after)!

The beautiful Manti Temple on December 16

Gotta love the family pictures on a freezing day!
Don't worry, we were glad to participate for you two!

Jen's mom - she is a wonderful lady!
(I would know, I've met her!)

Trying to catch odd faces - try 1

Trying to catch odd faces - try 2

Sadly we couldn't make it to their reception that night (the Christmas one she's been dreaming of for so long) - my poor husband was up all night with some sort of stomach bug. He was exhausted and had literally no energy. We weren't sure if we'd be able to come, but Matt gathered his strength after the worst of it (by about 7 am) and we drove through the canyon to Manti. He is such a great sport! All because he loves me and knew it was important to me (thank you love!).

Love ya Sommerfeldts! Thank you for letting us join you on your very special and happy day!
P.S. LOVED your dress and your HANDMADE veil! - gorgeous!

-Just love with all your hearts and a happy life will follow-

Most Recent Hott Dates

Sometimes we do take pictures! I know, rare! These next five dates are ones that we have really enjoyed this semester!


1. One weekend, before the beginning of fall semester (technically, in August), we took a trip up to Salt Lake City for our date night. So. Much. Fun. :) So first, we did a session in the SLC Temple, and it was a great experience - what a wonderful spirit was present!

After the session, we ate dinner at the Lion House Pantry on Temple Square, which was very tasty. Then, we watched "Joseph Smith, Prophet of the Restoration" at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building - also on Temple Square. It was a perfect idea from my wonderful husband for a spiritually focused date :)

2. Two months later, on October 8, we randomly acquired tickets to the BYU vs. San Jose St. football game (BYU's homecoming game) from Craig and Ketra (thank you!). It was a late game, but we had such a blast keeping warm and cheering our team on. This was the first time we have seen a live game together - and we both enjoyed being in the LaVell Edwards Stadium.

P.S. BYU totally won that game! 29-16!


3. A triple date with family! We finally got to go see Jenni and Casey's new apartment (and it is lovely), and have a triple date with them and Casey's sister Danielle and her husband Jesse. Jenni and Casey were very creative in that we had a lovely lunch, and ate with random cooking utensils (she's got all the pictures, sorry). We played games, tossed a Frisbee, and just caught up with each other! What a fun date!


4. On October 22, we commemorated the 1 year anniversary of our first date by grabbing some siblings  and friends (Benj & Ty, Jenn & Danielle) and went to Insanity Point and Thanksgiving Point. So fun! They had 5 haunted attractions in their Insanity Point section of the festivities, and we enjoyed them all! We even went for a hayride, and made our way through a non-haunted corn maze (sort of . . . ). It was such a blast, and we are both very grateful for that first date we had one year ago around Halloween. :) . . . sorry, no pictures except a general one found on Thanksgiving Point's website:

5. Just this last weekend, my amazing husband came up with a very clever way to choose, and not choose the date at the same time (sometimes choosing what to do is the hardest). He found about 8 items, laid them out on the bed, and had me choose two. Each item had a date activity related to it, and I ultimately chose what we ended up doing (pumpkin carving). What a great idea by the creative Matt!

Dating is so fun - especially when you always have a hott date who you know won't really turn you down. Keep up the fun dates, it gets even better! :)

Headin South to the ABQ

With a car full of tired couples (see last post), the Remunds and the Hawkins headed to Albuquerque for their joint reception. Many hours, snacks, laughable moments, and miles later, they drove into the city in New Mexico. It was greener than Cosette expected, this being her first time in Abq, but it was definitely a new place to see and explore. 

The week was filled with some good gardening, and organizing, and such, which was actually a great and needed change of hard physical labor from the R's jobs in Provo. We even got to go to the Albuquerque Temple with Dad Remund, which was a lot of fun! Following such a week with the family, our second reception was went underway with a special thanks to Mom and Dad Remund for all their help, as well as Brittany who gave us nice breaks from the physical labor so we could be graced by her presence, as well as all those who helped with the food, set up, and decor. 

Please, feel free to feast your eyes upon these fantastic moments in time:

Mom Jensen's fantastic job with Cosette's hair (thanks Mom!)

Entrance pathway decor - provided by Mom Remund!

Backyard decorations - also provided by Mom Remund

Colored sashes - in all sorts of colors (Jenni's and ours)

Perfect table centerpieces - isn't the mirror such a cool idea?

Patio decor - provided by Mom Remund as well!

Pretty umbrellas to bring color to the scene.

Jenni & Casey's side of the guest book table - splitting everything was actually quite fun since Jenni and I had very similar ideas of what to do.

Our guest book table picture.

Mom and Dad Jensen were able to make it, and bring little sister with them. It was way fun to have them there... especially little sister (bored sister + camera = the following)

 Even Brittany was able to make it via Skype!! :D We were so excited that she could see the festivities - and so many of the guests were so excited to see and talk with her as well! Honestly, if it were up to us, we would just leave her there to talk to and we would have left. :) What a fun evening it was though!

The beautiful, honorary couple

Someone had to keep up with little sister's faces...

Apparently Matt was thinking the same thing...

So we did it together :)

What Happens in Vegas...

Clearly, we are still playing catch up on our stories! After our beautiful wedding, we had to come back to our comfortable little apartment for the following week when Cosette had to be at work. Thus, our traditional, week-long honeymoon did not occur until the week after that. AND... we spent it in Vegas. We only spent 2 days on the strip, but that was plenty for us!

Day 1: Leave the hotel at a reasonable time of the morning, then wandered around the strip. Ceasar's Palace was really cool - actually, most of the architecture was fantastic....just the imagery wasn't. 

 Then we found our way to the M&M factory. That was actually pretty fun - mostly shopping souvenir stuff though, but we did find a fun movie :)

Matt with glasses...hmmm...

Cosette with glasses...yeah, no

That night, we saw The Lion King on stage. Best. Musical. Ever! We absolutely LOVED it! Very good music, great acting, good, good, good. 

Days 2-6: Mostly we ate out a lot, swam at the pool in the Resort, and had the adventures depicted by the following pictures:

Hiking!!! With trees, and a bit of water!!! And only about an hour drive north of Vegas!

Handsome Husband! :)

Squeezin through those crevasses!

And the beautiful Vegas Temple! :)

Taking some time to write in our journals.

The Hoover Dam

This is Cosette's "It's Hot!!!!" face

Of course we couldn't miss a beautiful wedding in the Redlands, CA Temple!

Oooh :)

This picture took about 3 tries before Matt was satisfied.

The newly wedded couple!! :) This was SO fun to see! Thanks for the invite!

Other events, not depicted here, include the dinner show at Excalibur - which was fantastic! Eating out, shopping at an electronic store and buying movies we hadn't intended on purchasing, eating, driving and spending many fun (and humorous) times in the car as Cosette entertained herself, eating, a fun movie night in the Resort, and more eating. :) What a fantastic week!