What Winter brought us

We got back into the swing of things with school, managing, callings, etc. once we got back from the holidays but I feel January and February is a long stretch till Spring and I'm glad we're almost there. Without the occasional burst of snow we get, sun has hit and hopefully stay for good. I love the way my house is situated because our windows face east to catch the sun in the early morning. It makes morning time a little better (Doutre's love our natural light). Not to mention it keeps our basil plant alive which I'm grateful for. I've had that plant for 6+ months and still has a wonderful smell and taste to it.

One thing that my winter has consisted of is watching lots of basketball games and Winter Olympics. Austin and I went looking for a TV at the DI but found nothing worthwhile. But the blessing of managing, I came home one night and found this huge block of a TV that he found downstairs in one of the cleaning supply rooms. And we magically get cable in this house so we are taking full advantage of it right now! I hate having a TV in my house and it looks super tacky in my living room but I really wanted to watch the Olympics because I missed the entire last summer Olympics and was not happy about that. And I've been able to watch almost the entire BYU basketball season because of it and that has been the best!

The Winter Olympics were so fun to watch! It was great to see some LDS athletes who took the podium and I think my favorite part was watching documentaries on the athletes before they competed to see the kind of journey it took for them to be there. Noelle Pikus-Pace is in Dani and Nic's ward and she used to be Dani's visiting teaching companion and so it was fun to hear her story from their perspective. 

We had fun having Dani, Ryan, and Mom Doutre come visit us the day before Austin's cousin Elliot Broadhead got married to Lisa Baker in the Idaho Falls Temple. It was wonderful to be there and it was fun to have gotten to know Elliot and his wife Lisa during Christmas break when they stayed with the Doutre's for a little bit. It was the first time Austin and I had been to a live sealing since our own and it was great to see more of his Mom's side of the family that I haven't seen in a while.

Then about a week and a half later, Austin and I made the spur of a moment trip to see the BYU vs. Portland basketball game at the Marriot Center with Dani and Nic. That was a first for me, Austin, and Dani. I was in heaven!! It reminded me of all those Blazer games I went to when I was a kid. Cousin Giselle sang the national anthem but sadly we were a little late and missed it but thanks to Facebook, I was able to see it. I also got to see cousin Janae and her son Danny at the game. He is so cute! Little did I know she would give birth a week later to her Evelyn. It was great fun to see A-A's fam and eat dinner with the Doutre's.

Other things that we've been up to:

-Me and my friend Sam Merrell started this book club. Last month we read The Hiding Place and this month we're reading The Good Earth.

-Austin continues to enjoy volunteering at the Temple. He had great success visiting with ATS,  a company that works with automated systems and he feels he's found his 'nitch' when it comes to engineering.

-We finished the 3rd season of Lark Rise to Candleford and are anticipating watching the next one!

-Our dates consist of going to the Church to shoot hoops. That's what we did on Valentine's day. Best.date.ever. 

-I've gone to the dermatologist more than I want to. My bottom is proving to be the most value part of my body right now. It's taken $500+ just to see what in the world is going on with it. (Don't worry, I will spare you pictures ;) I have a patch test on my back right now and I'm praying for answers!! These have been a discouraging 6 months with little relief. At this point, I'm praying that if this doesn't go away, to laugh more about it. I mean, come on, my butt leaks for goodness sakes! Gratefully I have a husband who has a greater sense of humor than I do and keeps a smile on my face. So for now, we're doing well.