Saturday, July 26, 2008

America's Favorite Pastime

So Rebekah and I thought it would be fun if we played on the same softball team in intramurals. Basically, I spent two weeks trying to convince her to play and she finally conceded. We got on a team with some friends and we did pretty well. I think our final record was 4-2 and we were just eliminated from the tournament last night by Kasey's team. We had a great time but will not be getting a champion's T-shirt this semester. But I still have hope for my men's team, we made it to the Elite 8!

Look at that batter's stance! Rebekah is quite the slugger.

We both got battle scars from sliding/diving in the same inning!

I would also like to point out one more thing: Rebekah now loves baseball! She never played on a softball team until this summer. I'm impressed with how quick she caught on with strategies of the game and she's a pretty good player too. She loves watching my games and even watches Baseball Tonight with me... that's true love right there folks!

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

O Rio de Janeiro continua lindo...


Our tourist visas for Brasil came in today. We leave exactly 3 weeks from tomorrow. We're super excited! A lot of Skyler's friends from areas he served are organizing parties and barbeques for us. It'll be a great trip. Vai ser show de bola!

Thursday, July 17, 2008

It's SODA not Pop

Today, the discussion of whether one should say "Soda" or "Pop" has officially ended. Skyler, much to his dismay, said earlier today that he "grew up drinking a lot of soda." SODA! That's right, this pop nonsense is no longer. For all of you out there who still believe in pop - give it up, one day you will give in too! Hehe. This was all pretty exciting for me.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

New York Trip!

It all started when Skyler met Rebekah and they fell in love. They would often set their friends up with each other and see how those turned out. Most of the set-ups didn't quite work out but we do have a success story. One that was taken all the way to the temple in Palmyra, New York...

A little over a year ago Dan and Bethany "just happened" to be at Rebekah's apartment at the same time to meet each other. Later that night Skyler and Rebekah talked on the phone about the possibilities of the two and planned a date for all of us to go on. A few days later we all went on a canoe date where Dan impressed Bethany with his mad canoe skills. After they ran into that first tree in the canoe, we knew they were meant to be. To make a long story short: they dated, Bethany now loves BYU football, Dan cuts his hair more often, they got engaged, and are now married. Rebekah and I were happy to play a small role in our best friend's happiness.

Just Married!

Uncle Robert and Aunt Joann and their family were in the Hill Cumorah Pageant. The pageant re-enacts several Book of Mormon stories and how it has been brought forth in these latter-days.

We met up with Ben and Kelly in Palmyra. They used to be our neighbors in Provo but now live in Pittsburgh. We had a fun day with them!

This is the Sacred Grove in Palmyra, New York. It is called sacred because of the special event that took place here many years ago. In 1820, Joseph Smith wanted to know which church he should join. He read in the Bible that he should pray and ask God for an answer. It was here in the Sacred Grove where Joseph knelt down in prayer and received a visit from Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Joseph was told not to join any church but that he would be called to restore Christ's church on the earth once more. Joseph was called to be a prophet and because of that event, we now can partake of the blessings of the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ. We are very grateful to Joseph Smith and his calling to restore the truths of the gospel once again to the earth. This was definitely a highlight of our trip!


For more information about the Sacred Grove and the events that preceded and followed that vision, see these two links. These are some of my favorite talks about the restoration:

http://lds.org/ldsorg/EmailArticleProcess?action=view&cmlId=263167&locale=0&emId=279734488

http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/EmailArticleProcess?action=view&cmlId=264773&locale=0&emId=99297403