Temple Work and Other Matters

Hi everyone! This is Adam again.  I am here to give you my perspective on our trip and what we have done since then.  So... to begin:

The trip was a wonderful break from the normal life found here in Utah.  Prior to this trip, Ashley and I had not made a trip outside of Utah since January.  We both needed this trip.  It was a lot of fun to be around Ashley's family, which had all gathered for our nephew's baby blessing.  Ashley loved spending time with her new nephew.  In fact, Ashley and her mother were in what I considered a lighthearted competition to hold the new baby the most.

After going to Seattle, we returned to Vancouver where we got to spend a lot of time with Ashley's friends and visiting new places (or old places that Ashley remembered, whichever you prefer).  We also got to go visit the beach, which was really special for me, since I have only gone to the beach a few times and I have never spent a long time there and never in Summer.  It was a lot of fun, and a special day with just Ashley.

Ok, so moving on... we then returned to our home where we began our temple assignment.  Saturday was our first day and we were quite nervous when we got there.  Fortunately, there was a lot of willing assistance, and we had a great time.  It was a very spiritual experience.  Not only were we able to serve other people, which was a delightful experience, but it was also a chance to learn as well.  I am really looking forward to our shift each Saturday.

Trip to Washington: Day 5-8

So after we came back to Vancouver, we got to do more stuff :) On Monday, we got lunch at Gustav's, a German restaurant in the Vancouver/Portland area. We had delicious fondue! After that we hung out with a couple of friends of mine, Chelsea and Alex. We all went up to a waterfall that my family discovered north of Vancouver. Its a beautiful drive and the waterfall is kind of hidden from the road so we've always called it Hidden Falls. haha not sure how we found it. Anyways, it was fun to go there and cool down. We put our feet in the water but it was of course freezing (it's basically snow melt). We did get to take some fun pictures!

 There's also a little trail that leads to an old railroad which I discovered one time from going to the falls with my family. Chelsea and Alex had fun playing chicken :)

 Then Chelsea and I went to the mall and got pedicures. Yay for girl time! Then the next day was temple day!! We got some great pictures from our wedding but I wish that it hadn't rained at the temple and I hadn't had bronchitis xP So Adam and I attempted to take more pictures in our wedding clothes at the temple but when it was sunny. Alex and Chelsea helped us and we used one of my dad's cameras which sadly we couldn't figure out how to turn on the flash but we did get some good ones. It was very hot as well haha it made us appreciate the coolness on our wedding day. We tried not to get in the way of a bridal party that was doing stuff but it was interesting to see people stare at us haha. Since I got married in December, the grounds weren't exactly crawling with people. A family with two little girls (about 5 or 3 was my guess) came up to me and asked me my name and wanted to look at my dress and my ring. So cute!! I kinda felt like a princess at Disneyland haha. I thoroughly enjoyed it. My dad will help edit them but here's one of them :)

We then got to go through a session which was absolutely wonderful!! It was great being back in the place we got married and feeling the spirit there. I love Adam so much more now than I did when we got married and I know it will continually be growing with time. We also got to go into the new visitors' center briefly :) Then we traveled back to have an early dinner with my friend Sarah and her boyfriend. We went to Dok Koon Thai food and it was very yummy as always :) It was great seeing Sarah again however briefly since she's been my friend since we were 13 :) After that we went over to my aunt and uncle's house with my mom and my sister. Haha that morning we got a surprise by finding out that my aunt Amber had come to visit from Idaho and brought her kids!! She got to meet Adam when we went to Idaho Falls last year but I hadn't seen her since. She also had a baby boy in that time! My other aunt Sarah (the house we went to) had a baby girl too. So I got to meet my two new cousins who were completely adorable. Naomi was a very content little one and I got to hold her a lot and watch her make funny faces haha. Benjamin was cute as well in all his attempts to crawl but getting thoroughly frustrated.

I am so glad I got to see them all and Adam got to enjoy being around a bunch of little cousins who like to kick him and hit him with their toys haha ;)

The next day (Wednesday) Adam and I went to the coast (Cannon Beach, OR to be exact)! It was so fun to be there with him because he's only been to the beach twice in his life. Once when he was ten but it was cold and rainy and in March, and another on his mission but of course he didn't get to do anything. It was fun to show him all of the places my family would go. It was a gorgeous day at the beach and relatively warm for the Oregon coast. We walked along the surf collecting sea shells, getting our feet wet, and running from the waves. We also got to go to the tidepools and see a starfish and little fish that change color to their surroundings. We then ate at a seafood restaurant overlooking the ocean. A wonderful time :) 

 Then the next day we drove all the way back to Utah which was very long and very tiring. I'm so glad that we got to make this trip and Adam could experience a little bit of WA summertime :) So glad I got to see so many friends and family :) Now for relaxing and preparing for the coming semester of school!!

Love,

Ashley <3

Trip to Washington: Days 1-4

So Adam and I just got back from our summer trip to Washington to visit my family. This was the third time Adam had been to WA and the first time coming as a married couple. We drove the long trek with a friend of mine who had her first term this summer at BYU. It was really fun having her along to talk to and to have an extra driver was nice. We got in Thursday evening and basically went straight to bed. The next morning my parents, sister, Adam, and I drove up to Seattle to spend the weekend with my other sister, her husband, and NEW BABY!!! This was very exciting for me as this is my first niece/nephew that I had not inherited by marriage. He was blessed that Sunday and my mom's birthday was Saturday so it was a pretty eventful weekend. Little Anders is about a month and a half old and so adorable. He makes the funniest faces and looks a lot like my dad. He's also started to smile and giggle and make noises. SO CUTE :) I got to hold him and cuddle him lots to help pacify me until I get to see him next time whenever that may be.

On Saturday, we got to go to Snoqualmie Falls, which is east of Bellevue (where my sister lives). It was very hot and crowded but very beautiful :)

We also got to go to The British Pantry, a British shop with a little restaurant, for lunch which was yummy. And in the evening, we went to Claim Jumpers. By the end of the day, Anders was completely tuckered out, poor guy. But the next day he slept through all of sacrament meeting (including the blessing) and through being passed around for a zillion pictures. Then we drove back to Vancouver. Overall it was awesome and I can't wait to see him again :)