Elder Carter...

Well, Elder Carter has made it to his first transfer.

He is still in El Paso, but has been made Senior Companion.

When we learn more, we'll let you know!

More of the chosen!

Alright, here are a few more... some of my favorites.
There is a whole series yet to play with, but these kept me entertained today...

My favorite number is 15. We quite conveniently stopped at mile 15, so Dad got a shot.

Love this location!

Props to Meg for the picture idea here!

More to come! Stay tuned!

Also, if you would like an invitation, post your address. We will keep the addresses confidential. If you would prefer, send John, Karen, or Roxy an email with the addresses. We'd like them by July 1 so we can get them in the mail!

A sneak peek...

Ok, I narrowed the pictures down... from 499 to 98. :)

Here's one for your viewing pleasure until I decide
which select few get to come and play on the blog!

Bridal Pictures!

We shot bridal pictures today! It was SO much fun... I had wonderful intentions to post some tonight, but I am having a hard time deciding... so... hopefully Friday I'll have a few up. Stay tuned!

An important equation:

We learned an important fact at the swimming pool the other day:

Roxy's solid-as-a-rock calf muscle
+ Kristina's dainty pinky
= One broken growth plate in the pinky finger

Dance Reviews

Tonight was Kristina's dance review. She has been taking dance lessons at the Tueller School of Dance. It was so fun to go and see all her hard work in action! She did absolutely fantastic. And she looked beautiful!

After the show...

Beautiful ladies...

Nina with our adorable parents, who celebrated 26 years of marriage yesterday. Happy anniversary you two! Sure love you!


Nina did great, and danced so gracefully! She's so much fun to be around, and we were delighted to support her!

California!

After hiking the Narrows, I met Larry half way between Ogden and St. George. He was done with drill on his birthday! We made plans to head to California for a few days before he had to leave again for Army. After a rendezvous in Scipio, we turned back around and headed for Anaheim! Because it was Larry's birthday, I wanted to make the day a little special. He had spent half the day with smelly army boys, and would spend the other half in a little Jetta. So, I pulled off at a rest stop equipped with picnic tables. I had come prepared with hostess cupcakes, 24 candles, and a lighter.

Larry liked his birthday cake.

We made it to Anaheim fairly late. Monday morning we woke up bright and... later in the morning. We went to visit Larry's parents and sister at work, where the students performed the Music Man. They did a great job with one of my favorite musicals. After school was out, we headed to the beach! We walked along Newport Beach for a few hours. It was so wonderful!

We had a barbeque with both sides of the family that evening to celebrate Larry's birthday. It was there that I got to meet everyone! They are a great family!

The next day we went to Disneyland! I haven't been since I was 5! Larry and I had SO much fun!!

What a stud. :)

We rode everything possible! We played like little kids without adult supervision. It was so much fun!

Toontown was crazy. That's the real sky in the picture! I know, it looks fake!

We were sure to try a famous corn dog while at Disneyland. I recommend one to everyone! All the rides were great. Larry was a fantastic tour guide, making sure I experienced the magic of this people trap operated by a mouse!

The next day we went to the beach again, this time to play! Larry's parents joined us as we went to Laguna Beach.

We spent a little while playing in the tide pools. Larry's mom taught us that if you push down on a closed sea anemone they squirt water! Try it next time you see one. Its a riot!

The beach was great! We boogie boarded and played until we were worn out!

That evening, Larry's mom and sisters were kind enough to give me a bridal shower. All the ladies from the family were there to party. My dear friend Alana drove out to join us as well! It was so much fun to see her!

The boys went to dinner while the girls partied. They joined us when all the partying had died down. Larry's cousins Katrina and Lucas enjoyed the leftover whipped cream...

We had a fabulous time in California! Many thanks go out to Larry's whole family who showed us a fantastic time! I can't wait to see them all again in August! It was nice to spend some time with Larry before he left for annual training, too... Let the wedding planning continue!

Weekend Adventures continue...

I've been itching for weeks to have another weekend adventure.
My friend Dayton provided such an opportunity at the end of May.
Larry wasn't able to come due to drill the same weekend.
I dropped him off at drill and then headed down to
Southern Utah to play in Zions National Park.
Dayton had gathered a group together to hike down the Narrows.
It's a 16 mile hike that takes an average of 12 hours from the top down.
Dayton's mom took all eight of us to the top, and we began our adventure down!

Here's us, before we got started...

The Narrows were absolutely beautiful!
We waded through the Virgin River over half the journey.
Each and every step held a new breathtaking view.

There is a three mile stretch called Wall Street where the rock shoots straight up
and you literally wade through the river because there is no where else to place your step.

I know, I know... my pants are pretty hot, huh? :)

I was my own photographer throughout the journey. (Hence the thumbs up!)

Dayton and I on a pile of sticks. A very large pile of sticks.

This was one of my favorite pictures from the day. I love sun flare!

We made it in 11 hours! It was such a glorious sight to see
the tram taking us back to the visitors station!

Very fortunately, all eight of us survived. :)
We found a very nice lady to take our picture as proof of our survival.

I recommend the Narrows to anyone... but be prepared! Its a tough adventure!

Daniel's 16th Birthday!

Well, folks, its official. Daniel is now legally allowed to drive and, more importantly, date.
He turned 16 a few weeks ago. (I've been slacking on my blog duties!)
I have already stopped counting the number of dates he has been on!

We had a fun little party which featured 2 cakes:

Daniel's Requested Cake: (Nina is helping with the candles)

And a Sugar-Free Cake created by Dad specifically for Mom.
(This was the hit of the party. Everyone was amazed that a sugar-free cake could taste so... sweet! :) )

Cute cousins

Daniel went on a fun little hunt for his presents, which were hiding in the trunk of Zootfaba.
Daniel was surprised with not one, but two Lego sets.
Which he had completed within about 12 hours...


Thanks for letting us celebrate with you Daniel!
We are proud of the young man you have become
and look forward to see where life takes you in the near future!

Love Elder Carter...

Last week there was a mishap in the email transmission... so we were glad to hear from Elder Carter this week! Here's a few words from the man himself...

aCK!! i'M so bummed you didn't get my e-mail! It was long and filled with all sorts of details that I don't remember... these computers are super slow so i sent it with 45 seconds left. Obviously it didn't send like it was supposed to. And I don't remember what I said either... Sorry... But other than that, i will send it with 2 minutes left today :) I'm glad that the house is almost brown! I think you should paint it sunset orange with seafoam green borders... or green and yellow. I saw a house like that here and it was so pretty! PS the houses here are so so cheep. We saw one for sale so we called in on it. 5 bedrooms 4 bathroom a movie room a pool plus it was huge. Guess how much? Just a little under 400,000. It would be at least 2 million in logan. But who would want to live in El Paso? (I would!!) the only thing is it isn't by anything. At all... But that's ok. I love it here so much! I'm so proud of your ward. That's so so awesome! I don't remember if i wrote you about it or if it was in the lost epistle... but I'm so proud of you and your ward. The obispo here made certificates for everyone in his ward. Calling them to full time member missionary service. Stake president signed and everything. And he expects them to report to him as well. It's awesome!
Sorry my last letter didn’t make it through. That stinks. El Paso is the best place to serve. I love it here  The members are so awesome. Sister Lee does our laundry, I said I could do it and I was scared for my life. haha This week has been an interesting week. We searched high. And we searched low. We found many new investigators, but we have dropped most of them. But, there is always at least one or two. We set a baptismal date for one lady on the 4th of July!!!! I’m so excited for her!! It’s difficult to find people more than once. But, yesterday we were able to teach another guy for a second time. And it was a long long lesson (2 hours YIKES) But the spirit was strong. He just had so many questions. And he seemed lost at the end of the lesson, because he thinks that everything he has learned in his life thusfar might be (well, most of it is) false. Like when we talked about baptism, how he wasn’t baptized by correct authority. But, if he is confused he’ll go to god. It wasn’t because of what we taught him, it’s because of the different views and feelings. For instance that God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are all separate beings. So, pray for him. Pray that he will go to God. I think that he will. He said that he would come to church with us on Sunday. I the thing is, sometimes you have to bring a building down before you can rebuild it. They did it with the Salt Lake Temple, when the foundation was cracking. Because we must be built on a sure foundation! So, I’m trying something new. Because the internet is so slow, I opened up a word document and started typing this letter to you. Then, while I wait for everything to load, I can tell you what happened this week! I think it sounds like a marvelous plan. I hope you all do too! Haha. So I feel like things are getting much better. Not that it was ever bad to begin with. I think that we are using our time more effectively. Finding people to teach and relying on the spirit. The members here are so helpful and kind. It’s a blessing to be serving with them. There is a kid who is preparing to go on his mission He has come and taught with us a bunch and it has been great for him and for us. He’s a convert to the church and the gospel really changed his life. Because that is what the restored gospel of Jesus Christ does. It heals, lifts, and inspires. It makes the darkest times in your life into learning experiences. It makes your family relations that much more important. It makes you treat everyone with love and a smile. Because we are all brothers and sisters. The people are so special and so loving. I am blessed to be here where I am, serving with those I am serving, and doing the things I am doing. Oh! I don’t think I told you, but I saw a Wind devil my first week here. It blew apart a sign of sheet metal. It was awesome  I have pictures on my memory card, which you may have as soon as I get another one ;) hahaha I should take more pictures while I am here, I’m really bad at it. Oh! And my Spanish Is coming along. I can almost always understand what people are saying. The other day this man was talking about a “fruit salad tree” It is one tree that grows plums, peaches, and apricots ( maybe nectorines) Apparently it blooms 3 different colors and has all three fruits. It sounds like an amazing tree! I bought a bunch of fruit at the store the other day and made a soy without soy for breakfast. It was delicious! I love healthy food. I wish there was more of it. I also have purchased too many ties… I have doubled my collection I brought here. I found a place that sells them for 3 bucks. And then another for 7. The seven are much nicer and thicker. But they are all awesome. I have grown addicted to ties. I am half tempted to buy them all, but I am not that silly. Oh, and I went to a burger place the other day for lunch. It made me miss Center Street Grill. We had some good food there. If you get a chance, or if you ever go there, tell Steph hi for me  And that they have the best burgers not only in UT but in Texas. Haha. I hear they have a 5 dollar special now too. Anyway, I gotta run! I love you all so much. Keep me in your prayers. You are in mine. I love being a missionary it is my favorite.  Love you so so so so much! And have such a blast this week!! Love, Elder Carter