Lessons learned at the zoo

So the other day, we went to the zoo with Aeme and Jbz, it was fun and we learned some stuff.

Lesson  #1: Monkeys are the cutest zoo animal. (Biased? Yes.) They're even cute when they're sitting all sad-like or deep in thought like these two. 

(Alright, that wasn't really a lesson but oh well.)

 

Lesson #2: Polar bears move! Cool. 

Lesson #3: Who needs a house cat when you can have a sand-cat? This poor trapped cat was pacing back and forth in it's glass house. Yeah it's probably more aggressive than house-cats but it's cute...

#4: Yeah, I got nothin'. But that chimp is cute. It took him a while to pull that sheet off it's head.

(We took a little break from walking...)

#5: Giraffes are nicer than gorillas. 

#6: Don't look a gorilla in the eye, or take pictures of it, or even look at it. They're moody. [The "alphadog ape" at the Hogle zoo was sitting all calm, then the next second he was angrily standing up and charging at the glass ... towards us. He sat down for a minute to eat some cardboard and then ran back and forth in his cage to show how irritated he was.

 He's not very cool. We didn't get video of his angry breakdown... but it would scare the poohbear out of you, just like it did to us. Good times...] 

#7:  Dippin' Dots are amaaazing! 

P.S. Bryce is amazing! I love my sweet handsome husband! :]

Love, Us

See The Good

My mind is racing today and just a heads up, I have a sensitive subject to bring up. You may or may not want to read this if you are uncomfortable with the topic of the passing of loved ones. We all have different situations, but either way, death is a tough topic. I am bringing it up because it is a part of this life and is included in reality, which I am guilty of being ignorant of sometimes. It is easy to forget that we're all mortal, and that death is a part of the great Plan of Salvation. God has prepared the Plan of Salvation for us so that we can return to live with Him someday in a place of peace with our loved ones. We know that death is not the end because our Savior, Jesus Christ, suffered and died for us and then was resurrected. He made it possible for us to live again, and He loves us and guides us through this life of joy and adversity. He knows us better than we can imagine, He has already suffered everything so that He can succor us in our time of need. This includes the fear of death and death itself. He has already conquered death, so we know that we can be with our loved ones again. It's true that death is still a scary thing though.

"Irrespective of age, we mourn for those loved and lost. Mourning is one of the deepest expressions of pure love. It is a natural response in complete accord with divine commandment: "Thou shalt live together in love, insomuch that thou shalt weep for the loss of them that die." (D&C 42:45) Moreover, we can't fully appreciate the joyful reunions later without the tearful separations now." (Quote from Elder Russell M. Nelson, "Doors of Death")

Today, a very close friend of mine, that has been ill for some time and has endured so much, passed away. I wasn't aware of her most recent struggles and I had no idea that I wouldn't get another chance to talk to her. My heart aches knowing that I don't get to talk with her, hug her, or see her glowing personality again in the mortal frame. This sounds a little bit dramatic, but I want to wake up from this bad dream  and call her and tell her thank you for everything she's done for me, but I know I can't. I can only have the faith that I will see her again, and I know I will have the chance to thank her in person someday. She is such a spunky and optimistic person, and I know that she wouldn't want anyone to stay sad. So my point in writing this, besides that it's therapeutic, is to remind us to see the good. Also a reminder to myself, and whoever else wants the reminder, is to treasure every moment with those you love. Try not to take anyone for granted. It's normal for us to have trials and sometimes disagree with others, but the important part of life is learning to overcome adversity and trust in the Lord. Even if we disagree with others, it's important to still let the people we care about know that we love them. Life is fragile, and we are all mortal and imperfect, whether we admit it or not. The Lord's timing is greater than our own and He can help us have peace. A lot of us, if not everyone, have felt the pains of losing a loved one. I'm not saying that you should suck it up and forget the pain, because the pain is a real feeling, but I do want to encourage you to see the good. See the good in that person and try to be more like them, see the good that they always have seen in you because they would want you to know they still care and love you for exactly who you are, see the good in those around you and love them even when times get tough, and see the good in life. Now is the time to live life to it's fullest, whether we're young or old. I want to do better at seeing the good and be more like my amazing friend Shelli Barnson. She's a dancer at heart and now she can dance again without the pain she's had to endure. 

You're loved Shelli :] thanks for being you

Whether you're family or friends reading this, we love you and appreciate your example in our life! You all fill a place in our life that's yours, you can't be replaced. Keep being you and remember you're loved. :] 

Love, Us

"Peace" by Felicia Sorensen (EFY 2007)

Here's a short video we made about the temple. :)

St.Geezy...

Disclaimer: Somewhat lengthy post...

So since we moved, we've had a few chances to go to St. George. We love to visit our cute little hot hometown and see family and do fun stuff. Yep.

Here are some pictures/videos from our adventures. :) 

Classic car pictures. We seem to have more of these than any other kind of picture of ourselves.

 It happens. Haha

Aubree & Karson graduated college! Way to go!

   

Goofy group pics. Thanks chair for taking our pictures from an unflattering angle. Woo!

Classy, guys!

 

Cute picture of beautiful people! :)

We decided that we needed a reason to have cake and ice cream (since most of the birthday celebrations aren't until October)  so we threw a birthday party for Posie. (The cat...)

Happy birthday!

We also went to my step-brother's wedding (not in st.g) & reception.

Congratulations Corey and Vivi! 

 

Their awesome family picture -- even Elder TJ McCoy got to be there to support you ;)

 Cute colors and gorgeous reception!

And....

Us... :]

Us and the awesome miracle Jeep :] 

I love Bryce! He's amazing.

Hanging out with some of the family ;) 

This family can sing! (And Uncle Fen writes amazing songs for them to sing.)

Bryce & his brother Travis, and Travis&Myriam's new little baby Shadd. (Singing.) Shadd was "conducting the music" in his sleep, so cute!

The next pictures were taken by Lela Boyd/her awesome camera, but I'm posting them because we left our camera in St.G for now... so I hope you don't mind Lela! I'll post more pictures that we took when I can. :) 

Our sister/brother-in-law Aubree and Karson got sealed in the temple, it was an awesome experience. They are such great examples to us. Congrats you two :) thanks for letting us be there for your happy day!

Most of the family at Shadd's baby blessing. What a handsome family! ;) 

Congrats Travis & Myriam! :]

Almost everyone in the Skelton's, we all missed Aaron though! If we had photoshop, we'd "photoshop you in" ... but we don't, so just pretend that we did. :] Be there next time though. We're grateful to be a part of this amazing family.

Aubree, Tiah, Aarin, Whitney, Myriam, and Shadd

Love this picture of the sisters-ins-laws! They're all awesome. P.S.- Jbz, where were you for this picture? You're awesome too! Thanks for taking pictures Lela!

I know this has been a lengthy post, but the best part is coming up :)

If you came from the facebook link, there isn't really a secret in this post.

 Haha sorry if you feel deceived. ;)

A video montage of some of the happenings [captured by our phones]

                                            

Standing ovations are pretty common... especially when someone has milk in their hand haha.

Bryce is a talented musician, you name the instrument, he can play it.. ;) I love my hilarious, talented, entertaining, silly, & handsome husband!

And in the last part of the clip, we were hanging out with our niece and Jbz was pretending to be a lion hahah. Our niece sang the cutest songs to help "the lion" fall asleep, so I wanted to share the video of her singing... so sweet! 

  

Until next time St.Geezy, it's been real. 

Love, Us