Surprise Trip to Logan

On Saturday November 23rd as we were watching the BYU vs. Notre Dame football game, we got a phone call from my parents. The conversation started out with my dad saying in a concerned voice "what are your plans for the night and can you change them?" I instantly thought something was wrong with someone in our family. As the conversation went on and we said "what is going on" my dad said "well, I've been called to be the new stake president." Andrew and I both just looked at each other and said "wow." My dad asked if we could come up to Logan that night to be with him and then support him on Sunday when he would be called and sustained.  After frantically trying to get work off, which resulted in paying people $50 to take my shift, we were on the road to Logan.

When we pulled into Logan my parents were at a meeting with the Area Authority and a member of the Presidency of the Seventy. So we patiently waited for my parents to get home with my brother Cameron and his wife Rebecca. It was a very special night to spend with my mom and dad as they were telling us about the whole day and how everything happened. As we were eating some cookies at 11 pm the doorbell rang. My mom just said, "it can't already be starting, no one else knows that he is the new stake president." When my dad opened the door it was my two brothers and their families. They had all packed into one van and drove six hours straight to surprise my dad.

It was a great experience to have my whole family go to church together. We knew everyone would find out that my dad was the new president when all 14 of us as well as all my grandparents came in together. It was very powerful to watch my dad be called, sustained, and set apart into this new calling. He is going to be a great Stake President that will help many people who stand in need. My testimony has been strengthened that this is the Lord's church and that he calls certain individuals to move the work forward. My mom said in her testimony to the stake that her husband is not perfect but he does have a testimony and will try his best. I second that! I know that my dad is not perfect but I do know that he has a testimony and love for our Savior Jesus Christ. A quote from President Uchtdorf's past conference talk sums it up for me,

"I suppose the Church would be perfect only if it were run by perfect beings. God is perfect, and His doctrine is pure. But He works through us--His imperfect children-- and imperfect people make mistakes."-President Uchtdorf

Fall Fun

I love Fall and all that comes with it including apple cider, hot chocolate, football, sweatshirts, and much much more. Here is what we did to enjoy it!

-We've gone to Logan a few times. I love Logan in the Fall and driving through Sardine Canyon. One trip I made by myself to go to a friend's wedding reception. It was a lot of fun to hang out with my parents again. We even went to one of my favorite restaurants in Logan called Herm's. We decided to try the cinnamon roll but didn't realize how big they were. (See picture)

-We've had some fun date nights with our cousins Kate & Taylor. BYU was having a date night for married students where they gave us dinner and a movie. So after wanting to go all summer long we saw Despicable Me 2. It was fun and we had a good laugh. We also went to Kate & Taylor's house for a fun little dinner. It was on Lindsey's birthday so we gave her a call together since she is both our sister-in-law and cousin. (Lindsey married Andrew's brother and Kate married Lindsey's brother)

-I enjoyed my first Starbucks Carmel Apple Spice for the season! If you have not tried it, you need to. It will change your life.

-I got to be apart of the Bangerter family's making of apple cider, or as we like to call it "Liquid Gold."
The Bangerter's get tons of apples from their trees which means lots of cider and apple crisp. It is a lot of hard work but very worth it.

- It has been a busy few weeks since BYU Basketball & Football overlap this time of the year. This season was the most dedicated I've ever been going to Football games, I  even went to a game in the snow. We wanted to live it up since this could be our last BYU football season living in Provo. It has also been a fun start to the Basketball season. We were on the 5th row when we played Iowa State who was ranked. We had a headache for days after that game since it was so close.

-I had two jobs for one week. Andrew and I both felt strongly that I needed to get a second job. So I applied to a little drink place called Swig. It is really popular in St. George. I got hired right away and enjoyed it for about one day. I just didn't get a good feeling when I was working there even though the people and the environment was great. I also found out that I could get more hours at my Rec Center job so I decided to quit and just pick up more hours there. I learned a lot in that one week about myself and that I can do hard things. There were lessons that I needed to learn from the Lord just from working there for one week. I've learned a lot and feel like I'm headed in the right direction when it comes to work.

-Last but not least, the number one thing that has been consuming our lives this fall is a TV show called Chuck. My dad and brother Tyler introduced us to the show since we needed a TV series to watch after we finished the Cosby Show. WE ARE HOOKED! It is about a guy who works for the Nerd Herd at a store called the Buy More (It is like working at Best Buy for the Geek Squad). He is forced to become a spy when government secrets are put in his brain on accident. The show keeps us laughing, crying, and pulling at the heart strings every episode. My favorite part is watching Andrew yell at the TV when a cliffhanger happens or a major plot change. We are on the last season and are not quite sure what we're going to do when it is over.

Those are some of the more major things that happened to us this Fall. We're excited to see what Winter adventures are ahead!