Hermana Syme

Adrianne came to Provo a few days before entering the MTC on Wednesday and we got to spend some time to spend with her before leaving.  Like going to La Jolla Grove for dinner.

Kneader's for a last morning breakfast

and then Crystal took Adrianne to the MTC on Wednesday afternoon

She is going to do some great things in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in the next 18 months!

Sacramento

We went to Sacramento for the fourth of July and for Adrianne's misison farewell talk.  

I enjoyed the fireworks obviously.

But it wasn't as exciting as the show in San Diego this year...

We went rafting all day with friends and family.

Derric brought some things back that were left in his closet... including a sword!

and we had a great time with family.

Wedding Bells

Two of Derric's friends and mission buddies got married... to eachother... and we were able to go to the reception with a couple good friends.  Sadly, we only took a picture with the groom.

Then Alex and I convinced/tricked our husbands into going to a chick flick.  What to Expect When You're Expecting.  A pretty good date night if you ask me.

Master Chris

My big brother graduated with his Masters degree in Industrial Hygiene!  i'm so proud of him and it was a great day... other than getting a flat tire on the way...

good thing Derric is so handy.

and... there was a slight typo in Chris' graduation program.

all in all a very good day

3 More Graduates in the Family

This weekend we celebrated 3 graduations - my brother Matt, his beautiful wife Jaymie, and Derric's sister Adrianne.  We are so proud of all of them.

hooray for higher education!

Festival of Colors

Every spring in Spanish Fork, Utah, there is a festival of colors at the Hindu temple.  I have always wanted to go and throw chalk at everyone else while getting covered myself.  After how many years in Provo I finally made it! Here is the official evidence.

Nashville Tennessee Mission Reunion

We went to Derric's mission reunion and I got to meet a lot of the people he served with.  And of course Derric, who said he didn't even care about going, was so excited and running and hugging and laughing with just about everyone we saw.  I learned some more stories about him and it was so fun getting to meet the people from the stories I had already heard.  Here's a few highlights, though as his personal paparazzi I took many many more pictures.

Justin and Alex Moses! some of our favorite people

paparazzi moment!

Derric's mission president - President Hutchings

and Sister Hutchings

Adrianne's Mission Call!

Derric's sister, Adrianne, just got her mission call!  

we all jumped for joy... luckily Derric is strong enough to catch us

I'm so excited for her!  Florida Fort Lauderdale is really great!  We looked up the top sixteen reasons to live there, and apparantly they are as culturally diverse as New York, and have a boat parade! woohoo!

She is going to be a super sister missionary, I'm already so excited for her that I googled the weather conditions (average inches of rain by month and average highs and lows of each month) so that I can help her pick out clothes.  And I even bought the Preach My Gospel DVDs (the district 1 & 2)  just to have for myself and watch with her!  

It's got me thinking about my mission and how much I miss it.  Anaheim has a special place in my heart.  I was just talking with Julie about the time that I was tackled by a homeless man.  Oh the memories.