Happy Anniversary!

I can't believe Ian and I have been married for 4 years today! He tells me all the time, "I don't want anyone else. I understand your kind of crazy." I think that's a good thing... :) It feel like a lot of our marriage has been working and being in school, but we have had quite the highlight reel. I love our great life!

First he came home from his mission.

And we had to hit the slopes together.

We went to the color festival when we were engaged.

4 years ago today, we got married.

And it was a very happy day!

We honeymooned in Vegas (and went to Vegas another time).

We played on the beach at Pineview Resevoir

And went to our first demolition derby in Idaho.

Then we moved to Texas for the summer and enjoyed living by the beach. 

And got a little crazy in the process. I don't know why Ian has an apple sticker on his head.

We went to Disneyland with my family for Christmas 2011.

And of course, made a stop at Newport Beach.

For our 2-year anniversary, we took a Mexican cruise.

And even though I was pretty sure we were going to die, we went ziplining.

Then we went to one of the places I went while Ian was on his mission.

I'm noticing we pose this way a lot. Our big trip in 2013 was to San Diego for Casey's wedding.

See, with the pose? This was from another Vegas trip in January.

Then we went to Central America in March.

We've spent a lot of sunny days on the beach!

 I'm looking forward to many more fun adventures with this love of mine.

On Women in the Priesthood...

I know when I get too much time on my hands, because this blog starts to get a little ranty (is that a word?). However, I feel strongly about this and I've decided to make my sentiments known, mostly for my own benefit and to sort out my feelings in my head. Feel free to peruse on if you wish.

I listened to the broadcast on KUER with Ally Isom, a spokeswoman for the church, in response to the media explosion in the wake of Kate Kelly possibly receiving church punishment for her propagation of "Ordain Women". You can find the interview here. It's lengthy, and gets a bit contentious at times, but I think it's worth the listen if you have questions about excommunication and/or the role of women in the church.

I had some opinions jogging in my head as I was listening, and I figure this is as good a place as any to express them. First off, it raises the question in my mind: What is Kate Kelly still doing as a member of the church? If you're part of an organization that does not support your ideals, don't you find a new one? There are many churches who support women receiving the priesthood; why doesn't she join one of them?

Second, and most importantly, the purpose of this life is to return to Heavenly Father. It's at the center of everything we do in the Church. I would submit that it would be difficult to get through a 3-hour church block without hearing those words, likely verbatim. With that being the purpose and design of our existence, the Lord has determined that women do not need the priesthood in order to gain exaltation. It doesn't have to go any further than that. Start the wrap party, folks! That's it.

It was repeated numerous times in that interview, that the church encourages questions because righteously doing so promotes faith. The entire restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ started with a question. The danger in asking questions, which wasn't said but what I wholeheartedly believe, is that Satan works his way in to the process and tries to steer you away from the truth. That is what has happened in the case of Kate Kelly, and so many others in the church. An honest inquiry has been turned in to a crusade which has put a black mark on the name of the Church. If you have such an inquiry, the place to go is to your Judges in Israel, your bishop and stake president. Don't go pounding on the door of the Church office building and then express outrage when you're not admitted, because those aren't the people the Lord has appointed to help you.

Even if the answer to a righteous inquiry is sought in the right way, the answer may still not be clear. That is when you may have to trust that "My thought are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways" (Isaiah 55:8). The doctrine of the church is not a buffet. You either choose to accept all of it, or none of it. I personally choose to accept all of it, even the parts that my mortal mind cannot make sense of right now.

Number One!

Ian gives me reasons to be proud of him every day, but today he was recognized at work for being the #1 rep in the St. George office and #2 in the company for the month of April (they do the recognition dinner every 2 months). Each of the supervisors of the people in top ten write a little blurb to be read at the dinner. Bobby had nothing but good things to say about Ian:

"Good job and congratulations on your 1st #1 trophy in top ten! Anyone that knows Ian is fully aware that he is capable of being at the very top in the company every single month. Ian is one of my very favorite people and I would not trade him for anyone. I believe every good team has a great foundation and that is what Ian provides for my team is a rock solid foundation. I know exactly what to expect and am never disappointed! Keep rocking it, Ian, and thanks for all you do. I really appreciate you."

I wanted a picture. You'd think that wouldn't be so difficult having grown up in a family of photographers...

We started like this.

This one's a little better, but I kind of wanted to see his face.

Third time's the... nope...

There we go! Look at that handsome devil of mine!

I'm so thrilled to be married to someone who is so skilled and makes the most of his situations at work. (The $200 bonus doesn't hurt either... (: ) I am one proud wife!

Feelin' Hot, Hot, Hot!

And, just like that, May is gone. Crazy, isn't it?

Life is busy, but oh so good. Ian's working hard and bringing home the bacon at AllConnect, and I'm working part-time. It's kind of nice to have nothing to do but catch up on Criminal Minds and read books that have nothing to do with Nursing. I'll be ready for the fall when it comes though, I'm sure.

We're lucky to be able to spend a decent amount of time with each other lately. We even managed to escape to Vegas last weekend. Ian found an Argentine restaurant that he was excited to try, and it was delicious! He said it was just like what he used to eat. We stayed at The Golden Nugget, which was surprisingly really nice, and since we had never done downtown, "old Vegas" before, we spent the evening taking in the sights and kitschy-ness of Fremont Street. We have a tradition of playing this stupid penny slot machine called "Planet Moolah" whenever we see it, too. It used to be really fun because we would win when we played, but it hasn't been so kind lately. Oh well. What can you really expect playing penny slots?

Ian wore my sunglasses while we were driving because we had to buy him a new pair
and it took me a while to get the tag off. He's so hipster.

The hotel comped us a goody basket. 

Argentines are not like other South Americans. They eat a lot of red meat.
Typically, they cook a lot of different cuts of meat and cut them in to
small pieces so everyone can have a little bit of everything. 

He went straight up Ron Swanson on the place.

I had Milanesas. It was delicious! You can kind of see the chimichurri in the corner which was SO good!

Fremont street right outside our hotel.

Projections on to the ceiling.

From the outside looking in. On the right was The Heart Attack Grill,
where people have literally had heart attacks eating.

I've been reading The Matt Walsh Blog a lot lately. I don't agree with everything he posts, but it's refreshing to read words from someone who shares similar values and writes about something other than what celebrities are tweeting about. His post on Friday was about marriage and how devastating it is that people don't take it seriously anymore. One part really resonated with me:

"Life is change. People are change. I’m seeing this play out all around me. As I get older I drift further apart from some of the people I used to consider my closest confidants. But I let myself drift, and so do they, because circumstances also change, and what I’m realizing is that so many of my relationships were only ever circumstantial.

"My relationship with my wife, however, transcends the circumstance. If we feel ourselves drift, we reach out our hands and grasp tightly, because I choose to remain at her side, and she at mine. And if I ever look over to find that we’ve somehow lost sight of each other — both now walking alone and lost in that cold night — I will grab a torch and search for her until I find her again. She is my mission, my life’s work, and I’d sooner give up my life than give up on her."

It's sad that we live in a world where this opinion is the vast minority, that "cohabitation" is the norm, and usually leads to broken hearts and families. I'm glad to be part of that minority.