The weekend after we went to Stef and Randal's house, they and Kiel came to our house for Conference weekend. Here are some pictures from that adventure.
 
We had a great deal of fun at the Zoo and we want to go back to take more pictures in the not too distant future. (Our camera batteries died before we had made it 3/4 of the way through the zoo). Luckily, neither Kurtis nor I were eaten by the lions or tigers or bears...Oh! My!.
More pictures to come.
 
 We took a trip to Rexburg and while their Kiel and Randal decided that they wanted to completely shave their heads. Well, my poor, easily influenced (by family) husband gave into peer pressure and shaved his hair almost all off. ****This is a disclaimer: we love Kurtis' Family and the "peer pressure" remark is meant to be slightly humorous. Kurtis admires Stef, Randal, and Kiel so he wanted to do what they were doing.
 
 
Well, let's see, for Thanksgiving we were unable to go anywhere so a wonderful family in our ward invited us to share Thanksgiving with them. They were/are really very generous and wonderful. We had a ton of fun and learned how to make some very yummy pies and what not to do when making pie crust. : ) Then on Saturday, the Hollands stopped by to say hi on their way back to their home after visiting with family for Thanksgiving. It was nice to see them. Elise is so smart and talking so much now it is fun to just listen to her. What good parents Nic and Kari are and what good parents they have!
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A couple of weeks ago was the Festival of Lights here. The city or different organizations in the city try to put this on each year. Santa was there as well. In this picture Kurtis is trying to convince Santa that he really does deserve a little more than coal this year. Needless to say, Santa is not buying it! Poor Kurty!

Here are some of the pictures from the Festival of lights.
 
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We lived in Mesa for about 14 months and had a blast! Now we are in Idaho again but there is more to come on that later.

While we were in Mesa, we went on some very fun dates. Once, we dressed up like cows and went to Chic-Fil-A to get free food on their cow appreciation day. Another, we went roller skating at one of the rinks in Mesa, and for another, we went to one of the many parks Gilbert Az. Those pictures are all in the slide show below.
Before we left Arizona, my co-workers and the Teacher I worked under threw me a "going away" party. It was the best going away party ever. Perhaps a better title for it would be a funeral. Yep, not many people can say that they attended their own funeral, had a blast, and are still alive. It was complete with a funeral wreath, funeral potatoes, funeral music, a guest book, portrait of the "deceased", and people in mourning wearing all black.
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So now, we are back in the great state of Idaho. Kurtis is loving his new job and I am now the one trying to find something in my field but we love it here. It is definitely milder than Rexburg but thankfully we still get some snow. Not long after we got here and got settled, we went sight seeing. Pictures below.

 
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Well, one of Kurtis' dreams came somewhat true a couple of weeks ago. He was able to be on the video production crew for a Temple Celebration and Dedication. He did not actually get to be behind the camera but was asked to assist the JIB operator (the picture is of the JIB that Kurtis helped with) and he was treated as though we were a part of the crew, not just a volunteer. He had fun. This makes two of his dreams fulfilled. He has had sometime employed by BYU-Idaho full time on their production crew before we move to AZ and now he has been able to help out a little with a Temple celebration and dedication.

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My little brother, Jakey, was there as well. He had the once in a lifetime opportunity be in the celebration. He did a really great job. The celebration was very well done and there was a lot of talent.

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The ending of the celebration was pretty cool. You can't see it too well in this picture but by the end of the last song all of the participants had on white capes and there was white material streaming throughout the lines of kids. The effect was to make it look like they had become the Temple. It was really very neat.

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While Kurtis was down in the Gilla Valley, he was able to see the Cornerstone Sealing. This is a representation of the Cornerstone of The Church, Jesus Christ.  Below is a picture of the Prophet and the Temple President.

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On Kurtis' birthday, we took my best friend, Twilight, and went down to the Gilla Valley Temple open house outside of Thatcher. Here is a picture of Kurtis driving. His driving is so rare simply because of his work schedule, so I took a picture of it.

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Here we have a picture of my best friend since first grade, Twilight. I was trying to take a picture of her without her knowing and without looking from the front seat. I got quite a surprise and laugh when I looked at the picture to see if I got her

The following are some of the pictures we took while we were at the Temple. In case you are wondering how much hairspray I use to get my hair into such awesome styles, here is your answer, NONE! It is all natural, by way of wind.
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Here is a picture of the Temple. It is quite small but very beautiful. Just like with the Rexburg Temple, a Prophet saw this one being built and said that it would be one of the most beautiful temples ever built and though it is tiny it is magnificent.

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After we went to the open house, we had a picnic in one of the parks in Thatcher and then we got on our way to take Twilight home. We went through the Salt River Canyon which is where this picture of Twilight was taken. You can see our car in the background, in case any of you are wondering what our car looks like.

 
I was asked to be a mad scientist for a video project of some coworkers. Check me out and look for the continuity issue in it. Write a comment and let me know. Let's see who is the first ti find it. Enjoy.
 
This was a fun project to be in and it only took a few minutes of my time. Joe and Matt are always coming up with interesting projects.