So much snow...

We seem to keep getting storm after storm and the snow is just piling up. I love it!

This week was pretty rough for Dani. We know there's no magic date for the "morning" sickness to go away, but it was discouraging for her to feel better for a little bit and then go back to feeling lousy.

On Tuesday my buddy Todd and I drove up Little Cottonwood Canyon to snowshoe to White Pine Lake. Todd used skins on his splitboard and he let me borrow a pair of snowshoes. We were one of the only ones to hike that trail since the last snowfall, so we were breaking trail most of the way. I realized pretty quick that I am out of shape! It felt like wearing flip-flops in knee-deep water while sinking down into mud, except with heavy winter gear and all snow. It was all I could do to keep up with the guy who's been fighting fire as a hotshot all season! Regardless, we enjoyed catching up and breathing the smog-free mountain air. It was incredible hiking through the blanketed trees and deep snowdrifts with white mountain peaks surrounding us.

Our trail through the trees

This week I had my first ride-a-long with Morgan County EMS. I will be volunteering with them just like I did down in Moab. Morgan is a small community of less than 10,000 residents about 25 minutes away from my house. Our call volume is pretty small, so sometimes it can be boring around here. I usually just bring my homework and hang out at the station until we get a 911 call. It will be a good way to force me to take a full study day for the week while still doing what I love on the ambulance.

The call we had that day was for a woman with a kidney stone in extreme back pain. She was at the Morgan Health Center and we transported her to McKay Dee Hospital in Ogden. We don't have a hospital locally, so we take all of our patients to Ogden. A fairly uneventful day, but I love being back on the ambulance.

What's a quinzee?

Igloo: built of blocks of hard snow
Snow cave: shelter dug in deep drifted snow

A quinzee is a shelter made by piling snow into a mound and then burrowing into it. I've always wanted to build one and sleep in it, but living in Moab I never saw enough snow to make one. That all changed when we moved to northern Utah! I spent the day after our white Christmas making a huge snow pile, and the next day carving it out. It was long and wide enough for two people to lay flat! I spread out a tarp and threw out our sleeping pads and bags and Dani and I slept that night perfectly cozy.

Dani had a streak of good days, and we were able to drive down to Provo to hang out with some of her friends, namely Candace who was visiting with her family from Alabama for Christmas. Nearly all of Dani's college roommates have babies, so it was nice to hear their stories and get some good advice for new parents.

Candace with Ollie, Dani, Michelle with Everley, and Laura with Josh

Unfortunately later this week Dani started feeling sick again, but she encouraged me to go hiking to alleviate my case of cabin fever. I did the Ogden Canyon Overlook trail, which starts at Snowbasin ski resort and goes up about 2.5 miles to the top of Ogden Canyon. There was quite a bit of snow but there had been enough people who skied the trail to pack it down enough for me in my hiking boots. After I escaped the overflowing parking lot of snow sports enthusiasts, I didn't see anybody else on the trail until I was almost to the trailhead again. It was a perfect day of solitude.

Big Decisions with Some Twists of Fun

This week started out rough as I came down with something and spent a few days sick in bed. Secretly I think Chris didn't mind because he got to practice his new medical skills with ONDAMED (a really cool biofeedback machine that uses pulsed electromagnetic fields to help the body heal itself) AND an injection (you can tell I really trust him).

Chris did have a great opportunity to go to the hospital on Tuesday to check out the workplace of a nurse anesthetist we know from our ward and ask some questions about the profession. Chris is planning on watching him in the OR this summer to get a better idea of what it will be like.

We went to the Monticello temple on Wednesday night, as our hearts and minds were occupied in trying to decide which school had the best nursing program for Chris. My stud of a husband was accepted into every program he applied to! We had it narrowed down to Utah State Eastern in Price and Weber State University in Layton (the Davis campus). USU Eastern appealed to us because the tuition is the lowest in all of Utah and it's close to Moab, but Weber has a very well-known nursing program - one of the the best in Utah. Ultimately we felt right about going to Weber, and are excited for Chris to go to a university where he will have more experiences in larger, busier hospitals during his clinicals and a larger network of alumni to get to know. Now all we need to do is find me a job in Layton starting in the fall, so if anyone has connections let us know!

Luckily Matthew and Olivia helped to spice up the second half of our week by inviting us to their theater performances at the Moab Broadway Review. Those two have been practicing hard with other kids and their performances were fantastic. We really enjoyed watching not just them but so many of our friends and ward members who also performed.

Matthew in "Food, Glorious Food" (Oliver Twist) and Olivia in "I Can't Wait to Be King" (The Lion King)

On Saturday I did an up-and-down trip to Provo for a fantastic girls day with my favorite year of roommates - Laura, Jessica, Candace, and Michelle. Jessica is getting married this summer, and both Candace and Michelle are expecting their first kids. So we threw a bridal shower for Jess, which transitioned into a combined mini baby shower for Candace and Michelle! It was so good for the five of us to have time to spend together (a rare occasion the last few years). With Laura moving to Florida for the summer this week and then Candace moving to Alabama for her husband's schooling in the fall who knows when the next time will be that we can all get together. I'm so grateful that our year of random roommates brought us all lifelong best friends.

As much as Chris would have loved the hours on hours of girl talk, he stayed down in Moab and hung out with some buddies who were in town for the weekend. Todd (a college roommate) and his wife Jame came down with a former mission companion of Todd's and the four of them had quite the day of adventures! They mountain biked the Klondike Bluff Trails, tromped to Delicate Arch, and then repelled from Corona Arch. Though my day was equally fabulous I'm still a little jealous of their repelling adventure without me!

Anders, Chris, Todd and Jame battled the crowds and wind at Arches

Don't look down Anders!

After our big days on Saturday we loved having a relaxing and peaceful Sunday. Church on Sunday was perfectly rejuvenating and helped to spiritually and mentally prepare us for a new week. We're so grateful for the knowledge of the gospel we have.

Remember to pray and remember to play,

Mr. & Mrs. Andrew

Crusin' around California

After spending a great Easter weekend in Fortuna, Dani and I headed down to Rancho Cordova to visit Dani's Grandpa Goss. It was great to meet him and listen to his fascinating stories from when he met and dated grandma, his time in the military, his travels, and teaching.

Monday morning we met up with Dani's cousin Camille and went ziplining through the redwoods. It was a first time for both of us and we had a blast! It was a lot of fun hanging out with Camille too and getting to know her.

The next day Grandpa took us to go visit grandma's gravesite. She passed away in 2010, but Dani always had a special relationship with her as she grew up. Having been born in California, Dani was grandma's "Little California Girl." I really enjoyed getting to know and spending time with Grandpa Goss.

Our next stop was Stockton, one of the areas where I served as a missionary. We stopped by to visit the Zunigas, a family I helped to teach and baptize. When I met them in 2012, the mother, Cynthia, had been less active in the church, and my companion and I baptized her husband and their oldest daughter. Now Edgar, the father, has baptized his two sons when they turned 8 and blessed his three youngest daughters! It is the greatest feeling as a returned missionary to know that your converts are continuing to be faithful to the gospel.

The Zuniga family

We had dinner with the Lemon family! They were also converts in Stockton, and have now been sealed in the temple. They are hilarious, and it was so good to catch up with them.

The Lemon family

On Wednesday we went to the Sacramento Temple and did an endowment session. I love it there! I got to tell Dani about my fond memories of attending with companions, members, and my mission president. We also visited the very first person I baptized, Jody Smith. She likes to tease me because I was so nervous that I forgot to say "Amen" before I immersed her in the water, making it so I had to "double-dunk" her after I got the baptismal prayer right the second time.

Jody Smith

Thursday Dani and I hung out with Victor and Nancy in Jackson. Victor was the ward mission leader there, and we quickly became friends and have continued to keep in contact. Victor showed us around his current project - restoring the historic Preston Castle with several other volunteers. It was an industry school for troubled boys years ago, and now it is being brought back to life.

At the top of the tower with Victor

Us with Victor and Nancy

That night we headed over to the Gomm's home, near Placerville, another one of my favorite areas. Sister Gomm made us a fantastic dinner, and we loved spending the evening talking with her around the table. Friday we went to Orangevale to visit Courtney, a college friend of Dani, and meet her adorable six month old son.

Sly Park

Years ago on my mission in Placerville I found a hippy cafe that I thought briefly, "That would be a fun place to take someone on a date." So after a stroll down historic Main I took Dani to Cosmic Cafe to enjoy dinner. Since Dani loves eclectic cafes so much it was a perfect evening. Following our date we visited more with Brother Gomm and learned from his incredible spiritual experiences. We left their home with a greater resolve to better ourselves as disciples of Jesus Christ.

Mark and Audrey Gomm

We headed home on Saturday, passing through the Sierra Nevada mountains and Lake Tahoe. As we took in the incredible scenery, we were agonizing over the fact that we were unable to hike the PCT this summer - but at the same time were somewhat glad we weren't trudging through several feet of snow that is still on the ground. We had to stop and take a picture at the crossroads (or is that crosstrail?) for the hike of our dreams.

It was an amazing week filled with happy reunions and quality time spent with family and friends. It felt great to have so many of my friends from my mission meet Danielle - and it was equally wonderful to meet some of her family. We finished our incredible week with General Conference on Sunday, and are working to catch up on the sessions we missed on Saturday.

A Blustery Cold Wisconsin Vacay

For our last night in Alaska on Monday we met up with our best friends and went out to dinner. We've made wonderful friendships while in Alaska and really don't know how we are going to handle life without seeing the Langes and the Schlechters on a regular basis. Most of all we are going to miss little girl Liesel who has completely taken our hearts.

Ben, the talented pano-selfie taker, Liesel (in the carseat), Camille, us, Liz and Jonny

We woke up at an insane hour of the day Tuesday morning to travel out to Wisconsin and visit my family. Only my dad knew we were coming, and after a full day of traveling Chris and I were more than excited to surprise my mom and siblings. Once we got home Chris and I snuck through the garage and down a staircase into the basement. My dad told us when it was safe to come up and surprise everyone. Their reactions - priceless. My mom and the twins were the only ones home at the time, and none of them could believe we were actually there. Emily even broke into tears (she's totalllllly my mini-me because I am definitely the biggest cry baby around). After the initial surprise we tricked both Josh and Jessi into coming over so we could surprise them as well.

The whole week was packed with fun and memories. Instead of trying to explain it all, we're just gonna give you a bunch of pictures to scroll through.

While out in Green Bay for Grandpa's doctor appointment, we stopped by Lambeau Field (the Packers stadium).

Emily and I drew whiteboard portraits of each other.

Amy (the real artist) taught me how to paint.

The finished product. We painted this for our friend Sara's new baby Wyatt.

We babysat our nephew Skylar one day, and he absolutely loved getting out and exploring around Lake Michigan. His favorites were riding on Chris's shoulders and chasing the ducks.

Amy and Chris went swimming..... kinda.....

Wisconsin didn't have snow until the day we came in, and it melted right before we left. Needless to say it was taken advantage of while we were in town. The snowman is friendly, the countless snowball fights on the other hand... that's another story...

Twinning!

In my opinion, bowling and golf are very similar: the person with the lowest score wins. In other words I dominated this game.

We celebrated the twins 16th birthday a little late and went out to this fun Asian restaurant where they cook your food in front of you.

Chris loves being an uncle, and Zeke couldn't get enough of their guy time together. He taught Chris everything he needs to know about Pokemon and every superhero (including their arch-nemesis) he's never even heard of.

Our attempt at a family picture... Skylar wasn't having any of it. Josh, Mom, Dad, Emily, Amy, Skylar, Jessi, Zeke, Grandpa Brading, and us.

Sisters!

Josh, Chris, and Amy went shooting one day. Amy may not be pictured but she was the best shot with the pistol. That's my girl!

Shout out to Amy and Emily for making such a big appearance in this blog post - you can check that off your bucket list. ;-) Love you girls!

Remember to pray and remember to play,

Mr. & Mrs. Cheeseheads Andrew