four days in utah

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our trip home to utah was so nice. i love utah. it's funny for me to go home, because i feel like i belong there and don't. it's so weird to be a visitor in your hometown!

on wednesday, we had a really neat experience. todd served his mission in salt lake city, and when he was there he formed a close bond with a family there. he did a lot to help them become more active in church, and he and the dad (jared) really clicked. though he grew up in the church, jared took a different path through his late teenage years and young adulthood. he started going back to church when todd was on his mission. and last month, almost seven years later, jared was able to go through the temple for the first time.

todd was thrilled. we were able to go to the beautiful mount timpanogos temple with jared the first day we were in utah. i don't really have words to describe how happy todd was to be with jared in the temple. it was so cool to see how much it meant for both of them to finally be able to share that experience after such a long journey. never give up!

after the temple, the first meal in utah had to be cafe rio. then we went bowling with my brother (richard) and sister (caitlin). everyone was making fun of my special skills, but i'll have you know i won the first game! legitimately!

my parents also gave us our birthday/christmas present-- a new camera! i was so happy. they bought us the nicest stuff, and i'm really excited to try it out. sadly, the camera was faulty and wouldn't capture an image. kind of a crucial function for a camera. so i had to ship it back for an exchange.

thanksgiving was excellent. i mean, it's food. and i didn't have to cook it. of course it's good!

on black friday, i actually went to the store. it was miserable and i'll never do it again. i'm anti-commercialism when it comes to christmas, so the madhouse bothers me. but i had to go to downeast basics, shade, and tai pan trading. the only stores we're missing in chicagoland. friday night, we went to daybreak to kirsten and josh's new house. so cute. and rosey met us there. i love my friends, and i really miss being able to see them more often! we also met k & j's baby, jett. he is adorable, sleeps to a soundtrack of vacuum noise, and is perfectly content to watch the menu screen of baby einstein.

we got to see todd's grandparents on saturday morning, where we got a lengthy tour of the church's latest family history website. yes, an internet tutorial from a senior citizen. i'll let you ponder the hilarity of that situation. and of course, saturday afternoon was THE GAME. it was great, as usual.

the rest of the weekend was filled with plenty of guitar hero and nerts. and caitlin. have i told you about caitlin? she is my favorite thing, beside husband of course.

we wished we could have been in utah longer so we could have seen more family and friends. and sadly, we won't be there for christmas. my first non-utah christmas in 10 years! but we're looking forward to a fun time with todd's family, especially the little nephews. hopefully we'll see utah again soon!