Farewell to New Jersey

I think this will be our last post in the Garden State of New Jersey. It has been an awesome 6 months and it has flown by. FYI - the kidney stone stuff worked out ok and there shouldn't be any other problems. To all of you men reading this blog, drink lots of water always! Here are some final pics.

About 2 weeks ago, Ray got baptized. He's a great young man that will be going to Japan in August to study. He's surrounded by Elder Zanatta and Elder Farmer, 2 awesome missionaries.

Here's my cubicle at work.

In the words of the great Destiny's Child, "Say my name."

Tonight we attended the baptism of Abby. It was a phenomenal service and we hope the best for her. The ward members here are on fire!

Here we are with the missionaries and another young couple, Christian and Cora Wallin. We had some good times with them.

Someone's gonna give birth...

But not to a baby... a kidney stone! About 2 months ago i had a little kidney stone episode. Last Thursday and Friday things flared up again and so we went to the ER to get it checked out. I got some work done on me and here is what the stone ended up looking like when they took the x-ray.

Crazy huh!

This is not my x-ray, but it is very similar to the one I got. It was a 5mm stone on my right side. So the doctor had me get a lithotripsy, which is a procedure that uses high frequency sound waves to break up the stone, to make it easier to pass. This is what it turned out to be like...

Ha.

They laid me on a table like this and that orange ball thing is right on my kidney. After that I was out from the anesthesia.

Now I'm chilling at home on my heavy medication and this is how I feel. I also did this blog entry while on the med's, so that might explain my randomnocity.

But in all honosty, thanks to those that kept us in their prayers and thoughts. We really felt like things went very smoothly and without error. We'll let you know how things turn out. Hopefully all of this gets taken care of before July 1st!

We're Going to Europe!

After much deliberation and meditation, Katie and I have decided to take a trip to Europe! We figure that our family size is right, we have no jobs or apartment waiting for us in Provo, and so we'll take the plunge. We leave on July 1st and fly out on July 31st. It'll be a month long trip of bagettes, gelato, cheese, hostels, weak usd conversions, and other fun memories. This is the breakdown:

1. Paris FR
   
2. Bern SW
   
3. Lauterbrunnen SW
   
4. Gimmelwald SW
   
5. Munich GE
   
6. Salzburg AU
   
7. Vienna AU
   
8. Venice IT
   
9. Florence IT
   
10. Rome IT
    
11. Cinque Terra IT
    

Here's where it'll be on the map

If you've been to any of these places and have suggestions, we'd love to hear about it. Party on!

Jeff Visits, Katie's B-day, & Steve Nash

These are a few of my favorite things. We had an awesome weekend and it deserves some major blogging. Shall we?

Waiting for Jeff at the Airport...

Actual video footage. Once the clip ends, Jeff proceeds to hug Katie for the 1st time.

Geoff in the mornin a shavin.

We then walked the Brooklyn Bridge. It was a nice day, or so it started.

Sha na na.

The crew.

Once we got near Central Park, we found many celebrating Hari Krishna, or practing it, or something.

Katie talking to a member. We think she will shave her head an join.

We then went to the Central Park zoo and from a distance noticed a tall figure. I said, that looks like Steve Nash... Wait a sec... IT IS STEVE NASH!!! We confessed our Platonic Love (thanks Devin) and then snapped a photo. He was a nice guy. He is married to a nice hispanic lady and they have 2 cute little twin girls. Totally awesome.

Amidst all of the excitement, Katie only had one thing on her mind.

The crazy monkey had lots of fun with a Gatorade bottle.

Jeff in front of the Manhattan Temple. This was one of the highlights of his trip.

We then made our way to midtown. Jeff in Times Square.

We also went to the Museum of Modern art. It happened to be Katie's Birthday and it was Flag Day! How appropriate.

This is Katie's Birthday cake. So modern

Here are some gifts she got later.


Jeff and I ended up winning tickets to go see wicked. It was wicked good. I can officially say that we have corrupted Jeff by taking him to Wicked stuff. hardy har har har.

Pizza & Lightning

Hello everyone! This passed week we got seriously fried cause of a major heatwave that came through Jersey. Oddly that night, we were watching a movie and then we heard a bunch of thunder and it started to pour. We got some cool pic's.

Here's some pic's of some excellent home-made pizza we made at, well, home

Yes, I added corn to mine. I had to represent the Venezuelan pizza.

Katie enjoying her pizza. She was very very excited.

Thoughts on Boston

I don't do this often, but I'd actually write some thoughts on our blog. This could be boring and grammatically incorrect, so you might want to just go straight to the pictures.

I have fallen in love with Boston! It was very clean and super organized. Maybe just because we've had to deal with the behemoth of NYC things look different. The rail system was very reliable and easy to use. No express or local trains to differentiate between. I like colors and it was easy to figure out where we were going and when to get off.

The atmosphere of the city was supernal. It seemed like there was so much neat history that had taken place there. Everywhere you turned there was an old building where some famous statesman gathered to discuss something whose outcome affects us now today. We were walking on paths where great men used to exist.

Harvard was sweet! Granted we didn't get to see too much of it, I was in awe of the monstrous libraries and facilities. Some of Russel and Laurens friends (who are students) told us about the culture. Everyone is so smart and intellectual. The business school was massive!

The coastal life was neat. There are lots of harbors, an aquarium, and whales. On that note, the sea food is really good. Plus you can get the famous Clam Chowdah.

The Common Park and the Public Park were incredible. There were people playing frisbee, kickball, soccer, baseball, and tons of other stuff. It was a massive park in the middle of the madness of the downtown. It seemed like central park only more friendly. There were statues everywhere and ice cream stands on the corners of the street.

Last of all, the sporting scene is incredible. The Boston Redsox are like the life blood that flows through the city. 8/10 people are wearing Boston paraphernalia, whether it be from baseball, basketball, football or hockey. The natives love their teams more than any other state I've seen.

I would love to live in Boston someday. If you haven't made it out there and the opportunity presents itself, do it! It was a beautiful city with lots to offer, and I haven't even scratched the surface.

Boston - 4 of 4

***Welcome to the Boston Posts. We visited the lovely land of Boston of Memorial Day Weekend. We recommend you start at 1 of 4, but you are free to choose.***

A lovely street in the Beacon Hill District.

Pretty homes.

It says Rubbish. That rulz

Which one looks more like a frog? You be the judge.

Beautiful Common & Public Park.

Lagoon with Swan rides.

Ah hem... We now enter Harvard. This is me with Mr. Harvard.

Annie Studying at a library.

At the gates.

In the background is where lots of rowers practice. Further back is the Harvard Business School. One day...

Mt. Auburn Cemetery Observatory.

Us at the top of the observatory.