Fun at the Zoo and St. George!

It's been awhile since I've posted and some fun things have happened in the Gilson house. A few weeks ago, Marcus and I went to the Hogle Zoo. I can't remember the last time I had been to the zoo and I had so much fun! Here are a few pictures of some of the animals we saw:

This is us enjoying our time at the zoo! :)

Then last weekend we went down to St. George to visit family. We walked around the St. George temple grounds. BEAUTIFUL!

Then we toured Brigham Young's winter home.

We also toured Jacob Hamblin's home. His story was really interesting.

It has been a good couple of weeks! :)

General Conference and Easter

General Conference weekend has become one of my favorite things! I love having the opportunity to hear from the living prophets and apostles and learn how to be better. One of my VERY FAVORITE talks was by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland that talked about love vs. lust. Go here to listen to it.
A lot of talks were about families and there was a lot of great insight on helping to raise a family. Although Marcus and I do not have children yet, there were a lot of things that I know will really help us when we reach that point in our life. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be a part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It brings so much happiness and peace in my life that I know I would not have without it. I am so grateful for the talks and testimonies I was able to listen to this weekend and look forward to reading them again when the Ensign comes next month. I really hope everyone watched General Conference. And if you didn't please go online and watch it. It is so worth your time.

(Greg Olsen- Prince of Peace
click on picture to learn more)

Marcus and I also had a wonderful Easter. We were able to watch General Conference with great friends. We also dyed eggs, ate great food, and played an awesome game called NERTS. Thanks again, Brock and Kate! Then we had dinner with the Messer's and Brittany. We always LOVE going to the Messer's and we hadn't seen Brittany in 3 months (way too long!) so it was so good to see her! We had a fantastic dinner and then watched this short Easter message. I am so grateful we were able to spend this holiday with family we love so dearly and share this wonderful message about Christ and His atoning sacrifice for each of us!

The last thing we had to do today was say goodbye to our cousin Jack. Jack is leaving on his mission to Maceio, Brazil on Tuesday afternoon and will be gone for two years to teach the people of Brazil about the gospel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He will be a wonderful missionary and we will miss him. But we are so proud of him for what he's about to do. We love you, Jack!

Mormon Myths and Legends

Enjoy this video!!

"Just climb up your ladder; I'll throw down my rope."

I was blog-hopping and came across this poem. I really liked it and so I decided to share.

HOLES

I had been in that hole for a very long time
In the dark and the damp, in the cold and the slime.
The shaft was above me; I could see it quite clear
But there's no way I ever could reach it from here.
Nor could I remember the world way up there
So I lost all my hope and gave in to despair.
I knew nothing but darkness, the floor, and the walls
Then off in the distance I heard someone call:
"Get up! Get ready! There's nothing the matter.
Take rocks and old sticks and build up a fine ladder."

This had never occurred to me-- had not crossed my mind.
But I started to stack all the stones I could find.
When I ran out of stones, then old sticks were my goal,
For one way or another I'd get out of that hole.
So I soon had a ladder that was sturdy and tall
And I thought, "I'll soon leave this place once and for all."
I climbed up my ladder. It was no easy chore,
For from lifting those boulders, my shoulders were sore.
I climbed on up the ladder, but soon had to stop
For my ladder stopped short-- some ten feet from the top.

I climbed back down my ladder and started to cry
I'd done all I could do. I gave my best try.
And in spite of my work, in this hole I must die.
And all I could do was to sit and think, "Why?"
Was my ladder too short? Or my hole much too deep
Then from way upon high came a voice, "Do not weep."
And then faith, hope, and love entered into my chest
As the voice said to me that I'd done my best.

He said, "You've worked very hard, and your labor's been rough,
But the ladder you've built is at last tall enough.
Do not despair. You have reason to hope.
Just climb up your ladder; I'll throw down my rope."
I climbed up the ladder, then climbed up the cord.
When I got to the top, there stood the Lord.
I couldn't be happier; my struggle was done.
I blinked in the brightness that came from the Son.

I fell to the ground, His feet did I kiss
I cried, "What can I do to repay thee for this?"
Then He looked all about Him. There were holes in the ground
They had people inside, and were seen all around
There were thousands of holes that were damp, dark, and deep
The the Lord turned to me and He said, "Feed my sheep."

Then He went on His way to help other lost souls,
And I got right to work, calling down to the holes:
"Get up! Get ready! There's nothing the matter.
Take rocks and old sticks and build up a fine ladder."

It now was my turn to spread the good word.
The most glorious message that man ever heard.
That there's one who is willing to save one and all
And we've got to be ready when He gives the call.
He'll pull us all out of the hole that we're in
And save all our souls from death and from sin.
So do not lose faith; there is reason to hope
Just build up your ladder; He'll throw down His rope.

~Scott Lewis and elders from his mission

It's official!

Marcus and I are going to see Wicked on Broadway on July 14, 2010. We are so excited!

Here is a countdown of things we are looking forward to:

- April 21st: Winter Semester ends
- June 8th: The LSAT will be over (Marcus takes it on June 7th).
- June 17th: Spring classes end
- June 21-24th: Leah comes to visit!
- July 4th: A fun holiday that will be spent with Mom and Dad G., Aimee, Sean, Cole, Lola, Brittany, and the Messers!
- July 10-23rd: Marcus and I fly to Virginia where we'll meet up with my family. We'll tour Washington D.C. Then we'll go to New York (where we'll see Wicked), home to North Carolina, and the beach!
- July 11th: We will celebrate our 1 year wedding anniversary :)
- July 23-25th: Marcus, Shelby (who will stay longer than us), and I fly to Arizona to visit Grandma and Grandpa Smith, Lori, Bryce, and hopefully Kelly and Brent.
-August 14-22nd: Go to Washington to spend time with the Gilson family. Activities will include going to Seattle with Kate and Brock!

Our lives are good! :)

Party with co-workers

Tonight, we had Ryan and Desiree & Jake and Sheridan over for dinner. I work with Ryan and Jake and so it was fun to spend time together outside of work. We had chicken fajitas, homemade re-fried beans, and Spanish rice. We washed it down with wonderful non-alcoholic Pina Coladas made by Jake. Then we played a game called Jungle Speed. We had never played it before but it was great fun! Especially because Desiree is a pro at that game and has amazing reflexes when grabbing the totem pole. After Jungle Speed, we ate an oreo pudding dessert that Ryan made and was delicious! Then we played a few phases of Phase 10. We only actually accomplished 3 phases because playing that game with 6 people takes a long time...

Jake also introduced us to this video:
Total Eclipse of the Heart: Literal Version
This is the actual video but people re-did it and sang about what is happening in the video. So funny! And so weird that this is the actual video. I think it might almost beat this worst music video.

Needless to say: great fun was had by all! :)

This is what happens...

...when you drop a coxinha into a pan of hot oil


Thankfully, I have a wonderful husband who helped bandage me so I could sleep without worrying about hurting the blisters.