We realized that we have not really documented the first few months of our marriage, so we thought we should at least give it a try. Also, we wanted an excuse to put more Europe pictures on our blog since it might be awhile before we do something that cool again. Why not live it up! These are more Venice shots. The restaurant overlooks the Grand Canal and the Realto Bridge. It looked pretty amazing at night. I ordered the Carbonara and Kristi got the pizza. I only mention the Carbonara because my mom's is way better. That should make her happy. Maybe I can post the recipe sometime. This other shot is a classic example of getting "lost" in Venice. This was just a random street on the island, but this is one of our favorite shots.
Unfortunately, this shot above is about as close as we got to the gondolas. We just couldn't justify spending $150 to ride one for 30 minutes. Plus, if you buy a water tram pass you can cruise around Venice for like $10 a day. Not a bad deal in comparison. We keep saying that next time we go we will drop for the more romantic alternative. For now, we'll take the "standing room only" option.
By far the best part of our trip was the last four days. We spent them in Hungary, touring Kristi's mission. Budapest is a breathtaking city, and the fact that it is so special to her made it that much more beautiful. This picture was taken overlooking the Danube River. We were at an old stone fortress of sorts called Fisherman's Bastion. It overlooks the city with awesome views. To the left of us is the Chain Bridge, the oldest permanent bridge to cross the Danube River.
This is a place in Budapest called Heroes Square. It has statutes of some of the greatest figures in Hungarian history. There is a cool statute of Attila the Hun, which is even more meaningful now that I have seen Night At The Museum. (Kristi would hit me right now for being a dork. But she is asleep, so I get creative reign).
This is Kristi and Timi in front of the Parliament Building in downtown Budapest. Kristi taught Timi the gospel, and she was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during the last few weeks of Kristi's mission. Timi is an amazing girl, and a great example of a true disciple of Jesus Christ. Last week, Kristi and I had the privilege of attending Timi's wedding in the Fresno, CA Temple. The gospel is true!
Now for a quick recap of last summer. After our honeymoon, I whisked Kristi away to our romantic, exotic first home: Yuma, AZ. In case you were wondering, there is one place in the United States that is hotter than Yuma in June. That place is Death Valley. We actually stayed across the river out on the date farms in Bard, CA. For those of you who have not heard of Bard, this picture pretty much sums it up:
We smile every time we look at this picture, and think of our summer adventure down there. Believe it or not, we had a blast. We also met some amazing people, ate some unbelievable Mexican cuisine, and experienced first hand how cool the Colorado River stays all summer long.
Playing Nertz with my siblings... okay, for the first time ever I got my trash kicked by Stephanie. I thought I was fast... where did she come from? 
Checking out the big fish with my Nephew Spencer. He loves hanging out with this Aunt Kristi and Uncle Derek. He even learned to say our names this week. Maybe it's because Derek was willing to run around the house with him!
This is us at the lake on the Jet ski's... we had a blast!
Say cheese - now what's for lunch?!
Derek showing off his awesome mini golf skills - Nice hole in one babe! 
