Nothing's Better Than Visitors!

We finally had some family visitors come to be with us in Arizona! Nate came down and spent about a week with us before he went on to California for Christmas, and while he was here, Jen and Nick came down with their kids to spend Christmas with the Toblers. Even though it would seem we were just a "Stop-along-the-way" for them, it was still really fun to have family come and see where we live.

Family Reunion in Boise, Idaho

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!

Looking Back

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.

The missing link

I was scrolling down the blog today and I had a distinct feeling that something was missing.  Coolness?  Not likely.  Citrus?  Not hardly.  Then I realized what it was: we needed some more meat!  (That is not a fat joke).  Though fearing that the sight of such manliness may cause some women to swoon (hopefully at least our wives) I felt I must add this piece of goodness.  Sorry ladies, we are all taken!  

Our Wedding!

Some of you still want more pictures so here they are...

More Europe Pics

The Chain Bridge in downtown Budapest, Hungary.  

Two words: Venice

"No, officers.  I don't know why American cops get more respect..."

When in Rome...

     Kristi and I reunited in Italy this past August after over a month apart.  She had been touring Europe the month before as part of the BYU International Business Study Abroad program while I slaved away in the Yuma, AZ sun to pay the bills. :)  Now she does the same thing for me; I sit around reading books all day and she works all day long to support us.  

Anyway, we had such a blast!  We hit Rome, Florence, and Venice, Italy.  Then we took an overnight train to Vienna, Austria and spent a day there.  The BEST part by far was the last four days we spent in Hungary touring Kristi's mission.  AMAZING!!  We have joked that we had better start a family sometime soon since we have already travelled more than some people do in a lifetime (just to clarify, that is NOT a baby announcement).  This picture was taken in front of Trevi Fountain in Rome.  Rome is, as the Italians say, very cool...I highly recommend it.  We'll post more pictures when we figure out how!