A Valentine's Day: March 2009

As we come up on our 1 year anniversary, how about a recap of our first year together? We were married on April 12, 2008 in the Boston Temple.

After that whole whirlwind, we were off to Florida, where we celebrated with Mickey and his friends...

...and collected seashells on the magnificent Sanibel Island.

After a week with no worries, we moved into our apartment in Rexburg, Idaho. We were both taking classes, but we still had some time for fun: like dirtbiking...

motorcycle rides to Mesa Falls...

a visit to the Roper's farm, where we held baby pigs and hunted jack rabbits...

Here's Chris' very first kill

and climbing R Mountain.

That summer, we also added to our little family. This is Dexter, our loveable lab rat. A little weary about taking him home at first, he has certainly given us some good entertainment.

When classes let out, we went on our first road trip. We stayed a night in Zion National Park. Here we are on Angel's Landing. The canyons were beautiful, but sleeping in our car was an experience we don't want to have again.

We spent another night in Las Vegas. Chris was an amazing gambler; we almost won four dollars. Key word: almost.

After a really cool tour through the Hoover Dam and hours of driving through hot nothingness, we arrived in San Diego and found the only place open. We realized that it was the only one open for a reason, and went on a hotel hunt the very next day.

San Diego was amazing. Chris tried his hand at surfing for the first time, and was even able to get up on his board!

We toured through the San Diego Zoo, and decided to rent this cool mobile because we were tired of walking. Turned out walking would have been blissful compared to this butt-sweat machine, but at least we looked cool.

We returned to Idaho just in time for Deg's wedding and spent a few days with John and Linda. Of course, we showed them all the noteworthy spots, like R Mountain, the old Dam, the sand dunes...

...Mesa Falls...

...and a really awesome demolition derby. Yay for cars crashing into eachother!

After their too-quick trip, we all flew back to MA so Chris and I could play with the awesomest niece and nephew ever. Okay, there were other reasons too.

Here we are eating lobsters at the Annual Nisula Seafood Fest...

and climbing a mountain with my sibs.

Back in Idaho for Fall semester, we made it worth it by doing fun things like visiting the ice caves with Jessica and Ezra Roper.

Those months flew by, and we traveled home once more for a great three-week Christmas break. We met our fabulously adorable new niece, hung out with Uncle Jon and his kids, and walked around freezing cold Boston with Derek and Geena.

When Christmas was over, we brought Malley back with us to show off Idaho and all its greatness. We took a day trip to Jackson Hole, WY. Yes, that is an arch of antlers.

And of course, we just had to bring her to the Roper's pig farm. She fit in just perfectly.

For Valentine's Day we took a snowmobile tour through Yellowstone National Park. We saw tons of wild animals, beautiful landscapes, Old Faithful, and (my favorite) the bubbling mud pits.