God bless America!

After nearly being threatened with my life if I didn't create a blog upon our return to the states, I decided I better try it out. So here goes. Our family just moved back to St. George, Utah after living a year in Switzerland. Wow. What a change. I'm still feeling mixed emotions about the whole move. I'm happy to be in the states again and sad to leave our life in Switz. But, in a week, we have enjoyed Panda Express, Cafe Rio, Quiznos, Durangos, Orange Julius, In & Out Burger, Cheerios for breakfast and PBJ sandwiches for lunch. That might not mean much to you. . . unless you've lived in Switzerland for a year. I'm not proud of that list but I think we have gotten over the initial cravings for all things American.

We recovered from jetlag in pretty good time and made it to church a few days after we got back. What a awesome experience that was. I was THRILLED to be singing in English and understanding the lessons and prayers. I didn't realize how much I had missed it. Don't get me wrong, because our little branch in Switzerland was great. We loved it there and made a lot of great friends. It was definitely a trial of faith to be there every week hoping to get something out of the meetings though. So next time you attend church take a minute to be grateful that you can understand what is being said there and not relying on translation. Not something you think about really, is it?

The kids have been happy as can be to see their cousins in Utah again, which is great because it was rather hard on Kenzi to leave Switz. We are living with Joe's parents for a while until we know where we will be. Joe is still in the resume-sending-interviewing process right now. We will keep you updated on any job happenings.

I just got back from my third annual girlfriend reunion today. My friends from growing up in Moab and I get together every year to catch up. We went to Bonnie's house, which happens to be on a ranch just outside of Zion National Park. It was a great time catching up with friends. I tested some rusty (or non-existent you might say) skills while I was there. After breakfast, Benton (Bonnie's husband) took us all skeet shooting. It was pretty fun and I actually hit one! I also shot a rifle and a hand gun and hit targets with those too. I am still surprised. Benton got a good laugh trying to teach a bunch of girls to shoot guns. Glad we could entertain.

We drove around on a 4 wheeler a bit, then settled down to do some fishing in the pond. And wouldn't you guess it I caught 2 fish in about 10 minutes time. I haven't been fishing in YEARS! It was so much fun! I even gutted one of them. That part wasn't fun, but I felt proud of myself for doing it. So, here are a few pictures of that experience. I'll post something more later when something more happens.