Sunday, July 31, 2011

August Update

It has been a great (but really busy) Summer. It seems like we have traveled so much that we have spent more nights out of the house than in the house this Summer.

I spoke at a session of EFY, then Lani did, then we worked together to direct a session in Sandy. After that we were off to Seattle for my sister Janet's wedding!


We are so excited for Janet. Her husband Jeffrey is awesome and they will be an incredible family. We were happy to be there.

After a great week there, we were home for just a couple of days until Lani and the kids went to the Bear Lake Reunion and I went on a campout with the Priest Quorum. Everyone had a great time!

In the day between these two I was blessed to start my new job at BYU!


I absolutely LOVE what I'm doing (teaching religion classes - primarily the Book of Mormon). Getting hired at BYU is the answer to many, many prayers.

After a couple of weeks we were back on the road -- we spent some time as a family at Aspen Grove! Here's a shot of a game we did:

After a (very) short stay at home we went to Rexburg for BYU-Idaho Education Week. We also went to Bear World and Yellowstone on that trip - it was great! The kids loved seeing the wildlife and it was fun to be together as a family.

From Bear World:




This one is in the wild. We were too close!


I also got to participate in a couple of sessions of Retreat for Girls and Be the Best You. It was awesome to be with so many righteous young women and learn from them.

Coming up in August I'm looking forward to a church history trip with other new religion professors, and then Education Week. We are also hoping to hike Timp!

This blogpost hasn't quite captured the great feelings that we have had this Summer. We have had a lot of wonderful bonding time together. The Hilton Family has A LOT to be grateful for. We are grateful for our extended family and for our temporal comforts. I am grateful for the many great years I got to experience with the Seminary and Institute program. I'm very thankful to be hired at BYU and look forward to many wonderful experiences there.