We are in Utah!

Matt and I drove up to Utah on Tuesday to do research at BYU and the Church archives in Salt Lake. I was unsure where to even begin with the research, but I have found interesting information on one of the early Mormon Tabernacle Choir directors, George Careless. I have a lot of reading to do now! Hopefully the research will turn in to a published article or maybe even the topic for my final paper.

It is a little strange to be back in Provo once again. I lived here for 9 years and it feels somewhat like coming home. But things are different and many people have moved away. We went by our old house and it's still so cute! My family arrives this week to celebrate the return of one of my cousins, Heath from a mission in Brazil. It will be a great fourth of July! I cannot wait to see my three beautiful nieces: Brynley, Kylee and Kennedy. I wish my little nephew, Noah was coming too. I am the luckiest Aunt in the world. Below are my nieces and nephew in photos we took at Disneyland.


Our house is finally painted! It is quite colorful and everyone really likes it. There is a lot of touch up to do, but we will deal with that after we get back from our travels. I especially like the red wall in the kitchen. It adds some spice! Our house truly feels like a home.
Well, I want to include pictures of the house and my nieces and nephew, so I will sign off for now. Have a wonderful day!

Visiting Utah

So this week we are in Utah doing a little research. It is very glamorous. We sit in very quiet rooms requesting and reading manuscripts all day. Delightful! Jen is researching George Careless, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Director in the mid-late 1800s. I am looking at religious influences on Southwestern tribes, and here in Provo looking at some old records on the American Indians Studies and Research program, as well as the Indian student placement program. Hopefully our research will make it into publications.

While we are here we will also going to spend a little time with family. Jen's cousin is coming home from a mission this week. He was in Brazil. I'm excited to see Jen's brother, Brent (or as I call him, Brentilda). It is nice to be back in Provo for a little bit, and it is funny how some things change and others remain the same. We attended our old married student ward today, but there was only one couple there from the days when we lived here.

Summer has been productive. We worked on the house a bit, but Jen wants to write about that. I worked for the university for the first half of the summer. I maintained a list serve and web page, and now I'm feeling a little more competent about managing a web page of my own. Maybe I'll open one up soon.

So that is it for me, today. I hope you find these entries give you a bit more insight about our personalities.