This was on our first date. We went to the zoo and got to ride on a camel.

This was in Cabo San Lucas when we were on our honeymoon. We went on a cruise!

At the beach in Cabo


This is when we were riding back to our ship in the background.

This is me on a banana

This is Cortney on a banana, she looks much better.

We went to Las Vegas to visit my older sister, Nicci, and her family. Here is a picture of where we stayed, the Bellagio. Just kidding.

Cortney and I with Nicci and Austin in Vegas.

Me and Cortney in Vegas

This is a picture of the ocean in San Diego when we visited my parents there.

We went to the San Diego temple, but it was closed so we couldn't go in. But it is beautiful from from the outside.

Our first halloween together as a married couple. We carved the best pumpkin I have ever seen. GO DEVILS

This set of pictures wouldnt be complete without this one.

Here we are in our halloween costumes. I think Cortney needed CPR later.

Engagement Pictures

So I haven't updated this for a long time now and a lot of things have happened. But the most important thing that happened was that I got engaged to the most wonderful person ever, Cortney Cluff.

Here are some pics.

Duhhhhh

Life is amazing, just like sneegs.

I've noticed now being home for about 10 months from my mission, that it is hard to stay focused all the time. It seems that as time goes by, there are times when I begin to forget the most important things in life and begin to let pride take over. It is harder than being on a mission because on a mission, your main focus is always serving others, while when you get back, you begin to do a lot more things for yourself. I have found that I need to read through my missionary letters, journals, and experiences every so often so that I can remember what is important. I did that this past Sunday, and was reminded of the wonderful feeling of being a missionary. I remembered how little some people had, yet how much they gave to the Lord. I was talking with my mom about this, but sometimes in life, I get carried away into thinking that my grade on my next test is the most important thing ever, or doing better at something than someone else becomes my motive; but really, my motive should be that i need to do well on the test in order to get into graduate school to support a family; or I need to do well at something, while helping others do the best they can do. I love my mission experience and how it helps smack me in the face when I need it.

Since then, I have had an amazing week.

I got a new job this week as a success coach at the learning resource center at ASU. I'm pretty excited about it. I will be able to work a reasonably amount of hours a week around my schedule and it is on campus, so I won't have to drive anywhere.

I've also started training again. I decided that I want to run a marathon. There us one in February that I would like to do, but if that isn't enough time, then I will probably do St. George in October. I'm really excited, because I have never done one before.

My dating life has never been better. Cortney and I have been able to spend a lot of time together. We have been dating for about 2 months now. I have been able to meet her family a lot more and she has been able to somewhat meet mine, even though they are on the other side of the world, because of skype. I am always so happy when I'm with her. She is a fun girl to be around and puts up with my weird sounds and faces. It is definitely worth getting beat in nertz and egyptian rat screw every once in a while to be in a relationship with her.

My family is doing great right now. They are the best. Trials have come of course, but it seems that everyone is taking Elder Wirthlin's advice and just laughing about it and putting their trust in the Lord. I must of been a bad person to be put with such an amazing family to keep me in line. I feel so blessed.

So that is life, geevs and sneevs.

oh yeah, and colin, my good friend got home from his mission this past week and we have had the chance to smack the bags with skadges.

Life is hard, but life is simple

A lot of things have changed.

Last week I had a strong confirmation that I should quit running Cross Country. After thinking and praying hard about it, I talked to my coach and have officially quit. I didn't necessarily want to. I loved running and running in college was a wonderful experience; however, I guess sometimes the answer you get isn't always the one you want. But I know that there is a reason for it. The hardest part for sure has been seeing my teammates on campus. I have a hard time explaining why I quit, because I never really wanted to. But change happens, and life has still been great. I will still be able to run on my own, but it is going to be weird being in school and not being on a cross country or track team.

I thought that after quitting I would have more free time, but since I have quit, school has gotten a lot harder and I have spent a lot of time studying. My one physics class is very time consuming. I don't how I will do physics and organic chemistry next year, but I need to focus on finishing this semester first anyway. I'm still trying to decide what I want to do in the future, but I am still leaning towards medical school. I'll admit though, school isnt the only thing I have spent a lot of my extra time on. I've been able to be with Cortney more and have loved it; however, this week we probably won't get to see each other much...

General Conference was amazing. There were some great talks. I still havent seen the last session on Sunday, but will when I get a chance. I really liked Elder Lawrence Corbridge's talk. It was amazing. I loved the part when he said the Life is hard, but simple. Experiences and opposition in life make it hard, but it is simple, because we have one choice to make: to follow the Savior, or not. Great talk.

I'm trying to get better at the little things that I should be doing all the time like more effective scripture study, attending the temple, and even little things like service. I've found that when I start getting lazy with some of this stuff, life just isnt as enjoyable. I'm doing okay, but I could be doing better.

I'm trying really hard to find a job, but so far have not had any luck. I would like to work close to ASU, but its starting to get to the point that I'm caring less about the location. I'm sure I'll find something.

So that is what is going on. A lot of changes, but I feel good about it, and that is all that matters.

awwww, look how happy we are!

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Sometimes life is just overwhelming. My brain seems like its going to explode. Its hard trying to do everything including school, cross country, callings, and missionary work, and then stay caught up with social life.. There are so many little things I could be doing. I wish I could do all of them, but there is only so much time in one day. It is hard to determine which things are most important. Like Elder Oaks has said, there are good things, better things, and then the best things. What's hard is that when I finally think I should stop something because its just 'good,' I get a strong feeling that I shouldn't stop. Its times like these that I have to go back and read Alma 26.

4 weeks in

Life is great! Nicci and Keith and Austin came down to AZ yesterday and I got to see them over at Todd and Jacy's house. That was tons of fun. I wish I could see my parents and Tirb here too. I miss them a lot. Skype is awesome though.

School is going. Things are starting to pile up more than before. Everytime I want to go get a job, I get a ton of assignments that take over, so I stop wanting to get a job. I think so far though, I've been keeping up. Last week was crazy, and because I had some tests, I started falling behind a little on homework, but this week I should be able to get caught up where I'm supposed to be.

Cross Country has been fun. I had my first meet last week down in Tucson. The team did well, we won both mens and womens. Personally, I felt I could have done better, but I feel that I will be more prepared now for my next race. Its hard to get used to it again. It was a lot harder than I remembered, so I'm gonna have to step it up. I feel good about my next race though. Now that I remember what its like, I think I will be more mentally and strategically prepared.

It has been great hanging around Cortney. Last week we had really busy weeks, but we were still able to hang out every day. She is awesome. She helps me a lot when things get stressful. Things are going great.

Teaching with the missionaries has also been a huge blessing lately. I have been able to help translate for a lady from thailand this past week as she is learning with the missionaries. I love beginning my day with institute and finishing it teaching with the missionaries. It is such an awesome feeling. Lynn is an awesome lady. She reminds me a lot of being around the Thai members. The Thai people are amazing.

That's whats been going on. Life is awesome.

Spits and Swiffs

So finally, I am updating my blog.

School has started and so far everything is going as expected. I have a good schedule that keeps me busy. Classes have started off well. Physics is crazy, difficult, and intellectually fulfilling all at the same time. Most of my days include study sessions that last for hours with some friends in my class, where we try to imagine that we understand what is going on. It is fun.

Cross Country has been good. I've been doing workouts with the team finally. When I got back from my mission, I was just running base milage to get back into things, but now I am working out with the team nand participating in Tempo Runs and speed work. It has been fun trying to get my speed back to where I was. I am way excited for the Georgia vs ASU football game though. It will be an awesome matchup, but also, I get to go out on the field at half time because they are recognizing the track team for winning the national championship last season. That should be sweet.

There are other things going on in my life along with school and cross country though. I am lucky to have started dating an amazing person. It has been a blast. Despite our busy schedules, we find time to get together and do stuff fairly often. I'm so happy right now. The end.