Happy, Joyful, Excited . . .

I am just so happy today! I think it's a culmination of a few different things:

1. It is getting warmer outside which means that we aren't cooped up in our little place as much. Definitely a YAY!
2. I am SO excited about our summer trips to two of my most FAVORITE FAVORITE FAVORITE places in the entire universe: Lake Powell and California.

Lake Powell is with my fam and it'll be fun to see Tanner play in the water and sand all day long. That is like paradise for him.
And California is where Eli and I spent the first three months of our marriage. We lived in Orange right next door to Ari and Christian and just had so many fun adventures while we lived there. And we went to the beach A LOT! This time we will be staying with Ari and Christian in San Diego and I'm excited to see them and explore that area. What I'm most excited for about that trip is the length (like 10 days I think), much needed time with Eli's family, the BEACH, and a day at Disneyland for free! We did the Give a day Get a day program through Disneyland and volunteered with the Special Olympics so now we have a free day at the Happiest Place on Earth and that makes me ECSTATIC! I am listening to the music from the fireworks show this very second and I can hardly wait to get into that wonderful place! I get so giddy when I walk down Main Street in Disneyland and I hope Tanner will be excited, too! He's learning some of the Disney characters through pictures and books and his favorite is Mickey so far ("Mi Mi" he says). I was at a friend's house the other day whose son has a Mickey doll and Tanner would not put him down. He kept hugging him and taking him everywhere around the house, even getting him smeared with dirt (sorry!)These vacations need to come soon because I can't wait any longer!!!!

3. This amazing lady spoke at our ward Relief Society dinner last night:
Kristen Oaks was single until her 50's and then married Elder Oaks and she is just the most optimistic, kind, and loving lady. Her talk was informal because it was just a room full of about 40 ladies. It was very touching and I soaked up every little thing she said. The message that spoke to my heart the most is the fact that we (human beings) have an obligation to love on another. I had been thinking about that a lot prior to this dinner and what she said just pieced together everything I had been thinking about. And how do we love each other? We become friends with people, we learn about them and find out what their needs are. We say and do kind things for them. We live by the Spirit so that we can know how to love and serve others better. It was an amazing talk and just made me feel so happy!

4. I am loving our ward here. The dinner last night was in a beautiful mansion on South Temple, a couple of blocks from our little place. It was a great setting to chat with the women in my ward. I'm excited to spend more time with them!

5. General Conference is coming in less than 2 weeks! This brings SO much joy to my soul!!