Spies Among Us

We know, we know, there are millions out there eagerly awaiting the release of Abediana Marsh and the Rana de Venganza. We regret to inform you that while we completed the filming of Abediana, it is still in post-production.

However, we thought we'd share one of our old hobbies with you that we had to abandon for security reasons when we settled down and started a family. We enjoyed the Spy Museum here in D.C. very much. It reminded us of the good old days when we were agents-of-influence, getting cards at dead drops and infiltrating safehouses to gain access to top secret documents.



Thanks to Spencer Staples for masterminding this 2006 project (along with the rest of our 20 minute wedding video).

Unparalleled

I wrote the following line in my journal this morning on the Metro:
"Ariel's brilliant mind, stunning beauty, and loving spirit offer unparalleled companionship."

To illustrate my point, yesterday, Ariel surprised me at work by picking me up for a date, just us two! It's always a great relief when I get to see her early, since it's normally a 12-hour day with my commute. We went to Ford's Theatre, a moving place to go (especially considering I'm right in the middle of "Team of Rivals" and loving it), and ate at Old Ebbitt Grill. I enjoy her company so much. We talk about politics, the gospel, dreams, news, plans, and anything and everything else. Of course, most of our conversations end up on our favorite subject: little Abe. And after a few good hours on the town, we were ready to see him again. Thanks for tending him Evans family! You're all the best!

Our North Carolina Trip

We had the pleasure of visiting Julia and visiting Mom visiting Julia in Brevard, North Carolina where Julia is at music camp. Here are a few pics of our trip.

Abe was, as always, a great traveler.

Julia's group sounded really great!

While Julia practiced, we went with Mom to a wildlife conservatory. Abe loved feeding those fish!

A beautiful butterfly on a butterfly bush.
Here's Abe at the French Broad Cafe. This is for everyone who thinks Abe's still hairless!
Post sandwich at the French Broad (Julia's favorite restaurant)

Abe and Julia- it wasn't long till they were very comfortable together!
Abe and his lovely Grandmama.
Mom provided this lovely cabin for us! We were all so enchanted by it--especially the deck with the bug screen. It was perfect weather all weekend! Thanks for the most wonderful trip, Mom! It was sure great to see you and Julia!

Here's a picture of our lovely drive back.This is Andrew struggling to finish up our milk and lots of cereal.

Abe and Catherine missed each other on the weekend and were glad to be playing and reading together again.

This is a bonus picture. It's not from this trip. It's a nice little walk we took recently by the Potomac.

Abediana Marsh Trailer

July 4!

Here's our belated July 4 weekend video. We had a great time BBQing with the wonderful Evans fam, hanging out at the Folklife Festival at the National Mall, going to the Capitol Fourth dress rehearsal (we liked how Aretha Franklin just walked out in her shades with some kind of shopping bags she dropped to sing the national anthem) with the Gleaves Fam, and watching fireworks shot off from the floating docks over Lake Thoreau in Reston. Let the good times roll!

Online Testimonies

There's a lot we could say! We have pictures and videos of Harper's Ferry, the Kennedy Center, Aretha Franklin and the Sesame Street Gang at the 4th of July party in DC, huge fireworks over Lake Thoreau, our adventure in Baltimore, etc. But that will all have to wait. We've been called on another mission! It's been a year since we finished our inner city mission, which Rachel and Micah are now doing, and we miss the good work (as an aside, anyone in Salt Lake without kids is welcome to serve an inner city mission. Talk to your bishop!)

Inspired by Elder Ballard's recent talk, and by suggestions found at A More Good Foundation, we have posted our testimonies on YouTube. We don't know who will see them, but there's always a chance that someone could be touched, or at least become curious about the gospel. We invite anyone to post theirs. While it did feel somewhat awkward bearing our testimony to a video camera, you can rest assured that they are authentic. We're considering other ways of delivering these heart-felt convictions in a more natural way. Ideas?

Of course, another primary reason to have these videos on our blog is to share them with you. Any blog follower, watcher, casual observer, stalker, or stumbler is a friend of ours. And the first thing any friend of ours should know about us is our conviction of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Restoration of the Gospel.