We'll Go!

Happy Sunday...today is all about my bro who is serving a mission. He reported to the MTC September 3rd. And TOMORROW he will be making his long journey to Poland! Every time I think of him starting this adventure, I think of the ending to the song I posted below. This is the MTC choir at the Priesthood Session of General Conference. My brother was so excited to be a part of this. If you don't have time to watch/listen to the whole song, at least listen to the last few seconds when they sing, "we'll go!" Those of you that know me well, know that I get goosebumps all over my body when I hear really good music. So I listen to the ending of this song over and over again, not only because it sounds amazing but also because of the power behind those words. These young men are in the MTC preparing to be sent out to places they've never lived, far away from their families, some speaking languages they had never even heard before they got into the MTC, and they are shouting out obediently, "to every land we'll go." What good examples these young 19-year-olds are to me.

(By the way if you want to see Elder Brown's darling face, go to the minute mark of this clip. He is in the second row from the top, third one over from the right. He said it was difficult to not bawl through each song they sang.)

So, a little bit about the MTC...dropping him off was so bitter sweet. These pictures of my mom explain it best. I think her thoughts were...

'See I'm smiling, I'm happy.'

'I'm a little sad'

'Does he have to go so far?'

'Maybe I should go with him.'

My mom did really well...I'm hope she's not mad at me for posting those. She was so cute that day. Both of my parents are so supportive and so proud of their son.

Jason turned into Elder Brown the second he put on that badge. And his enthusiasm to get started was what got me through the day. Spencer kept saying, "he's on fire."

This was Starszy Brown's face all day. I loved it.

Here's some great pictures of J in the MTC if you are interested.

So, I'll be thinking about this handsome missionary all day while he travels. I think of him always even though he probably doesn't think so because I'm not the best a sending letters. I hope he doesn't hate me because of that. Luckily my gorgeous and amazingly thoughtful sister, Sarah never misses a beat. He's gotten so many letters and packages from her. I've sent probably 1 letter to her 30. So at least it balances.

Ok, anyway, Starszy Brown, you won't see this post for 2 years but I love you!

By the way...

Happy Halloween!

Spence and I went to Emily and Taylor's Hallow-wood Halloween Party.
We were supposed to dress up as a celebrity couple.
So...we were Tim McGraw and Faith Hill.

I should mention that we are trying to look really serious in this picture because we felt like it helped us look more like our character. I think it helped Spence, but I still look nothing like Faith.

So, Rome was nice...

I'm pretty sure that not many people check this blog anymore. But I've realized that this is just as much for Spencer and I as it is for all of our 'viewers.' It's sad to me that it took a much less than pleasing event to occur for me to start it back up. Originally I stopped blogging because our computer crashed, but after my brilliant uncle solved that problem, I was simply out of the habit. It's been over a year now. While that year was full of challenges, there have been so many wonderful occurrences. Let me update you...

First of all, for those of you who are wondering where we live now, that would be Utah. We left Nashville at the beginning of this year. Our house is still there and we miss it, along with the friends we made there, but it's also good to be closer to family again. Perfect timing too because SO many things have been happening. This year we've had TWO more Toone weddings (the year wouldn't be complete without multiple Toone weddings). Little sis, Linz married Payson in February. And little bro, Payden married Laura in July. On top of those two joining the family, we had two darling little babies join the clan as well. Will and Kristy's smiley Blake and Erin and Utahna's precious Madeline. The Toone's numbers went from 11 to 18 in two years. That has to be a record. We like to party.

On top of being able to spend some time in Idaho, Spence and I were able to travel to California and be with my family for a bit. During this time we were looking for jobs and trying to figure out where we were going to settle. Kind of a stressful time. But there's no better place to be when you don't have jobs! Playing in California with my family is one of my favorite things to do. It also gave us the opportunity to spend a lot time with my brother before he left on his mission (more about this later, don't worry).

So this kind of brings us to where we are now. We found a great condo in the Holladay area of Salt Lake that has the most gorgeous view of the mountains (um, and Highland Drive but we just look at the mountains). And then...we got back to work! (With a few summer distractions of course: Lake Powell, Bear Lake, etc. We can't stay away from lakes) Spencer has been working for Pentad Properties doing commercial real estate. And I've been doing marketing and public relations work for two different companies. Both of us are working in completely different fields than we are used to, so it's been exciting! This is definitely the shortened version of "Adventure '08" but I just need to get this posted so I'll feel caught up. And I do. Questions?

Remembering Aquilo

For those of you who are not dog lovers, you will think this post is cheesy, especially since it's the first post in over a year. Let me update you...Spence and I have had our ups and downs over this past year. Spencer not being able to play football anymore, both of us leaving our jobs and our home in Nashville, having to drive across the country, not once, not twice, but three times, moving around a bit trying to figure out what we were going to do, and finally getting settled in Utah, new place, new careers, new adventures! Through all of it, we've felt so blessed to have our constants: our loving families, and the strong support that the gospel brings into our lives. There was another special pal that always made us smile, even when things were hard. Our sweet little puppy that went through all of it with us. Aquilo!

The name means the Roman God of the Winds. The night we got him, we had tornado warnings in Nashville, and had to spend the night in the basement so we thought the name appropriate. It became even more appropriate when he got a little older and learned his favorite thing to do was RUN. He was so fast and loved the wind in his face. This little guy had the funniest personality. He was really tenderhearted and felt so bad when he would get into trouble. He would curl himself into a ball on your lap as if to say, "forgive me, I could not help myself, that sock was just so delicious." This always made us melt and we could never stay mad at him for long. He was so affectionate and always wanted to please us. If there is anything you could learn from this dog, it's how to be sincere and love unconditionally. He didn't like it when anyone would leave the room. He loved to sit on the balcony and people watch, however, if he saw someone he didn't like, he'd get real stressed out about it and try to talk to us. I think he was trying to warn us of dangerous people. He was very dramatic and he LOVED to play! If no one would play with him, he would figure out away to play on his own by throwing a ball off a flight of stairs and fetching it himself or kicking a ball around the house. He loved to play hide and seek with Jason and Spencer. And he was very afraid of balloons. He was so smart and learned to sit on his second day home.

His tail was constantly wagging which helped us stay positive during rough times. When we would come home, he would consistently give us a greeting that made us feel so loved. He liked to hike, swim, and travel (we hope because he did a lot of it). His best puppy friend was my cousin Emily's puppy Cooper who he got to doggy sit every once in awhile. He taught him how to wrestle and how to play 'keep away.' When we met him, he was homeless. We got to rescue him and spoil him. And although it was short, we hope he had a really good life.


Yesterday, poor Aquilo had an awful accident. Out of fear that he would never be the same and that we would be sentencing him to a life of being crippled, Spencer and I decided that the best thing to do would be to put him to sleep. It was a hard decision because he was our little buddy and we've grown so attached to him. We didn't think we'd have to make this decision for several more years. But after seeing his condition, we knew it was the right decision. We couldn't believe how extremely hard it was to sit with him while he passed. But we know now that he's in a better place. All dogs go to heaven right! So we know he's running fast now and eating all the socks he wants. Spencer and I both feel like there is a big piece of us missing.

We'll miss you buddy

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Thank you Sarah, Love you!

Good to know...

You Belong in Rome

You're a big city soul with a small town heart Which is why you're attracted to the romance of Rome Strolling down picture perfect streets, cappuccino in hand And gorgeous Italian people - could life get any better?

What City Do You Belong In?

I miss these faces...

Thank goodness for the I-Chat camera, I love it when I get pictures like these. It makes my day. Love you Wade and Sarah!

Grow old along with me...the best is yet to be...

I almost didn't post this because Spencer doesn't like me to make a big deal out of his birthday. So we'll just call the 25th of August a special day. I was thinking back to last year around this time. We had been married for about a month but hadn't seen much of each other at all. I remember feeling like I dreamt our whole wedding day. I was still living with my single roommates, I was still in my single's ward, I still worked / lived in Salt Lake, and my husband was no where to be found. I would daydream about making Spencer sacked lunches and playing with our pet bull dog, "Crunk." Well, here we are, a whole year later. Still no dog and I don't think I've ever made him lunch, at least not one that he's taken to work in a paper bag. But we've sure had our adventures and it was such a treat for me to wake up to that oh so cute face of his on his birthday. How did I get so lucky?
When Spence was little, all he wanted for his birthday was the "biggest twuck in the woold." His parents always talk about what an amazing kid he was. Always wanting to do great things, and always willing to work hard to get there. I've known him for five years now and he's still like that. Spence, like any of us, doesn't like the thought of getting older (eventhough he is so far away from even being considered old). But I've just got to tell ya babe, I look forward to every single day of getting older with you. Happy 25th of August! You'll always be new to me.