Catching Up

So I've been a major slacker. There has been so much to write about these past couple months but I just haven't gotten around to doing it. It's one of those things where the task at hand seems so great that I just keep putting it off a little longer....all the while the pile continues to grow. So here's my attempt to catch everyone up! After we got back from our amazing trip to Hawaii...I was fully ready for the next event--Kristie's baby. Thanks to my connections with Dr. Judd, we got him to induce Kristie at 39 weeks exactly...pretty much the earliest that we could possibly do it! It was a Saturday and we (Wes, Kristie, and I) went into the hospital just after midnight that morning to start her induction...(Dr. Judd wanted to ensure that she would be delivered before his Saturday night Mass--haha). So I got to be her nurse and none of us managed to get any sleep before we went in because we were all so dang excited! After a great and painless labor (thank you, epidural!) she had a healthy baby boy at 2:06 pm. Weighing in at a whopping 8 lb 7 0z, Jacob Rulon Hurst is the cutest thing you'll ever see (of course, I'm biased...but really, he's cute...)! He's about 7wks old now and steadily gaining weight, crying a good share of the time, and occasionally giving us an adorable smile! It's been so fun to have him around...it's not very often that I get to see babies past day 4 of life. I'm loving it! Unfortunately (for us), Kristie and Wes moved out of their apartment next door to us and into a beautiful home out in Salem, UT. Now I've got to make a little drive in order to see my nephew...sad...but totally worth it!Next on the calendar was a visit from Mom & Dad (or should I say, Grandma & Grandpa!). They flew out from VA a week after Jake was born and stayed for 7 days. It was so much fun! We went up to the ranch for a few days to enjoy the peace and quiet and beautiful weather. We wish they lived closer and that we could see them more often...hopefully one day that will happen. But it was a great visit and I can't wait to see them again!At the end of May we had a 60th Anniversary party for Nathan's grandparents here in Provo. It was a quite the production, to say the least, and they loved it! It was a fun reason to get all the family together. Everyone was able to be there except for Brooke and her family (we missed you guys!). After the big program, Ashley, Andrea, Erin, Nathan, and I all drove down to Zion's National Park for three fun days of camping and hiking. We hiked two pretty sweet hikes--Angel's Landing & Observation Point. I won't ramble on too much about the hikes...but I will say that it definitely involved clutching onto chains along a trail that had about an 1100 ft drop on either side! Craziness. Literally. The other hike was actually an even higher elevation but the path was not quite as treacherous. I'm glad to report that we all returned safe and injury-free. So you can see the huge drop-off on either side!
Nathan's experiment of boiling water over a fire in a plastic bottle.

The last thing that I'll tell you about is Karen's Wedding. It happened. Karen and Brandon tied the knot on June 5, 2008 in the Salt Lake Temple. She was a beautiful bride and we were happy to share that special day with them. We're so excited for them to enjoy married life like we have this past year and a half. What a blessing it is to be married in the temple and sealed to your best friend for time and all eternity. I'm so grateful for that. We are so happy. And as for us right now...we're just making plans to move down to Arizona for dental school. I'm so sad to leave my wonderful job and all of the family I have here in Provo now...but we're excited to start the next phase of our lives. The plan for now is to move out of our apartment by the end of June and move in with Jerai and Phil for a few weeks in July until we go to Germany to visit family. After Germany it's down to Arizona! I have a feeling this next couple months will fly by!
Towards the end of the reception
Kristie's birthday cake which I experimentally decorated with blueberry-almond flowers! Pretty cute, eh?