5 years and 1 year!

The end of May we celebrated 5 fabulous, amazing years of marriage!!!  I can’t believe how quickly the years have flown by! I swear it was just a few months ago that we were getting married. I am so grateful for a wonderful husband that I can definitely say I love more and more each day.  On the actual day, we had a pretty normal day with work and what not. We celebrated that weekend by going to Zarkana at the Aria and spending the night and the LVH on The Strip. Zarkana is one of the Cirque du Soleil shows. It was AMAZING! We had been wanting to see one of the Cirque shows and decided that our anniversary was a good reason to splurge. We had a great weekend celebrating and relaxing and reflecting over the past 5 years together.

Holy cow! We have lived in Las Vegas for 1 year already! Where did the time go?!? It seems like we were just on our way down here with a big moving van.  I am glad that time has been going quickly. We have been continuing with our stream of visitors and that has been a blast! 

The middle of May our friends Kylee and Joe came to stay with us for a few days. I don’t think I have laughed so much in a weekend before. I’m pretty sure we laughed the whole time they were here! We didn’t do a lot other than hang out together, go swimming, and just chill. Kylee went to culinary school and I have been telling her ever since she graduated that she needs to cook for us. So she cooked Sunday dinner and it was fantastic! She made stir fry and I could eat it every single day! Hats off to Kylee and her mad cooking skills!

This week our friends Annie and Mike and their kiddos stopped in Vegas for a visit as they were making their trek to Phoenix. Mike just finished dental school in Virginia and they moved to Phoenix for him to start his practice. It was great to see them! They have such adorable kiddos and I couldn’t believe how big they had gotten. We had dinner together and then they came back to our place before hitting the road. We were so excited to see them and almost as excited (maybe more) to have them only living a few hours away instead of all the way on the other side of the country!!

I think time is just going to keep flying by. We are only a few weeks away from the 4^th of July. The week after the 4^th Rumel is flying up to Idaho for his family reunion in Island Park. Then three weeks after that we drive up to Utah to spend a week in Bear Lake with my family. And by then the summer will almost be over. The only trouble will be trying not to melt in this Vegas heat when we are home. We are just starting into the 3 worst reasons about living in Vegas. I am not ready for this again. Oh well! Bring on the summer and the vacations!

Same ol' same ol

Welp its been several months since either of us posted anything.  We ended up going back to Utah in October for Heidi's Grandma's funeral.  We've had several visitors in the past few months.  Our friends Erick & Alli came down in October and we spent some time on the strip with them.  My parents came in November and we were able to go to Hoover Dam, The Blue Man Group and Fremont Street. We were able to go home for Christmas and spend time in Utah and Idaho. Coming back to Vegas after the holidays was a little tough because we knew it would be quite a stretch before we would be back in Utah or Idaho.  My brother-in-law Kyle came and visited us in January.  Travis and Heather came down in February and we were able to go to Tournament of Kings with them.  In March our friends JDee & Christa and Erick & Alli came down.  We also went to Fresno in early March to visit Heidi's sister and her family.  While we were there we were able to attend Anna's baptism and Wesley's eagle court of honor.  Heidi's parents were there and her brother Todd and his family.  It was great to see everyone.  I'd never been to Fresno area so it was really cool to go up there and see the area.  The winter weather in Vegas has been awesome but now summer is just around the corner and we aren't really looking forward to the 100+ degree days but the pool will help offset some of those.  Not a whole lot else has been going on with us. We are just taking things one day at a time.

Grandma Gregersen

Its been a few weeks since my Grandma Gregersen passed away and I feel like I would be extremely ungrateful if I didn't say a few words on the blog about her.

We were very lucky to live only an hour or so from my Dad's parents which gave us to opportunity to go down and see them quite often.  I remember when we were little kids we would spend many of those visits making cookies with Grandma and playing games such as Polley-anna and Cootie Bug.  As we got older we moved on to more outdoor activities such as hockey and riding motorcycles.  Grandma was always so happy to see us.  In all the time I spent around her I don't ever remember her getting mad or saying anything bad about anyone.  She was a great example of loving a people unconditionally.  I was on my mission when Grandpa Gregersen died nearly 15 years ago and wasn't able to attend his funeral.  After Grandpa was gone Grandma was even more happy when we'd stop by to visit her.  I'm grateful that Heidi's family lives in Hyde Park which gave us a lot of opportunity to stop and visit Grandma and we traveled between my visits to my family and Heidi's.

Even though it is hard to see her move on from this life to the next I am happy that she was able to live such a wonderful life and be such a shining example to everyone she came in contact with.  I'm also happy that after 15 years alone she was able to reunite with my Grandpa and all his family and with the members of her family who have passed on before her.  I'm grateful that she was able to pass quickly without being sick to long or suffering to long.  She had just renewed her drivers license only weeks before she passed and was only in the hospital for a few days.

I'm going to try and imbed a video my cousin posted on facebook. This is Grandma around her 90th birthday giving advice to her family.  Hopefully it works.




The funeral was really quite excellent.  All my aunts & uncles & dad spoke about grandma.  They all did excellent jobs.  A few things that stood out to me.  Grandma grew up in the depression and her family was very poor.  A story was told about how when she was in school there was a boy in her class whose family was even more poor than hers.  This boy didn't have any shoes so he came to school one day wearing his mother's shoes.  Kids being like they are teased him about wearing his mother's shoes and my grandma was among them.  When she got home after school she told her mother about it.  Her mother told her something that changed her life.  She said don't ever think that you are better than someone else and don't ever think that someone else is better than you.  She ended up befriending the boy and for the rest of her life tried to make others feel like they were loved and important.  I hope I can take her example and try to be more like her and be a friend to the person who might not have any.  She was also extremely grateful for the things that she had and the blessings the Lord had given her.  I hope I can be more appreciative of the blessings I receive.

I know that Grandma is in a better place, that she is with Grandpa and many other loved ones and that she is happy.  I also know that I will see her again someday and I look forward to that time and hope I can live my life in a way that will make her proud of me.

Gwen T. Gregersen (1920 - 2012)

PRESTON - Gwen Naomi Talbot Gregersen, 92, passed away Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2012, in Preston, Idaho. She was born in Preston, Idaho, on Aug. 10, 1920, the oldest of 12 children born to Henry Leon and Alice Naomi Seamons Talbot.
She grew up in Winder, Idaho, in a home where music was an important part in the lives of her large family. She had a beautiful voice and performed for the first time in public at the age of 6. At 18 she began working for the GlenDora's, a musical theater group that performed in towns throughout Idaho and Montana and on the radio.
She married Ernest Gregersen on May 18, 1939, in Pocatello, Idaho. Her marriage was solemnized in the Logan LDS Temple on Sept. 9, 1943. She and Ernie lived in Banida, Idaho, where they farmed and raised seven children, Gayle (Jay) Hansen, Joyce (Scott) Mullikin, Lee (Corine) Gregersen, Carmen (Kim) Loveland, Michael (Roxie) Gregersen, Von (LaDee) Gregersen and Blair (Rhonda) Gregersen.
She graduated from Utah State University and found great joy in teaching elementary school in Weston and Clifton, Idaho. She was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and faithfully served in numerous callings throughout her life. She and her husband served in the Iowa Des Moines Mission and were ordinance workers in the Logan temple for many years.
She is survived by her seven children; brothers, Eugene (Joyce) Talbot and Neil (Sharon) Talbot; sisters, Dona (Glen) Sayer, Audrey (Wayne, deceased) Vail, Dora (Gordon, deceased) Oxborrow and Janis (Howard) Thatcher; 39 grandchildren; 77 great-grandchildren; and 15 great-great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband; parents-in-law, Frederick and Maren Gregersen; 11 siblings-in-law and their spouses; brothers, Henry Leon Jr. (Clara), Keith (Mable), Kenneth (survived by Djon) and Gary; sister, June (Dean) Handy; and granddaughter, Tricia Gregersen.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 25, at the Preston North Stake Center, 310 N. State St., with Bishop Alan Atkinson conducting. Viewings will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 24, at Webb Funeral Home, 1005 S. 800 East, Preston, and from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the stake center. Interment will be in the Preston Cemetery.
Memories and condolences may be shared with the family at www.webbmortuary.com.

Published in Logan Herald Journal from August 23 to September 6, 2012

Not Good Bloggers

More than a year has passed since the last blog post and so so so much has changed.  I finished school in May and after 5 semesters on the Dean's List graduated with a 4.0 overall GPA.  We were really hoping that I'd be able to find a job that would allow us to stay close to our families.  Unfortunately that is not what the Lord had in store for us.  So after applying for jobs from Alaska to Texas it came down to a job offer in Las Vegas.  We ended up moving in June.  If you ever move somewhere hot don't do it at the beginning of summer.  We spent the first three months wondering why in the world we moved to such a hot place.  Luckily summer is over and things are starting to cool down a bit.  Hopefully the nice winter will make us willing to endure another summer here.  The three months here have been a real roller-coaster.  After about 4 weeks Heidi left to go back to Utah/Idaho for a family reunion.  So I had the pleasure of spending all of July by myself in a city where I knew no one.  I flew up to Idaho at the end of July for my sister's wedding.  It was very nice to get out of Vegas and be with my wife again.  I hope we are never in a situation where we have to spend that much time apart again.  If she hadn't come back with me after the wedding I'm pretty sure I would have just abandon all our stuff and stayed up there with her.  I can honestly say if I would have known leaving my last job and going to Idaho State was going to eventually lead us to Las Vegas I probably would have stayed in Salt Lake and kept working.  Being in Las Vegas has been incredibly difficult, especially after two years of living so close to our families.  Of my family I am the only one who married someone not from the Blackfoot area.  I am also the only one who has lived outside Idaho (besides missions & military service).  So I guess I am meant to be the wanderer of the family.  We are starting to enjoy Vegas more but hopefully we'll be able to find a way to move closer to our families sometime in the not to distant future.

We'd been home from the wedding only a couple weeks when we got a very unexpected call.  My Grandma Gregersen who we'd seen just weeks before at the wedding and looked like her normal cheerful self was now in the hospital and not expected to last much longer.  She went into the hospital on Thursday and died the following Tuesday.  It was very difficult to be so far away at a time when so many of the family were sad and mourning.  At a time when we were really not happy to be in Vegas the passing of my Grandma seemed to be just one more thing that added to a miserable situation we didn't really want to be in.  I was really questioning why we had ended up in Las Vegas and what purpose the Lord had for us here.  We had been praying and fasting and going to the temple seeking comfort to help us feel better about being in Vegas and guidance as to what we where here for.  The night Grandma passed away I was about as low as I've ever been and I offered up one of the most sincere and heartfelt prayers I've ever said.  I still don't know why we are in Vegas but while the passing of Grandma was difficult and we will miss her I now look at it as a gift.  Her funeral was the weekend before Labor Day weekend.  We had thought about going to Idaho for Labor day because I was scheduled to have 5 days off for the holiday.  My work offers a week of funeral leave so with the timing of the funeral I was able to use one day of vacation and get 12 days off from work.  I don't know if it had anything to do with me but I've heard there are no coincidences but at a time when I felt the weakest my dear Grandmother made it possible for us to be in Idaho and Utah with our families for nearly two weeks.  It still wasn't easy to leave at the end of the two weeks but I've felt better about being here than I ever have.

The time we spent in Idaho and Utah was so great.  Oh how I miss nights that actually cool off and how I miss waking up in the morning and having it be so brisk. We spent the first weekend in Hyde Park so we could go back and forth to Preston for the viewing and funeral.  The funeral was so good.  I'll write about it in a separate post.  The first Sunday we were able to go to the farwell of Heidi's cousin and spend time with her family.  Monday we went and test drove cars and ended up getting a new to us 06 Nissan Altima.  After driving Old Pukey (my stratus) for the past 10 years the Altima feels like a real race car.  I inherited Heidi's old car and she gets the Altima.  The mailbu is a big step up from Old Pukey.  Hopefully these will be good cars and will last a long time.  We went up to Idaho on Tuesday and I spent the next couple days helping dad with grain harvest.  We were supposed to go camping but the weather wasn't great and there are tons of fires in Idaho and not everyone could go.  We ended up just hanging out with the family and going to the fair which was pretty fun.  We went back to Monday afternoon and the next day drove back to Vegas.  So now we are back and just trying to get into a routine.  Heidi started a new job today and I was supposed to officially start mine but we got rained out.  Hopefully it won't be a year until the next blog post.

All our Adventures over the past several months!

I know be shocked! Look at me blogging. Sorry it has been so long since we have updated. Our everyday lives are kind of boring, hence why I haven't blogged. But the past few months we have done things that are blog worthy. Since I last updated another two semesters (Winter and a 4 week summer semester) came and went for Rumel. And I just want to take a minute to brag on my amazing hubby. He has maintained a 4.0 GPA and is doing very well in all his classes! He is really enjoying all of his classes and working hard. I am so very proud of him and thankful for all his hard work to improve and provide our future! Sorry for that little side note. Rumel also had an internship with the school building a Flow Loop for the INL. School finished up for me as well and summer vacation started.

Our summer has turned out a little bit different than we original thought. When we were planning for this summer we had thought that Rumel would be doing an internship. Well, he started his internship out in Burley and after a few days we decided and had a feeling that he shouldn't be out there anymore. So he came home and has spent the summer with me which has been a blessing and tons of fun. Our first adventure was going to Logan for my cousin's wedding. We didn't get any pictures from the wedding but it was a beautiful day and Alysha and Josh looked so happy. I also think there was a little help from above to have the weather hold out as long as we needed. That Friday before the wedding was Rumel's birthday. I gave him his presents and sang to him on his actual birthday and then we celebrated with my family on Sunday.

The Monday after the wedding we headed down to SLC because I had an appointment. While we were down there, we went to lunch with my good friend Lisa. It was so good to see her and catch up. We realized that it had been almost a year since we had seen each other which is unacceptable. We will have to make sure that doesn't happen again. Anyway, it was great to spend time with her. She decided to take the rest of the day off work so we were able to spend 3 hours together. I'm not sure Rumel had as much fun as Lisa and I did, but he survived. The next day we came back to Idaho. We had decided we wanted to go to the temple but since the temple in Idaho Falls was closed, we went up to Rexburg. It was nice to go do a session up there. Rumel showed me around all the places he used to hang out while he was in school. We also met up with Rachelle and she showed us some of the new buildings that Rumel had never seen. On our way back home, Rumel took me to Big Judd's to have a burger. It was pretty delicious!

A few days later we went back to Burley to get Rumel's things. Since we were so close, we decided to make the short drive up to Twin Falls to visit Shoshone since they were so full. We got some awesome pictures and it was amazing to see how full the falls were. The next day, we went back down to Hyde Park. We wanted to go to another session at the temple with my parents and then they were going to take us to dinner for Rumel's birthday. Well, on Wednesday my Grandma Seamons was having some pain in her leg and her chest. She had a doctor's appointment and her doctor sent her up to the hospital to get some things tested. While she was there her heart rate was really low and was staying that way. They kept her overnight for observation and her heart rate wasn't improving like they wanted, so they scheduled her for surgery to put a pacemaker in Friday morning. When we got to Hyde Park Friday afternoon the surgery had gone well and she was doing fine. We went to the temple and dinner with my parents which was very nice. Over the course of the day it was determined that someone would need to stay with my grandma when she went home on Saturday. The family was going to hire an aide to come and stay with her at night and instead of doing that, I volunteered. So on Saturday we went to Banida (a town just north of Preston) for a Gregersen family reunion. After the reunion we came home to get some extra clothes since we hadn't planned on staying in Hyde Park for two weeks and headed back to Hyde Park so I could spend the night with my grandma. We spent the next two weeks at my parents so I could help my grandma at night. Rumel spent his time helping my parents and other grandma with projects.

Once the two weeks were over, we came back to Idaho to get ready to go to Island Park with Rumel's family. We came home on a Tuesday and left for Island Park on Thursday. Island Park was awesome! It was the first time since we've been married that we've been able to go. We spent our time playing games, visiting, eating tons of yummy food, playing at the lake, and enjoying evening campfires and stories. All of Rumel's immediate family was able to make it and it was the first time in several years since had all been there together. We were also able to use our tent for the first time and survived our first camping trip together as a married couple. We headed back home on Sunday afternoon. When we got home we quickly unloaded and started laundry for our next adventure. We did several loads of laundry so we could repack and head to Utah again.

On Monday morning we headed to Hyde Park to help my parents pack and get ready and then head up to Bear Lake for the week. We spent our time in Bear Lake playing games, spending time at the lake riding wave runners, swimming at the pool, eating way too much delicious food, and visiting with the family. On Tuesday morning the annual Spuhler Family Golf Tournament took place. My brother Todd won the tournament for the first time this year. Rumel took home the Duffer award. He not only got a trophy and a golf M&M dispenser. Go Hunny! He jokes with my brothers that he is on the 5 year plan, meaning that within 5 years of marrying me, he will take home the title. He has 2 years left to make his plan a reality. This year there was an exciting announcement made, my brother Todd and his wife Ami are expecting and due Jan. 6! We are excited for them and for the new addition to our family! Our Bear Lake trip was definitely a success and we headed home Friday morning.

Once back at my parents' house we spent time hanging out with my siblings and enjoying family time together. We were able to get a family picture before everyone left, even if it will be outdated in a few months. It was great to all be together and catch up on each others' lives. On Monday we headed to SLC for a little bit and were able to have dinner with our friends the Boyers and the Warrens. It was fun to see them and catch up. We went back to Hyde Park Monday night and then finally headed home to Poky Tuesday. Rumel had a meeting with the 2^nd counselor in our Bishopric and go a new calling Tuesday evening. He is the assistant Venture scout leader. He is pretty excited about it. It will be a great opportunity for him and he will do awesome!

On Saturday the 30^th we had a bridal shower for Troy's fiancée Sasha in Blackfoot at Travis and Heather's house. We had a really good turnout and Sasha received a lot of very nice gifts. I can't believe how close their wedding is getting. I decided I would try making Oreo Truffles for the shower. They turned out okay. I didn't think they looked very good because I got in a fight with the white chocolate while I was dipping them, but they all disappeared. We were discussing some variations on the truffles and long story short I get to make more truffles for the open house for Troy and Sasha on the 19^th. I think I have a better game plan now so hopefully they turn out better.

Well, I think that covers most of our adventures and happening over the last little bit. We are enjoying just being at home and relaxing before school starts for the both of us. Hope all is well. I will try and get some pictures posted in the next few days of our adventures.

It’s a Miracle!!!!

I know, I know! It has been forever since we've posted. Quite a bit has happened in the past couple of months. Halloween came and went. We decided to dress up as Pirates this year. We went to a costume party at one of our friend's houses that is in our ward. It was fun and great to get to meet people in our ward. Then on the 30th we headed to Blackfoot to go to Travis and Heather's ward Trunk-or-Treat. We had to speak in our ward on the 31st. Our topic was blessings of the temple. It went well, but we were both glad to have it over.

In November, I started to look more actively for a new job since mine would be ending at the end of December. I found a job for an Attendance Clerk position on the Idaho Dept of Labor website. I decided to apply for the job. I didn't think anything would really come of it. But about a week or so after I applied I got a call for an interview at a middle school. I went for the interview the same day that I few to SLC to help train my replacement at work. The interview went really well and I felt good about it. While I was in SLC, the principal of the school called and offered me the job! I was so excited! It worked out great that I was in SLC so I could tell my boss in person. So I flew home and Rumel and I went to dinner to celebrate. We were so grateful that I was able to get the job. A week after I got back was Thanksgiving. This was our year to start at Rumel's family. Thursday we had dinner at the farm and then relaxed and enjoyed time with family. We looked at the ads and decided there wasn't anything we really wanted so we headed back to Pokey after stopping at Wal-Mart at midnight. Friday, we slept in which was great. We got up and chilled for part of the day. Then in the afternoon we headed to Logan since my parents would be home (They had flown to Fresno the week earlier because my oldest nephew was receiving the priesthood. I feel old because I was like his second mom and I can't believe he is all grown up!) Anyway, we got to Logan and went to a couple of stores and then headed to my parents to wait for them to get home. On Saturday, we headed to SLC because I had an appointment. We met up with JDee and Christa for some lunch and then went shopping. After a little bit of time we headed back home. ON Sunday, we did Thanksgiving dinner with my family. We enjoyed lots of yummy food for a second time. It snowed a ton that night and we got snowed in at my parents'. We headed home the next morning on pretty much clear, just wet roads.

December 1st I started my new job. I love it! It is so great to be out of the house and be around people and get to be social again. I keep track of the attendance of the kids and call their parents to find out why they aren't in school. It is great and will work out awesome for us! Rumel finished up his classes in December and he received a 4.0. I am so proud of him! He worked really hard and earned those A's. One of the nice things about my job is that I got 2 weeks off for Christmas break. We had bought a night's stay at the Black Swan Inn back in October at an auction our ward did to raise money for Pennies by the Inch. We decided to use that over the break. We stayed in the Mayan Rain Forest room. It was nice to have a little staycation and relax. It was just what we needed after a long semester and year. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning at Rumel's parents. We decided to make presents easy this year and basically bought our own and gave it to the other to give to us. It worked out great because we got what we wanted. Christmas afternoon we headed to Logan. On our way, we stopped in and saw Grandma Gregersen. We visited with family there for a little bit and then finished the drive to Grandma Sphuler's house. We spent the rest of the evening at Grandma's with family. When we got back to my parents' they gave us our presents from them and I gave Rumel his last 2 presents. We had gotten a couple of pictures framed at Michael's over Thanksgiving and my parents picked them up when they were done and wrapped them. We stayed at my parents a couple of nights and then relaxed. On Tuesday we headed to SLC to take some stuff to my old work and then go to dinner with some friends that night. We stayed in SLC that night at one of our friend's houses. The next day we went to Rumel's old work to see everyone. After lunch and some shopping we started heading home. We got to Layton and the snow started. We were going to try and make all the way home but the roads were slick and there were way too many crazy drivers on the road. So we slowly made it back to my parents' house and spent the night there. Once we finally got home it was nice to be home. For New Year's Eve we went to Blackfoot to a party at Travis and Heather's. It was fun and low key.

So far January and 2011 has been pretty good. I can't believe that 2010 has come and gone so fast, but 2011 will hopefully be great. Hope everyone had a great holiday season and New Year. Sorry for the epistle. But we are now updated. :-D