Getting to Know Mary H

 Mary is the Relief Society Secretary!

My name is: Mary H

My favorite dinner is: Chicken Alfredo

My favorite dessert is: Cheesecake

My favorite flower is: Gerber daisy

My favorite hobby is: Creating things – either on the computer or crafting it

My favorite restaurant is: Panera (East coast version of Paradise Bakery I believe)

A game I like to play is: Nertz

The music I listen to most is: Country or Pop

My favorite thing to buy is: Books

A book I highly recommend is: Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson

A movie I watch over and over is: Sweet Home Alabama

A smell that makes me pause is: Freshly baked chocolate chip cookies

The place I would most like to visit is: New Zealand

My favorite thing to do on a date is: Go dancing

The best vacation I ever had was:  10 day trip to visit Switzerland, Italy, Monaco (my personal favorite), France and Belgium

 

If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose? Elizabeth Bennet

If you could learn to do anything, what would it be? make a Strawberry Surf Rider smoothie from Jamba Juice

What chore do you absolutely hate doing? Washing dishes

When you have 30 minutes of free-time, how do you pass the time? Reading a book or looking at posts on Pinterest

What do you think is your very best feature or characteristic? Being a good listener

What is the "thing" you are most grateful for? The internet

What's the coolest thing you've ever done? It’s probably not the coolest but I got to help program a simulator to train military to drive a tank and then I got to test it in the hydraulic simulator. (Yes I have a little nerd inside me.)

How did you meet your husband? We met at FHE. During the introductions at the beginning of the semester I sat next to him. As we went around the circle all the girls from my apartment said they were dating “the most amazing guy in the universe.” Matt asked me if I was dating anyone and when I said no, he asked if I wanted to date him for 5 minutes. I said yes so when he introduced himself he grabbed my hand and said “I’m Matt and I’m dating the most amazing girl in the universe.” A week later we had our first date and never stopped. FHE works!

How did he propose? We packed a picnic dinner and hiked the Y. We danced on top to music that was playing down on campus and then he dropped to one knee and asked me to marry him. After I said yes, he disappeared behind a bush and brought out a dozen roses and an iPod with our songs so we could dance to them.

 The best thing about being married is: Always having someone to enjoy life with – he makes everything better.

What do you and your husband like to do together? Play card and board games

What would be your perfect day? Sleep in, have breakfast in bed, go to the beach, have a picnic, go on a date with Matt (dinner and dancing) and finish with a candlelit swim in a hot tub

What was the best advice you got on marriage? My sister-in-law wrote in our guest book – “When making out in the bathroom be careful not to slip and fall.” Someone else added “The same applies on roofs and ladders”

 What story does your family always tell about you? The time that I sat picking flowers on the soccer field while the opposing team went right by me to score a goal. I was not allowed to sign up for soccer after that. In my defense our team was awesome and the ball never got close to the goal until that time so I was really bored.

Getting to Know Candace W

Candace is the 2nd counselor in the Relief Society Presidency!

My name is: Candace W

My favorite dinner is: Chicken Bundles with Rice or anything Italian

My favorite dessert is: Cheesecake, Cookies, Brownies

My favorite flower is: Gardenias

My favorite hobby is: Jogging, Hiking and Dancing

My favorite restaurant is: Café-Rio, or Paradise Bakery

A game I like to play is: Ticket to Ride

The music I listen to most is: Country and Church

My favorite thing to buy is: Books from Deseret Book or Shoes 

A book I highly recommend is: The Book of Mormon

A movie I watch over and over is: “Tangled”

A smell that makes me pause is: Warm Brown Vanilla Sugar

The city I would most like to visit is: London, England

My favorite thing to do on a date is: Play sports, or go on a walk.

The best vacation I ever had was: Royal Caribbean Cruise to Haiti, Grand Cayman, Cozumel , Mexico

If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose? Belle

If you could learn to do anything, what would it be? Learn to surf, or Quilting, Sewing

What chore do you absolutely hate doing? Dusting

When you have 30 minutes of free-time, how do you pass the time? Exercise, or read a book

What do you think is your very best feature or characteristic? My hair, or feet

What is the "thing" you are most grateful for? The restored gospel of Jesus Christ, Temples and Family

What is your dream vacation? I would love to go to Hawaii for a week and learn how to surf.

What's the coolest thing you've ever done? I would say serving a mission to Santiago, Chile. I also lived on Fisher’s Island and loved living the “beach life.”

How did you meet your husband? I first learned that my husband existed when I was serving in my third area of my mission. He had served in my same mission two years prior and had wrote a detailed description in the area book. He had excellent handwriting. When I returned from my mission I met him in my home ward. We talked about Chile all through Sunday School, and he came over that night to get my number. We went on our first date to a Chilean restaurant and the rest is history. We were married five months later in the Salt Lake City Temple. 

How did he propose? He flew me down to Mesa Arizona where we drove back towards Utah. While we were driving, we stopped in Gunnison, UT, where my grandparents live and he proposed at the local community park. He had a storybook theme. He first read me my favorite childhood stories, and then he gave me a book that he had wrote about us. He had pictures of us dating and he wanted it to be a memory book.

The best thing about being married is: Is always having someone to laugh with and talk to.

What do you and your husband like to do together? We love to exercise, and play sports together, cook, play board games, watch movies, and listen to music.

What would be your perfect day? To wake-up and cook a big breakfast, go for a hike, or jog. Go wakeboarding, or swimming. Then go out to dinner, and lastly watch a movie together.

What was the best advice you got/would give on marriage? Always start a marriage discussion with a prayer and ended it with a prayer.

What story does your family always tell about you? They tell the story of when I got knocked out in my high school bathroom. When someone kicked the stall opened and I had a huge mark on my forehead. It was a great welcome to my first few weeks of high school.

Getting to Know Helen R

 Helen the 1st counselor in the Relief Society Presidency!

My name is: Helen R

My favorite dinner is: Homemade Tacos, Black Bean Burgers, Lasagna, Homemade Pizza, Doner Kebab

My favorite dessert is: Chocolate and Strawberries or Ritter’s Frozen Custard

My favorite flower is: Sunflower, Daisy

My favorite hobby is: Fencing, photography, hiking, playing with my daughter, going on dates with my husband, traveling

A game I like to play is: Killer Bunnies

The music I listen to most is: Classical-Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony

My favorite thing to buy is: good food

A book I highly recommend is: The Alchemist

A movie I watch over and over is: Silverado, How to Train your Dragon, North and South

The place I would most like to visit is: where I can see the northern lights

My favorite thing to do on a date is: eat

The best vacation I ever had was: visiting Conrad in England before we were married and returning to Germany to see the baptism of a man I taught on mission

If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose? Anne of Green Gables

If you could learn to do anything, what would it be? I would learn to be perfectly Christlike

What chore do you absolutely hate doing? Vacuuming

When you have 30 minutes of free-time, how do you pass the time? Think of new recipes, visit with friends, study in the scriptures

What do you think is your very best feature or characteristic? My hair

What is the "thing" you are most grateful for? The Earth

What is your dream vacation? Warm… 

What's the coolest thing you've ever done? Give birth

How did you meet your husband? How did he propose? I met him in Germany. He proposed in the temple.

The best thing about being married is: eternal love and the prospect of eternal life

What do you and your husband like to do together? Everything. But especially cook, listen to music, attend plays and symphonies, ride bikes, go on walks

What would be your perfect day? A spring one. Everybody is happy, and I can teleport…

What was the best advice you got/would give on marriage? The honeymoon never has to end. You and your spouse may not be perfect, but together you can have a perfect marriage. Choose to love each other every day. Remind yourself every morning why you love your spouse, and let them know every night why they are the most important and greatest person in the world. And tell everybody else that your marriage is perfect. That way it has to be true.

Getting to Know Jen B

Jen is our wonderful Relief Society President!

My name is: Jen B

My favorite dinner is: I love Cafe Rio, but cooked at home, I love Chicken Cordon Bleu. :)

My favorite dessert is: Anything Chocolate. Especially it involves Chocolate and Raspberries.

My favorite flower is: Daffodils.

My favorite hobby is: Reading and buying books (I literally have an addiction.)

My favorite restaurant is: Cafe Rio, or if we're in England, I love Whole Foods upstairs restaurant.

A game I like to play is: Carcasonne. I also love Scrabble

The music I listen to most is: Celtic Music--It's a fairly recent addition for me and Derek. Or Disney soundtracks. I listen to that a LOT

My favorite thing to buy is: Books. Books. and...Books

A book I highly recommend is: John Adams, by David McCullough. I also love The Lightening Thief series. And, like anyone of our generation: Harry Potter.

A movie I watch over and over is: Rudy or You've Got Mail

A smell that makes me pause is: Pause because it's delicious? The crisp smell of fall. Leaves fallen on the ground, cool mountain air, and the smell of hot chocolate.

The city I would most like to visit is: London is my favorite city in the world. But if it's a place I've never been, Boston

My favorite thing to do on a date is: Talk and go for walks.

The best vacation I ever had was: Last year spending a month in Derek's mission, Croatia and Slovenia.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose? Hermione. She totally rocks Except, I would marry Harry--not Ron.

If you could learn to do anything, what would it be? Embroider. I'm trying to teach myself...ok, not really. I bought all the stuff to teach myself, and haven't started yet.

What chore do you absolutely hate doing? Taking out the garbage. That's Derek's job!!

When you have 30 minutes of free-time, how do you pass the time? read. or look at blogs.

What do you think is your very best feature or characteristic? I love to laugh. And I do it quite often.

What is the "thing" you are most grateful for? haha...my books. :D

What is your dream vacation? I'd love to spend an entire month in Northern England. Staying in a beautiful English Cottage, and just touring around the Lake District.

What's the coolest thing you've ever done? I've eaten Rattlesnake. It tasted like spicy chicken!

How did you meet your husband? How did he propose? He was my FHE brother our Freshman year at BYU. We wrote his entire mission and got engaged just a couple weeks after he got home. He proposed to me on the top of the High Unita Moutains, right before a blizzard hit. We nearly died on the way home.

The best thing about being married is: someone to check the bathroom when I'm scared---just to make sure there isn't a creepy guy inside!!

What do you and your husband like to do together? We love to go for long walks or hikes. We also love to just sit together on the couch and read.

What would be your perfect day? Get up around 8ish, take my time getting ready, and then spend the entire day in a beautiful place with Derek. Either a cool city with awesome museums, or out in the mountains with a good book and snacks.

What was the best advice you got/would give on marriage? Best advice I got at a bridal shower, from my Great Aunt, was to give each other a certain amount of money each month. And the important part is, we can't question what the other person spends it on. Especially if the decision is to buy something for the other person.

What story does your family always tell about you? When I was about 6, I dropped a rock from the tree house onto my brother's head, who was about 2. I was scared I was going to get in trouble, so I said that my sister (who was 4) had accidentally kicked it out. EVERYONE believed me (including my sister) until I finally spilled the truth when I was 16. To this day, that is apparently my defining moment....*sigh*