Getting to Know Bree T

My name is: Bree T
My favorite dinner is: Cafe Rio homemade salad
My favorite dessert is: lemon bars
My favorite flower is: sunflowers
My favorite hobby is: Doing something creative.

My favorite restaurant is: Zupas
A game I like to play is: spades... A card game
The music I listen to most is: Adele, Regina Spektor type music

My favorite thing to buy is: trail mix... Anything with almonds!
A book I highly recommend is: The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands.. Ha
A movie I watch over and over is: The Notebook or The Holiday
A smell that makes me pause is: a volcano candle
The city I would most like to visit is: New York
My favorite thing to do on a date is: something involving competition
The best vacation I ever had was: Cancun Mexico with Aaron
If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose? Little Mermaid. Only because that was my favorite movie growing up. She has pretty hair and she is always in the ocean which I wish was always at!
If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?  an actress!
What chore do you absolutely hate doing? Dishes
When you have 30 minutes of free-time, how do you pass the time? Window shopping or getting on pinterest

What do you think is your very best feature or characteristic? I'm usually very even tempered
What is the "thing" you are most grateful for? This gospel
What is your dream vacation? Italy

What's the coolest thing you've ever? Snorkeling in Hawaii

How did you meet your husband? How did he propose? We met through his roommate freshman year and then dated for about 5 months and he left to California before his mission... We didn't talk for 2 years and then when he got home we met up and began dating again. He proposed in a park called the Celestial Park in Dallas, Texas where he was selling for vivint!

The best thing about being married is: not having to say goodbye at night and sharing our own home:)
What do you and your husband like to do together? We do lots of fun things together. We both like sports or extreme sports so we like going wakeboarding, snowboarding, hiking etc. We both love vacations!

What would be your perfect day? Getting up early.. Going for a run.. Going to a spa and coming home to something sweet my husband has done for me!

What was the best advice you got/would give on marriage? Try to let little things that bug you go... Communicate as much as possible with things that bother you because if you don't they have no idea what to fix. Be happy and learn new recipes
What story does your family always tell about you? They don't really tell stories about me.

Getting to Know Christina H

My name is: Christina H
My favorite dinner is: sweet & sour chicken
My favorite dessert is: orange sherbet with chocolate pieces
My favorite flower is: peonies, sweet peas, ranunculus, tulips
My favorite hobby is: music
My favorite restaurant is: Cha Am - Thai restaurant in Berkeley, CA
A game I like to play is: Set
The music I listen to most is: indie
My favorite thing to buy is: clothes
A book I highly recommend is: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safron Foer
A movie I watch over and over is: My Neighbor Totoro
A smell that makes me pause is: cinnamon
The city I would most like to visit is: Stockholm
My favorite thing to do on a date is: be spontaneous
The best vacation I ever had was: Vermont (many times)
If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose? Wall-E
If you could learn to do anything, what would it be? speak all languages
What chore do you absolutely hate doing? none, but I don't like dishes
When you have 30 minutes of free-time, how do you pass the time? read
What do you think is your very best feature or characteristic? laughter
What is the "thing" you are most grateful for? thinking, reading, writing, speaking
What is your dream vacation? Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark
What's the coolest thing you've ever done? study abroad and internship in France, honeymoon in Scotland
How did you meet your husband? How did he propose? We both lived in the French house of the Foreign Language Housing for 2+ years.
He proposed on the Golden Gate bridge on our one year dating anniversary.
The best thing about being married is: Getting to do everything together, and not having to say good-night
What do you and your husband like to do together? Sing & play music, talk politics, make yummy dinners
What would be your perfect day? A fall day spent outside with delicious food ending with blankets, books, and cuddling
What was the best advice you got/would give on marriage? All the marriage advice I got was depressing (what is it about marriage and babies that let's everyone tell you how life sucks and will suck??)
My advice is to not be afraid to do what's best for you as a couple, regardless of what others think is best. Only you know what's best for you.
What story does your family always tell about you? When i split my lip open and got stitches.

Getting to Know Collette A

My name is: Collette Arens

My favorite dinner is: Steak with onions or roast beef.

My favorite dessert is: Cookie Monster!!!

My favorite flower is: Not a single favorite, but I love wildflowers.

My favorite hobby is: Horse-back riding on a sunny summer day.

My favorite restaurant is: My favorite does not exist. My favorite would include fried mozzerella from Olive Garden, steak from Pantrucas, fries from Sammy's, pork burritos from Costa Vida etc etc. I'm picky. However, one of the best all around restaurants is Das Duetchman Essenhaus--a German Amish restaurant in Indiana.

A game I like to play is: MarioKart and ConnectFour and MadGab :)

 

The music I listen to most is: Think Depeche Mode, Enya and then the Scorpions. I like either really chill music or rock with a great melody in the vocals and guitar. I also like music that makes me feel like I'm living in an 80's movie.

My favorite thing to buy is: Food. It is my weakness. I don't like shopping for anything else.

A book I highly recommend is: For guilty pleasure the Fablehaven series, for intellectual enlightenment Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl, and for spiritual nourishment The Continuous Atonement by Brad Wilcox or The Great Divorce OR Screwtape Letters OR Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. By the way, I love to read :)

A movie I watch over and over is: I don't like to watch things usually more than once every year or two. Lame I know, but it's no fun for me if I remember everything. Although lately I've been dying for Gladiator to show up on TV because I love it and TV edits it for me :)

A smell that makes me pause is: bacon

The city country I would most like to visit is: For pleasure: Iceland. To do something meaningful: Ghana

My favorite thing to do on a date is: eat and sleep :) mostly because they are my two favorite things to do in general.

The best vacation I ever had was: Ya know, I really enjoyed going to Zions last year and hiking the Narrows. We hike quite a bit but that was probably my favorite.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose? Wow this question has me stumped! Peter says he would be one of the X-Men but that would be a little too much adventure for me. The serious answer to this will take much too long to decide, so I'll go with Tarzan because only wearing a loincloth and talking to gorillas, among other things, would be pretty awesome.

If you could learn to do anything, what would it be? I would love to learn to not be afraid. I'm afraid of water, bears, broken bones, blood... To rid my life of fear would be awesome!

What chore do you absolutely hate doing? Dishes.

When you have 30 minutes of free-time, how do you pass the time? If I havn't read my scrips I do that, if that's done I blog or turn on the tele. I'm all for passive entertainment.

What do you think is your very best feature or characteristic? I'm teachable, which has really helped me in everything I do.

What is the "thing" you are most grateful for? Good food.

What is your dream vacation? It's not the place that matters it's the amount of comfort. I don't want to be tired or hungry or too hot or too cold. Haha I just realized that probably means I should just stay home :)

What's the coolest thing you've ever done? I had a concussion from a slip and slide and don't remember an entire day of my life.

How did you meet your husband? How did he propose? We met at EFY in 2002. No, we didn't like each other. He proposed in a mountain, but almost didn't because it had snowed, but I insisted that we "go on a drive" hehe I was sick of waiting :)

The best thing about being married is: having a companion with the same eternal goals to work with them on every day.

What do you and your husband like to do together? Play ConnectFour and go hiking and camping. And eat :) Mini golf. Swim occasionally

What would be your perfect day? 77 sunny. Open field with yellow flowers. Me and my hubby on horseback. Of course, there would be good food included.

What was the best advice you got/would give on marriage? Quite a few said "remember, the wife is always right" which was actually the crappiest advice although I wish it were true :) I would say that perspective is important. Remember, celestial marriage is requisite for exaltation because it is what refines us. Don't give up because it's hard! Realize that we all have developed unhealthy habits and that now is the time to turn them over to the Lord and change.

What story does your family always tell about you? Well my oldest siblings like to talk about how I was a siren and if you inflicted any pain on me your consequence was to hold me while I wailed :) My dad likes to tell me about one particular day at the beach (I grew up on Lake Michigan). I was jumping the waves--my favorite beach activity--all alone. My pops came over to me to jump with me. I looked at him and shouted, "No! You're messing up my waves!" This is important because we now use the phrase to describe a lot of situations that still upset me. For example, I had a mission call when Peter decided to marry me and I told him he was messing up my waves. The end.

Ward Ornament Activity

This Christmas our ward is excited to donate a tree to the Festival of Trees in honor of Celeste. Celeste is an adorable 4 year old in our ward who has had multiple heart surgeries. The tree theme is The Heart of a Princess and will be featuring a lot of pinks, purples and princessy stuff. This Thursday at 6:30-8pm at the church (either the RS room or gym) we will be making all the ornaments for the tree and would love for everyone (including children) to help. Yummy refreshments will be provided. We also have other things that need to be made for the tree (tutu, bookcase, and dress up box) so if you want to help with those contact a member of the presidency to get more information.

Getting to Know Lizzie W

 

My name is: Lizzie W

My favorite dinner is: Taco Salad

My favorite dessert is: Brownie Ice Cream Sundae

My favorite flower is: Ranunculus

My favorite hobby is: Dancing, reading, running

My favorite restaurant is: Cafe Rio--no contest

A game I like to play is: Scrabble

The music I listen to most is: anything danceable

My favorite thing to buy is: Clothes

A book I highly recommend is: Pride and Prejudice

A movie I watch over and over is: Father of the Bride

A smell that makes me pause is: a pot roast in the crock pot...yummmm

The city I would most like to visit is: Vienna, Austria

My favorite thing to do on a date is: catch up with my cute husband

The best vacation I ever had was: trip to Hawaii and our honeymoon to the Caribbean

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

If you could learn to do anything, what would it be? Play the piano

What chore do you absolutely hate doing? Taking out the trash

When you have 30 minutes of free-time, how do you pass the time? go on a run

What do you think is your very best feature or characteristic? I love to learn and try new things

What is the "thing" you are most grateful for? Only one? I love this beautiful world we live in and all the little bright spots--green grass, blue skies, big trees, bright flowers--the whole thing...

What is your dream vacation? A trip to Austria/Italy/Greece/London

How did you meet your husband? How did he propose? We met at work in the Kennedy Center on BYU campus in the hallway...it was love at first sight:) (more or less). He proposed by writing me a song and playing it for me on his guitar, wrote me a sweet letter, and then knelt down and told me he'd "love me forever if I'd be his wife."

The best thing about being married is: living with your best friend

What do you and your husband like to do together? talk, work on projects, ride bikes, basically everything

What would be your perfect day? Sleep in, go out to breakfast, go rock climbing in the morning, spend time with my parents, sisters, and cousins (and Evan naturally). Go swimming, hang out, eat anything my mom cooked, and watch fireworks to ring in the night.

What was the best advice you got/would give on marriage? I'm only one month into this--I need all the advice I can get at this point :)

What story does your family always tell about you? Any one of my car accidents (deer running into the side of my car or wrecking on the way to pick Evan up after Thanksgiving break while we were dating), anything that demonstrates my naivety....

Getting to Know Francesca G

My name is: Francesca G

My favorite dinner is: Brazilian Food

My favorite dessert is: Chocolate ice cream with marshmallow topping

My favorite flower is: White lily

My favorite hobby is: Ballroom Dance

My favorite restaurant is: Tucano's

A game I like to play is: The Great Dalmuti

The music I listen to most is: Michael Buble

My favorite thing to buy is: M&Ms

A book I highly recommend is: The Help

A movie I watch over and over is: Rio

A smell that makes me pause is: Twilight Woods for Men

The city I would most like to visit is: Rio de Janeiro

My favorite thing to do on a date is: Go eat at a great restaurant until we're stuffed to the brim, then turn on one of our favorite movies! Simple, but sweet.

The best vacation I ever had was: Las Vegas honeymoon with my husband!

If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose? Belle from Beauty and the Beast; she's gorgeous and courageous and brave.  

If you could learn to do anything, what would it be? I wish I could rebuild old muscle cars.

What chore do you absolutely hate doing? I hate taking the garbage out. It makes my hands feel too dirty. 

When you have 30 minutes of free-time, how do you pass the time? I love researching new, random topics to learn new things about the world.

What do you think is your very best feature or characteristic? I forgive people very easily, and always give people another chance. 

What is the "thing" you are most grateful for? I love my bed! It's amazing on my back and helps me stay nice and toasty. 

What is your dream vacation? My dream vacation is to go to Rio de Janeiro for the FIFA World Cup in 2014 with my husband!

What's the coolest thing you've ever done? I traveled to London with my mom and my younger sister, and when we were walking around the Tower of London, we saw Nathan Fillion! We got pictures with him!

How did you meet your husband? How did he propose? My husband and I were in the same ballroom dance class, we quickly became friends, then started dating off and on, became serious, and then got engaged! When he proposed, we went to go walk under Christmas lights in the Riverwoods, he took me under shooting star lights and asked me what I would wish for if I could have anything. Then he got down on one knee, and opened up the ring case that held the most beautiful ring I've ever seen in my entire life, and asked if I would marry him. He's so romantic!

The best thing about being married is: Trevor is my built-in best friend. He's amazing.

What do you and your husband like to do together? We ballroom dance, cook, and watch movies!

What would be your perfect day? The perfect day would be to sleep in, go exercise in the morning with Trevor, make lunch together, see our families in the afternoon, go out to eat dinner at Tucano's, catch a fun movie, and eat tons of ice cream for dessert!

What was the best advice you got/would give on marriage? Always appreciate everything your spouse does. 

What story does your family always tell about you? They don't actually have a set story.

Getting to Know Nicole H

My name is: Nicole Hopkins

My favorite dessert is: Ice cream, cookies, any kind of pie, chocolate covered pretzels, smores, frosting….. {I have a huge huge sweet tooth}

My favorite hobby is: Taking pictures of our baby boy

My favorite restaurant is: I really love pizza. But I’m not picky. It’s just nice to not have to cook every once and awhile :)

A game I like to play is: Plants vs. Zombies {Is that nerdy? Ha}

The music I listen to most is: Country, I love it.

A movie I watch over and over is: Paul Blart Mall Cop. Seriously, I think it is so funny and it never gets old.

My favorite thing to do on a date is: Really anything, as long as we can just talk and be together.

The best vacation I ever had was: Our honeymoon

If you could learn to do anything, what would it be? Probably how to take better pictures or I’ve always thought being a chef or pastry chef would be amazing.

What chore do you absolutely hate doing? Clean the bathroom, walking to do the laundry {I could probably think of a lot more ha ha}

What is the "thing" you are most grateful for? My family. I love these two so much. 

What's the coolest thing you've ever done? Oh goodness, I’m clearly not cool because I cannot think of one single thing.

How did you meet your husband?  We met when he moved in an apartment that some of my friends lived in.

The best thing about being married is: Being together all the time! Not having to say bye at night. Eating all our meals together….We love it.

 
What do you and your husband like to do together? We just like hanging out together. Our dinners usually last over an hour because we just like talking to each other.
 
What would be your perfect day? Just spending it with Steve and Tate. Maybe a throw date in there too :)