Too Cool for School

How is that we got back from 3 weeks in Guatemala just 2 months ago and I am already sick of school and ready for another vacation?

Wish I was here:

Here, There, Everywhere

I know that it has been a month since our last post, but it has been quite a busy month!  We finished school at the end of July and took our drive across the United States back to Virginia.  On the way, we stopped at Jenn and Ryan's house, Bethany's sister and brother-in-law, and spent a day with them and their kids.  It was the halfway point between Rexburg and Richmond and really helped to break up the 38 hour journey.  

On August 6th, Bethany and I were sealed in the Washington, D.C. temple for time and eternity.  For those of you who are not familiar with LDS beliefs and practices, we believe that marriage is for time (this life) and eternity (the life to come) if done by the power of God in His holy temples.  The day of the wedding was a fairly pleasant Summer day but that doesn't seem to matter too much when you are wearing a three piece suit in August.  After the actual marriage ceremony, Bethany and I came out of the temple to our family and friends who looked beautiful and happy to be there for us.  We took pictures with Alicia (who I would recommend to ANYONE) and then went to a nice luncheon with our immediate family at a fantastic Italian restaurant.  

We spent the night in Washington, D.C. and caught a plane to Guatemala City, Guatemala the next morning for our honeymoon.  Jorge picked us up from the airport and drove us where we needed to be.  Jorge was our saving grace many times and helped us on our journey in Guatemala.  He speaks English very well and is one of the nicest men we have ever met.  We spent the first 2 days in Antigua, Guatemala at a nice bed and breakfast.  We had a private room in a house that was owned by a lady who used to be a doctor and regularly tries to learn new languages in her spare time. 

The next week was spent in Roatan, Honduras.  We had to travel about 12 hours by bus to get to La Ceiba, a port town in Honduras, and then take the hour and a half ferry ride to the island of Roatan the next day.  Unfortunately, the ferry was broken the morning we tried to leave so we ended up staying in La Ceiba an extra day.  We were fed up with the extortionate taxi prices and were ready to be in Roatan, lounging on the beach and reading a book.  The ferry ride, when it was finally fixed, was eventful in that we saw a small fishing ship sink and I was on the verge of throwing up for about an hour because of sea sickness.  Roatan itself was a beautiful caribbean island and we enjoyed soaking in the sun and doing a little snorkeling.

We took the 12 hour bus ride back to Guatemala and spent the next 10 days at Lake Atitlan above the town of Panajachel.  Bethany's parents rented us a small house on the mountain with a beautiful view from our bedroom of the lake and Panajachel.  It was refreshing to wake up to that every morning.  We spent our time there going to the markets and catching up on the books we wanted to read.  We also spent some time at Vicki and Jody's orphan preventage program, Casa de Sion, teaching the mothers how to cook simple Italian dishes so they can feed themselves and hopefully sell these dishes at the market for money.  If you want to learn more about these programs you can visit their website, Casa de Sion.  It was a wonderful trip and we loved being in this beautiful country.  The weather was a constant 75 degrees during the day with cool nights and rain in the evenings.  It was my first time being there and I am looking forward to going back.

We got back at 2 in the morning on Aug. 30th and were quickly thrown into what reminded me of that show "Hell's Kitchen".  Madison and Michael's wedding was on Sept. 1st and my parents' house was buzzing with energy, both good and bad, stress, and flowers.  They were sealed together at the Washington D.C. temple and had a reception the same night at the Hanover Country Club.  It was a lot of fun and they are currently on their honeymoon.

That night we went to my parents' house and packed the car in what could be considered a modern day feat of engineering.  The car is completely packed and I make sure the doors are always locked for fear of our luggage busting the doors open and causing an accident on the highway.  We left the next morning at 5 and drove until midnight to come full circle again to Jenn and Ryan's house.  It seems that our lives in one way or another have been influenced by them and I know that Ryan takes full credit for me and Bethany getting married.  

We are happy, tired, and glad to be going back to school.  We haven't spent more than a few days in any one place since we got married and look forward to setting up our apartment and finding some stability.  As for now, we are sitting in the basement with Jenn and Ryan's four kids while they play Horse Pony 2 on the Wii and Sam kicks his brother in the back of the head.  It is good to be with family!  If you haven't seen our wedding pictures, you can see them on Alicia's website (linked above) or on one of our facebook pages.