April - A Long, Busy Month!

April was quite an eventful month! To start with, our first anniversary was on the 17th. I've always wanted to travel to Italy, and Jason kept this in mind as he planned our evening. We went to this wonderful little hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant near San Diego, and then he took me to Coronado Bay (an "island" off the coast of San Diego that you can get to by way of a long, bendy bridge) where he completely surprised me with a gondola ride under the stars, complete with gondolier in red and white striped top, music, a blanket to share, sparkling cider, and chocolate covered strawberries. =) It was very cool. I was, once again, touched by my husband's thoughtfulness.



Jason's birthday came next in the month, on the 22nd. He was reluctant to celebrate (because he thinks he's getting old, lol) but I took him to an Angel's game anyway. We got free tickets from a friend, but I bought us some tickets in May on a day when they're handing out free hats (which Jason wears ALL the time) so I could really count it as my gift to him from ME. A "Happy Birthday Jason Paine!" message will appear on the scoreboard partway through the game... =D! He joked about not seeing his name on the scoreboard at the free game (which the Angels lost by a landslide) so I'm "making it up to him" at the game in May. I'll let you know what his reaction is (and hopefully the Angels win this time). =P

Other happenings for the month included General Conference, Ward Conference (we got a new bishopric), and a special Stake Conference (Elder Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve came and spoke to us). There were also two fast Sundays this month. Elder Ballard's talk especially touched me. He talked about how the world is such a hard place for our younger generation to live in, and that one of the best ways to help them through it is to create memories. He called grandparents memory-makers and encouraged parents to help create memories too. I think I was so touched by this talk because I could feel the truthfulness of it. I've been blessed with a loving family that has been my rock and given me many, many memories that leave me knowing I'm loved, even when I'm depressed or angry at the world. Thanks to all of you for the memories. =)

Other things happened this month, including family get-togethers, a dinner party, and Jason working a new job along-side his substitute teaching. I'm sure there was more, but my brain is so over-loaded after all of what I've told you so far that I can't remember the details. That is pretty much the story of my life - I'm very good at forgetting things. Anyway, we love you all and are excited to be coming to UT for Audrey's graduation and Isaac's birthday for a brief weekend at the end of May. =)

<3 / Britt and Jason

P.S. I remembered something else we did. We finally took that hike I mentioned we'd been meaning to take (since the weather is so beautiful). In fact, we took two hikes. One was in Idyllwild (we followed a stream and rock-hopped to see some mini waterfalls) and one was through the hills near our town (on a dirt path with over-hanging branches and random huge patches of wildflowers - my favorite part =).