Visiting BYU Idaho (formerly Ricks College)

This week we went to Rexburg Idaho for Jon and I to attend our annual BYU-I ambassador training conference. This was the first time we've taken the kids to see BYU-I campus. It was fun to show them around and tell them different memories of things that we did there.

We wouldn't have been able to bring the kids with us this year without the wonderful generosity of our friends, the Hillams. They moved from Beaverton to Idaho Falls last December and offered to take care of our kids for the few days we were there so we could focus on our training. I completely forgot to snap a picture of the kids with them, but they thoroughly spoiled our kids. Thank you so much Lane and Cindy! The kids had so much fun and talked about there adventures with you the whole way home. You can't go to campus and not get a picture with Thor the Viking. Yes, Zachary is kissing his feet.The kids had fun mimicking the statues on campus as well. There is so much growth happening on campus and so much construction (see the background). It's really quite exciting to see the progress made since we were there last year. They are working to accommodate so many more students. When Jon and I left Ricks in 1998 there were around 7,000 students. Now enrollment is around 13,000 and rising.Jon and I enjoyed seeing the beautiful gardens on campus and enjoyed reminiscing about meeting at Ricks in 1998. What a wonderful feeling it was to be on campus and enjoy the "spirit of Ricks" that surrounds you when you're there. It's hard to put into words, but we always feel so rejuvenated after visiting campus and after being surrounded by such wonderful examples during the conference. This is definitely something we look forward to doing each year.
We caught a beautiful sunset over the small peaceful valley. It's not the lush green landscape we're used to out here, but it is a pretty little community in its own way, nestled in the midst of the desert. We look forward to many trips back here, including bringing our kids out to attend school here someday.