Hobbies and Interests

This is what happens when you use a tripod and not a
person to take your pictures! Every picture....lol.
He has a great sense of humor! :)

One of our favorite hobbies that we both enjoy is reading. Bryan is a more "serious" reader in that he really loves to get into the classics and pick them apart. Right now he is reading biographies about the Founding Fathers" and is loving it. (he may have been influenced by our obsession over the musical Hamilton, lol) He loves reading books over and over again and since we have been married has rotated through quite a few, with some of his favorites being, "Les Miserables," "Cry the Beloved Country," the "Lord of the Rings." trilogy, and the "Wheel of Time" series. I on the other hand am a more frivolous reader. While I do really enjoy the classics, especially Jane Austen and like, I really like to read contemporary authors. Lately I've read the "Selection" series, everything Brandon Sanderson I can get my hands on and of course a TON of adoption books. (and who doesn't love "Harry Potter?") Daniel reads up a storm and I'm really happy that Sam is learning to love books too. Some of his favorites are "The Three Little Pigs," "Stone Soup," and "Go Dog, Go." I have to admit that one of my favorite things is hearing Bryan read to the boys every night using all sorts of crazy voices. :)

We love watching a good comedy. We especially love to find a show on Netflix and binge watch the whole thing over a few months. Some of our favorites have been; The Office, Thirty Rock, Scrubs, Friends, Frasier and The Mindy Project. 

We love to travel as a family. Bryan has traveled all over the world and is showing us the ropes. The two of us got the chance to go to Italy after he graduated from BYU and it was a complete blast. Bryan served his mission in Milan, Italy and then did study abroad in Italy too. So he was able to act as my tour guide. All of the Italians were very impressed by how well he spoke the language and it was so nice to have an interpreter! We got to see all of the incredible sites in Italy and hope to go back there many times with our family. I think Bryan would agree that Florence is our favorite city in the world, with Lago di Como a close second. We also really love Washington D.C. since that's where we really met. We love to take shorter trips to sites nearby.

Waterton, Canada

Now that we live bak in Utah we have made it to Zion's National Park, Moab, Denver, Seattle, California, Mexico, Canada and lots of areas in between. When we were in Ohio we went to Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Pittsburgh, Kirtland/Cleveland and LOTS of historical sites. One of our favorite vacations with the family is when we go to California and spend a couple of days hanging out with the family at the beach. It is so beautiful. I think everyone needs to experience the lull of the ocean while on the warm sand.

Another family function that we would never miss is the annual family reunion up at Bear Lake in Utah. Bryan's extended family gets together to play in the water, eat good food and have a good time. It is always one of the highlights of our year. We are always there over a weekend and on Sunday have church together as a family. It doesn't get better than that.

Of course as you've probably guessed by looking at our college majors, we both love music. Bryan grew up in a family that is incredibly musical. His Mother composes music and plays the piano incredibly well. Fortunately she and her husband instilled a love and appreciation for music in their children and Bryan is proof of that. Bryan plays the Trombone exceptionally well. He played in the premier Orchestra at BYU and was asked to major in Trombone. His Father and Grandfather both play the Trombone and they have performed trios together. He also has a wonderful Bass/Baritone singing voice and was in the voice program and some of the Operas in college. Bryan took piano lessons until he was a young teen and played Piano in church throughout his mission. He has an uncanny ability to recognize music and remember all the details about it. Often when we're watching a movie together he'll lean over and give a guess as to who the composer is and he's almost always right! 
I (Suzanne) grew up in a family that wasn't particularly musical. I'd say they were more music "consumers." We always had music on at home and I was introduced to many different kinds of music growing up. I played the French Horn and Tuba in band and orchestra in High School.

I started singing in High School and performed lots of musicals and choirs. I think my favorite role was playing the lead in "The Music Man," at the Community College. When I got to college I preformed in many musicals and operas. I'd have to say that my favorite experience was playing the lead in Carmen at BYU. There is nothing like singing over a full orchestra. I also got to sing in almost all of the choirs at BYU and particularly loved my time in BYU Singers. I was teaching voice lessons out of my home, but have stopped while the kids are young.

I have taken a real interest in Photography in the last 5 years and am slowly teaching myself all the techniques. I have taken Bridal portraits and lots of engagement shots, etc. for other people. I mostly just take photos of my family though, they're the best inspiration!

Bryan loves sports and the boys are following in his footsteps. He has certain favorite teams that he is undyingly loyal to and has fun cheering them on and keeping up with their stats. He likes to play golf and take the dog on runs.