Nicole (Nielsen) Donaldson

10 years has gone by in a blink yet been so full of adventure as I'm sure it has been for everyone whether you're in Utah, away, single or married or have children. And this is what makes it so hard to know where to begin...
After graduating from Springville High I attended BYU and changed my major a few times, finally settling on Nutritional Science with a Russian and Chemistry minor. I had so much fun, even rooming with Taryn Burton my freshman year and going to St. Petersburg on a summer study abroad with Taryn and Allison Arnold among others. I then served in the Russia Moscow mission from 2001 to 2003. After returning home and a few interesting relationships later I met my husband Joseph Donaldson (Timpview '96) randomly one summer evening on BYU campus while walking to my car. A dance, weight lifting, and nutritional science class later we were engaged and married April 2004 and then found ourselves in Louisville, KY for Medical school that August. In the four years there we had two children, our daughter Elle (2 1/2) who my mom says is a "mini me" but a daddy's girl and our son Hyrum (9 mos) who follows the Donaldson boy tradition in looks and height. After my husband's graduation this May we moved our things to New Orleans in preparation for Internship and Ophthalmology residency starting in June at LSU-Ocshner for the next four years.For now I enjoy the challenge of staying at home with our children and am anxiously looking forward to what the future holds for our family.
This summer has been filled with many mini reunions for our family and we are so grateful for this time to reflect and reconnect and we look forward to seeing/hearing from as many of you as we can. We'll definitely be enjoying a scone and some root beer at the Art City Days festival this week! Please keep in touch on facebook or email nicoleedonaldson@hotmail.com.

Allison Arnold

Hello! You know, I thought I'd feel older by now. Maybe I will after I recap the last 10 years. At the end of our senior year I'd won first in state at a language competition so after graduation I went to Moscow for a few weeks to compete in the International Olympiada of Spoken Russian. That was an interesting experience and I came away with a bronze medal. That might sound good but to be fair it was more like they gave everyone a bronze medal just for being there and not that I actually won third place in anything. After I got back from Russia I moved with my best friend Julie to Heritage Halls at BYU. We had a blast as roommates and ended up sharing apartments a few more times during college. I studied International Politics and Russian and was president of the BYU Rebel Swords Fencing Club. You know we were cool because we had "Rebel" in the name of our club. The summer of 2000 I went on study abroad to St. Petersburg with a small group that included Nicole and Taryn from high school. I wouldn't say we did a lot of "study" that semester but we definitely had adventures in holy water and some insanity. On my way home I stopped in Helsinki and played with Laura who some of you may remember as the exchange student from Finland during our senior year. While I was in Russia Julie had moved to New Zealand for a year. That sounded awesome so I went to visit and we traveled the islands and saw some sheep. I continued my studies with an internship at the International Crisis Group in Washington DC. After that I graduated with my BA in Political Science. During the 2002 Olympic Winter Games I was a volunteer up at Soldier Hollow. Then I decided to go on a mission and was called Spanish speaking. Yep, Spanish speaking. I ended up loving it of course but it was pretty funny and I had a Russian accent at times. The years seem to have flown by since then and currently I live in Orem and work as the HR Manager for Utah Valley Pediatrics. I haven't given up on a career that relates to my college education but it's taking awhile. So for now I'm here and enjoying life with my family and friends. A few years ago I took up the Brazilian martial art Capoeira and I love it. It keeps me running around and working hard and someday I will learn to flip like the gymnast I never was. You gotta have goals anyway. Happy ten years everybody!

Tiffany (Myer) Fuller

I wish I could make it to the reunion but things just didn't work out. After graduating back in 1998 I was off to UVSC . After a semester I started Dancing with Fire & Ice Country Dance Team. This was a blast and let me travel throughout the country every few weeks just to dance and compete. After our Team won the World Championship in Nashville TN I decided that it was a good time to move on. I transferred over to BYU to finish my BS in Business, and started working as a Financial Manager for a Medical Imaging Company. In 2001 I met a guy who actually tried to kiss me three different times on the first date. I was told he was a "player" but that I was also and we deserved each other. I guess we did deserve each other because we were married in 2002. In 2004 My husband Jared graduated from BYU, so July 2004 we moved to Des Moines IA, and our first son (Kaden) was born that next month. I was able to keep my job and work from home while hanging out with Kaden. After two years in Iowa we moved to Sandusky, Ohio for Rotations. We spend our time at Cedar Point and traveling around the East. Dec 2007 Jared matched to an Anesthesiology, Residency in San Antonio TX, so we bought a house and moved down to TX. We have only lived in San Antonio a month and have really enjoyed it. I am still working as a Financial Manager and we are expecting our Second Son in September. Time really does go by fast and it has been really fun reading about everyone. My blog is, http://www.tiffanyfullerblog.blogspot.com/ If you would like to see more of what is going on with us.

Jonathan Barney

I had planned on attending the reunion, partly as an excuse to see family and friends in the Mapleton/Springville area, but unfortunately my job is keeping me in my adopted home of Bethesda, Maryland. I cannot believe that we are all nearing 30. We're old. After graduation I studied history and linguistics at Utah State University interrupting my studies with a 2 year stint at a missionary in Ohio where I learned to appreciate the finer aspects of Racoon cuisine. Seriously, it wasn't all that hick, but I did see fellow Red Devil David Young while I was there. Returning home I completed my education taking time to work summers in Yellowstone and study abroad in Cairo, Egypt where I studied Arabic and Arabic Calligraphy.

After USU I was accepted to Princeton University's Department of Near Eastern Studies where I pursued a Master's Degree and continued to study Arabic and Arab culture from some world class professors. After leaving Princeton I got a job with an NGO in DC run by an acquaintance of mine from Egypt. As a wet behind the ears newbie to the real world, I worked at the Mosaic Foundation (www.mosaicfound.org) doing everything from filing bills to organizing international bazaars and scholarly lectures.

After one year at Mosaic, I received a phone call from someone who has changed my life forever. A women who did contract work for Mosaic called to offer me a position working for the Royal Family of Saudi Arabia under HRH Princess Haifa Al-Faisal, daughter of the late King Faisal and wife of the former Saudi Ambassador to the US. I am being hired as a Research Consultant (I prefer "Roving Royal Researcher") to assist the descendants of His Majesty King Faisal, who died in 1975, in compiling and creating an archive devoted to his memory containing documents, books, pictures, etc of his life and reign. I have been signed on to the project for one year with a chance to extend if they like my work. In fact, I just returned from visiting with Princess Haifa and other royals in Saudi Arabia. You can learn more about my new job at my blog http://mormonmeditations.blogspot.com where I will be posting pictures of my world travels which will take me all over the United States and to most of Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan, India, and maybe a few others. I am very excited and overwhelmed my new position and can't wait to get the project underway.

As to my personal life. There isn't one! Just kidding, I have dated (do date), but I am still single at 28 which makes it all the easier now to galavant around the globe like the world's most boring copy of Indiana Jones. After this job is over I plan to persue a degree in Archive Sciences at the University of Maryland (I have already been accepted, but afterwards got this new job and decided to defer my matriculation). Upon graduating, I hope to settle into the staid life of a rare books and manuscripts curator. Check out my website for continuous updates from the Roving Royal Researching and see when I'm going to a town near you!

Matt Vernon

So now that the reunion is days away I guess I should finally sit downand come up with a post. I started up at BYU the fall followinggraduation, studying chemistry. I completed one year before leaving on a mission to Maracaibo, Venezuela. Upon returning I met my future wife, Heather, relatively quickly (we were lab partners in a chemistry class; nerdy, huh?) and we were married about a year later. We continued going to school and living in Springville, and finally graduated in 2004, me in chemistry and Heather in bioinformatics. From there it was off to snowy Milwaukee for medical school for the next four years, where our first son, Isaac, was born in '06. Our second(male, but yet to be named) should be arriving in October '08. Meanwhile Heather has put her skills to work to help put me through school, working for the med school and for a related company. I finally graduated in May of this year, and I will be doing my first year of residency in Milwaukee and then we will move to Minneapolis next year for another four years of residency in radiation oncology.Unfortunately I was unable to land a spot further west than that, but we like the midwest too. Until residency starts we are vacationing and camping, and we were lucky enough to have the class reunion fall when we would be in Utah anyway!

Anna (Roberts) Cox

Hey friends! After high school I went to college at the University of Utah. My first 2 years I studied Communications, spent winters working at Alta ski resort and a summer traveling to Africa and working at a Jewish summer camp in Pennsylvania. I spent another summer doing study abroad in Japan. Then I served an LDS mission in Puerto Rico, and loved it. After my mission I returned to the U of U, finished up my Communications degree and also completed a degree in Nursing. I got into back country ski racing in the winters and during summers I worked as an adventure guide for kids in Colorado and Costa Rica. My last year in school I met my soul mate, Nate Cox on an ice climbing trip to Ouray, Colorado. We got married July 8, 2006, just after I graduated from the U of U. We lived in St. George for a year and a half while I worked at the hospital as a nurse and he worked for Sun River as a project manager. During that time we took a month off to explore Chile and Argentina. We moved from St. George to Heber, Utah in January when Edward Jones offered my husband a job as a financial planner in Park City. Heber is ideal for us, we love being so close to so many fun things. We both enjoy biking, climbing, skiing, rafting and exploring the planet. I worked at a surgical center as a nurse until last week when I started my maternity leave. I am due to have a baby girl any day now! Doesn't the ultra sound make her look like the cutest little alien? I am really looking forward to being a stay home mom and working a few times a month to keep my nursing license.

Larcy (West) Mortensen

Wow 10 years? i am feeling very old here since my husband and i just celebrated our 10 year anniversary as well. Well right after high school i married Matt Mortensen and i went right to work for a loan collection company and my husband has been working with a fence company doing contract sales for the past 13 years, and has recently been doing real estate as well so i could be a stay at home mom to our sweet little girl Mckenzie who will be turning 4 this november. We live here in springville and have loved it and don't plan on going anywhere. We love to go camping and 4 wheeling and spending time with our friends. I don't have a blogpage but would love to hear from some of you and catch up. Life has been great and i can't wait for the road ahead. My email is mortensen98@yahoo.com

Russell Wilde

While ya'll are reuniting I'll be hard at work reporting the news in Austin, Texas. I've been at News 8 Austin for a little over a year, and to think 10 years ago it was Red Devil Point of View...After graduation I went to SUU, went on a two year sabbatical to Houston, then back to SUU. My first job was @ KCSG in St. George. I covered floods, fires, and Warren Jeffs. After nearly 3 years I thought I'd mix things up by quitting my job and getting married.I met my wife, Chow (Charmaine) during my last year at SUU. She proposed, I said yes, and she said what was your name again. After that exchange we dated for a little over a year and then she went on an 18 month sabbatical to Hawaii.After her return we dated for a few more months and headed to Canada to get hitched. (We're both half Canadian, our goal is have a child that is 100% Canadian.)On our wedding day I got a call about the job in Austin, three days later I got the voice mail. We rerouted our honey to the Lone Star State. A month later we were starting our new life in Texas.The past 15 months have been great. Being married is stupid fun and my job is great.I do the myblogface thing, you can look me up, or go to http://www.wildewedding.com/. Oh and if anyone has seen David Young in the last 5 years or so, let me know.

Ryan Vogel

I really can’t believe it’s been 10 years already! I wish I could make it to the reunion this summer but we just can’t make it out right now... I would like to say first though – a BIG THANK YOU to Sherie and Sophie for this blog in addition to all the hard work they have done for the reunion. This is all due to them and their dedication.

Well, the past 10 years have been eventful. After graduation, I attended UVSC for a year before serving a mission to the Philippines. Two years later I was back at UVSC, which I loved, where I finished up in 2004, graduating in Political Science and English. I took a year “off” after college and was fortunate enough to be able to teach introductory political science and American history classes at UVSC for three semesters.

It was during this time that I met my wonderful and beautiful wife Maren, from Kaysville, Utah. As some of you know who have met her she is amazing and a perfect match for me (i.e. she makes fun of me mercilessly and humbles me every day!) After a year of dating – sometimes long distance when I moved to Washington, DC – we were married in May of 2006. We currently live in Alexandria, Virginia (across the river from DC) and are loving life out here.

I moved out to DC in 2005 for law school at American University and to work on the Hill with Senator Hatch’s office. It has been a great experience and in the past couple years I have been able to work at the State Department and with a pro bono law firm assisting post-conflict states with writing constitutions and peace treaties. Pretty much my dream jobs! I just graduated from law school and right now I am studying for the Maryland bar. I will take up my new job for the Department of Defense (at the Pentagon) doing foreign policy work in August. Maren currently works at a lobbying firm downtown but we are planning on starting a family in the very near future. Life has been really busy but very good to us.

Anyway, it is great to see all the people in here! I really wish I could have made it back to Utah for the reunion. If anyone wants to stay in touch – or get back in touch – email me at ryanjvogel@hotmail.com. Have fun and see you in 5 or 10!

Crystal (Cox) Hurst

It is amazing that it has been 10 years. Wow, has time flown by for me. I have been greatly blessed in those 10 years. I left Springville for Alaska just a few days after graduation. I started work as an insurance agent for Geico and was there for a couple years. I finally decided I wanted to go to college. So I moved back home and started at BYU. I attended there for a year while I was assistant manager at Krispy Kreme in Orem and was trying to start modeling on the side. I didn't go back to school after that first year, but instead worked extra long hours. And went on my first date with Justin, my husband, during finals. He worked out of state for the summer, so we did the long distance thing and fell in love. Six short months later we were married over Thanksgiving break in Virginia. We had to rush back to Utah where I had to train my replacement at Krispy Kreme before we moved to Reno. In Reno, I was able to assist in the opening of a new Krispy Kreme there as the assistant manager. Yup, I got a whole bunch of doughnuts every single day. I totally miss them now. Justin worked for his brother in law at Gale Building Products working with installing insulation and gutters. After a year in Reno, Justin was able to get a job in the computer field in Alaska. His major at BYU had been in computers so he was happy to move up here for a good job. In December 2002 we made the move to Anchorage, AK. Bought our house and have been here since. I was able to start work at Geico again as an insurance agent. And did that up until our second child was born last year, when I was able to be a stay at home mom and have loved it ever since. A dream come true being home with these little ones. In September 2003 we were blessed with Ryan. Our now rambunctious three and a half year old who always keeps me on my toes. Then we had Kara in May 2007. Our little darling princess just turned one and that year has gone insanely fast for me. We are now awaiting the arrival of child number three, which is a surprise. I am due in 40 days and yep the countdown has begun. This is why I am unable to attend the reunion. If anyone wants to keep in touch, we have a family website http://thehurst.com/ I try to keep the blog up to date with new pictures and info about the family. I am currently doing an at home preschool for my son and he is doing great at it. I am trying to finish the alphabet before the next baby comes so we aren't interrupted at w or x. Good luck to everyone it is great to read your stories.

MaryJane (Gillett) West

I enjoyed reading others’ posts so thought I would share a little what I have been up to since our Graduation.
After high school I went to UofU. I started out in nursing, but then took a psychology class and realized how much I enjoyed it (I learned I wasn’t the only crazy person around) and pursued psychology.
In 2000 I grew tired of Utah and needed an adventure, so I tried to think of the furthest place possible, in my mind it was Africa. I volunteered with a program (kind of like the Peace Corp). Basically I rode around the States in a hippie van raising funds for Africa. Yeah, they had us “idealistic” kids begging for money on the streets all over the country. After 6 months of fundraising on the streets I went to Zambia, Africa for 6 months and volunteered in the “bush” with the HIV/AIDS centers and the preschool teachers. An amazing experience, but mostly because I met my husband, David West, while working in Zambia.
2001 David and I returned to Utah so I could finish school, David didn’t know at that time that I am a professional student. I switched my major to Sociology and graduated with a double BS in Psychology and Sociology. No, I don’t use my degrees.
David finally convinced me to marry him (after 5 years of dating) and we married in 2005. A couple months later we adopted a darling dog, the famous Mr. Charlie Brown. He is the joy of our life.
Currently, David and I live in Springdale, Utah, (right at the mouth of Zion Canyon). We own a beautiful fine art photography gallery, David J. West Gallery, which we opened April 1, 2007. (David is a photographer). We are opening our second gallery (mixed-media) July 1, 2008, Old Church Gallery, also in Springdale, Utah. Our current website is http://www.davidjwest.com/.
I just signed up for classes, sigh, for Autumn semester.
We spend our time going crazy in Nature.

Matt Gammell

Since High School, I attended UVSC for a year then served a mission in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. After my mission I attended UVSC for 1 semester then transferred to BYU. I married Christie Newbury, from Springville, in April a year after my mission. I graduated from BYU in 2004 with a bachelors degree in Facilities Management. I have always worked for the family business, ClydeCo. I handle all of the Residential sales and bids. Christie and I had our first child on our 5th wedding anniversary. We had a little girl named Adilyn. She is currently 13 months old and a lot of fun. As a family we enjoy being outside walking, riding bikes or 4-wheeling.

Michelle (Murray) Jensen

Are we really all almost 30? What have I been up to Since Good old SHS . I got my cosmetologist license in 98' and I have been busy doing hair for about 10 years in a Salon/Spa and now in my home.

In September of 2000 I married Cody Jensen . We have been blessed with Two Beautiful children. My son Gavin will be 4 in July. And my Sweet Sophia is 15 months. I think the greatest blessing in my life is my family, I couldn't ask for anything more. I love where I am at in my life.My husband just finished school for his journeyman and at the moment we are trying to sell our beautiful home in Spanish Fork so we can build our dream house .

Kelli (Thornock) France

I am in denial that it has been 10 years! I still feel like the same goofy girl I was in high school. I just have some random gray hairs and 3 kids that call me "Mom" now.
The summer after high school, I went to Ricks College (okay, I guess I am old because now it's BYU-Idaho) where I met my husband, Matt (from Denver, Colorado). We got married in 2000 and I transferred over to BYU where I graduated with a degree in Elementary Education. The day after Graduation we headed to Kansas (I know, I know, what's in Kansas?) where my man went to the University of Kansas (go Jayhawks!) for Law School. We had 2 kids during that time. After he graduated, we took a job Carson City, Nevada (in between Reno and Lake Tahoe) where we are now. Matt works as a Deputy Attorney General and I stay home with the kiddos (we have 3 now!) and juggle being a Mom and a Photographer specializing in custom portraiture for newborns, babies, and children (http://www.francephotography.com/ and http://www.francephotography.blogspot.com/. I am excited to see everyone! P.S. You'd think I could get a decent family picture of us. Honestly. But here's some pics of my kids.

Matt Bradley

The last ten years have been busy! Not long after high school I was called to the Russia Samara Mission where I served, learned, and loved for just over two years. Upon returning home in early 2001, I attended UVSC where I received my AA before going back to the Russian Federation in 2002 to study and travel with fellow classmate Ray Bradford. While there I picked up a Diploma of Russian Studies from Kazan State Technical University in the Republic of Tatarstan. I finished off my BA in English Literature at the Uof U in spring of 2003 and worked in D.C. as a summer congressional intern for Congressman Chris Cannon that same year. I took a long trip to Europe, helped Coach (Greg) Smith on a couple of 'Survival' treks and officially became a menace to the Mapleton 10th Singles Ward. My plans for law school were derailed in 2005 when my then super-hot girlfriend from Bar Harbor Maine, Cassandra Bingham, gave me an ultimatum between herself and New York. I choose her, and one year and a million laughs later we were married. Having temporarily had enough of the Utah life, two months after becoming newlyweds we packed up and moved to Dublin, Ireland where I got my M.Phil in International Politics and she worked as a manager for an Irish boy-band. In 2007 we moved back to Utah where I found a job as a 4th grade teacher at Liberty Academy in Salem and also began attending the Uof U for my Ph. D in International Relations. Teaching is the best and I can't believe I get paid (what little I actually make that is) for having this much fun. Sandy makes the real money as a Product Line Manager for an internationally marketed nutracutical company also based out of Salem. Neither of us do much in the way of hobbies and most of our free time is spent either getting into trouble, wrestling, or hanging out with friends both old and new. In short, life is just as ridiculously awesome as it ever was. In the future I look forward to more exotic adventures as well as having some kids of my own (besides the kind that leave when the bell rings) and hope to get a job instructing at the collegiate level.

Cassi (Mittanck) Capell

After graduation I attended Ricks College and then BYU. I was also lucky enough to participate in a Study Abroad to Vienna, Austria for a semester while at BYU. I loved Europe and can't wait to get back there someday. My Junior year at BYU, Anna York set me up with her cousin Ben. We were married in August of 2002. The following Spring we both graduated from BYU. Ben with his BS in Business Administration/Finance, and me with my BS in Psychology. Right after graduation we moved across the country to Boston, MA for Ben's work. We loved our time in Boston and became (of course) Red Sox Fans! In October 2004 our first son, Cameron, was born. He was a joy from the beginning, eager to be involved in everything. He was a sweet child and quickly made friends with his penetrating eyes and wide smile. He had amazing coordination for his age, and was shooting hoops at 16 months, and pitching and hitting a baseball at 19 months. Life is precious and unpredictable as we quickly learned. On August 16, 2006 our sweet Cameron quickly and unexpectantly passed from this life to the next. We still miss him everyday and continue to learn and grow from this experience. At the time of Cameron's accident I was 4 months pregnant with our second son. Joshua Cameron was born February 2007. What a gift he has been in our lives. We love him dearly. We said goodbye to Boston in June 2007 and moved to Walnut Creek, CA for the summer while Ben worked for a start up company. Then we moved to Utah for a few months, and then in January 2008 we moved back across the country to the DC area where Ben is working for the same start up company. We plan on moving back to Utah the end of this summer, where Ben will attend the BYU MBA program. Josh is a handful and keeps me hopping. We just seem to have very high energy active boys around here. Which I love and wouldn't change, but the scrapes and falls are making me age faster! Josh is also a sweetheart and a momma's boy. I am expecting our third child in December. Life has been crazy and wonderful. I feel very blessed to share it with my wonderful family and friends. I love being a mom and wouldn't change it for anything in the world.