John Tanner Movie - Treasure in Heaven

After General Conference today, I saw a posting about my great-great-great-grandfather, John Tanner. I guess the BYU-TV channel yesterday broadcasted a film made about two years ago by my cousin, T.C. Christensen (well, technically he's my dad's first-cousin and my first-cousin, one generation removed or something like that, but it's just easier to say cousin like a Polynesian would). T.C. is a well known director and filmographer for the church, who did the principle photography for many major church film productions, including Mouth of Babes, Legacy, The Testaments, and the Joseph Smith Movie. Jen and I went to the premiere a few months after we got married.

Treasure in Heaven is the story of our ancestor's miraculous conversion to the church and some of the major events in church history that he participated in. There are some cool experiences captured in this film, many of which I grew up hearing from my own dad. I am excited to share this family legacy with Isaiah one day.

So without further adieu, here is the film from BYU-TV's website:




Enjoy!

Where We’ve Been

Sorry I haven’t written for a few months. Things have been pretty crazy around here for us. Here’s what we’ve been up to:

• Over the summer, I started interning at the Disability Law Center in downtown Salt Lake City. This job has been a blast where I’ve been working on the abuse and neglect team to help protect persons with disabilities.
• Also over the summer, I took a class on Equality, Liberty, and Civil Rights which required me to write a huge research paper. I wrote on a plan that a few GOP lawmakers have to introduce bills that would keep children born to undocumented aliens from receiving birth certificates. After wading through thousands of pages of legal work, I ultimately concluded that neither the US Congress or individual state could do such a thing without violating the Constitution’s 14th Amendment. When I wasn’t working that summer, I was writing that beast.
• Jen and I were called as missionaries to help teach English at our local Spanish Branch. Ever since we got engaged two years ago, Jen and I have been missionary companions now in three different areas (Spokane, Provo and now SLC). At one point I was pretty good at Spanish thanks to Riverview Jr. High and Murray High School, but now my Spanish comes out jumbled with Tongan. Even though I don’t have time to study Spanish full time, I’m slowly getting better.
• Jen is pregnant with a baby boy. That is awesome! 

  

  When we discovered we had a "little spot" inside of Jen.
  
  

  We are soo excited for this little guy to come fill our home with love and wildness. Louie and Rudy are pretty excited too. “Little Boy” is due sometime around April 6th.

  

  Little Boy

• Jen and I had a fun trip to California in June. We crashed my cousin Katie’s wedding reception, then went to Angelica and John’s in Madera. Jen gave me the tour of Stockton and Fresno where she grew up, and we had fun celebrating our first anniversary at Lake Tahoe.

  

  We saw some cheesy touristy brochure that advertised holding a pine cone on Lake Tahoe. We couldn't stop laughing at it, and though we would recreate it ourselves.

• Jen walked in the BYU graduation in August. She looked really hott, and I am so proud of my wife for graduating.
• Rudy got fat. He gained 20 lbs. this year, and has been put on a diet. My dad also has started coming by to run with the dogs every Saturday. He’s since lost 10 lbs. in two months, which is like losing 30 lbs. for a human.

  

  Rudy before his diet.
  
  

  

  Rudy after his diet started, and minus 10 lbs.

• Fall semester was pretty crazy for us. I was taking 17 credits of classes (Business Organizations, Bankruptcy, Trusts and Estates, Evidence, and Judicial Process) and working, in addition to church and other responsibilities. Basically, I spent every waking minute studying. Jen was also student teaching at Riverview Jr. High while pregnant. Everyday our calendars would be completely scheduled and accounted for.
• The week before Thanksgiving, we all went to Las Vegas and California on vacation. This was a much needed break to allow us to rest for a few days. We went to a friend’s wedding in the Las Vegas Temple, before heading to California. 

  

  Louie and Rudy cuddling while on a roadtrip to Vegas.

  We then spent the rest of the week preparing a 90th Birthday present for Jen’s grandpa. His favorite magazine is Time, so we made a huge book for him with all of the cover stories from each birthday that he’s had. Grandpa Perlmutter later pulled me aside and secretly told me, “Don’t tell anyone, but this is the best present I’ve ever gotten.”

  

  Izzy Perlmutter: Man of the Year

  Louie also enjoyed the sunshine while in California, and got into a lot of mischief when he somehow snuck outside and jumped into the swimming pool. His tail, which normally whirls around like a helicopter, actually went limp for a day from the shock of the cold water. Thankfully, we got our happy lab tail back the next day once he was able to spend enough time basking in sunlight.



Louie loves sunshine almost as much as mischief.

• Once I survived my four tests and two papers, I’m not enjoying my winter break. We spent Christmas in SLC with my parents and at the Marshallese peet party. A few days later, we went back to California for another week to celebrate our anniversary and spend time with Jen’s family. We went to the San Diego Temple and Olive Garden on New Year's Eve before celebrating the new year and our engagement anniversary on Sunset Beach with fireworks.

Louie

Jen, Rudy and I adopted a new dog named Louie the day after New Years. Louie is super cute, and he and Rudy have become best buddies.

 Louie, Brian and Rudy the night they adopted Louie

Jen and I had been talking about getting another dog for several months, especially since we moved to our new apartment in Salt Lake City. Rudy became really depressed since we moved because he didn’t have his giant field or the social pack of dogs he was used to. He was lonely and unhappy, even though we would take him on lots of fun doggie walks and adventures.

We decided that the end of Christmas break was the best time to get another dog. We got him from the Utah Animal Adoption Center, a no-kill center in North Salt Lake. We brought Rudy with us to pick out “his” new dog at the shelter. They became best friends right away, and Louie came right up to us to snuggle. We fell in love with him and took him home.

 Louie the night we adopted him.

Louie is extremely obedient. He will do anything we ask, including taking baths. He is very eager to please and wants to keep us happy. He can play Frisbee for hours on end. He loves to snuggle, as well as wrestle with Rudy for hours.

 Louie and Rudy snuggling.

Frisbee!

Louie’s new trick is he realized that we control the dog through their collars, so he tries to steal Rudy’s all of the time. While wrestling, Louie can grab the collar in his mouth and yank it off, which makes Rudy look really embarrassed. It’s hilarious stuff.

Louie has a very thin fur coat, so he doesn’t shed very much. However, this thin coat makes him shiver all of the time when he is outside. We had to get him some sweaters and coats to keep him from freezing on walks. Jen and I are both a little embarrassed about this, but Louie loves wearing stylish sweaters.

One last note about Louie is that his primary love language is words of affirmation. He loves to be told that he’s a good boy, which he is!

Good Dogs: Rudy and Louie

Daniel and Jennifer’s Wedding

To catch up on some recent family news, my little bother Daniel got married on December 29th in the Bountiful temple. Jen and I were so happy for them and were really glad to be there for their sealing. Here are some pictures we took that day:

Daniel and Jennifer with Jennifer's parents at the Old Spaghetti Factory.

Daniel and Jennfier with my parents and Uncle Mark and Aunt Dixie Tanner.

The Black and Tanner families at the Old Spaghetti Factory the night before the wedding.

Brian and Jennifer Tanner at the Old Spaghetti Factory.

Caught smooching!

Dean Howard, a man Daniel worked with on his mission in Texas, came out to Utah for the wedding and stayed with Jen and I. Rudy quickly claimed him as his friend.

Waiting outside the Bountiful Temple in the snow for the Bridegroom and Bride to appear.

When you're this hot, how can you notice the cold?

Still waiting in the snow...maybe they snuck out the back door?

There they are!

Tada! Mr. and Mrs. Tanner!

Bling!



Still kissing.

The New Tanner Family.

Some vandals threw streamers and painted Daniel's car that night at a secret, undisclosed location.