The Journey Open Ended

The Last Little While . . .

2012-02-02T12:42:00.004-07:00

Nic is gone, and this past Tuesday we all said our goodbye's. It was, to say the least, the worst day I've had since Alan left for the MTC and I'm grateful that it will be years and years until I have to go through that again.

I just wanted to jot down some recent memories that I want to hold on to. One night was this night-

The Friday before Nic left our family got together and had dinner and played games, with no grand kids. K, I love the kids but I LOVE spending time with my siblings and not having to have them worry about their kids for a few minutes. We played some fun games, laughed a lot and really enjoyed each other. This night was special to me. We didn't dwell on the sadness that was coming, we just enjoyed the happiness that was there.

Another moment I want to remember is the last few moments I had with Nic. Tuesday night I talked with Nic and it was super tender (and of course I was bawling). We said some very sweet things to each other and hugged and I told him things that I'm sure he knew, but I couldn't take the risk of not telling him. Just stuff like that I loved him and he's one of my best friends and I'm proud of him, etc. I'm just glad we had a minute with just me and him, I feel like that hasn't happened for a long time and I will treasure it.

The last thing that I want to remember is probably my favorite memory of all of the past few weeks. After Nic got set apart we all went home and had one last family prayer together. Jake said the prayer and it was such a beautiful prayer. I felt the spirit and loved that moment we all had together. So instead of focusing on the hard goodbye that followed for everyone after that prayer, that prayer is what I'm trying to hold on to. It was so special.

In a nutshell, I love my family. To know that I will be with them for eternity is one of the greatest treasures I have. While the last month has been hard for everyone, I think it's brought us all closer than we realized it would. And I can't wait to be reunited again in 728 days.

An Update . . .

2012-01-25T19:51:00.006-07:00

Just thought I should give an update and let everyone know that we're still alive. We've just been crazy busy!

I'm still working full time and that's kicking me in the butt. However we're super grateful for this job and I know that it's truly a blessing. Especially since we were able to have almost enough to pay for tuition and not have to use a student loan! Yay!

Alan is, of course, going to school. Right now he's in Biology, English, Spanish and institute. He's had a bit of a rough start this semester but knowing him I'm sure he'll pick up on things quickly and succeed :)

When I'm not dead tired from work (and even when I AM dead tired from work) we try to spend our time with our family and friends. This week we've been a tad anti social and we've spent our nights curled up in bed watching How I Met Your Mother, Arrested Development and AFV getting a good laugh before we go to bed. I love that time :)

My childhood BFF got married a few weeks ago and I'm so happy for her! Haley and Trent got married in Draper (like we did) and had the exact same sealer! Congrats to both of you!

Our good friend Trevor is FINALLY engaged :) Trevor and Krista are getting married in April and we're SO excited for them! We love having married friends :)

This past weekend we went to St. George one last time with Nic. It was me, Alan, Nic, Alli, Mom and Hillary. We had a BLAST! I took work off Friday and me and Alan drove down Thursday night. Then me and Alan slept in (which was FABULOUS!) and after getting ready for the day we went to lunch at Mongolian BBQ. After that I really wanted to go buy a new game for everyone to play when they got there so we went to the mall and I swear we spent like an hour and a half in Barnes N Noble. Loved it. We bought the game Would You Rather and Alan found a purchase that he loved so much, he was actually willing to splurge. He bought The whole series of Sherlock Holms and The Chronicles of Narnia, both of them are hardbound with beautiful covers and gold edged pages. Pretty much all of the stories each make one big book and they look like a big bible. He LOVES them :)

Anyways, now that I've spent half of my life talking about those books. We used our Red Lobster gift card that night and ate a delicious dinner and went home and waited for everyone to get to the condo. When everyone was there we went to the hot tub and then we taught Allie how to play Nerts. I'm so glad she liked it because that's seriously what we played all weekend and it's my favorite game so I was happy playing it over and over again!

We went to the Outlets on Saturday, but unfortunately I couldn't find anything to buy :( and after lunch at Jimmy John's/Taco Time we went to the temple. Nic and Alli did baptisms and the rest of us went to do sealings. It was probably the most enjoyable sealing session I've ever done :) Then we came back to the condo, played even more nerts and then went to dinner at Sakura, which was Nic's choice. Mmmmmmmm! It was so good! Their sushi was so tasty and their food, as always, never disappoints. Not to mention we had a hilarious Chinese waiter who liked to pick on me. Me, Nic and Alli went to Nielson's for ice cream and then followed that with another hot tub experience. We played more nerts and went to bed. Sunday was full of more nerts and cleaning and then we left :( As always, thanks to John and Rilla for letting us stay at the condo. We love it there :)

And now we're just down to one week before Nic leaves :( we're all just trying to mentally prepare for it but we all know it'll be hard regardless. His farewell is this Sunday and I can't wait to hear his talk :) it'll be a rough week and an even rougher two years, especially for Mom. But what a blessing it will be to have a missionary out!

I think that's it for now!

A Really Long, Sappy Post About Nic. You've Been Warned . . .

2012-01-02T00:38:00.008-07:00

Need I say more? . . . Yes.

First of all, you're welcome for posting probably some of the ugliest pictures I could find of myself.

Second, Nic goes through the temple today and I'm so proud :) I figured now was as good a time as any to post this.

Everyone always said Nic was born for me because I have a hard time entertaining myself, and I think they were right. Me and Nic were best friends growing up, we did a lot of fun things together and I don’t remember ever fighting. Ever. For a few years we played a game called Fluffy’s Family (which the whole family LOVED because it kept me and Nic busy for hours and hours and kept us from bugging them). But me and Nic had a fun time and I have those times locked away somewhere special, because eventually we grew up.

I guess I was the first to “grow up”. When I hit about 14 (making Nic about 11) I hit my teenager stage where I was too “busy” and too “cool” to spend time with my family, especially Nic. I still loved Nic, but I was a grouchy teenager so he got on my nerves and was more annoying than I remember him being. So for a few years me and Nic were a little out of touch with each other, I regret having lost those times with him . . . but as a teenager you only think about yourself and I was no different.

It wasn’t until I was 18 that I really started to appreciate Nic. I moved to Logan and found that I really missed having Nic around and that I relied on him for humor. When I came home I really tried to balance my time with Nic and with Alan, I feel like Alan usually won though because he had the whole “I’m leaving soon” reason going for him J. Nic was actually a really big comfort to me when Alan left on his mission, and I don’t know if he really knows how grateful I am he was there. Alan left early December and then a few weeks later I was home for Christmas Break. That’s another time I’ve locked away because I feel like it’s when we really started to bond again and be like we once were. That whole break we stayed up late every night playing Monopoly or chess while watching tv or movies and just laughing and talking for hours. I don’t think Nic will ever know how much that helped me and how loved I felt at that time. As the big sister I’ve always taken it upon myself to look after Nic, even though Nic never needed it. And here he was, looking after me when I felt so alone. I will forever be grateful for that Christmas break I shared with my baby brother, who helped me pick up the pieces of my broken heart after my best friend left on his mission.

Eventually when I moved back home I went back to work at Coldstone and Nic had been hired there. I’m so grateful for this, even though Nic didn’t always enjoy it. I enjoyed it because it gave us common ground. He was finally in his “cool” teenager stage where he was hardly home, but we worked with the same people and eventually had a group of friends together because of work.

In the time Alan was gone I feel like I really grew close to Nic. We had lots of times where we were together with just us and we’d talk and laugh and sing in the car. Another time that I’ve held on to was Disneyland 2009. Nic was my buddy the whole trip because everyone was really concerned about the grandkids and getting them on all the rides. Me and Nic spent that whole trip together going on all the rides we wanted and laughing and having a good time. It was after that that I really started thinking about how life was going to be when he was gone. Me and Nic never really grew up J We had so many nights where we were up late and ended up getting in playful fights and we would laugh and laugh and laugh! For example, he tipped me over the in the recliner one night and threw toys at me. One night he threw my socks in the toilet on accident. We had an old towel that we would sneakily put in each others room to try and get rid of it. And after one night of rough housing, due to some "misfortune" I had to get a new toothbrush. As you can tell I usually lost most of the battles . . .My favorite was always the next day when mom ask us the next morning what the heck we were up to the night before.

When I got engaged to Alan he went to Spain for 2 months to study abroad. In those 2 months I decided to really enjoy the time I had left with just me and Nic. Once you’re married that changes the dynamics of things just a little bit and I knew it wouldn’t be long before Nic would be gone. I soaked in any time I had with Nic, even if it was just seeing him for 5 minutes to ask him about his day, or sitting with him on the couch watching America’s Best Dance Crew and laughing and having fun.

When I was dating, I honestly valued Nic's opinion the most. If Nic didn't like them or didn't connect with them I knew they were out for sure. And that's something that I knew Alan would pass in :) One of my favorite things has been to watch the bond between Alan and Nic grow. They are more alike than I realized J I can’t even begin to talk about how much it makes me smile when I see them doing something together and see them make each other laugh. I know that they’ve needed each other and I know that they will miss each other. Having Nic go to Argentina has deepened that bond a lot and I’m SO grateful. Because of that Alan has been able to help Nic prepare to go by helping him learn his Spanish and going over customs and stories about Argentina and helping mom buy Nic what he will really need. All in all, it’s just been amazing to watch 2 of the most important people in my life grow to love each other. I know that Alan, being the baby of the family as well, is someone who should’ve had a little sibling and I think Nic has given him that chance. I’ve really enjoyed going on double dates with Nic and spending time with Alan, him and Allie. And I know Nic will forever be grateful to Alan for the way he treats Allie and makes her feel so welcome and comfortable to our family.

I know the dynamics of our family will forever keep changing. I know that Nic leaving will leave a big hole in everyone’s lives, and I know that when he comes home he’ll eventually find some lovely lucky lady to be in our family. I’ve loved having Alan be in my family and I’m sure I’ll love whomever Nic marries, but the relationship with me and Nic is something very special. All of the times we played Fluffy’s family, stayed up and talked, played Nintendo games, watched Food Network until 3 a.m., vacations, shopping trips to the mall, music swaps, wrestling matches that I lost, all the moments that we were able to work together at Coldstone and tease each other relentlessly, I’ll hold onto those memories. And when I look back on them, I’ll smile every time and remember all of the fun we had growing up together and being each other’s buddy. I know, I know, it’s not like he’s dying or anything, but it’s just a change that I haven’t ever been ready to make, but the time has come. . . . and I'm still not ready to make it.

I know that we all will have a hard time with this adjustment, especially mom. But really, I don’t think anyone will have it harder than me. Nic has been my best buddy for as long as I can remember and just the thought of him being gone makes me want to cry and cry and cry. But I guess I just want to end with my thoughts on Nic:

Nic is certainly a breed of his own and I have no idea where he came from. He’s so outgoing and friendly and has so many friends. He’s someone that I have ALWAYS looked up to and admired. He probably never knew this, but I’ve always wanted to be like Nic. I see so many qualities in him that I’ve always wanted to have and I love my little brother so much. He’s witty, sensitive, charming, funny and so likeable. He’s amazing and I wish I could be everything that he is.

Nic, I love you and I’m so proud of you! You will leave a huge empty space when you’re gone and I’ll miss you so much. Please know how thankful I am that you’ve not only been my “annoying little brother” but you’ve been my friend. I’m so glad we’ve always gotten along and I’m so glad you were born.

So . . . Nicolas, Nic, Nucleus, Nicoli, Nicole, Nickelodeon, Nickel, Bud, Teddy, Weenie Breath, Bozo Clown, Inky Poodle, Baby Boy . . .

Knock em’ dead bro!

Yeah, about 2011 . . .

2011-12-22T19:26:00.031-07:00

In ways it turned out how I thought it would, but I never expected it to actually happen. Last year I was hoping to be married, and now I am! It's just crazy . . . this year seriously flew by. Here's the year in review:

January-

My brother threw a killer prom/party for Lindsey for her 30th birthday

February-

I went to Disneyworld! I loved being there, it was fun to be with mom, dad, Nic and Riley. Harry Potter Land was by far THE best :D I hope I can go back one day!

-This was also when I started dating Alan officially, I knew he'd come around ;)

March-

My very first Color fest

-On March 7th Alan told me he was going to marry me. He'd said it a million times, but this time he was serious. I think I smiled all night :)

-We also looked at rings, set a date AND bought my dress

April-

He proposed on April 1st!

-I had some Vacations! St George with the girls

This wasn't St. George, but shortly after before JaNae left

-Vegas with Nic and Hill to see Yellowcard and All Time Low!

-Cali with some friends

-We also took engagement pictures

May-

-Al was in Spain for a few months

-Nic Graduated

-I did my Bridals

June- Manti Pageant

-St. George with the Fam

July- 24th of July

-The big day :D

August- Our Honeymoon! Best trip ever!

September-We moved into our first home!

October-One last trip to Powell before Nic leaves and Alan's first time fishing!

-Nicolas got his mission call to Bahia Blanca Argentina!

-Family pictures

-I also quite my job at SFCN and started working at Central Utah Clinic as a receptionist

November- This month we had our first Thanksgiving with each other's families and Alan had his surgery, which he's now fully recovered from

-We also put the tree up

December- We went to Dinner with my family

-We also had Christmas with Alan's family

-And we had Christmas with my family . . . which for some unknown reason, we have ZERO pictures. It was a good Christmas though, that much you can believe.

It's been a great and eventful year and I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for me and Alan and my family. Hopefully it will be bring more vacations, fun events and Christmas and Mother's day will be more exciting to look forward to so that we can talk to Nic :) I'm ready for the challenges and joys that will come this year.

Bring. It. On.

Date Night . . .

2011-12-08T21:21:00.003-07:00

Last night me and Alan went on a spur of the moment date. We'd had a little argument at lunch and when I came home I decided we needed a date. When I got off I grabbed us some warm clothes and told him to get in the car and start driving north. I had him drive us to Salt Lake and we went and saw the lights. It was a great night to have for just the two of us :) We needed it, and after the lights we got some gas station hot chocolate.

We loved it :)

3 . . .

2011-12-05T21:39:00.004-07:00

I dont' think I need to say anymore. . .

But I will :)

This is Emily. She's up there on my list of favorite people ever. I moved into her ward when I was 14 and we got along pretty well in high school. We did the group dates, the dances and had mutual friends. When I moved home from Utah State I wanted to move out, but I needed a roomie. I asked Emily and, I'll be honest, I didn't think we'd get along. We're very different people. But I'm so glad I did, I told Alan the other night that that was one of the best things I think I did was move out with Emily. We got along great! We stayed up late on school nights and watched the Food Channel and we'd talk about how boys suck, how work sucks, and how life in general sucks. I'd laugh at her and she'd make fun of me. She ALWAYS kept the bathroom immaculate. And she got me to go out and do fun stuff and meet fun people. In a weird way, I needed her. She was the only friend I had that was a girl that I had been close to in years and it was really nice to have a girl to talk to about everything.

Emily hates to be complimented, but I'll share some of her good qualities anyways ;)

-Emily is a good listener and is very rational. You can talk to Emily about anything.

-She has a hilarious sense of humor. It's unfortunate that not everyone thinks she's as funny as she really is . . . she cracks me up all the time.

-She's really good with old people. She worked at Harthstone Manor for years and she was good at what she did and she loved it. I know I could never do what she did.

-She has a sense of style that I know I could never get away with wearing.

-Emily is a very thoughtful person and she's very good at putting others first

-She has THE best dating stories.

-If you go out to eat with her you have to fight her for the check most of the time

-She's not afraid to try anything or look stupid while doing it ;)

-When she's been working long shifts with little sleep she doesn't hold back on saying anything and her tact level and speaking comprehension drop dramatically. It's my favorite :)

-She's a really good friend and I'm glad that we're such good friends.

There's your tribute Emily, I hope you approve of this message.

Family Dinner . . .

2011-12-04T13:32:00.004-07:00

One of my favorite Christmas traditions that we started a few years ago is going out to eat with just the adults, no grandkids! No one is whining, screaming, being loud. We can focus on a conversation and have a good time. Plus I think my siblings are more fun when they aren't worrying about their kids every 5 minutes :) And, of course, this was the last year for 2 years that Nic will be with us for Christmas dinner so I'm glad we were able to enjoy him one last time. Alan was also able to come with us for the first time this year and that's probably why our dinner conversation consisted of talking about Horcruxes. And Nic won the "Brick Oven Challenge" I guess you could say because he was the first one to make shoot a wrapper into someone else's cup. Many tried, but Nic prevailed. And mine and Alan's good friend Brandyn was our waiter and took very good care of us.

By far one of the better traditions that we have. We used to all draw names for Christmas, but since our family has gotten bigger we decided that this was a better alternative, and I'm so glad we do it! And I wish we could do it more often :)

Another Tribute . . .

2011-11-23T10:40:00.005-07:00

You know, I'm really enjoying this tribute to a friend thing. When I hang out with my friends, it makes me enjoy them more because for each of them I'm constantly thinking what I could say about them. And it just makes me realize every time how lucky Alan and I are to be surrounded by such good friends. Here's tribute #2-

Yep, it's Trevor's Tribute. Quite frankly, I feel I owe something to Trevor. He's the reason I'm in the group of friends I'm in, he's the reason I met Alan and he's even the reason I became best friends with Alan. So in turn I guess I kind of owe him gratitude for helping me find a husband ;)

I met Trevor my sophomore year of high school and it's been a roller coaster ever since. I won't go into a lot of detail, but back in high school when me and Trevor were "a thing" I guess, we both made some very immature and selfish decisions (yeah, can you believe we were immature and selfish at 17? Me neither. ha ha ha) and that almost ruined our friendship. We had what I call The Year of Fury where we weren't on good terms. But before his mission we made amends and I'm very glad we did.

He's one of the few people who can really push my buttons sometimes, but I won't lie, Trevor is a really good friend. He's very loyal and insightful, he'll talk to you about anything, he's very talented and creative. I don't think he's quick to judge anyone and he's very quick to forgive. He's always good for a laugh and he has a lot of love and respect for his friends. He also puts up with A LOT of teasing :)

Trevor is one of mine and Alan's best friends and I know we're both glad to have him around. Trevor, there's your tribute.

Tribute To a Friend And A Post Long Over Due . . .

2011-11-17T19:01:00.006-07:00

So I read one of the blogs I blog stalk and came across something I thought was really neat. She had posted something her friend had posted about her that had made her day. It was like a Tribute to a Friend sort of thing. And I LOVED the idea!

I love my friends, probably more than a normal person should love their friends. And sometimes I think they should know why. So I've decided to do this idea and pay a tribute to some of my friends. Not all at once, but just here and there kind of spot light my friends.

I know my readers probably could care less about my friends. But I'm gonna do it anyways. The first friend I'm starting off with is one of the very first friends I had.

First of all, I need to explain this picture. Her hair was always cute like that and my hair was always . . . like that. I never let my mom do anything girly with my hair because I hated it :) Second, this is our very first sleepover. 1996

This is my childhood best friend Haley Richardson. We grew up down the street from each other, our mom's were in the Relief Society together, our dad's were friends and our sisters were best friends. Our friendship was, to say the least, inevitable.

I think we only had one class together ever, and that was kindergarten. Our favorite things to do were play Barbies and Ponies and have sleepovers. We loved jumping on the tramp, playing checkers, riding scooters and -thanks to Haley- bringing out our imaginations and playing made up games.

Haley could always make me laugh so hard. We used to love turning the volume down on movies or pausing the movies and adding our own dialog. And hers would always be the funniest. When we had sleepovers and I got scared she would always suggest talking about funny dreams we had and that would usually crack me up enough so that I wasn't scared anymore. I remember I would ALWAYS talk to her about boys and she would always listen. I remember being like 12 and talking about dating boys and getting married and stuff like that. Ya know, good ol' girl stuff.

Middle School and Junior high are full of memories of writing and reading notes back and forth (yeah, WAY before cell phones . . .) Our notes to this day still make me laugh so hard. When I was getting married and cleaning out my room I found them and I couldn't bear to part with them, but I knew I would have no room to keep them. So I let her have them. We read through them again together and remembered and laughed.

After Junior high we kind of started doing our own thing. I went through a few boyfriends in high school and was on Yearbook and she excelled in school and was on Student Government. And then we both just kind of found a different group of friends.

I was grateful to have her around though after Alan left. When I was lonely while he was gone she and her . . . oh how should I put this . . . "want-to-be-pretty-much-already-was-boyfriend" would let me play third wheel and let me play cards with them.

I still love her to pieces and now I'm so excited because she gets to experience the joy of being married! Haley and the aforementioned boy stated previously are engaged to be married in January! I couldn't see her with anyone else, he is so perfect for her and she deserves it because she's actually quite perfect herself :) I know that her dad would approve of her choice and I know that he will be there, in spirit, in the temple the day she gets sealed to Trenton.

Haley is an artist, an elementary school teacher, a helpful person in her family, a serviceable and loving person to all of those around her. She absolutely beams with the light of Christ and she is an amazing friend!

Haley Shell, there's your tribute.

It's Ma Birfday . . .

2011-11-16T16:43:00.003-07:00

I wasn't going to post, but then the opportunity presented itself to me. Plus I turned 22 and it's my favorite number, I guess that somehow deserves a post . . .?

No, I really wasn't going to post. Then I looked at my blog and what I was doing exactly 1 year ago today. This year FLEW! Last year today, I broke up with my boyfriend and immediately started dating someone else. I went with Emily and Janae to buy Scott Pilgram Vs. The World and Janae made me BTS cake and we watched Muppet Treasure Island at Emily's house. Alan was still gone and I was, believe it or not, missing having him around while I was getting myself into what would soon be a big dramatic mess.

Now look at this year? I'm MARRIED, holy cow! I'm at a new job, living a life with my new husband, getting ready to send my brother on a mission, I'm a sunday school teacher for 14-18 year olds, I'm old. Ha ha ha! My life is just so different from where it was this time last year, and I'm really glad that it is. I know this year flew by because Alan came home and the whole planning and having a wedding really made it cruise. But I'm glad with where my life is at now.

Apparently last year I said that I didn't feel like I was 21, I felt like I was still 17. Meh, sometimes I still feel like that. But those days are getting fewer and farther in between, and I'm ok with that. I can't stay up until 3 in the morning and sleep all day quite like I used to, I'm enjoying being even more of a home body than before, the responsibilities are piling in. I think it's safe to say I don't feel as young as I used to be :)

There you have it, the random ramblings of a now 22 year old. 21 was great, but I'm sure 22 will be better. Bring it on.

Tree . . .

2011-11-08T19:53:00.003-07:00

My husband helped me put up the tree last night :) I know it's pretty early still, but I was born and raised to be excited for Christmas early. I don't have much Christmas to work with, but I'm slowly putting up what I've got.

It was fun to put up the tree together. It was a great way to spend the evening, but it was kinda more to me than that. It made me really excited to start traditions and to carry on traditions that I love and cherish.

Like I say, I was raised by my mom to have a love for Christmas. We listen to Christmas music early and put the tree up when we are ready to (obviously) and I love it. Some of my most favorite memories are getting ready for Christmas every year. Putting up the tree and everyone having their own little jobs to do. My favorite thing when I was little was to sort everyone's ornaments and put them on the tree and my sister's job was to put up the nativity that has occupied the piano in the family room for as long as I can remember. Stuff like that. Kurt Bestor is always playing, especially when it's all set up. I will always remember sitting with my mom downstairs by the tree listening to Kurt and just talking. Me and Alan did that last night, we snuggled by the tree in the dark and just sat and enjoyed it.

I also recently bought some candles that my mom has always used around the house around the holidays. Some remind me of coming home from school and mom always had a bowl of freshly made soup ready to eat. Others remind me of coming home when it's cloudy and snowy outside and I walk in and it just feel like Christmas. I LOVE that I can do that in my own home now. I'm so excited to start these traditions and other holiday traditions with my own kids one day. Getting jammies on Christmas Eve and a new ornament every year to put on the tree. Stuff like that, ya know? And I'm excited that Alan will share these traditions with me and that we will be able to spend the holidays together forever.

I just love this time of year and I'm so glad that we live so close to our families so that we can be with them :) it's just a great time of the year which is probably why I'm always so eager to celebrate it. Gotta love it.

It Finally Came . . .

2011-10-24T19:57:00.004-06:00

This has been a little surreal; It's still weird for me to think about really. Nic finally got his mission call. He waited and waited and waited and it finally came on Thursday. My mom intercepted it and had Nic's girlfriend bring it to him in a pizza box and had him open the box to get his call :) Then she gave everyone there pizza. Later that night our family and his closest friends came to the call. I remember feeling that anxious/excited/nervous feeling when Alan was opening his call. He was SO nervous, but after he finally found out he was going to Bahia Blanca, Argentina (which, by the way, is the mission directly South of where Alan served) he was absolutely beaming all night long, and he still is :) I'm really proud that he's come this far and he'll be one of the most prepared missionaries to enter the MTC February 1st. I'm sure it's such a long time for him but I feel like it's only a short time for us. One more Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas . . . And then 2 years of counting down. I love my little brother and I'm so glad that he wants to serve a mission :) Congrats Baby Boy! Can't wait to help you get ready!

Sunday Afternoon . . .

2011-10-24T19:43:00.006-06:00

The day before Alan's birthday we pulled out the bouncy to let the kids play on it before we have to keep it away for the winter. And I think Alan had way more fun in the bouncy than the kids did, he was in there forever playing with them. He's the only adult that won't exceed the weight limit too much :)

My favorite picture. She pretty much went down the whole slide like this. Really really slowly . . .

Behind . . .

2011-10-24T19:00:00.005-06:00

I'm so behind on my blogging. I will eventually post wedding and family pictures but they take a bit more time to post because downloading those pictures takes FOREVER! So here's Lake Powell, for starters.

This was Al's first time coming to Lake Powell with my family. We do things a little bit differently than his family, we don't do anything when we go to Lake Powell, and I LOVE it! Alan's family goes and they do so much tubing and boating that they are exhausted by the time they get home. I like going and actually feel like I've had some R & R :) All we did was fish and I wouldn't have had it any other way. Well except I had a really bad cold, but oh well.

My fishy

Alan's first fish! We got to teach him how to fish :)

I love Lake Powell!!!!!

Alan's 22! . . .

2011-10-18T21:42:00.006-06:00

Sorry I've been slacking on my blogging . . . this new full time job (which I'm loving by the way) has been eating up my daytime hours and then I come home at night and I'm pooped!!!! I still need to blog wedding pictures(which will probably end up on here), family pictures (which also might end up being on here) and some recent goings on. Anyways . . .

Alan turned 22 yesterday :) I'm glad he was born and I was really glad he was here for his birthday this year :) Some things I love about Alan and some things I've grown to appreciate since we've been married.

-Alan is SOOOOOOOO patient. I'm not sure he'll ever know just how much I need and appreciate his patience. He must really love me :)

-He will always make me lunch when I come home for my lunch break

-He likes to keep things VERY organized. Almost to the point where I think I drive him nuts with my unorganized way of life

-I never have to doubt that he loves me. He shows me and tells me all the time :)

-He likes me to give him a kiss and say good bye in the morning before I leave for work

-He's brave and will eat anything I fix him for dinner

-He keeps me in line with our money. . . someone has to :)

-He will do anything with me, whether it's watching a movie, going to the store or making dinner :)

-He's such a hard worker! He's getting such good grades in school and I'm so proud :)

-He organizes temple night with me and the guys once a week.

-He will always do the dishes even though he HATES the dishes

-He will get rid of any spider I find

-He's just the best dang husband anyone could ask for :) I love him very much. He makes my life exciting and I'm glad to always have my best friend around :) I hope you had a very happy birthday Alan, I can't wait to spend many more with you :)

Blessed . . .

2011-09-20T23:31:00.002-06:00

Let me give you a scenario of April 2010:

-I'm stuck in a rut in my life, hence my life is going nowhere

-Alan is, in fact, still gone.

-I do not have a dating life at this time

-I'm working at Coldstone, hating work and desperately seeking a "grown up job"

My mom suggests to look on the SF City website and look for jobs on there, and I actually found a job that I thought I could handle and it paid WAY better than Coldstone. So I fill out an application and figure I wouldn't hear from them. I was wrong, I got an interview and I was pretty excited! A chance for a new job! I get to my interview and I'm so nervous! Finally I get in to meet with the boss and he informs me of what I'll be doing. Customer Service Representative/Technical Support. I knew right away that that was NOT what I wanted to be doing, nor did I have the capability to do so. I'm not tech savvy in the slightest! So I kinda try to bomb the rest of my interview, and I thought I had done so. No sir. I got the job and I've been struggling with it ever since.

It's not a hard job, per say. And it wasn't a bad job either. I worked with very nice people, had good conditions at work and I liked the hours, but I did NOT like my job at all. I had no really good reason not to besides that I just wan't happy there. My co workers were nice, but I felt out of place. I didn't like providing the technical support because I never felt like I could grasp the information my work tried to teach me so that I could actually help the customers. In other words, I felt incompetent at my job and the mistakes I kept making weren't helping me feel like I understood anything better.

I looked for jobs off and on while I was working at SFCN but I couldn't get anything or find what I was looking for. Then when I got engaged I knew that I couldn't support us on my part time job and I needed something closer to Provo where I live. I kept looking for jobs at Central Utah Clinic hoping and hoping to find a clerical job. I applied and applied several times while applying to several other places but I always wanted to be there for some reason.

God smiled upon me one day. I applied. 3 days later I had an interview. I felt calm going to my interview, which is very unlike me. I interviewed well, so well that I had a second interview while I was there. I felt like I had this in the bag and then they told me that they needed me to start as soon as possible. I needed to give two weeks to SFCN and that didn't seem like it was soon enough for them. But they said they would think it over for the weekend and let me know by Monday if I got the job. I didn't feel like I had the job anymore, I knew the 2 weeks notice thing screwed me over. But I told Alan about it an he just kept saying that I had the job. I thought he was just being positive, but in fact he was right eventually. After Monday came around they told me they would call me back Tuesday morning . . . I never heard from them. So I just gave up on that and applied elsewhere.

Friday, on payday when me and Alan were going to the bank my phone rang. It was Central Utah Clinic offering me a job, and I graciously accepted :) Full time receptionist in the Imaging department. I couldn't even believe it, and I still can't.

I feel so fortunate. Until Alan gets a job, we're starting to pinch every penny so this is just a wonderful wonderful blessing. I'm not scared to start this job, I'm not dreading it like I did my other job. The longer hours will be hard, but I think I can do this and I think I'll like it, and that's actually what really matters to me and Alan. He was so sick of seeing me absolutely dread going to work and I was sick of feeling that way. I think this is a good move for me and I know I can do it :) I gave my 2 weeks at SFCN yesterday and I feel like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders! It's been a great job and I know I wouldn't have gotten this job without it, but I'm ready to not be giving technical support to angry customers anymore :)

Again, I'm thankful. I've been praying and praying for a long time to find another job and He really does answer prayers in His own way and time. The timing could not have been more perfect. Now we just need to find Alan a job and I'll be feeling even better about life :)

ABC's

2011-09-12T23:23:00.002-06:00

A-Age: 21
B-Bed size: Deep Queen
C-Chore you hate: Making the bed
D-Dogs: No dog . . .
E-Essential start to your day: using restroom and putting in my contacts
F-Favorite color: Red
G-Gold or silver: silver, all the way
H-Height: 5'9" ish
I-Instruments you play: Sorry, no instruments for me . . . I wish :)
J-Job Title: CSR
K-Kids: No kids yet
L-Live: Provo
M-Maiden name: Hall
N-Nicknames: Kels, Brownie Girl, Koosey, Keeelsey, Little Foot, Leksey, etc.
O-Overnight hospital stays: None
P-Pet peeve: Not using your blinker when you're turning. Drives me nuts!
Q-Quote: I can't ever
R-Righty or Lefty: Righty
S-Siblings: 1 sister, 2 brothers
T-Time you wake up: Depends on the day, today it was 6:50am
U-University attended: USU and UVU for a little bit
V-Vegetables you dislike: Carrots
W-What makes you run late: My husband :)
X-X-rays you've had: My teeth at the dentist and I had an X-Ray on my stomach once
Y-Yummy food: Ice Cream :D
Z-Zoo animal favorite: Tigers, always the tigers.

The 1st Abode . . .

2011-09-07T23:06:00.009-06:00

Thought I'd post some pictures of our new home :) I must say that so much work, money and time went into making this place what it is now. And for that we have our parents to thank :) Thanks for helping make this place livable for us, we're doing our best to take good care of it! And we love it :)

This is what you see what you come in the back door. Please ignore the cluttered mess on my table. We're still organizing, and still have no where to put anything.

This is the kitchen with me pressed against the wall trying to get it all in. It's pretty small, but it gets the job done. The linoleum is brand spankin' new and our cupboards and drawers are currently MIA because my brother is sanding them and re staining them for us. They were so gross that we felt it was the only way to really make them feel clean. Our stove works, but I can't simmer anything. My spaghetti sauce was going crazy the other day! And our dishwasher doesn't work . . . we tried.

Just a shot of the kitchen with our fridge in it. The fridge is pretty nice :)

This bathroom is what I call the "Harry Potter" bathroom, because it's literally under the stairs. It's right in between the kitchen and living room. From the outside you would think it's a closet. I tried to take a picture of the cute little vanity we bought for the sink, but the bathroom is literally so small that I couldn't get a good full shot. So just pretend there is a sink and mirror on the right. As for the under the stairs showing . . . we're working on a solution. We've been leaning towards cupboard doors. PS- this bathroom, the bathroom upstairs, the kitchen and the living room were repainted and I love it :)

If you were to walk out of the bathroom and look into the living room, this is what you would see. Yes, that is a big teddy bear on the chair in the living room. Our N64 doesn't quite reach to the couch so Donny makes for a good backrest/pillow on the floor.

The hallway on the left leads to the kitchen. I got these shelves, candles, candle sticks and bottle at Hobby Lobby and they were all half off!!! The love seat and couch were a gift from my next door neighbors in SF. Thanks Brother and Sister Wilson! We love them!

My other couch. Ignore the box of crap on the right, I forgot to move it out of the shot.

I LOVE this table that I got to put under the window. Hobby Lobby again, for about $80

Cute huh?

A necessity, right?

And on the lower part of the table we have mine and Alan's book that people signed at our wedding

And my favorite . . . a picture my 6 year old niece made for us. So cute right?

Probably my favorite part of the living room. Corner shelf/stand thingy, Hobby Lobby. I don't remember now much this was . . . I also got the basket and wicker balls you see at the bottom there and everything on the top shelf at Hobby Lobby too. Man, I love that store.

I'm not afraid to admit that this wall desperately needs something. I'm just not sure what yet. I have to deal with the paneling and a cinder block wall behind that. Any ideas are appreciated. Thanks to Brian and Briahna for the TV!

A close up on the shelves.

Now we're upstairs, this is from the hallway looking into our bedroom. Yes, it's cluttered.

This is our bed. I sleep on the side with the teddy bear :)
Our closet. I'll give you a hint as to who owns what side . . . everything from the left of the empty hangers is mine . . .

Our bathroom. This, believe it or leave it, used to be the WORST part of the house. The floor was moldy and rotting and the tub was gross . . . We got new linoleum in here as well and my in laws also paid for a tile job in the shower . . . :)

Look at that! It looks great! We're very pleased with it! Thanks John and Rilla!!!

So now the sink is the least lovely part of the bathroom, which we can deal with since it used to be the best part of the bathroom . . .

There's my hubby :)

This is one feature of the bathroom that I love. We each get our own towel racks

And this is the crap room/office/man room. Everything that we don't have room for or we don't know where to put it goes in this second bedroom. Also my other clothes . . .

Alan's work space. I'm really glad he has a place in our house where he can go seclude himself and do his homework.This is the pile of crap we still have from moving here . . .

The other wall of the room

I just thought it was cute how he set it up :)

That's about it. It's nothing too fancy or spectacular, and like Rilla said "it's only up from here". But you know what, we love it here. It's perfect for us two. My favorite was when we finally felt like it was our "home" and not just "a house". We love to be here, we love to keep it relatively clean and we think it's a great place now that we've made it ours. Again, we appreciate all of the help that we received in making our house a home :) We've already made some great memories here and I can't wait to make more.

Life As I know It . . .

2011-09-05T16:39:00.004-06:00

is pretty good.

I love my husband, I love my family, I love my home, I love it all. Well, the good stuff anyways. And now, an update:

Me and Alan have been living in Provo in our apartment that our parents helped us fix up. We LOVE it!!! I wish we could spend more time there. I feel like I'm always at work or, anywhere that's not where I live. . . but the time we do spend there is great.

Alan is going to school at UVU and taking some pre rec classes. And this week I'm planning on him hopping on the band wagon for job hunting :) Right now he's looking into pre nursing and will be looking for some MA jobs. Lucky for him there are tons of MA jobs to go around and he's more than qualified, and his Spanish should help him out a ton. He likes school for now and I'm glad that he does.

I'm stuck working at a job I don't like until I find another one that I will like better. I've never really liked my job, and lately the more I'm there the more I hate it. It's not a bad job, and I know I should be grateful to have it. And I am. But I need something else. Something I can do that boosts my confidence instead of making me feel like I'm doing everything wrong. Most things at my job go over my head and I make a lot of mistakes so I'm ready to find a job that I will love and feel like I can do. As to what that job is . . . I'm not exactly sure. But I've been looking into being a receptionist or secretary. My job has made me realize that I like busy work and not problem solving. I'll find it I'm sure. I would also like to go back to school. But I can't right now, we can't afford it. Besides, I don't know what the heck I would go into or where I would go.

I've missed blogging. We still don't have internet and my mom's computer is out of commission so the only internet I really get is at work. We're getting it tomorrow and I can't wait! We finally got some coax cable so that we can watch tv. We get maybe 20 channels, and no guide. LOL! Gotta love it . . .

I like our ward. We've only been once because this past weekend we went to St. George and we'll be going back to St. George this weekend. We weren't the only new married couples so it was nice to have some new people to sit by in Relieve Society. I think we'll really like it there.

I think that's it for now, we're doin pretty good. Just trying to get by and have fun at the same time :) hopefully I'll have wedding pictures soon!

We're Baaaaaack . . .

2011-08-16T18:38:00.015-06:00

I've missed blogging :D

First of all, my wedding was seriously everything I hoped it would be and more. So many wonderful friends and family came (and brought us a huge load of presents, cash, checks and gift cards!) The weather was PERFECT. We had so many people praying for good weather and it was seriously a miracle. It was rainy and windy all week, but the night of our wedding it was slightly overcast but warm and not a gust of wind anywhere. A huge, huge, HUGE thanks to:

- Our parents for the time, money and effort they put in to make everything flawless for our wedding. We are both seriously grateful for everything you have done for us and will continue to do for us. We're forever grateful and we love you all!!!

-Our siblings for being a HUGE help! Thanks for setting things up and taking them down. Thanks for gathering gifts, handing out candy and just plain being supportive :) Much love!

-Our friends for supporting us and helping us in whatever way they could and especially our friends who took 1 week off of work and drove 9 hours from Montana just to come. We really appreciate it :)

-Nancy. My wedding planner was phenomenal, to say the least. She made sure EVERY detail was perfect and made everything look SO beautiful! I'm so glad she was willing to bend over backwards to make our wedding so freakin awesome.

-My photographer and videographer- It was SO hot at the temple. Thanks to a patient Hayley and a pregnant Jena for taking our special day and giving us memories. I can't wait to see your work!

-Katie for doing my hair at 7 in the morning :)

-Our sealer. I may be biased, but our sealer was so great! He said so many amazing things and he truly invited the spirit. He's a wonderful man and I'm so grateful to the Stake President and his wife for recommending him for us. I will never forget that wonderful moment.

-Everyone else who made the wedding awesome, you rock.

Pictures will come soon I'm sure :)

So . . . the honeymoon.

We went to Salt Lake from Friday-Sunday and then we stayed in Hawaii!!!! Hawaii was SO beautiful and perfect. I seriously didn't want to leave, and I'm pretty sure that's the first vacation that I wasn't ready to come home.

These first 5 are in SLC

Layover in Orange County

The view from our hotel :)

One of my favorite pictures from the trip

Yes, he is handsome.

He zonked out one day :)

Ah yes, I found one.

My favorite picture. Hands down.

I think I saw at least 1 rainbow each day

A woman

We look kinda gross, but this ice cream was SO good! They had pineapple flavor and it tasted just like the soft serve pineapple stuff in Disney Land. Heaven.

And yes, we found one of these too.

We went snorkeling. This was before

This was after

And we went on a helicopter ride! Thank you Grandma! But of course, the pictures won't do it justice.

Elephant Rock

Seriously, the best sushi I've ever had. And it came around on a conveyor belt. Every food establishment should invest in this. I'm dead serious. We liked it so much we went again the next day

Sunset on the beach. So perfect.

Sick-nasty birds

7 Sacred Pools

Our other hotel

Honeymoon Pt. 2

Alan's family has a cabin in Montana and every year they go up. I was so glad to get back up there! I LOVE Montana. We got home from Hawaii, repacked and then drove nine hours to Montana. Time well spent :)

Damon got that close to the deer

A fox

Horseback riding

I rode Rodman and Alan rode Rufus the Doofus.

I've waited SO long for a Montana 4 wheeler ride

This is Cooke City. All you can see is all there is of this town. I love it.

My brother-in-law built such a huge fire! It doesn't look like it now but it got pretty crazy

The boys built a bench

David and Rachel

A little mudding :)

And we found a herd of Buffalo on the way home through Yellowstone

My life is good, my family is great and my husband is awesome. I had a great time and I will always remember it! What a great way to start off eternity :)

2011-07-27T23:42:00.006-06:00

Sorry, I thought I was done blogging for a bit but I guess I wasn't :)

For the 24th me and Al went with mom and dad on the lake for a little while and then we spent the rest of the day with his family doing a slip n' slide.

Ha ha, I didn't want to get in the dirty lake so he rode the tube by himself

This picture of Ranger seriously made me laugh for like 10 minutes

And so did this picture :)

Not a bad 24th. Hopefully next year I won't have to work :)

Hey, Aren't You Getting Married Soon? . . .

2011-07-25T00:49:00.003-06:00

Yes.

Thoughts? Why thank you.

This month has been, busy to say the least. With wedding showers, finalizing wedding plans, working on cleaning and fixing our apartment so that it's livable and spending time with our families, I'm not one bit surprised at how fast this wedding has come. Hmm, wasn't it about a month ago I thought the wedding would NEVER get here? And now, here we are, I can count how many days are left on 1 hand.

Also, I'm going through the Timpanogos Temple on Tuesday, crazy right? I'm not nervous or scared, not in the slightest. I'm mostly just curious, it will be a great experience I'm sure.

On top of it all, with all of the stress, my birth control, my hormones and my life changing event, I've been on a bit of an emotional roller coaster. Please feel sorry for my poor soon to be husband that has, and will forever have to deal with a worrier. Bless his heart. I've been up and down and everywhere in between for the past week and I don't foresee it getting much better the closer the wedding gets.

Today was actually the first time that I really contemplated what has been happening around me. Everyone today said "wow it's your last sunday single" and I thought "woah, you're right". It's something I've been looking forward to, yet it's always felt so unreal and out of reach. And now the end (or I guess the beginning?) is in sight and it's a little surreal. I find myself trying to ignore the unavoidable questions:

-Am I ready for this?
-Am I responsible enough for this?
-Will I be a good wife to him?
-Will I be happy and be able to make him happy?
-Am I ready to be a grown up?
-Am I ready to learn how to cook and give up my days of eating out often? ;)

And a bunch of other questions. Not that I'm doubting, just reflecting. I do know that this is the next step, and it's time. I know we're not always ready for change and that change can be a bit scary, but sometimes it's just what we need. I think I'm ready to face this change and to move on to this next step. Yeah, I think about things like: These are my last few nights in MY room in MY bed by MYSELF, I only have a few days left where I'm a Hall. Man, I'll sure miss my short, sweet, easy last name. It's a bitter sweet thing ;) But my time has come to grow up and I've been blessed to find a great man to help me do that. There's no one I'd rather move onto this next phase of life with than him.

I'm excited, I'm anxious, I'm scared, I'm happy, I'm all sorts of things. Mostly I'm ready. I'm ready to be married, I'm ready for that freedom and I'm for sure ready to not be in the limelight anymore. Being old news will be great!

To my parents and in laws, in case we don't get to tell you much this week, thank you. Thank you for all of the hard work, the time and the money you have spent to make this wedding be spectacular. I know it will be everything I dreamed of and more and I'm so glad everyone can be there to share that wonderful day with us. We are both SO grateful for everything you've done and continue to do for us with our apartment. Please understand that we never expected everyone to go above and beyond for us like that and we appreciate it more than you realize. We know how blessed we are to have such a loving family and we hope you know that we love you and really do appreciate everything you've done for us. Thank you for raising us right and for helping us reach our goal of getting to the temple. We love you and we really couldn't have done with without you.

Thanks to all of our friends and family members who are helping out at the wedding and for all of your time. Thanks for putting up with our engagement and wedding stuff and for still wanting to spend time with us :)

And a special thanks to my soon to be husband. Thanks for your patience, love and genuine concern. Thanks for wanting to be a part of this wedding and for wanting to have input on all of the decisions. Thanks for being there for me, being my rock and for loving me unconditionally, even when I'm a mess. You are everything to me and I'm so blessed :) I can't wait to be yours forever. I love you!

Next time I post, I'll have a different last name. Until then, Kelsey Hall bids you a fond farewell until I'm back from my honeymoon. Peace out.

4th of July . . .

2011-07-05T10:34:00.002-06:00

Once again, I'm pictureless and it's really my own fault. Sorry!

Yesterday was good, great actually :) I kinda woke up on the wrong side of the bed for some reason . . . but if you ignore that it was a great day! Mostly because I spent it with Alan. This was the first real holiday we've spent together since we got engaged and it was fun :) Our holidays are going to be hectic though, that's for sure. We're juggling family time between 3 families instead of just 2, but we'll make it work.

We woke up and went swimming with my family at the pool. I enjoyed that more than I thought I would, I'm not as big of a swimmer as I used to be. But it was fun to see Alan there with my family and to watch him take the grand kids down the slide. I enjoyed that too actually. I don't feel like I always take advantage of my time with the kids, it's probably because I see them so often. But it was fun to spend time with them as a group and individually yesterday. I love them :)

After that we went home, showered and got ready for the day. We ate some tasty chicken tacos at my house and then went up to Alpine to spend some time with Alan's Bushman side of the family. I got reacquainted with people that I'm sure I've met at least once before and we sat and talked to his cousins for a while. I had fun, but I think I'll enjoy stuff like that more when I'm not the center of attention anymore.

We stopped and visited with Alan's sister Cindy for a minute after that and then we headed back home to go for a boat ride. Mom and Dad took me, Alan, Nic and Alli on a boat ride. It was such nice weather for being on the boat! Alan and Dad swam around an we all jammed to some tunes and played cards. It was very relaxed and peaceful.

After that Alli went home and me, Nic and Alan went and got a shake. Then me and Alan went to his house to watch fireworks from his deck and the night ended with a movie.

All in all, I'd say it was a success. Holidays are a lot more fun now that Alan is home and here to stay :) Plus summer is just great! I love the warm weather and all of the holidays that allow me to spend more time with my family.

Bring on the 24th!

Biking . . .

2011-06-26T15:41:00.006-06:00

Liam and Sophia showed us today that they can both ride a two wheeler :)

Fun Sunday . . . funday.

Today was just a good day. I made this post earlier but I just had to add onto it. Today I went to a homecoming and then I went with Nic to help Jake and Lindsey watch their kids while they spoke in church. I came home and took a nap and then we had a tasty dinner. We then spent time outside watching the kids ride bikes (see pictures above) and then proceeded to wait until everyone came over for Nic. Nic was ordained an elder today :) I'm so proud of him! And Jake and Josh were here to help, even my sweet old grandpa came. After that we played outside. The kids went for rides on speedy and the 4 wheeler and we all played out in the front yard riding on the long boards and watching the kids ride their bikes. Once the kids left me and Nic took speedy for a ride around the neighborhood, played frisbee in the back yard and now we're waiting for game night at Jake's and Hill and Josh are coming :) it was SUCH a fun day with my family. And it's one of those days where I really wished Alan would've been here to enjoy it with me. The kids played so nicely all day, we all laughed and had fun and everyone was here (well, minus Alan). Really though, today was just perfect. I love my family and I love when we can all spend time together.

One. More. Week . . .

2011-06-21T22:23:00.002-06:00

And he'll be home!

I can hardly wait :D

Manti Pageant . . .

2011-06-17T14:52:00.006-06:00

I went with Emily, Brandyn, Josh, Troy, Ben, Dallin, Brian, Kayla, Kevin and Kylie to the Manti Pageant yesterday. It was as good as it always is :) I love the Manti Pageant. Sorry, my pictures are kinda blurry . . . I guess I needed the flash on.

Seriously, these 2 together crack me up

This is a beautiful temple

Yes, only the best come from me and Emily

A picture of the group

Emily took a picture of me with the group. I'm usually taking pictures so I never get to be in any :)

I love the sky in this picture

I really wanted to get a picture of the end where the angels are singing and they point to the temple and it lights up, that is ALWAYS my favorite part. But I was too cold and wrapped up in a blankie. It's worth staying awake just to see it I think :) I got chills. I love the Manti Pageant. It was cold, my butt hurt from the ground and I got home at 1 and had to work at 8, but I love it. I like having that little reminder of how our church was restored and I love the Book of Mormon scenes, especially when the reenact Christ coming. I've always had a soft spot for Joseph Smith too, that scene where they kill him really gets to me.

I also noticed myself feeling the spirit about a few different things. Mostly when they would speak on temples or being sealed with your family for eternity. And I love at the end when Mary comes out of Heaven to bring her husband Robert home and they are reunited after death. It always touches me, but more than usual this time. Probably because I'm getting married and I can finally relate to such a thing. I'm looking forward to my visit to the temple in July for the first time and I'm glad my husband will be with me when I go through. And I'm glad he will take me through on our wedding day and we'll be sealed to each other for eternity. How awesome is that? :)

I just love the gospel and sometimes it's nice to be reminded of how lucky we are to have it :) I'm glad I have such stellar friends that wanted to take the time that night to go. Thanks for a fun night everyone! Hopefully me and Alan can go next year!

A Change in Dynamics . . .

2011-06-15T20:07:00.004-06:00

When Alan left on his mission, me and Nic became great pals. We've always been really good friends but once my teenage years hit we grew apart a tiny bit. We're super tight now :) Since Alan has been gone to Spain I've tried to take this time to really take advantage of my time with Nic because soon enough there will in fact be "a change in dynamics"

The past little while in particular I've enjoyed spending with Nic. We went out to Red Lobster the other day, just us. The other night we stayed up super late and just laughed and bothered each other like we always have. And last night we watched 3 movies and played Monopoly. Today we made cookies before I had to go to work. And he's made me laugh super hard every day.

I realize that when you get married, things can change a little bit as far as your relationship with your siblings go. I've seen it in my own family. I know it's not a BIG DRASTIC change, not even a bad change and I'm ready to embrace all of the changes that will come. Life is catching up to me and Nic and I just know that after I get married and after he leaves and comes home from a mission things won't ever be exactly as they are now. They will be slightly different and it will all be for the better I'm sure.

I'm not mourning a change, and like I said it's not a big change. Things will just be a tiny bit different. I'm just making note that I've really enjoyed the time I've been able to spend with my little brother before I get married and before he leaves on his mission. They are moments I will lock away. And I'm choking up super bad even talking about it so I need to just end this post.

I love you Nic :) you are and will always be one of my very best friends!

Another St. George Post . . .

2011-06-12T19:44:00.012-06:00

I never get sick of vacations. I think I would love it if I could go on vacation every other week. I've actually gotten used to going once a month, after my honeymoon we have a trip to lake powell and then who knows when my next vacation will be . . .

Me, mom, dad, Nic, his girlfriend Alli and Jake's family all went to St. George this weekend and stayed in Alan's family's condo (Thanks John and Rilla!)

Sorry, I don't have a variety of pictures . . .

Alan will laugh at this picture of me. EVERY TIME I take a picture of myself I have a hard time actually looking at the lens instead of the screen where I can see myself. Therefore my eyes are never looking right at the camera.

Jake's Family

Livi and Mom

Ha ha, 1 noodle just wasn't very supportive

Sophia was a mermaid the whole trip

Nic was also a mermaid

Liam was the only kid brave enough to jump off of the rocks and into the water

I owe a thank you to my soon to be sister-in-law. Her family used the condo before us, and when I was looking through her pictures I saw that they took their kids to these fountains in town that you could play in. I've NEVER seen these. I asked Alan's brother and he told me where they were at. We took the kids to the fountains this year and I thought it was pretty cool. Me and Lindsey wanted to sit down in the water :) I think the kids loved it and we should try and do that every year.

A mermaid again

Karate moves

Call me biased, but I think she is so beautiful!

This little one was my friend this trip. She'd snuggy right up to me and she was my buddy in the pool one day. How can you not love this face?

This tough guy was flexing his muscles for his mommy :)

Jake and Linny

Me and my favorite sister-in-law. Ha ha, I can only say that because right now she's technically my only sister in law ;)

Me, mom, dad, Nic and Alli went to Tuachan to see Grease. After last years performance of Tarzan we were a bit skeptical of how this would go. We HATED Tarzan. Grease was good though :) Thank goodness!

And after 3 years of waiting, we're pleased to announce that Alan was finally able to come on vacation with us. Nic made sure of it:

Can't wait to go back!

On A Nice Day . . .

2011-06-04T19:09:00.003-06:00

You take out the boat :) today was the first time we took the boat out this year! It was wonderful :) it was me, mom, dad, Nic, Hill and the girls. Hill and the girls only stayed for a little bit and then me and Dad did some fishing while mom and Nic relaxed. I caught a little fish :) but that's about all the luck we had. It was so fun to take the boat out, now it really feels like Summer is here! Can't wait to take it out again.

Serious Posting Time . . .

2011-06-01T23:49:00.014-06:00

I need to catch up. Facebook changed the way you take pictures from other people and I just barely (Thanks Jena!) learned how to do it. So I've been putting off posting my adventures I had last month because I didn't have pictures. Well I have them now so prepare for lots of pictures!

St. George:
I went with Emily, Janae and Janae's sister Delite on a weekend in St. George before Janae left on her mission. I'm so glad we did it. We had so much fun! We spent the first night in Beaver against our will because the snow on the highway was SO bad! Then we spent 2 nights in St. George staying at Emily's Grandma's house. We went out to eat, saw the movie Soul Surfer, watched a few movies at Emily's grandma's, we went to the temple, had a dance party and giggled :) It was a very relaxed weekend, nothing too extreme or exciting, it was just great to get away for a few days and spend time with the girls :) but I only got pictures of when we were being weird :)

This was in the tree . . .

This was attempting to leave the tree . . .

And this was the aftermath of me falling out of the tree . . .

Janae's party:
We had a going away party for Janae, and it was a Harry Potter Party. Which is always the best kind of party. It was full of tasty treats, homemade butter beer, a sorting hat, just dance, and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Success.

I thought for once, they wanted a cute serious picture. Silly me.

California!
So before Kara left on her mission I packed up with some friends and went to California for about a week. It was a blast! I went with Kara, Kevin, Dallin, Brian and Josh. I had a lot of people ask me "wait, you're engaged and you went on a trip with a bunch of guys?" Let me defend myself here:

-Back when this trip was first brought up, I believe it was back in January or late December, I wanted in. Alan was, in fact, invited on said trip but he decided he didn't want to go because he was saving money to go to Spain, which leads me to point 2.

-Back when Alan got home from his mission, he didn't want to date me right away. So we both just planned our lives how we normally would. He planned a trip to Spain and I planned my trip to California. Well, by the time Alan decided he wanted to actually date me and get married, he couldn't really back out of Spain and I was already into the planning of my trip (plus I didn't want to pass up my last trip to Disney Land, at least for a while. Who knows when I'll get to go back) So I just went anyways.

I'm really glad we went, we had a good time, laughed a ton! Rode some fun rides, had some crazy adventures and shared more dirty jokes than I will ever care to admit. Such a fun trip :) I'll try my best to keep these organized in some way . . .

San Diego Temple-

Some of Knottsbury Farm's and Six Flags-

Disney Land. The reason there are SO many pictures of DL is because Josh gave me the camera and I actually took pictures :)-

One of my favorite pictures of the whole trip :D we're so happy!

Indiana Jones

. . . me at Indiana Jones

The castle :)

Josh and Kara made us go on It's a Small World. . . This is them being happy about it

This is the rest of us being not so happy about it . . .

Me and Kara

I loved this picture too. Josh sat out this ride. 5 of us adults fit on 1 tea cup, not comfortably might I add . . . but it was the best time I've ever had on the tea cups, I laughed so hard.

Waiting for fireworks

Leaving after fireworks :( 1 day isn't enough for me . . .

The Beach. To be honest I'd never really been to the beach. And despite my extreme dislike for sand and dirt, I really enjoyed it. Even if the water was freezing :)-

I love this picture of us . . .

The last day. We hit the LA temple and Josh's car broke down on the way to the airport. Marvelous.

I stole this picture from Kara and I think she got it off a website?

And finally, on a more recent note . . .

I miss him every freakin day. We're finally on the downhill slope! May went by so slow . . . I keep hoping June will go by faster :) He's having fun though and I think that's what's most important. I sure can't wait to have that handsome guy home though :) only 26 days, 19 hours and 30 minutes . . . but who's counting right? :)

Congraduations! ;) . . .

2011-05-25T15:03:00.003-06:00

My big brother coined that phrase when I graduated.

Today the baby of the family graduated high school. It made me a little sad, I don't like seeing Nic grow up any more than my mom likes it, but I also remembered how much fun I had the day I graduated. He's in for a fun night and I'm excited for him :) He had about as much love and enthusiasm for high school as I did so I know he's happy to have it behind him.

Congrats Nic! We're so proud of you!

I love my little brother :)

Nic and Riley

Nic and his girlfriend Alli

Nic and his good friend Mikel

Proud parents of Baby Boy Hall

Young Womens . . .

2011-05-22T19:27:00.003-06:00

Today I went into Young Womens to help participate in my mom's lesson. She was teaching about preparing to go to the temple and since I'm totally doing that right now, she wanted me to just speak about some things I did to help me prepare to get where I am now.

I sat in the front of the class and I was all of a sudden weirded out. It felt like yesterday I was sitting where those young women were sitting, anxious to get out of there, to graduate, and to start my life. Yesterday I was 18 and graduating and today I'm preparing to get married . . . what?! It was crazy :)

It was kind of cool for me to think about the things I was going to tell these girls. The stuff I told them wasn't strictly "from the book", just personal things I did to prepare to find my husband who is taking me to the temple.

I told them to be good. Especially those that are graduating, moving out, and getting their new found freedom. It's harder than you think to be good when you're out on your own and no one is making you be anywhere or do anything. I encouraged them to be good, even when it's hard.

I told them to support their friends and family who have the priesthood. I explained that in high school I was surrounded by my guy friends and I looked to them as examples, and I still do. I tried my best to support them in the things they did, especially their priesthood. Nothing has meant more to me than knowing that my friends all honor their priesthood, they are amazing men. I encouraged the young women to show their appreciation and support for that.

I also told them to support and encourage their friends to go on missions. If anyone can get a guy to go on a mission, it's a girl. I don't know if I ever did anything to encourage my guys to go, the way I saw it they didn't need any encouragement. But I tried my best to support them by faithfully writing and letting them know how proud I was of them. I watched them ALL go out and serve a full 2 year mission. I watched them grow and develop attributes that would make me say "I want that in my husband". A mission is the best thing that can happen to a young man that tries his hardest and I hope those young women understand and support that.

I focused a lot on my friends when I was talking to these girls. And I think the reason why is because of the reason I told them "You marry your friends". Isn't it true? You hang out with people and they become your friends, you date the people you spend time with and you marry the people you date. I hope they are encouraging their friends to be the best they can be, because you never know who you'll marry. And you'll never know what wife will be happy that their husband had a great example as a friend.

I told them to make a list of attributes. I brought in a list that I made in Young Womens once. My mom found it when we were going through my old stuff to find pictures. I barely remember writing it. In fact I forgot about the list until mom pulled it out, but I never forgot the things I put on my list. Some traits were silly and not really a deal breaker, but some things were SO important to me. I told them that Alan fit EVERYTHING on my list (well, tall was on the list ;) he's not tall but he's no shorty) I encouraged them to make a list of the things they want in a spouse and to remember what they wrote. I thought it was important for the girls to know what they're looking for now before they just go out and start dating.

The last thing I told them was the thing that I think helped me the most. Find someone to raise the bar. I told the young women that they were special and that they NEVER have to settle for anything less than they deserve. I know I don't deserve Alan, but I know I'm glad I didn't just settle. I told them that for a long time I made my dad and brother's the bar, then I met Alan and he raised the bar even higher. I dated a lot of nice boys, boys I could've married. But Alan had just set that bar SO high that no one ended up being better than him :) and no one is.

I don't know if anything I said will stick with the young women. But I know I'm glad for the chance I had to evaluate how I got to where I am. I hope they can all find someone like Alan for themselves . . .

But I'm lucky enough to have the original :) Thanks for wanting to take me to the temple Alan. I've been preparing years just for you :)

"Nine-tenths of the people were created so you would want to be with the other tenth." - Horace Walpole

2011-05-16T22:34:00.002-06:00

You know, when I went with my mom to Brandyn's homecoming, she pointed something out to me. She sat by me and my friends and watched us laugh and talk and just be how we always are. When we went home she told me that I just fit there. That I'm so comfortable with my friends, they are almost like my second family. And it's true.

I've spent a lot of time with them while Alan's been gone, especially my friends that are going to be my future in laws, and I'm grateful.

Sometimes I look at my situation with Alan and think that's it's so crazy how we got to where we are, but really, I'm glad it happened this way. I'm glad I felt like part of the family even before I was going to be part of the family. I love my in laws, they are one of a kind for sure, but I wouldn't have them any other way. They keep life interesting and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with them as well as my family (honestly, how many people can say that? ;) )

My friends are the best, and they really are like my second family. They say what's on their mind, they make fun of me, they let me make fun of them, they help each other, we laugh our heads off and we ALWAYS have a good time. How I got so lucky to be in my group, I'll never know. And how they let me stick around, I'll never know. But man am I grateful! Thanks for spending time with me while Alan's been gone guys, it means a lot to me :)

I've had a few people tell me to make sure not to shut my friends out of my life when me and Alan get married. But honestly, I don't think we could. We like our friends way too much :) I don't think they'd let us ignore them even if we wanted to. I'm grateful that for the most part, me and Alan have the same group of friends. I do have my other little different groups of friends, but our main group is OUR friends. That's made things a lot easier when it comes to deciding what we want to do with our time and we don't have to give up friends. I know that I could get a phone call from Trevor or Brandyn and Alan wouldn't be jealous. I know that Alan can go with the guys for a night and I know EXACTLY what he's doing ;) I've had a lot of fun with our group in high school and until now, and I can't wait to see how much fun we will have from here on out.

My friends are better than your friends. Hands down.

Yep, I'm Bragging . . .

2011-05-08T23:30:00.004-06:00

I'm issuing a warning: I'm bragging about Alan because I miss him . . . and because I can :) and also because he keeps telling me that he's bragging to everyone he's with in Spain about me and talking about me. I figured it was time to pay back the favor. He's not here with me to share the yucky lovey dovey engaged feelings, so that means everyone else gets to endure mine :) Just kidding, but read at your own risk knowing I'll probably be cutsie and gross. I'm engaged, get over it :)

First of all I'm missing him like crazy. I thought the time would go by fast because I have so much to do and I'm working all the time. Umm, wrong! Time was going by faster when he was on a mission! We try to talk to each other every day, but the time difference sometimes makes it a pain, plus he's always very busy. So today, after skyping with him, spending time with his family that I love and just plain missing him, it tends to make me realize what I'm missing while he's away from me, and I love that everyday I'm reminded of how lucky I am to be marrying someone like him.

Second of all . . . He is SO good looking :) Seriously, how could I not love that face?

. . . maybe if it was like this:

Nah, he's still pretty cute ;)

He's so smart!:
Right now in Spain he's pretty much at the top of his class :) he's a procrastinator for sure . . . but he's a great student and very intelligent. He amazes me with the knowledge he possesses, especially knowledge about the gospel. Which leads me to . . .

He is so spiritual :)
I've never had anyone make me want to be a better person than Alan. He's so good with going to church and he still loves to be a missionary :) He's a worthy holder of the priesthood and I don't think he'll ever understand what that means to me :)

He's funny . . . sometimes ;)
He thinks he's hilarious, and sometimes he is :) But more often than not he can get a smile or giggle out of me, even if he's not trying. He cracks me right up sometimes and I love when he laughs at his own jokes (someone has to right? ;) )

Family is SO important to him:
And when I say family is important to him, I mean both of our families. I love how close he is to his family and I love how much he loves them. I love how much he loves my family, he loves them like he was raised with me. I've always been able to tell that family is something near and dear to his heart and I don't have to doubt that our family we make together will be one of the most important things in his life.

And one of my favorite attributes:
He loves me in every way imaginable. It's genuine, it's real, and it's something I will never know how I could possibly deserve someone who loves me as much as he does and in the ways that he does. He is everything to me, and to know I'm everything to him just sweetens the deal :) He would do anything for me at the drop of a hat and I know that he would give me anything and everything I wanted if he could. No one will ever love me like Alan does, and I would never want anyone else to love me like that either :)

I love him more than I can say and I miss him more every single day. He is my world, my love, my future and the prince of my fairytale story. He's someone I surely don't deserve, but someone I am glad I can call mine.

I miss you Alan! Can June come any faster?! :)

An Ode To Mom . . .

2011-05-08T00:00:00.003-06:00

Happy Mother’s day!

And now, words from mom . . .

“You can’t go to the mall by yourself! It’s not good for man to be alone!”

“ . . . Mister peanut . . .”

*phone rings* “If it’s for me I’m not home”

”Down this aisle we have cat flies and pet supploos”

“When I die I’m coming back in the form of a dove to let you know when the world will end”

“At my funeral, I want my casket closed with a picture of Hallie Berry on top of it”

“ Turkey lurkey lurkey, bawk bawk bawk”

“K I’m making no guarantees on dinner”

“No don’t take a picture of me!”

“Oh you know him. You might not think you know him, but you do. I know”

“Abigail!”

“Don’t call your mother dump! I’m not dump! You’re dump!”

*Referring to Heaven :)* "No empty chairs"

Mom’s dictionary

Clown- Any person being an idiot (usually drivers)

Sting Baby- This is reference to Sting from The Police

The Burn- The refreshing sensation one feels after drinking that first swig of soda

Processed Poo- Velveeta cheese

The Counting Song- A certain Christmas song that has a defined 4 count that you can lead to

Trusty- While often used to describe a reliable dog, this term refers to her cell phone she’s had for years that has: been dropped, lost, sat on and fallen in the toilet and still works.

Snowball/Little White- Common names for space heaters

Jib- A word for the area between your lip and chin

Griz- The giant Christmas tree that dwells in the living room from early November to early January. Properly named after the giant Christmas tree in the Grizwald home in the movie “Christmas Vacation”

Quackies/puffs- Quaker rice puffs

Speedy- Her pink scooter

Jack- The most festive member of our family, usually found dressed up for the holidays. The decorative skeleton that can be seen at the door.

Thanks for being so quirky mom :) We all love you for it!

I Miss Him . . .

2011-05-03T22:35:00.003-06:00

Alot. It hasn't even been a week yet.

However I'm now getting regular emails and we attempted skype today, Skype wasn't working too well . . . hopefully we get that fixed tomorrow. Because of the 8 hour time difference he can only skype me from 8am-noon and that's off and on.

He's having a fun time though from what I gather, and I really hope he is :) I just miss him though. Through 2 years of waiting I found that I don't need him around 24/7 but I just get lonely when he's not here and I miss seeing him and talking to him and just being with him. Boy, do I sound engaged or what? :)

On the plus side, I've managed to get a lot accomplished. I went to the gyno (ugh, we don't talk about that), I got all of my engagement pic's back (thanks Austin!), finished my wedding book, booked the cup cake cake, rented the popcorn popper, did some final planning with Colstone, worked and WORKED on addresses and bridals will be taken next week.

My wedding will be the shiz.

So much to blog, but not enough pictures! . . .

2011-04-28T11:08:00.006-06:00

I have been to St. George and California this month but I can't steal anyone's pictures off of Facebook for some reason, so I'm going to wait to blog on those. However, I can give you a sneak peak of these . . .

These aren't all of them, just some of the one's Austin has made higher quality. Once I get all the one's I want they'll be going in an album on Facebook :)

Alan left for Spain today :( he's studying abroad for 2 months. Saying goodbye was harder than I thought. But we just have to look at the positives. And I'm sure it'll go by fast for us both, my mom plans on keeping me busy with wedding stuff and my work schedule is crazy for May. I'll sure miss that good looking face though!

"Can You Hear The Crowd? They All Go Wild, For You And Your Denial" - Yellowcard

2011-04-18T10:37:00.005-06:00

See Yellowcard? Yes, I will check that off my bucket list, thank you.

I went with my brother and sister to Vegas for a night to see Yellowcard and All Time Low.

So. Much. Fun!!!!

I had never been to Vegas before. To me it was kind of like New York only smaller, less crowded and in the desert. We stayed in the Luxor hotel (it's shaped like a giant pyramid) and we were right next door to where the concert was going to be! We went to dinner at The House Of Blues because that's where the concert was going to be (I had grits for the first time . . . believe it or not they were good but they were . . . gritty I guess? LOL )

Doors for the concert opened at 5 so when we were done we went into the concert. Me and Hill bought our shirts first, and then this happened:

First of all let me tell you who this is-

This is Ryan Key. He's the lead singer for Yellowcard and I think he's pretty much awesome. After we got our shirts I was looking around waiting for Hillary and Nic. They were talking about something and I look up near the entrance to the doors and seriously like 10 feet away from me was Ryan Key. Just walking around like a normal person. Let me run you through my thought process:

"Wow, that guy looks just like Ryan Key"
"Wait, I'm at the Yellowcard concert, that COULD be Ryan"
"Holy crap! It's Ryan!"

Now let me tell you what I did . . . I stood there, mouth open, eyes wide and I couldn't get anything to come out of my mouth. I started hitting my sister because Ryan was walking away and I finally got out "Was that Ryan Key?!" Nic and Hill looked and they saw him! We tried to catch up to him to have him sign our shirts but we were too late!!!!! No one stopped him or anything, he just walked on through backstage. I could shoot myself in the foot (and Nic could shoot me in the foot too) for not saying anything.

After Summer Set and Hey Monday performed Yellowcard came on. I don't think I have ever been more excited to see a concert in my life. Me, Nic and Hillary were way into it. Jumping, head banging, screaming every lyric to every single song. If you know me well, you know that I appreciate music for the lyrics. Yellowcard's lyrics to their songs I think are so amazing. Pretty much every song they have is pure poetry to me, especially their new album. Their drummer was crazy awesome, I'm in love with the electric violin player and Ryan was amazing even though he was sick and drinking water every other line. I smiled the entire time they played and soaked up every minute of it :) If I ever get the chance to see them again. I will be there no matter how much it costs :)

Sorry my pictures suck. I was far away and my camera on my phone isn't the best.

All Time Low was next. They were headlining so they had more time to play. I saw them with Nic in Salt Lake in November, and they were freakin awesome. If it's possible I think they put on a better concert than they did here in Utah. They're lighting was amazing and they are hilarious. They know how to get the crowd going. Although I was disappointed because they were dirtier in Vegas than they were in SLC but I guess that's a given for Vegas. They still put on an awesome show!

I was so stoked for this concert, especially for Yellowcard. There is something so amazing about seeing your favorite band live. To be there with them is awesome, and when you hear your favorite song you just want to burst! When you can sing every line to one of their songs with them and my personal favorite when they let the crowd sing their lyrics, it's so awesome. I love concerts, I love the adrenaline you feel when the band gets the crowd going, I love singing as loud as I can, I love the experience and I even love when the concert is over and my ears are ringing and my voice is gone :)

Best concert ever.

"Lucky I'm In Love With My Best Friend" - Jason Mraz . . .

2011-03-30T11:02:00.013-06:00

Well you all knew it was coming . . . :)

WARNING: THIS POST WILL MOST LIKELY CONTAIN LOVEY OOEY GOOEY STUFF . . . So you don't have to read it. No one is twisting your arm.

I am the luckiest girl alive. I'm sure every ENGAGED girl thinks that. Yes, that's right, I said engaged :) Alan Morris Bushman has asked me to be his for time and all eternity . . . And I said yes :)

First, let me give a little background. I won't go into an enormous amount of detail because frankly, when you've known Alan as long as I have there is too much to say and too much to write about. So I'll start from here: Me and Alan have been best friends since our junior year of high school. From the moment we became friends I knew that our relationship was different, and I loved it. Alan was someone that I was always myself around and I could talk to him about anything. I cared about him very very much and I treasured having him as my best friend. I was also his best friend, but he wanted to date me. I wouldn't date him. I had lots of reasons (or excuses as Alan would say :) ) But I just knew it wasn't the right time.

He left on his mission to Argentina and I dated and waited. I liked a lot of boys and dated a handful of them, but to be perfectly honest, no one really compared to Alan. I wrote Alan faithfully every week he was gone and we missed each other like crazy! I was dating someone when Alan got home but I knew there was some unfinished business with Alan. I prayed and prayed and I broke it off with my boyfriend in order to sort out feelings with Alan. Except, Alan wanted to date other people. I hated that idea but I let him do what he wanted, so he dated for a month and a half. . . but he kept coming back to me :) Finally he decided that he wanted to date me (I was thrilled :) ) and we just hit it off! We were pretty much pre engaged almost a month after dating. A lot of people think that's fast, which it is. But the way we see it, with how close we already were there was no other way to go but up :) we knew everything about each other before senior year was even half way through and we love each other very much. And I think that's all that really matters :)

Ok, so I'll tell you how he did it. First I need to talk about my ring:

I found my ring when I was 18. Yes, I was 18. I was in Logan going to school and they had this thing where they would let Freshman walk up and down mainstreet and all the stores would have samples and let you walk through their store, just to give us a better idea of what Logan had to offer. Me and this girl I was with walked through a diamond store for kicks and we tried on wedding rings. I looked in the case and saw this-

I fell in love with it right when I saw it, then I put it on and I couldn't stop looking at it. Just for fun I text a picture of it to Alan :) But after that I found the website for my ring and I saved it. Every once in a while I'd pull up the webpage and just stare at it. I am 100% in love with this ring. We found it in Orem and he bought it for me! :)

Ok, now the story:

I bugged Alan for WEEKS about my ring. I knew he bought it and I knew he had it somewhere and I was growing impatient. Finally on Tuesday he cracked a little and said "you'll get it before General Conference is over". That hint satisfied me enough. Well April 1, 2011 (April Fools Day, of course) we decide to go scout out places where we could get our engagement pictures taken, so he takes me to Salem Pond first. Honestly, I thought he would possibly propose here, but I wasn't positive. So we walked around and we finally got to a little tiny dock and scoped that out for a minute. He kissed me, hugged me and started saying really sweet things to me. I knew it was coming and I was getting excited! Well I was watching him get on 1 knee and I'm no sure where I was looking or whatever but I heard a *plop* next to me. I thought he was just being dumb and that he threw a rock in the water to make it look like he dropped the ring. But I looked down and I saw something shiny in the water. I looked at it and then I started laughing. He had dropped the ring in the water. He was kind of just standing there looking shocked and I said "well, you need to get it! Go get in there!" And then he said "April Fools!". This did not please me. I had told him the night before not to fake propose to me. But then he got down on 1 knee again and pulled out my real ring and asked me to marry him. I forgot I was mad and said yes :) turns out the ring that fell in the water was fake :) He took me to my car and in my trunk he pulled out a HUGE bouquet of flowers :)

The little punk April Fooled me! It wasn't very romantic, it was more silly. But you know . . . It was totally him and I wouldn't change anything about how he did it. It was unique and special to me and I love him very much for the creative way he went about it :) my ring was worth the wait, I love it and I can't stop looking at it.

It's kind of weird how solidified everything is now that I have a ring, it feels more real. But I love it so much and I love knowing that I've found my other half.

Again, I'm so so SO lucky. Alan is the most wonderful, thoughtful, amazing person I know. I adore him for everything he is. He completes me, what I lack he makes up for. He treats me like a princess and spoils me rotten! I honestly don't think I deserve him, but I have him :) and I'm thankful EVERY SINGLE DAY for him.

Most people meet their spouse, become best friends after a few months and then spend the rest of eternity getting to know each other . . . I really truly am marrying my best friend and I cannot wait to be with him forever :)

July 29th, Draper temple . . . :D

Color Fest! . . .

2011-03-29T15:42:00.004-06:00

Me, Alan, Eric and Jen went to Color Fest. It was so much fun!

This was before the huge throwing of the colors, and look how dirty we already are!

My favorite picture :)

I'm Still Alive . . .

2011-03-25T14:09:00.003-06:00

I'm a blog addict, but it feels like it's been forever since I've blogged. So I figured while I'm watching the snow fall and sitting here enjoying the peace and quiet of my empty house, I'd write a little something.

I've been really busy spending time with my family, with Alan's family, and with Alan. Things are going really well and I love it :) we spend every day together, practically all day. I guess we're just making sure we get as much time in together as we can before he leaves for Spain at the end of April. He's going to study abroad for 2 months in Spain, and I'm not very excited. I'm so happy he gets to have the experience and I'm super jealous, but I'm sad he'll be gone for 2 months. I can make it though, 2 months compared to 2 years is a piece of cake. I'm proud he's doing this too, that way when he comes home he'll have his Spanish minor done!

I've just been taking life one day at a time and it's been really great. Nothing spectacular has happened in March so I've just been taking everything day by day and looking forward to April. Despite Alan leaving I have a lot to look forward to:

-Girls weekend in St. George with Emily and Janae. Just one last real hoorah before Janae leaves on her mission :) Yeeeeeeeeahhh St. George!

-Las Vegas with Hill and Nic. That will only be for 1 day, but we'll be going to see Yellowcard! Oh I can't wait!!!!

-Disneyland with Kara, Kevin, Josh, Dallin and Brian. This hoorah is for Kara before she leaves on her mission.

Then I'll just work and work until Alan comes home in June!

Well, I think that's all the update I can give for now! Wish me luck! I'll freeze at the festival of colors tomorrow! Hopefully I'll have some pictures!

Life is great. I'm super happy. That is all.

Feeling Thankful :) . . .

2011-03-12T01:04:00.003-07:00

My mood has been significantly perky lately (like anyone really needs to wonder why). But since I've been in this mood I've been so grateful, which I think is wonderful. You know, when life is going great it's easy to look over even the smallest of blessings because of how easy things come. And sometimes it's not until a trial comes along that we realize how lucky we really are. I feel grateful :)

-My faith and religion:
I'm so far from perfect . . . but I'm thankful for a patient Heavenly Father who loves me so much, even though I am constantly making mistake after mistake. I believe in the Atonement and I'm thankful for my Savior who loved me enough to Atone for my sins so that I can try to be as perfect as he is. I'm lucky to belong to the church I belong to and to have been raised in a home where religion was the keystone. I know where I would be without this gospel, and it's not anywhere I ever hope to be.

-My family:
My family is so supportive of me. They all love me and want what's best for me, and I couldn't ask for a better family. We never fight, we love spending time with each other and we love each other for what we are :) Granted, we're not perfect. We're super quirky, we love our dirty jokes and swearing, we can be a little weird sometimes, but I wouldn't change one thing about us. I was born into this family for a reason and I'm thankful every day for each member and the love and support they have for me.

-My best friend:
Alan is honestly my best friend and I love him so much. He is supportive of me in everything I do and he believes I can do anything, even if I don't believe in myself. He brings out the best in me and makes me want to be better. Every day I spend with him, the more I love him. I pray every night and thank Heavenly Father that I was so blessed to have him in my life and I'm so thankful for how things have worked out. He treats me so well and he loves me like no one ever has. I got super lucky to get a catch like him :)

-My friends:
I blog about my friends all the time, but I really have the best friends ever. They are so great and I have so much fun with them. I love each of them for the person they are and for the friendship I have with them. My friends are amazing people and I'm thankful for their influence on me and for the impact they have had in my life. I know I wouldn't be who I am without the great influence of my wonderful friends.

-My Job:
I don't love my job . . . but man am I thankful for it. I'm thankful for the things I've learned and for the experience I've gained. I'm thankful that I have such nice co workers that are patient with me and answer all my questions. I'm thankful that I'm making a decent amount of money with which I'm able to pay for gas and pay for my car each month, and then some. I'm lucky to have a good job, even if I don't like it.

I could honestly keep going, but I'm really tired :) I just know that I've been blessed with far more things than I deserve. I'm so lucky for everything and everyone that's in my life.

My life rocks.

I Suppose It's Time . . .

2011-03-09T11:50:00.003-07:00

Let me make one thing clear, I NEVER blog about people I'm dating. NEVER. Why?:

-Blogs are pretty public and I've never really been a person who wants EVERYONE to know exactly what I'm doing in my life.

-If there's ever a break up, then everyone knows about it and really it's nobody's business. Just my own

-I record that kind of stuff in my own private journal where I can actually say what I want to say.

-I'm weird and have always been weird about being public with people I'm dating

-I never would blog about boyfriends and such because while Alan was on his mission he had access to my blog and I didn't want to distract him with what I was doing.

However, I feel good about blogging about this.

I'm dating my best friend right now, and I feel so good about it. We have a blast together and we're both really content. We also think we're the funniest people ever so we have so much fun and laugh so hard when we're together. I'm really happy :) sometimes it feels so unreal, but I love it.

Marriage? Maybe. Maybe not. :) He's leaving me to go to Spain for 2 months to study abroad :P but it'll be a good experience for him. Heck, if I had the money and the time I'd go myself! After he gets back I guess we'll just see what happens. But the main thing right now is that I'm happy, and we're happy :)

It's awesome.

Hey Hey Janae-nay! . . .

2011-03-03T23:49:00.003-07:00

YEEEEEEEEAHHHH JANAE!

Janae got her mission call tonight :) She's been called to the Mesa, Arizona mission and she leaves April 27th! That's only 8 weeks! We've already planned a trip to St. George for a weekend and going out to eat our favorite things (sushi, Texas Roadhouse and YoZone . . . probably not in the same day. Well maybe sushi and YoZone)

Just in case you can't tell from the beautiful pictures, she will be an awesome missionary! If anyone can Futterwacken someone into believing the church is true, it's most definitely Janae. Let's party it up before you leave!

A 30 Day Challenge In 1 Post . . .

2011-02-20T23:11:00.033-07:00

Ok I did a 30 day challenge on my blog a few months ago, but I found 1 on Facebook that involves pictures and has different challenges on them. Rather than drag it out on my blog like I did for the last one, I decided just to post it all at once, just for fun :)

1- A picture of yourself with fifteen facts

1. I love challenges like this :)
2. Ice cream is my favorite food
3. My favorite place to be is asleep in my bed :)
4. I have THE coolest friends EVER
5. When I get a chance I really love to write poems and songs (not very good ones, but I enjoy it)
6. I like to travel
7. I wish I could sing
8. I'm kind of a hopeless romantic
9. Majority of my friends are boys and one of my favorite things to do with them is play Super Smash Bros. for hours :)
10. I love to go for drives by myself and just listen to my music and think
11. I love spending time with my family, they are the best!
12. I'm scared of the dark . . .
13. Christmas Eve is my favorite holiday
14. I LOVE to try new foods and try new places to eat. A food critic would be my ideal job
15. I love my name. I've met a lot of people that would change their name if they could, but I wouldn't. :)

2 - A picture of you and the person you are closest to.

This is my best friend and we’ve been friends for about 4 years now. I considered putting a family member for this one, but I’m really close to my family so there’s no way I could pick. Alan is someone I’m super close to, we have our ups and downs for sure, but he’s still the person I’m closest to. He knows me better than anyone does.

3 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show

Psych :)

4 - A picture of your knight in shining armor

Since I’m single . . . Detective Shawn Spencer

5 - A picture of your favorite memory

I’m a rememberer and I have lots of special favorite memories stowed away in my mind. But one I can think of is our family trip to St. George we took last June where ALL of my family was there. We all had so much fun, and I love when we can all go on vacation together.

6 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day

Carrie Underwood

7 - A picture of your best friend and a letter to them

To be honest, I’ve already written my fair share of letters to Alan (try over 2 years worth of letters . . .) But I’ll say a few things :) Alan, you’re the best friend I’ve ever had and I’m so glad I know you and can call you my friend. Thanks for always being there for me. Love, BFF carved in a tree, Kelsey. Your “Bayest Frayend”

8 - A picture that makes you laugh

Nic and the family picture

9 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most

My mom. My sweet wonderful mom that listens to everything I have to say. She knows I’ve gone through some hard times and she’s always there for me and praying for me and loving me :) thanks for everything mom, I couldn’t have gotten through a lot of things without you

10 - A picture of your room

This is the most you’ll be seeing of my room. It’s always a mess

11 - A picture of something you love

I love a lot of things, but I love my family the most :)

12 - A picture of something you hate

Milk. Nasty stuff . . .

13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist

Yellowcard!!!!!!!!!

14 - A picture of your favorite store

Aeropostle. Seriously, I can spend so much money in here . . . and I have.

15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die

I want to do a lot of things before I die. One thing I can think of that I really want to do is go see a Red Sox game at the Green Monster in Fenway Park

16 - A picture of someone who inspires you

Christ. He is someone that inspires me to be more like him and to be the best daughter of God I can be

17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently

Alan coming home. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that hasn’t impacted me at all

18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity

My body. I don’t know if I necessarily have a picture to show why I’m insecure about it, this was just a picture that showed me from head to toe. Maybe it’s just a girl thing or maybe it’s a me thing, but I’ve never been too secure with my body.

19 - A picture of something you love to do.

Hang out with my friends. I love my boys :)

20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel

So many places I’d love to go . . . Europe. Maybe someday

21 - A picture of the person you resemble most

When it says resemble, I’m not sure exactly what that means. So I went for physical resemblance, in which case I chose my sister. We personally don’t think we look alike but we’ve had TONS of people tell us that we do

22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at

Singing. What I would give to have a beautiful voice that I could share with others and feel confident about it.

23 - A picture of something you'd like to change about yourself

There are a few things I wouldn’t mind changing, but mostly my height kind of bothers me. I’d be fine losing a couple of inches and being a little bit shorter. I had the photographer retake this picture so I could slouch down and pretend like I was shorter than I was, lol.

24 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without

My baby brother. I can’t remember life without him and I can’t imagine life without him :)

25 - A picture of your day
Whatever the heck that is supposed to mean

26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you

Scriptures. I’ve had mine since I was 12. They’ve been through every Sunday school class, every YW lesson, every seminary and institute class, every session of EFY. My whole personal spiritual growth is practically in these scriptures

27 - A picture of yourself and a family member

Me and the sibs

28 - A picture of something you're afraid of

This was the only picture I could stomach downloading . . . I hate spiders

29 - A picture that can always make you smile

This picture of Livi always makes me smile

30 - A picture of someone you miss

Eric. I miss Eric. Most days him and Dane together had me laughing so hard I could barely breath. I also miss talking to Eric, we used to confide a lot in each other about personal problems and he was a good listener. He’ll be back in about a year though :)

Whew! That's a lot of pictures!

And Now, A Post More Cheerful Than The Last . . .

2011-02-15T23:11:00.011-07:00

So I have a bucket list. I think everyone does, and if they don't, they should. As of late I've been able to cross of SO many things, things I never thought I'd be doing. At least not at this point in my life. These are just a few of the things I've crossed off of my bucket list:

-See a broadway show in New York

-Go on a road trip with a group of friends and no parents (I did this when I went to New York, but I'll be doing it again this April to Disneyland :) )

-Light fireworks
I did this last summer with Tyler. This was big for me because I'm kind of scared of fire and fireworks, lol

-Gain a true testimony of the scriptures
I remember that night so clearly, I was in my apartment in my room in Logan.

-Go to a real concert
In high school I'd only been to country concerts, which are fun but I knew I had never really experienced a real concert. Backstreet boys was good, but still along the same lines as a country concert. All Time Low was what did it for me, and it was amazing!

-Go to Disney World

-Go eat breakfast at 2 in the morning at Ihop or Denny's.
I did this with Alan back in high school, we went to Denny's in Provo

-Go see WICKED
Went with my sister in 2009 :)

-Be an EFY counselor.
Honestly, the best 2 weeks of my life. That was easily the best choice I ever made.

-Go see a comedian
Brian Regan, Logan 2009

-Try Egg Nog

-Go to Harry Potter Land and buy a wand
Bliss.

-Own 1 pair of converse shoes
I love my grey converse

-And something else that I'll keep to myself

I still have so much I want to do, but I can't believe all of the things I've done that I've always wanted to do. But the next thing that I'm crossing off my list, I can't believe is happening . . .

I'm going. April 13th in Las Vegas Nevada with Hillary and Nic. I'm going to see Yellowcard!!!!!!!! I can't even express how stoked I am! They aren't headlining though, which is kind of a bummer. But All Time Low is and, as I mentioned before, they put on an AWESOME concert. I can't wait. Now after I see them I just have to see Tim McGraw and Billy Joel.

I love having dreams come true.

Thoughts on Valentines Day . . .

2011-02-13T22:07:00.002-07:00

I understand that complaining doesn't change anything. In fact I really don't like complainers, one of my pet peeves on Facebook is when people complain about the weather. We all know you hate the snow and you want to be warm, but whining about it doesn't change anything. Sorry, I'm getting to my point.

I need to break my rules and complain about this lame holiday. It's up there on the Lame Holiday list (that's a blog for another day). I hate this holiday for a few reasons. Part of it being the most obvious reason . . . I am single, which sucks. Mostly I think it's a stupid holiday for the same reason my mom hates mothers day. My sweet mother always says on Mother's day "you shouldn't have 1 day to celebrate and appreciate your mom, you should do that everyday". I agree, and I think the same for this holiday. You shouldn't need a holiday to give you a reason to show your affection, this is something that should be ongoing.

To be honest, I can only think of a few Valentines day experiences that were alright. When I was dating Spencer in 9th grade he bought me the new Jesse McCartney cd for Valentines day. And My senior year Alan brought me a rose. . . other than that I just haven't had a great experience. I think the girly hopeless romantic in me longs for a Valentines day really worth remembering. I don't need a guy to pull out all the stops for me, that's just silly. But I'd love to find someone who would be willing to put some effort into giving me a really really great Valentines day, even though I would tell them it's not a big deal, they would do it anyways.

Ugh, I've been watching WAY too many chick flicks.

Anyways, that's the deep thought of Kelsey on the subject of Valentines. I will be spending it the way I usually do, not expecting anything from anyone and dressing in black with my skeleton earrings :)

I'll get off my soap box now and just look forward to Easter, the next holiday worth celebrating.

F-L-O-R-I-D-A . . . Florida! . . .

2011-02-11T11:09:00.018-07:00

We had so much fun in Florida! The weather was only like 30 degrees warmer than it was back home and it rained more days than it was sunny, but we still had fun! It was just nice to get away for a while. I'll try to load pictures according to park.

Disney World

Universal Studios

Busch Gardens

It's coming . . .

2011-02-02T23:09:00.004-07:00

These pictures alone give me CHILLS! Tomorrow I embark to a state I've never been to for a new adventure. Yep, I'm going to Florida! It's me, mom, dad, Nic and Nic's friend (adopted brother) Riley Strong. We're going for Nic's senior trip and what a great place to go! Sadly, I do kind of wish that we were going to Disney Land so that the whole family could go, but this will be an adventure and I'm stoked! Also . . . I think I'm the most excited for this . . .

Even if this place sucks, I'm determined to have THE TIME OF MY LIFE. When I read the books I always wish more than anything that it was all real, I figure this is as close as I'll ever get :) SO. FREAKIN. EXCITED.

Well, I just had to psych myself up even more! Until I return with pictures of my own . . .

'Mischief Managed'

Living Life, Vacation Style! . . .

2011-01-25T00:13:00.009-07:00

If you've been following my blog, you'll notice I've been going on vacation like crazy, and it's not over yet! (P.S. I still need to blog pictures of New York. Perhaps now would work).

September 2010- Lake Powell

November 2010- California

December 2010- New York

February 2011- I will be going to Florida . . . Disney World!

And April 2011- Yes, I've planned an awesome trip to Disneyland/Knottsberry Farms with my friends.

Can life get any better? Actually it can . . . but I won't talk about that. I love that I have all these opportunities to travel and do fun things! There's a part of me that kinda feels bad, I save up this money with the intent of possibly going to school . . . maybe. And then I find another vacation to go on. But mom says I should go do these fun things :) apparently when you're married and poor and have children it's hard to travel so she thinks I need to take these opportunities . . . and so do I :) I'm thankful to be blessed with a job in which I earn enough money to save for these expenses and still be able to pay for my needs at home. I'm so glad again for my traveling opportunities and I hope I get many more in the future :)

New York-

Was SO FREAKIN AWESOME! It was really cold and I was only there for 2 1/2 days, but it was great.

In a nutshell, New York was sweet. I saw a broadway show, road the subway, got lost several times, fell in love with Times Square, saw Lady Liberty, nearly froze to death, walked on the Brooklyn Bridge, went to The Met, and so much more! It was great :)

Well, more adventures await!