our first year

ONE YEAR! I know, it's crazy!

How has a year already come & gone right before our eyes?

I feel like it was just yesterday that I put on a white dress and married the best boyfriend ever {he still is, btw}.

To celebrate our first anniversary, Cam and I took a little road trip to Las Vegas making a few stops along the way. We didn't really have a concrete plan besides the nights that we booked in Vegas so we pretty much just did whatever our hearts desired for a week! It was so great—no work, just fun.  We love this summer in Logan but once in a while you've just gotta get out. 

First of all, we kicked off our trip by digging into our frozen cake.. which we only took one bite of. haha

Our trip started by heading up to a place that is near & dear to my heart: West Yellowstone. We stopped at Mesa falls on the way and then saw Beauty and the Beast at the Playmill Theatre. This show was extra fun to watch for me because the last time the playmill put it on, I was just lucky enough to be in it :)

Then we started in the direction of Vegas but we couldn't resist a little stop at Lagoon. Neither one of us had been in a really really long time so we had been wanting to do this for a while now. Going on all the rides made me realize that my body just can't handle those crazy rides the way that it used to! At least now I know which rides to avoid.

Our next stop was St. George. We won a free rental at The Beach at Sand Hollow so we had a little night of boating, surfing and swimming with friends which was the perfect way to escape the suffocating desert heat!

{we also stopped at the narrows on our way back from Vegas, which took a little bit of a pep-talk to get through. ha!}

And then, we finally made it to Vegas where we relaxed, shopped, and ate, a lot. We also visited the Vegas sign which surprisingly neither on of us had done before.

 It was so much fun to take a trip with just the both of us. It made me especially reminiscent of our honeymoon {watch here}. I am so happy and thankful every day that I married a boy who I love more and more everyday. I thought I loved him as much as I could possibly on the day I married him but I love him 365x more than that now. Even though we are not perfect people, I know that we are perfect for each other.

happy One-Year to us!

oh, sweet home

The other day, my lovely and talented friend Jennika Rae asked me to model for some photos she needed to take for her photography class (below are a few from the series that she is doing)...

and so, because she was conveniently at our house, and obviously very qualified, I ran inside when she was done and told Cam to hurry and come outside.

This was his initial reaction to spontaneous picture taking.....

but then he realized that I wouldn't let him leave without getting a few good ones.

And we got a few! Here are my two favorites.

  So although these weren't planned, I still love them and am so happy that Jennika was willing to take a few spur of the moment "family photos" for us! We finally—after almost 10 months— have a first photo in front of our first apartment!

yay!

Bridal Shower Bonanza!

Yes, I just looked up the word Bonanza to see if I was using it in the right context...

bonanza |bəˈnanzə|noun [often with adj. ]a situation or event that creates a sudden increase in wealth, goodfortune, or profits : a bonanza in military sales | [as adj. ] a bonanza year for the computer industry.• a large amount of something desirable : the festive feature film bonanza.

I'd say if anything I've had a sudden increase of fun and Gifts for days!
If getting engaged has taught me anything it is that I have some good party throwing friends & family!These past weeks I have been blown away by how thoughtful people are! I can only hope to be as amazing and thoughtful as my friends (special shout out to the 10 shewolves... TEN! And they're all fun and cute and I could go on for days about how much I love them—anyways...), YW leaders, aunts, cousins grandmas, sisters, and mostly, my Mom. I look up to them all so much. They have gone out of their way to make this engagement extra special.

The best roommates/friends in the world!

Nothin' like a good old fashioned pole dancing Bachelorette party!

Walker Shower!

With two weeks left on the countdown things are getting a little crazy and I'm getting a lot more anxious and excited so I will take any distraction I can get—not that planning isn't already distracting enough—but I felt the need to slip this blogpost in because these are the happy days that I want to remember. I know I know, I'm a journal nerd. 

one month = 31 days!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

the countdown has begun.

—well technically I've been counting down since we got engaged—

but I mean, the FINAL countdown has begun.

I cannot believe that this engagement has gone by so quickly.

4 months down, 1 to go.

It's almost like the closer that it gets, time slows down even more.

We're sending our announcements out this week and then it's

just fine-tuning for the wedding plans until the big day!

(I even threw in some engagement sneak peaks!!)

 

But, most importantly,

  there are only 28 days until I get to see, and hug, and kiss,

and then marry my big spoon, boyfriend, fiance, dreamboat...

you get the point!!!
I.can. NOT.wait

Save the Date!

Oh... did I mention that on February 18th
that I was asked that question that you dream about your whole life?!
Yep!
I'm engaged
and I have never been happier in my life.


So here's the background story—
Cam tricked me into thinking this video was all my idea. Our original plan was to do a video about how we met with two sides of the story. So we both told our story and at the end of my "interview" the adorable Hailey Haugen and her fiance left me alone with the camera so that I could say something personal to Cam.  About half way through my message, Cam crept over to "ask me some of his own interview questions".... you get to see what happened next.

Royal Wedding

Last night I decided to stay up and watch the Royal Wedding.

Me and my friend Shelly stayed up til about 3 watching pre-wedding hype and then we hit a wall and she decided to sleep and just watch it TiVo this morning.

 I wanted to watch it all Live!

 So I  took a little nap until the ceremony. 

And I am SO glad that I was awake to watch it.

Everything about it was so Royal and regal.

Although I don't think Prince William is the best looking man on this planet, I think that they looked so cute and happy together!

––sorry...I'm being such a girl right now but I seriously loved every second of it.––

Even though it was streaming live at 4am in the states 

{quite late or early depending on whether you stayed up or woke up for it!}

I still felt the excitement over my sleepiness.

How many times do you get to watch a royal wedding??

I thought everything about the ceremony was so traditional and interesting

and I am in love with her dress and that veil. She looked perfect.

I'd be glad to just have her Reception dress as my wedding dress!!

Look at that waist!

The funny thing about it is that all the girls in my family stayed up for it. 

ShaLyse watched it in bed.

Jenna watched it alone at home and clapped her hands in excitement when Kate got in the car.

Mom stayed up til 8:30am (true devotion!) and cried.

& I just enjoyed the entire magical splendor of it all!

And I may or may not have watched it 2 or 3 times since last night...

Just too good.

It's so exciting to watch such a historical event in hopes that someday I can tell my children that I stayed up and soaked everything about it in!

Now, I think I'll just spend the rest of my day speaking in an English accent!

The end.

goodbye 2010. hello 2011.

This year has been full of so many adventures. 

I...

• finished my freshman year of college and hatched out of my cocoon to become a social butterfly :)
• tried out for a play and tried my hand at acting
• dated. A lot. and I learned a lot.
• made friends that will stay with me throughout my whole life.
• didn't go home for my first summer in my entire life.
• saw Old Faithful for the first time under a full moon.
• snuck up to the Historic crows nest TWICE! adrenaline rush. 
• drove to California 3 times.
• learned how to do a round-off back handspring
• was a bridesmaid for the first time.
• realized that I have so many things to do with my life and don't quite know how to fit it all in*

*which leads me to my new years resolutions

• sew something (a quilt, a shirt, a purse, a pillowcase..... something somewhat impressive).
• start Really getting into graphic design and learning more about it.

I feel like I should throw some don't drink soda, don't eat sweets, don't eat more than a handful of chips a day but that's not gonna happen so here's my alternative:

• run a half marathon.

Might not sound like an impressive list but for me to accomplish these things would be a dream come true. 

And like my dad always says, 

"A goal unwritten is just a dream"

(Thanks Rollie for the words of wisdom!)

So that's that. I am going to make my dreams come true this year...

I have a lot more dreams than this but they are more of personal goals that I keep to myself in my heart and just wait for and work for everyday...

NOW.

Prepare for a picture OVER LOOOOOAD!

I ended the year with a bang by taking a road trip to California with a bunch of close friends for Jennika & Sam's wedding!

Let me tell you something,
There's nothing to bring you closer to your friends than a road trip.
Maybe too close. Like, the brink of closeness if there is one. Bubbles do not exist.

Let me tell you something else.
 These two have more friends than anyone I know. 

It makes sense though, they are two of the friendliest and most fun people I know.

To sum it all up in a nutshell, the wedding was a blast! Everything about it was beautiful and fun just like Jenn and Sam!
So here you go. 

They're married!

The wedding party!

So to start off this new year

I have to tell all my friends that I'm so so lucky to have:

I love you!

My Best Friend's Wedding.

Soooo my best friend is getting married.
Yep. All those talks about how we would wait 'til we Graduated.
Out the window! haha
Although I am super sad that the slumber parties will be cut down substantially
(unless I kidnap her... which, let's be honest, will be often)

I am very very happy for her happiness.

Anywho, a little while ago I had the opportunity to take her engagement photos.
This was in place of my sister, Jenna who really is an amazing photographer but unfortunately couldn't make it.
Jennika is so great. So easy-going. And apparently has a lot of faith in me seeing as how
she asked me to do it.
I kept trying to talk her out of it but with persuasion and help from my lovely friend Madi, I felt okay taking the pictures.
It turned out really well but I think it's just because both Jennika & Sam are extremely photogenic.
Either way we got some really good pictures out of it!

I love love love both of these people and can't wait for their wedding.

DECEMBER 31st! Yay!