Catching Up: Memorial Day!

For Memorial Day, Paul, Lesley, and I made the drive from Rexburg to Boise....about 4.5 hours.  Paul got off late that night so we didn't get into Boise until 1:30am!  We were so tired by the time we got to bed.  

Sweet Paul fast asleep (notice my pink princess blanket?!?)

The next day, we went to Raging Waters water park, and a military museum with my parents and Calvin.  We had a lot of fun, but made some not-so-great choices.  It wasn't too hot or sunny, so Paul and I didn't wear sunscreen.  This is what happened:

Lobster!

Yeah, the sunburns we both got didn't feel to good, and ended up not too pretty in the next couple of days.  We were both peeling and itchy.  

Calvin and Lesley.  This photo cracks me up---the lens on Calvin's camera is still on!

The boys had a ton of fun at the military museum.  Apparently my dad had always wanted to go, but with 6 girls protesting the trip, this was his first time going.  He had Paul and Calvin on his side, and decided that a "tie" in the voting system was good enough.  So we went.  Actually, it ended up being really fun for us all and I'm glad we made time to go.

Paul on top of a tank!

A really big bullet.

Me without makeup....

Paul was so excited to get to play with this big gun!

Don't tell Mandy, but I told Calvin to aim his gun at me and act like he was shooting me!  Oops.  I don't know what happened to it, though...

Overall, and fun vacation with the fam!

Catching Up: A Few Reception Photos

rexburg reception:
Ok, I promise the wedding part of Paul and my life is almost over!  Ha ha...sorry, I know it's probably getting old by now.  These first photos area time lapse of Paul and I "gently" feeding each other cake.

All is good...

and then I feel Paul is going to be naughty, so I leaned my head back to minimize the damage.

Sure enough....he went in for the kill (so I did too!)

We survived our first fight as a married couple!  Yay!!!  

Paul got cake alllllll over my face and dress, so he helped clean me off.  At least he learned SOMETHING from his mom!  (Just kidding Bonnie!)

And of course this was the top of our beautiful cake.  It was SOOO good.  

I love this lil boy!  My nephew Ammon is just...in his own world.

And of course, the get-away truck.   

After getting in the truck, it was time to start our married life!  Ok....the honeymoon...but It has been one amazing journey!


honeymoon:
We got married and made our escape to the Hilton in Idaho Falls.  It's right by the Idaho Falls Temple and the area is gorgeous!  We opened up all of our cards that night and reveled in all of the fun gift cards and cash we got.  Fun night!  


The next day we left for the Salt Lake Airport, destination:  Florida.  We went on a cruise (courtesy of Paul's parents!) to the Florida keys, and Cozumel, Mexico.  Here are some pictures for you!

Beautiful water.

I LOVE this picture of Paul!  He looks so sweet.  Ha ha, he was probably feeling sick.  After the long flights and then getting on the boat, he didn't feel the greatest.  Poor boy!  Doesn't he look cute in his robe though?  We had matching robes :)

Our ship---The Imagination---docked in Mexico.

And of course we had to stop in Mexico at the Three Amigos Cafe!  Awwwe.....look how skinny I was....

When we got back to Florida, we got on another plane and flew back to Vancouver to get ready for our 2nd reception.  I took Paul to Fort Vancouver and the Pearson Air Museum to show him some cool parts of my hometown.  I think he enjoyed it!

Ha ha, he found the canon at Fort Vancouver and HAD to take a picture by it.  

Me by the sign....apparently all historic sites were free that day, so we didn't even have to pay admission fees!  SWEET.

Ok, this would be Paul at the Pearson Air Museum.  My husband is 12.  

vancouver reception:
After our honeymoon we had another reception.  Crazy, right?  I know, but we have a lot of friends that wanted to come.  It ended up being nice to go to Vancouver again and see old friends....and of course my family again.  I know there are some pictures out there somewhere of this reception, but it's going to take me a little while to find them.  Sorry :(


We had our reception, which turned out really well, and then left the next day to make the drive back home to Idaho.  It had been such a long week---by the time we got home, we were dead tired!  Our apartment was an absolute disaster (because we hadn't really had any time to unpack before we had to leave for our flights). We didn't even have a shower curtain!  Showering the next morning was quite interesting.  My amazing husband somehow made it into work that day while I stayed home and tried to get things organized.  On top of that, school would start in the next couple of days, so I had to go buy my books, school supplies, and groceries before all of the new freshmen got to town and cleaned out the local Walmart.  WHEW!  It was such an amazing experience, but I'm glad it's been conquered!!

Catching Up: Wedding Day!

My parfait.

On April 10th we were married.  We got engaged in 7 weeks, but had a 6 month engagement.  It felt like it took forever to get to April!  That winter in Idaho felt especially cold and dreary---I was so glad to see it go.  April 10th was the last day of Winter Semester at school.  I had barely finished taking my finals the day before, and was busy trying to get my apartment clean so that I could check out of housing.  The next morning, my cousin Jamie came over to my apartment to do my hair while my sister ran to McDonald's to grab me a yogurt parfait and orange juice.


Like I said, Jamie came over and did my hair.  She did such an amazing job!  I was so happy she helped me out.  When I asked her to do my hair, I gave Jamie a few pictures of what I was looking for.  Here were my ideas:

Jamie kind of combined the two looks and my hair turned out like this:

Didn't she do an awesome job?!?  I think so.  I loved my hair.  Thanks Jamie!!

After the craziness of the morning, Paul picked me up and we headed for the temple.  I wore a black and white dress to the temple but forgot a slip!  Needless to say, I was a little uneasy that morning!  It was windy and....things could have turned out badly.  Thankfully, all went well.  

After being sealed in the Rexburg Temple to Paul, we came out for pictures with family!  It was a happy day.

Just exiting the temple after being sealed.

Outside of the temple.

This was kind of a candid shot---I found that candids usually ended up being my favorites!

This is my FAVORITE picture from our wedding day.  We walked across the street from the temple to the university gardens and took pictures.  I especially liked this picture because, on our first date, Paul and I sat on this swing and talked for almost an hour.  It was a great night and meant a lot to be able to take a wedding picture in this spot.

Catching Up: Engagement Photos

In February, Paul and I went and took pictures for our wedding announcements.  We went with Kim of Courthouse Basement Design.  She did a great job taking our pictures and designing our announcements.  She also gave us a really reasonable deal.  Not that I'm trying to advertise for her, but if you're looking for a good designer and good prices, check out her website :)


Ok, so here are a bunch of the photos that she took of us.  Enjoy :)

I have NO idea what I was looking at...

We asked Kim to put some of our pictures in sepia tones.  I think they looked really cool!

This picture was like near the very end of the photo shoot.  We were so stinking cold by then!

I think it was Paul's idea for him to dip me.  I was worried about this pose....but it turned out to be my favorite!

Kim had us do a kissing pose.  We were so embarrassed because we are not fans of PDA (Public Displays of  Affection), but again, the photo turned out to be one of my favorites,

Ha ha, Paul surprised me with a kiss at the end of the shoot!

All in all, we were really happy with the pictures.  Not long after we got our pictures back, we had Kim design our announcements and we were so happy with them!

Catching Up: FINALLY ENGAGED! OFFICIALLY!

In December, Paul and I planned a trip to West Yellowstone with two of our other friends, Andrew and Paul H.  We were staying at Paul H.'s parents timeshare and going snowmobiling.  I was really excited because it was going to be my first time snowmobiling...but I was also a little scared.  What if I fell off?!?

We got to West Yellowstone and it was like, 1 degree.  If that.  It was so chilly!  We pulled up to this gorgeous time share resort and I thought to myself I'm home.....

The view from our condo.

Annnnnnd another.

Gorgeous, right?!?  The snow was perfect, there were trees everywhere, and then of course the condos were awesome.

Even more awesome news, because I was the only girl on the trip, I got the master suite.  A huge room with a king size bed and my own bathroom.  Ahhhhh, it was amazing.

Andrew making....breakfast?

A view of the living room, dining room, and kitchen.

Everyone settled down in the living room with blankets and pillows and we were watching some movie on tv.  All of a sudden, the fire alarm went off!  I couldn't believe it.  Everyone in the whole place had to go outside in the freezing cold--and it had started snowing.  I went and sat in Paul's truck to try and stay warm while he and the other boys tried to go find out what had happened.  I got SOOO bored in the truck and got to thinking....what if Paul had my ring with him?  He hadn't proposed yet, and this vacation might be his plan to do so.  I decided to do a little sneaking around.  I found a little hidden compartment in his truck and, low and behold, there was a little Jensen Jewelry bag sitting right there with a box in it.  I was about to grab it when Paul opened the driver's door and said, NOOOOO!

Dang it.

I so just wanted my ring but Paul said No....not yet.  He said I would get it when I least expected it.  Why do boys make you wait?!?  

Finally we got to go back into our condo.  Apparently someone had a fire or tripped a fire alarm because the lobby ceiling was leaking gallons of water everywhere.  Great.  


When we got back to the condo, I went to the bathroom.  I opened the bathroom door to go find Paul and was shocked to see him kneeling there by the door.  I screamed!  I was so shocked!  He then asked, Will you marry me?  I was so surprised that he was asking me...and that I was standing in a bathroom...that I don't think I said anything to him.  I threw my arms around his neck and he asked me again if I would marry him.  I said Yes!  


Lucky Paul :)

And a happy ending for me:  I finally got my ring!

The next day was full of fun....and FREEZING temperatures!  To start off, we went snowmobiling.  I had never been so I was very nervous, but I ended up really liking it.  The one thing I wished we had done differently was remember my snow clothes.  Paul's grandma had lent me snow boots, good gloves, and the like.  Paul had an extra pair of snow pants that he was letting me use.  Unfortunately, we left them in my car back in Rexburg.  Dang it.  

Andrew, Paul and I getting ready to hit the snow!

Paul H. on his ride.

Everything was great at first.  I got used to the feeling of snowmobiling and was able to relax a little.  At one point we were driving through beautiful white hills lined with gorgeous, tall trees.  It was amazing!  Then the cold set in.  My jeans were definitely not keeping me warm, and my Isotoner driving gloves weren't helping either.  I told Paul that I was too cold and we had to go back (seriously, I couldn't feel my fingers).  Paul H. and Andrew were on the sled infront of us and, while we were driving back, ours died.  Apparently it had some sort of problem and would run fine until the gas got to 1/2 tank.  At that point, it would die.  Aaaaand that's exactly what it did.  Since Paul H. and Andrew were ahead of us, they didn't see us die.  I thought we were going to freeze there and die!  Luckily they are smart boys and, when they hadn't seen us for a while, they came back and were able to tow our sled back to town.  

Scary!!

When we got back to the condo, I went straight for the hot tub.  It helped a lot!  

The hot tub that brought the feeling back to my arms and legs!

Paul told me that he had planned to propose to me in a different way, but he was glad that he hadn't.  I asked him why and he gave me 2 reasons:  1)  I was too impatient to wait any longer, and 2) I would have said No.  I laughed and said, What are you talking about ?!?  Paul had planned to take me out snowmobiling somewhere kind of remote, and then pretend that the sled had died.  He would get off to check out the engine, and then ask me to come and help him.  He was then going to get down on one knee and propose.  I told him that was a good idea, but he was right...I was so cold I would have said No.  Ha ha, good thing Paul is smart!