December 31, 2008

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Happy New Years Eve!!!! I hope everyone is as excited as I am for the new year to come. The year 2008 has been full of some really crazy events, and I wanted to just throw in a quick update to everyone to see how far things have come.

The year started out pretty exciting. I took the most fun vacation so far to Florida to visit some friends that had moved out there, Kyle and Cody. My friend Ashley came with me and we spent 10 Days in Tampa, FL basking in the sun, playing at Busch Gardens, and enjoying the Florida area. It really was a blast! The next few months were pretty typical and casual. In May Tasha and I drove to Hays, Kansas to pick Kyle up. He was moving back to UT from FL and his car broke down there. We rescued him and then drove back in my car, leaving his there (yep, it's still there). This summer we spent working and hanging out with friends. Some weekends were spent boating, semi-camping and doing some random fun things, but mostly we just chilled at Lagoon. In July (24th of July) is when Josh and I met and went on our first date. What started out as a "lets see how this goes" quickly turned into a "OMG this guy really has a hold on me, he is amazing and I want more!" HAHA. Most of you know how things progressed after that. We went ring shopping the end of September and on October 22 he took me to the SLC Temple grounds and proposed on the stairs (yep, still squee-ing about how freaking cute this was). Since then we have just been planning things and getting stuff ready for the big day. Latest development is that I made a payment to our Photographer today. that pretty much brings you up to date. In case you needed to know, we have 132 Days Left. :)

December 29. 2008

Monday, December 29, 2008

Ahhh... Christmas has come and gone, and it was a GREAT year!! We did the 12 Days of Christmas and it turned out really really great. We also had Kim and Shay all weekend and it was really nice to get to spend extra time with them. They got spoiled for Christmas and we are so grateful for all the people who thought of them and gave them gifts. We weren't able to do much ourselves, so it was really nice of everyone. Josh and I got some wedding money, photo albums, his and hers journals, a really nice picture frame, more chocolate than we can eat, and this great dutch oven pan. We each also got a couple new shirts and some date money (YAY!). Overall, I'm very happy that we were able to spend so much time together. I have added some new pictures to the photo album if you want to take a look. McKay also called from Chile and I got to talk to him a little bit. He was so excited and said "wow, I'm talking to my sister!" and "Pretend I'm hugging you, and I will be hugging you in a year and six months!" Other than that we didn't do too much wedding related stuff. We bought the cardboard cutout for McKay for the wedding reception, and checked out a few other things. Bridesmaids dresses are my biggest hurdle right now, so I have recruited a couple helpers (Tasha and Heidi) and so far they are finding some great options. If all else fails, we can make them... but I'm trying to stay below $50 a dress, if possible. If anyone knows of anything, please help!!! Oh, and 134 Days left!!! :)




December 22, 2008

Another great weekend together! We had some holiday parties to attend, and I even did kareoke at one! But the most exciting thing that happened is we got our ties for the men! They are green and have pink and black stripes. I really like them, but most importantly, Josh loves them! We also stopped by Zurchers to price out napkins. We picked out a cardboard cut out for McKay and discovered that they carry those 5lb bags of special colored M&M's that we wanted. YAY! Oh, and they are only like $90.00 for all 10 lbs. SWEET!!! I'm so excited! Someway, somehow, we continue to be blessed with everything. We continue to find unexpected discounts, clearances, deals and bonus packages with each thing we have bought so far for our wedding. We are continually being blessed with these unexpected miracles and are extremely humbled by it. The generosity that friends and family have shown is overwhelming and all we can express to you all is a great big thank you. We pray everyday for guidance and assistance in knowing how and what to do and to buy, and we truely feel that God is answering our prayers. We are so grateful for Him and for the comfort He offers and the opportunity we have to come closer to Him through our marriage. Again, thank you to everyone for all you have done so far. 141 days to go!

December 15, 2008

Hello Everyone! It has been a while, I know. Not too many new developments over the past couple months, mostly just odds and ends things. Honestly, with some of the holiday planning and celebration it has left little room for wedding planning. But no worries, we are still on track and excited as ever! Last week we had our first consultation meeting with our wedding planner and things are going great! They gave us some great ideas and helped us out with scheduling on our wedding day. We have changed the times for some of the events, so please check the event page for those changes. I also have made a very comprehensive budget which is going to be an amazing tool for us in the coming months. Almost all of our Save the Date cards have been handed out, so if you still don't have one, you may want to call Josh or I and make sure we have your address. There are still a few addrsses we are missing. Lastly, I have deleted all of the guest list off of the website. I did this for two reasons. #1 it is too hard to keep two different records updated, and since the auto uploader thing doesn't really work it was taking a long time to make changes to each record. #2 when I say it takes a long time to make changes, I'm not kidding. It's so slow to open an individual record, and then to save it again. It's very annoying, so I'm sticking to my Excel sheet. HAHA Today's count: 148 Days (4 months 4 weeks and 2 days!). YAY Merry Christmas to everyone!


Looking at Lights-

October 25, 2008

So we had a final meeting at our reception hall that we like. Josh approved of it as well and so we put a down payment on it and reserved our date. Our date is now officially Tuesday May 12, 2009. YAY!! I also ordered Save the Date cards that were SUPER inexpensive and really cute from Costco (thanks Robbie!). So I got a bunch of them ready for the Jackson family Halloween party tonight. We finished up our costumes and then headed to the party. Josh introduced me to a couple people, bu tthen Heidi broke the ice by making an announcment to everyone that I was going to be her new sister. Lots of people came up to us after that. HAHA. It was good though, and I had a lot of fun at the party. And wow, they made some good food. lol. We handed out the Save the Date cards to those that were there. After the party we grabbed a movie and headed back to my house. Josh gave me some Aleve for my back and about 10 minutes into the movie I was asleep. HAHA. Good day though. :)

October 22, 2008



Guess what everyone? We are officially engaged!!!! YAY! Lol I’m sure everyone is dying to hear how it all happened, but since I’m a bride and every detail counts right now, I’m going to give you a very LONG version of the story (sorry, but this is my blog haha). So make sure you have a few minutes to read this, it a good one!Alright, so the day started like any other normal day. Got up, did my hair, took off to work. I usually take my make up with me because 4:50am is super early and I tend to sleep in as much as possible. Sadly, I forgot my makeup this morning. So I was eyeshadowless and au natural, but I was in a pretty good mood anyway. Work has been busy as we have a huge project we are working on involving our 1800+ clientele. Josh texted me around 8 and said he didn’t feel well and he was going home. He tends to go to bed later than he should, and I felt his lack of sleep was probably getting to him. I suggested he take a nap and I left him alone for a couple hours to do that. When he finally texted me again, he said he wasn’t able to fall asleep (not a surprise if you know Josh at all). So he was up, playing online poker and Mario Kart on the Wii. He was already planning on coming down to my house that evening to hang out and he said he was going to go visit his sister Heidi and then head down to meet me at work for a late lunch. Before he got there I got some frustrating news from a friend and my good news was spoiled a bit. He told me he had picked up a “little card” for me and that it will make me feel better. He ended up getting to my work around 2:30 in the afternoon and we took off for a lunch break. When I got in his car he pointed out the “little card” for me on the back seat. It wasn’t a little card at all, instead it was a poster sized card that was face down so I couldn’t see it. Neither of us were hungry (he ate at Heidi’s, and at work we had a pot luck Dip Day) so we decided to just go for a drive. He said I could have my card when we got there, but the way he said it made it sound like he knew where we were going… So I asked him about it a couple different times, and each time he said he didn’t know, that he was just driving… I knew he was planning some sort of surprise, but I of course didn’t suspect what it was. So we drive downtown and pull into a parking lot across from the Conference Center. He grabbed the card (actually TWO poster boards facing each other) and I realized it had tons of candy attached to it like those candy grams people do (SQUEE cute!). So we walked onto the temple grounds and he was leading the way to where ever he wanted to sit (we passed about 20 benches so I figured he was heading to a specific spot). He ended up leading me to sit right on the temple stairs on the east side. We sat side by side on the stairs with the card in our laps. I read it out loud and of course got all emotional while reading it. Josh has this uncanny way of making me feel better when I’m down and making me feel like the most important woman in the world. He always treats me like a lady and is amazingly chivalrous. I love that about him, and his card said all of that as well. So when I got done with the card I thanked him for it, gave him a big hug and told him how much it meant. He pulled the card off my lap and said he had one more thing for me. He walked down a couple steps and kneeled right in front of me and asked me if I would marry him. I of course am oblivious and didn’t expect that coming (HAHAHAHAHAHAHA) so I was in a bit of shock that he was asking me right then. I of course said yes!!! And we hugged each other and stood there on the stairs to our temple for a few moments. And I was crying again (go me!). He realized he needed to get me back to work, so we had to shuffle off, but we were stopped by some cute little old ladies that work at the temple and they shouted their congratulations at us. Lol. We hustled back to the car and I was still in this shock mood. We laughed about how him and Heidi had worked on the card and planned it all that morning when I thought he was home all sick and sleepy. Lol. Little deceiver… HAHA. When we got back to my work, I needed to give him my house key so he could go hang out while I finished my work day. We came up stairs with my huge two-poster-sized-candy-filled card and my office started to ask what it was and where we went for lunch. I told them what happened and everyone was really excited. Some of the girls had a bet going of when I would get my ring, so they were bummed they lost! HAHA. But now we are officially engaged and I told my mom she has free reign to call whomever she would like and spread the news. I’m so twitterpated and excited and scared and happy and ecstatic and nervous and anxious all at the same time. But mostly, I feel joy. Joy for what Josh and I have found together and joy for the life and eternity we will be spending together. :)

October 13, 2008

Moving... yep, once again I'm moving. That will bring my life long total up to 15 times that I have moved. Go me! Of course, I'm now an expert packer and good with fitting things in and making it all work out. Our move in date is supposed to be Wednesday the 15th, so lets hope the landlord is still on schedule with the new carpet, paintng and repairs.Also, Josh really wanted his younger sister Tiffany to be in the line. So we adjusted things a bit and added another guy to his side so it was even. It is going to work out really well. I actually like the idea of having more people in the line. YAY! We also went over our budget for the next couple months and what we need to look out for. Everything is laid out nice and neat and everything will be covered. YAY!!! Oh, and it' a $20 limit for Christmas. :)

October 10, 2008

So I still don't have my ring. I've decided Josh is holding it hostage and the only way to get it is to somehow pay him in amazing food or a really good dinner and a movie. HAHA all well. I did have it in my possesion for a couple days becasue I was sent to turn it in to get it sized. But I was very good and didn't touch it. Though it was like torture to see it sitting on my night stand and not be able to have it. I'm glad it's at the jewelers now so it's out of sight. I'm like a little kid with ice cream right now. HAHA. Other than that lets see what else is going on... We have dcided that we are going to use my mom's cousin's reception center in Bountiful. We haven't reserved the day yet, but we know thats the least expensive and most compatible place. It's the Elderedge Manor if anyone wants to take a peek. We also will have to either change our date completely, or have the reception a different day. We will get a family package, but it only can be offered on a Tuesday or Wednesday. We talked last night and we will probably move the whole date ot either May 12 or 13. Works for me, I am not being picky at this point. We also went over honeymoon stuff yesterday. Looked at the Florida Keys, at cruises to the Carribbean, at cruises to Hawaii. We don't know what we want... haha. Last peice of news, my roommates and I signed the lease on a house. We move in next week. The place is in Woods Cross and is awesome! I'm so excited. YAY!

October 4, 2008

I FOUND MY DRESS!!!!!! Oh I am so dang excited! It is gorgeous and I love it and WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! Haha, Yep, I'm crazy today. But i'm excited so I don't care! :)

September 29, 2008

I made appointments today to go try on dresses at Fantasy Bridal and Allyses Bridal. Allyses closes at 9pm but is in Orem, so I'm sure we can make it by 8:30 on Friday. Fantasy closes at 7pm so I can't even get there in time during the week. I made that appointment at 10:00am on Saturday. I thought I could get it over with in the morning and then make it back to watch the second session of conference before we head to Lagoon. **SHOOT** Scratch the Friday at Allyses... it's opening day of Frightmares. HAHA We will have to hit that shop a different weekend. Sigh...

September 27, 2008



Well I am excited to say that we have picked out our rings. SQUEE!!! Mine is gorgeous! The main diamond is princess cut and sits high by itself. Then there are smaller princess cut diamonds that run underneath it and down both sides of the band. It is super sparkly and so pretty! i'm os excited! And then his band is silver, not too thick, has a row of diamonds going diagnally across it. He is holding onto mine, since he still has to officially ask me. HAHA. And of course I'm holding onto his (for dear life). We also went looking at places to live this weekend. Our lease is up at the end of November and Robbie and I have to find somewhere to go that we can afford. SIGH... good news is we found this amazing place just west of where we are. And there is somewhere for Josh's kids to play in the back on the weekends they are with us. We are calling the guy today and praying it will work out.

September 26, 2008

Well let me get everyone up to date on what we have done so far. :) First question first, no it is not official yet. that means no I don't have my ring yet (sad face), and no we haven't announced it to the world yet. HAHA. But this is for sure, and I think Josh can echo me in saying that I've never experienced the emotions and frame of mind and clarity of thought as I am right now. People always say that love clouds the mind and blinds you. But I think true love is the opposite. There is no reason why we should string this along and wait. We know we want to be together forever, so we are going to get that done as soon as possible. HAHA. As for the planning, well we want to be sealed in the Salt Lake Temple on May 15, 2009. We picked out colors - green and pink. And we have picked our photographer - Creativ Productions. We have talked about many details and many things we don't want. There are still a lot of decisions up in the air because we still don't have a reception site. And that determines decorations, food, music, etc. But we are praying about it and looking around. If anyone sees anything, please let us know! :)

September 20, 2008

Bridal Expo. It was good for the most part, lots of booths. Highlights were probably seeing my photographer and letting Kyle and Tasha see who we'd chosen; getting my hair done at the salon booth for free; seeing the dresses at the Allyse's Bridal booth (live models); and then Tasha had her number called for a drawing - we won the rental of a drink fountain! YAY!After the Expo we headed home for a bit, and then to Bountiful to see Elderege Manor. It is owned by my mother's cousin and we fell in love with it before we even knew that. HAHA. The place has these amazing gardens and pathways and everything outside is beautiful. However, the inside is not my favorite and is very antique and old fashioned. They have amazing service and such there, but I can't customize any of the linen colors, center peices, or decorations. So... I'm not sure it will work, even with the very generous family discount. The search continues for now. If we find nothing else then we may still use them.Finally, we headed over to David’s Bridal for my 4:30 appointment. Wasn't hard to find something I liked because they only have three temple ready dresses. I only liked the style o two of them. And my mom spotted a gown with little sleeves on the $99 rack. Sadly it wouldn't fit and I didn't like it. But one of the other Temple Ready ones was nice. It didn't pop out at me thuogh... The girl there said that when it is the right gown, the bride will know. They won't be able to get it out of thier head. So the search is still on for that too...