Wedding updates

It seems like I haven't written a post for such a long time......oh that's because I haven't. A lot of people have asked me how the wedding planning is coming along and so here are all the updates and detail.

Rafe and I have been busy little beavers trying to plan this whole thing, most of the time we work quite well together, sometimes mmmmmm; not so much. We always end up seeing eye to eye on things so it works out. At first I had a really hard time even deciding what colors we should have for the reception etc., I went back and forth on every possible color combination and when I thought I had decided I would change my mind. I finally landed on yellow and I am quite happy with the final decision. I scoured the Internet for all things wedding, looking at sites like Martha Stewart, Wedding Bee, and every blog out there that had mention of the word wedding.

Since we got engaged in October I wanted to take our engagement photos as soon as possible before it turned cold, you never know what the weather will be from one moment to the next living in Utah. We were really lucky because the Saturday we took our pictures it was perfect fall weather. We really like our photographer she made us feel really comfortable, especially Rafe since he doesn't love having his picture taken (many of you may notice that so many of our pictures together he is usually making some funny face). I was very happy with how the pictures turned out and we decided pretty easily on an announcement photo. Hopefully when we take our bridal pictures it won't be a stormy snowy day, fingers crossed.

Planning the reception and dinner has been a task to be sure, we have gone back and forth on what we want but I think we have it all squared away. We have been working on decor, centerpieces, food ideas and everything else in between. I think we have it all planned out and now we have a moment to breathe until the week before when the whole plan has to be implemented. I am very excited that my sister Laura and her entire family including husband Nate will be flying in the week before to spend some time with us. Nate has been MIA for most of our family adventures since he is really busy with dental school out in Ohio, so it will be really fun to have him around. We'll have 3 out of 4 sisters very pregnant when we get married so I let them choose whatever they want and what is most comfortable to wear. We've planned the cake, flowers, colors, venue, dress, suit, ties, jewelry, pictures, food, etc, etc, etc, and most importantly we booked our honeymoon. I will be glad when it's all said and done and I'm sure Rafe will be glad that I won't be super bossy anymore!

I know that December will fly by because of the holiday and January will be here before we know it. I am very excited for January 15th to get here!

Hey Batter Batter Batter

From about April until mid October I am consumed by one thing. Softball. I love playing and if you ask Rafe he'll probably tell you I love it a little to much, this year I got to play with four teams and I had a blast. I made some really great friends and I cannot wait until next season. I consider myself a pretty good player, and I can hold my own. If you look at some of the pictures below you might think otherwise.

Thanks to the teams that allowed me to play with them this year. Thanks Business Time, Thundercats I and II and Team Buster. We experienced wins, losses, crazy umpires, championships, and of course played teams that didn't belong in the same league. I'm talking to you Copper Mountain.

Go Thundercats! BYU Champs

Trying to dive for a ball....didn't turn out to well. Just some of the injuries sustained this year.

Going to the Chapel

So many of you know Rafe and I have been dating for a little over 10 months and its been a great 10 months with him, so its finally official; we are engaged. YAY for us! We are both really excited about spending our lives together and building our family.

We met right after I moved to Salt Lake two years ago, I was sitting in Sacrament and he was on the stand counting the attendance that day (he is the ward clerk) and he had caught my eye, in fact I think he caught me looking at him a few times during the meeting. We had only talked briefly a few time to discuss business like my membership records and tithing and such. He and I didn't have much interaction beyond that and shortly after I started attending a different ward. Almost a year later I finally transferred my records to the ward I had been attending and received an email from Rafe. He said he was sorry I wasn't in the ward anymore but maybe we could get together some time. I quickly replied back to him that I would love to do something sometime, and gave him my phone number. In the age of digital everything I was so impressed that he ACTUALLY called me to ask me out and not message me on facebook or text to ask for a date, he won major points right off the bat for that one.

Our first date was great, we had dinner and laughed so much, we knew we would be fast friends because we both had snarky remarks to make about the awkward Jazz fan who asked for a picture of Andrei Kirilenko while he was eating with his family. After dinner we went back to his house and played a couple rounds of ping pong, I thought I held my own but he still beat me. Come to find out just a couple weeks ago when we were playing ping pong he brought up the fact that on our first date I was serving incorrectly but he didn't want to let me know because he liked me (what a gentleman).

I was definitely excited to have made at least at that moment a new friend, but luck was on my side and he asked me out for another date and we've been together since.

Rafe is so great in many ways, he has the kindest heart and is never one to turn his nose up at serving anyone in his ward. Since I've known him he has moved probably seven or eight people, made countless runs to the airport to drop off or pick someone up, and many other selfless acts. I'm not surprised at the number of friends he has, he is so willing to help out a friend at any time. He has a great sense of humor and you can always count on him for a quickwitted comeback.

We always have a great time together and I always laugh when I'm with him, he thinks I'm pretty funny too which I can't argue with. I've become a Ute fan, Brewers, and Jazz fan all because of Rafe. I have come to appreciate tv shows like Top Gear and he has even got me to watch one of his favorite movies Hot Rod; although I still can't get on board with Burn Notice. He has learned to tolerate watching Project Runway with me, but won't budge and give Glee a chance.

He lets it slide when I make noise when tasting my food or smelling it before I eat it and perhaps finds it a little endearing when my body temp ranges from extreme hypothermia to heat stroke at any given moment. He patiently waits for me to finish laughing before I can tell a story or joke because I think its so funny I can't stop laughing long enough to deliver the punch line. He is a wonderful person and I am lucky to have found him. He was so supportive and patient with me when my mom suddenly passed away and gives me comfort when I'm feeling sad and missing her. He made the trek in blizzard conditions up to Idaho to spend Easter with me and my family and survived meeting all of the extended family. He spent the weekend camping with my family and happily set up and took down mine and Laura's tent, played horseshoes, indulged me and played games with us and sat around smokey campfires. We made road trips together to San Diego and Phoenix and still wanted to date after we got back home.

I am very grateful that we have been able to come together as a couple and now make the transition to husband and wife. It will be an exciting journey.

At least I'd get a purple heart

Our friend Erin decided that for her birthday she wanted to get a group together and go paintballing, and we were all on board. We arrived and were escorted to the waiting area to receive our guns and masks, then given instructions how the game will be played. I felt unsure of what to expect at this point so our group decided to walk around to the side of the arena where you could see inside to the game being played. The referee inside signaled to start the game and then all you could hear is continuous shooting from the paintball guns and the loud bam as it hits the walls and barricades and see this large group of boys running for cover and trying to shoot their opponent. Now I'm nervous. I stand there in awe and I think how in the world am I going to get out of this.

Well our group is called and we enter into the arena, we are split into two teams and sent to opposite sides of the playing field. I tried to figure out a place to run and hide as soon as the game starts and plan some sort of strategy and before I know it the ref yells go and we scramble to find a place to hide while rapidly shooting. It was funny how in my brain a switch flipped and all the sudden it was kill or be killed. And of course I was killed, I don't think I even got 5 or 10 shots off before I was blasted by paintballs. I wasn't sure what it was going to feel like to be shot but when I did I knew that I didn't like it. I raised my hands to signal my death and quickly retreated to the far side behind the net, not before I was pelted in the head with a paintball. This went on for a while until either everyone was dead or no one was shooting anymore. We did a couple more rounds and I did not get any better as the games went on, I was shot in the head again, in the palm as I surrendered because my gun ran out of air, in the back, arm, ribs and then right in the face. When I was hit in the face the paint went through the vents and into my mouth on on my face. It tasted discusting! I was really glad when we all decided we were done for the day.

We went back to Erin's and had pizza and retold stories of battle, I would not be a good soilder; don't put me on the front lines. It felt like I was in the movie Saving Private Ryan and I was one of the soilders who didn't even make it off the boat to the shore.

Rafe and I preparing for Battle

Lacey demonstrating what will happen to me, and she was pretty much right. Erin the birthday girl is in the middle, we all blame her for the great time we had.

Check out the paint splatter on my face, I took it like a champ

Because I'm so gansta?

Retelling stories of battle

One of the battle wounds I can actually show and post online. OUCH!!

Malad the sequel

You know when you create fun memories and want to just do it all over again? Well thats what we did a couple weeks ago and did it Malad style. Our friend has a house in malad and for his birthday we spent the weekend up in Idaho. Good friends lots of fun and food, thats what I call a good time.

this picture of Rafe and I is totally candid, we didn't pose for this one; we're just that cool and casual all the time

Of course one cannot visit Malad and not eat at Me n' Lou's and get a giant scone

we are all very excited about the raspberry honey

four wheeling is a must on a trip to Malad, so we did that too

All the years growing up on a farm prep you for this kind of thing, not everyone is this good.

Don't Rafe and I make a great team

Don't make fun of me, but this was actually kind of hard to do after not jump roping for like 15 years or so.

10 Years....Seriously?

It seems like only yesterday I was roaming the halls of Shelley High School. Getting up at 6am for drill team practice, racing out to the car for lunch and standing in line at Mr. Pizza, Friday night games, drill team competitions, and school dances. A lot has happened in the last 10 years and a couple of weeks ago I got to see what some of my friends and class mates have done with their time out of high school. I really enjoyed talking and catching up with some great friends, and it was funny to see our high school picture on our name tag and how much or how little some of us had changed. I went through my year book a couple days ago and I was amazed at how little we all were, I always thought we were so grown up and mature. I'm really glad that I went and got a chance to see the great class of 2000. See you in another 10!

A few key players are missing from this picture, you know who you are.

Peter Cetera does not disapoint

I'm pretty sure my sister will be the only one to appreciate this post, partly because we are probably the only ones who even know who Peter Cetera is. This is probably due to the fact that our mom and dad raised us on music from their generation and it has stayed with us all growing up. This past weekend Rafe was kind enough to indulge me and my love of all things 80's and go to Peter Cetera. He was great and I'm pretty sure we were the youngest in the crowd by at least 20 years. We felt a little out of place because we forgot to feather our hair, wear our mom jeans and our high school letterman's jackets.

The concert was held at the Sandy Amphitheater and we had lots of blankets to stake our claim on the lawn. Unfortunately the lawn was wet and soaked through our blankets so by the time the concert was over, out backsides were soaked (worth it!). Its only September but I was so glad I brought a coat because it was freezing and those extra blankets came in handy.

I sang along to every song, loudly I might add and even cracked a smile at Peter's lame attempt to tell jokes. Other highlights include his having the crowd wave their lighted cell phones during "Your the inspiration" and his frosted tips and man earring. It was a great night. Thanks Peter!

Crash and Burn

Who doesn't enjoy a demolition derby? Its loud, tons of people, hard bleachers, cars crash into each other and people dress in crazy outfits. Seriously it was so much fun, a great time with great friends and great car crashes. I felt a little under dressed, you'll see what I mean from some of the guys in the pictures.

Who knew I liked soccer?

This post is overdue but it IS the summer time and I get sidetracked with the sun and fun and everything in between. Over the Fourth of July weekend we went to a Real Salt Lake game. It was a lot of fun to watch the game from one of the suites, we had the best seats in the house. After the game we watched fireworks with friends out on the field. It was a great night.

Boating in April, oh wait I mean June

One would think that it being June and all it would be safe to get the boat out and enjoy some fairly nice weather, one would think. However this just ins't the case, being the second summer I have been living in Salt Lake City, June doesn't bring any such thing. I'm told that it is usually not like this, I will usually roll my eyes and say yeah well I will believe it when I see it, or better yet feel it. But trying to make the best of things we did go boating with some friends, and some even got in the water; I did not. I stayed bundled up in my sweats, hoodie, blanket, and boat heater positioned right at my feet. We did have a lot of fun and the lake was pretty much ours for the taking since it was a balmy 60 degrees outside.

Go ahead and Jump

One of our friends has a trampoline at his house and we decided for whatever reason to give it a try. Now mind you I grew up on a trampoline and I know how they work, but it's been years and I mean years since I have jumped on one. I couldn't believe how tired I got and I was acutally a little timid to do a simple flip, apparently my body is just not what it used to be. It's sad but true. This my sorry attempt at what I call jumping on the trampoline.

MayStache

I knew it was coming, I had a month to prepare myself. When the MayStache made its debut I welcomed it with open arms, perhaps its because I knew that its stay was only temporary. This post is short but the pictures tell the story of the life of the mustache and its short lived stay. I gotta say, I got used to having it around. Will I miss it? I'll never tell

The beard in its infancy

Shaved into a skinny beard

And here it is, the mustache. Handlebars and all its glory

I would never be able to get used to this beauty

Thank goodness its June 1st. See you next year Mustache! Or maybe Halloween.