My Bridals!

My friend Jen does such an AMAZING job with photos! Jen and Stacy did my bridals at the Peace Gardens a few weeks ago. They turned out SO good! It was really really fun and we got some really great pictures. Thanks Jen and Stacy for a great photo shoot!

I really like my flowers with my ring on it - gorgeous!

This is one of my favorite ones!

So is this one! I just love them!

This is another favorite one!

And this one! :) I can't pick just one favorite!

They all turned out great and I can't pick just one or two for my favorites. The scenery was great and it was gorgeous weather. I felt like the most beautiful bride! I can't wait to get married to my one and only true love!

Jared's Birthday!

Jared doesn't want anyone to know when his birthday is, but I knew so I wanted to do a little something to celebrate. We decided to spend Monday together since it was Labor Day and neither of us had to work. My friend from work had talked about this really cool place called Cascade Springs, so I thought it would be fun to pack a picnic lunch and then surprise Jared with going there.

Here's a picture of us in the car before we left that morning.

We were so happy and then the rest of the day happened....

I had gotten directions from my friend at work. I wrote them down on a sticky note and shoved them in my purse. I figured it wasn't that hard to find. Well, I misunderstood what I wrote down. Cascade springs is up Provo Canyon. You're supposed to TURN at Sundance and then go past Sundance and go on from there. Well, I thought you were supposed to go past the EXIT for Sundance.....needless to say we got out of the canyon on the other side and made it to Heber City. I texted Chris and found out that we were supposed to turn at Sundance. We did a bit of backtracking, had to pay $6 to get into the recreational area, drove a LONG time on tiny windy mountain roads and then finally saw a sign that said Cascade Springs 7 miles!! So after about 2 hours plus of driving, we finally made it to Cascade Springs. We had our picnic lunch and then walked around for a while. I was a little frustrated it took me that long to find it, but Jared still had a good time - which I'm glad for!!

Scenery on the way - this is up in Provo Canyon near Sundance

Jared and me at Cascade Springs

This was such a pretty place!

This is one of my favorites!

Then as we were leaving Cascade Springs I was down to less than a 1/4 tank of gas because of all the extra driving. Luckily we made it out of the canyon to a gas station and got filled up. We enjoyed a relaxing night at home after stopping for Slurpees and then we ordered Papa John's pizza. Great way to finish off a day of no work!!

I love to see the Temple

I was able to go through the Bountiful Temple for my endowment on August 28th. It was such a neat experience and I loved it! I was very excited be able to have Jared be there as well. His brother had just gotten home from his mission a few weeks earlier and Jared was able to have an escort even though he had already been endowed. His brother Chris came with us and it was the first time Jared and Chris were able to attend a session together. Those two boys are really close :) Alicia was my escort and I had lots of extended family here to support me! Aunt Maryanne and Uncle Brad, Aunt Vida and Uncle Mike, Aunt Margaret, and Crystal and Jordan. My friend Stacy also stopped by and saw me after we were done with the session. The Aunts and Uncles took Jared, Chris, and I out for lunch down in the cafeteria afterwards, so it was nice to be able to catch up with them and to have them get to know Jared a little more. I really appreciate everyone's love and support for this special day!! The Bountiful Temple is where Jared and I will be sealed, so it has special meaning for us both.

Jared and me after the session! I was very happy!

We always have to have self portraits :)

Jared and his brother Chris, who got home from his mission a few weeks earlier.

I've since been able to go back to the temple once since then and it was a really good experience! I'm so grateful that we have so many temples close by and have the opportunity and blessing to attend so frequently.

Moving time!

I know I haven't posted for a LOOONNNGG time, but things have been kind of crazy busy for us. We're trying to plan the wedding, move me into our apartment, work and go to school and so on. On the 21st of August, we got the keys to our apartment and started hauling my stuff up. I sure have a lot of junk!! We filled our 1 bedroom apartment up pretty quick with what I had. Good thing Jared doesn't have much :)

We really like our apartment! It's a good apartment community, we have a pool and everyone is friendly. We're also right across the street from church, so we can walk on Sundays! I went to our ward today and everyone was welcoming and it sounds like quite a few people live here in Peachtree, so that's cool! We've still got a LOT of organizing and a small bit of unpacking to do still, but here are a few pictures of our place. I'll take more once we get settled in officially.

Our living room - don't mind the dryer....it's gone now and a coffee table is sitting in it's place. Jared also won a Wii at school, so that's hooked up and so is our DVD/VCR combo. Our patio/deck looks out to the pool, which is nice.

Here's the other side of the living room. Our little office area, bookshelf, and then Jared brought his keyboard down so we have a 'piano' to play. I've played ever since I was younger and Jared is learning, so it's fun having it here. You can see our 'dining room' also in this picture. Our little 2-seater table and chairs from the Miner's! (Thanks Miners!) :)

Our kitchen!!!!!!! I think I've cooked more in the past 2 weeks than I have in the past 3 years I've lived out here! I love having a full kitchen, it's great! I've made quite a few different recipes and it's been great! To the back is our laundry room. Don't even get me started on that!! :) The dryer that's in the living room was in here, but then we realized it was gas and we don't have a gas connection. I had to give that one back to my friend and then we bought a different dryer that would actually work. First time I turned on the washer water gushed all over the floor. Luckily after calling dad, we found out it was just because the drum was off center from being moved and the water went on the floor instead of in the drum. The dryer also has a fun story. We got a dryer vent to hook up to it, and it was fairly long, but we figured it would be ok. So I did a few loads of laundry and then one day as it was going the top of the dryer was really hot. I looked behind and the vent looked a little kinked, so I picked it up a bit and water came from somewhere under the dryer. We didn't have it short enough to allow the steam to make it up and out the vent to the outside.....so it had collected and turned to water. We shortened up the vent hose and now I think it's working properly. Hallejuah!! :)

The bedroom - kind of small, but we got everything to fit in there.

Our walk-in closet also filled with my junk :)

And last but not least, the bathroom

We love our apartment and are excited to be married so Jared can move in too! :) It's cozy and perfect for us!

Engagement Pictures

Here's a few of our engagement pictures. It's going to be hard narrowing down which ones we want to use. My friend from work took them and did a great job. We had a lot of fun!

I'm engaged!!!!

This will definitely be a July 24th I'll remember forever!! Jared proposed!!! He had picked up a bouquet of daisies and yellow roses and we were planning to picnic at Liberty Park and enjoy the fireworks for the 24th of July. We headed over to Liberty Park around 6pm and it was already jam-packed with people. We didn't really feel like braving the crowds and trying to find parking, so we headed up to Capitol Hill to try and catch the fireworks from up there. After a while, Jared goes to the car and brings the flowers down to where we're sitting. He kneels down and then proceeds to 'rap' the following:

You may have noticed I am right handed
I sometimes feel like it leaves me stranded
Before you, I didn't know which way up is
Don't matter now, I can get lost in your kisses
When you are around, I know who I am
I love you babe, I'm your biggest fan
I'd empty my wallet just to see you smile
To spend time wit you would be worth the while
Without you honestly I have no clue
No doubt I would be the bigger fool
I don't know what else I'm supposed to do
Honey, I'm going to have to propose to you
Cause you and I are meant to be
A few more verses of this poetry
Let me read it more seriously
Because the best poetry is you with me
There is nothing more in the world I'd love
If you would be my wife that would be the best
Elizabeth, will you marry me?

And of course I said yes!!

Here's me with an incredibly cheesy grin cause I'm SO happy!

And another cheesy grin!

Me with my beautiful flowers and the new addition to my left hand

Tried to get a picture of my ring - didn't turn out too good

Another view of my ring - I love it!

Our first picture as an engaged couple!! It was so windy up on the hill, so don't mind my fly-away hair!

Me and my sweetheart

Then we sat and watched the fireworks and couldn't stop smiling! It was a great night and I'm so happy to be engaged to the most sweetest, amazing guy ever!! We appreciate everyone's love and support with things!

So sweet

Jared writes poetry and he wrote this poem for me - I absolutely LOVE it! He is the sweetest, nicest guy I have ever met and I'm lucky that he's mine.

Love was once a four letter word,
a curious verb I seldom heard.
But now this word has a name.
My life will never be the same.
Liz, my love, you did it again.
I found my smile, a permanent grin.
Your mood ring eyes from blue to green,
more gorgeous than I've ever seen.
Your smile brightens my every day,
you always know just what to say.
When I thought I would never win,
my love, my Liz, you did it again.
Upon your sight, my heart rejoices.
"You forever," is what my choice is.
You will have my every breath.
I love you always, Elizabeth.

4th of July Fun

This week has been really fun so far! It started off Monday night with the Bees Baseball game against the Reno Aces. Jared and I met up with his 2 sisters, Jennifer and Becky and their significant others and enjoyed the game. It was great getting to meet them. It was a little rough getting to the game though. Jared's car had a flat tire and his jack was 'jacked' up (it's bent and wouldn't fit under his car), so I drove down to where he was and we finally got his spare tire on after a lot of heat (he was in the underground parking at the conference center) and a mishap. All's well that ends well, right? Once we got to the game it was a great rest of the night!

Jared and me enjoying the game - don't mind the slightly blue teeth - we had a blue raspberry snow cone :)

Friday after work Jared and I went to Cafe Rio for dinner and then headed out to Erda for the drive-in. We hung out at the Miner's for a little bit before we headed over to the show. We watched Shrek 4 and IronMan 2. Gotta love the drive-in!

Saturday I drove up and spent the day with Jared and his family. We met in Kaysville at 11:00 for the 4th of July parade. We had really good seats and had a lot of fun. Here's a few pictures of the parade.

After the parade we went back to Jared's house and had some good conversation over good food. After dinner we headed back down to Kaysville for fireworks at the park.

The whole gang - Jared's younger sister Angela, Jared, Jared's older brother Bob, older sister Jennifer, her son Josh and daughter Jorja and Jennifer's husband Richard.

Jared and me enjoying the fireworks. Poor Jared and his sunburned face and head...he even wore sunscreen :(

I tried to get a couple of pictures of the fireworks. These were the ones that turned out the best.

All in all it was a great weekend and I'm so glad I got to spend it with Jared and his family!