Christmas Preparations

Christmas is right around the corner and we're super excited to spend our first Christmas together. Most of our shopping is done and we're making plans of who we'll be visiting and when. Work is keeping us both pretty busy. Jared finished up school this week so it's been nice being able to spend more time with him....at least for the next few weeks. We've done a bit of decorating, but still have more to do. Our Christmas tree is definitely a sight to see! I gave my tree to a friend before leaving Sioux Falls, and Jared has a 'Charlie Brown Tree'......so guess what our Christmas tree is this year? Yep, you guessed it!!!

It serves its purpose and we'll be looking for a Christmas tree when they go on clearance, so we can have a bigger one next year! :)

We're loving married life and the fun that we're having! Christmas is our favorite time of the year and we're also excited to head down to Temple Square and look at the lights too!

It's official!

Well, life has been busy for us!! It's been a while since we've posted, but we've had lots going on! Everything went smooth with the wedding and reception. We were sealed in the Bountiful Temple on October 9th! It was a beautiful sealing and lots of family and friends were there to support us! Our pictures turned out great and the reception went off without a hitch! We honeymooned for a few nights at the Anniversary Inn in Salt Lake and then made the long road trip to Iowa to visit family and have our reception back there as well. Here's a few pictures of all the festivities....mainly the wedding guests and pictures after. We'll post more pictures of the reception and Iowa trip later when we get a bit more time.

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!!