June Trip to Flagstaff

Since we didn't get the temple clearance we had expected to get then we decided that we really didn't want to wait another 4 weeks to see each other, so I quickly booked a ticket and looked forward to a tip to see my man.






Jamming out on the couch

We took a walk in downtown Flagstaff, they have some awesome shops down there. Man this city is definitely a hippy town.

Jon had his HUGE final exam back in April and they told him it would take about 6-8 weeks to get the results. The results just happened to come when I was there...YEAH!!! HE PASSED!!! he was so relieved and was so happy!!!

Saturday Night was the elders Quorum BBQ. It was definitely interesting to see the looks we got since most of the ward had no idea that he was dating nonetheless engaged! :) we had a blast. There was a small pond and there were a few families catch and releasing cat fish. Jon and I played around at the hoop and threw some football...yeah I was pretty impressed with my football throwing skills.. One of the hoops you can lower to really low, so we did it for the little kids. Brent (Bishop's son) was having a blast and I got he perfect shot of him trying to slam dunk!!

So let me tell you about my fabulous plane flying experience!! It started in my connecting flight in Phoenix to Flagstaff. The plane that goes to Flagstaff was one of those smaller ones that you actually have to walk onto the tarp mat to load. Well there were 2 planes sitting there and boarding. Well there was a couple in front of me and they stopped and asked one of the crew and I heard him say something about Flagstaff and then pointed to the 2nd plane. I thought, sweet! SO I followed them and boarded the plane. Well the lady kept counting and then said something about Yuma and didn't think anything of it. Then a little bit later she said..this plane is going to Yuma, is there someone on a wrong plane..OOOPS! yes that was me!! She was actually really rude when I realized had boarded the wrong plane. Luckily neither plane and left so I quickly changed planes and was off to get to my man!

Well then on Sunday, we got to the airport and they they told me that the plane was delayed that was coming in due to mechanical issues and it would probably be only 30 mins..I thought well that sucks but totally okay because I had an hour lay over in Phoenix. They told me they would pull everyone through security about 20 mins before It got there. My plane was suppose to leave at 6:10, they took us through security about 6:40. I thought..okay..I will be okay..I will just have to run from one plane to the next. Well the plane that we would board didn't even come in until 7:10...ummmm okay this is getting a little closer then I like but was thinking that if they board us quickly we will be okay...there were already a lot of people who would miss their flights. Well they didn't load us and actually leave until 7:30...luckily the flight to phoenix is really short, I would have to run but should be okay to make it. We landed at 8..sweet....so I thought. We they ended up sitting on the runway for 15 mins waiting for a spot to open up...in this 15 min time frame there were people checking flights and my flight actually left 7 mins early!! so needless to say everything on the plane missed their flights and was stranded in Phoenix..

The good thing is that U.S. Airways does at least treat their flyer's really good and put me up in the Courtyard Marriott for the night and SOO glad I had extra clean clothes on me. Here are some pictures from the awesome hotel

$3.00!! this is crazy stuff!!!!

Balcony:)

Very comfy beds!!

So I had to call my boss and let her know that I was stuck in Phoenix for the night, and the earliest flight they could get me on was at 7am. So I got up early and headed to the airport. They had given me my new ticket the night before so it was nice to not have to stand in the icky lines. Well I get to the gate and sit down...it was empty and seemed a little off...Then I had a feeling to check the flights..yeah they totally changed the gate on me to the other end of the airport..luckily I had a little bit of time to run to the right gate. When I got there they were pretty much done except the last few stragglers...well I gave them my ticket to board and the guy called me back and said I wasn't in the system...ARE YOU SERIOUS!!! Whoever did the ticket didn't finish putting me in...Luckily there was still room for me on the plane. We did take off and landed in Salt Lake with no further problems. It was definitely a weekend to remember:) It was hard to be stranded in Phoenix, especially since I would much rather have been stranded in Flagstaff with my honey. :)

Kitchen Cabinet / Table

So I invested in this cabinet a few years back when I started getting roommates because I don't have a ton of storage space and at one time I had 2 roommates. I owned a table but it came apart really easy and I didn't really want to get rid of it. So I pulled it apart and put it in my storage and the purchased this cabinet. It was very nice to have.

Jon and I decided that we really wanted the table set up when we got married so I decided it was time to sell it because I do not have enough floor space for both of them. I listed it on KSL and found some buyers...

The lady who I spoke with about it I told her to make sure she brought a truck because it was 48" wide and 70" tall. Well her and her husband showed up with a Pilot..well they did some measuring and decided that if they turned it just right it would barely fit. It was a very heavy sucker so we decided it would be best to pull of the doors to make it a little lighter.

Well we did really good getting it out the door and into the parking lot. We got outside and we put it down so they could open up the back of the car. It was sitting there just fine and then all the sudden it completely collasped!!! We just stood there shocked that it fell apart and was in pieces in the parking lot. It took everything I had to not just bust up laughing because how funny it was to watch it just fall apart.

Luckily for them it just fell apart at the ends and no pieces actually broke. There were a few spots where the bracket at been broken out but it as fairly minor. Also I was very glad that they didn't demand their money back. They said they felt good about being able to piece it together. We defeinitely didn't have any problems getting it in now.

I wish I had gotten a better pictures of the cabinet with the view below but what can you do..right? haha

Without the table

POOF there it is!!

its a lot cooler on a flip screen kind of thing :) I have been digging through all my cabinets and storage to make sure I have room for Jon's stuff when he is moving it up next week and I uncovered wedding gifts from my first wedding that I never opened!!! Between Jon and I we now have 3 beligum Waffle Makers and a normal waffle maker...yeah I forsee lots waffles :) I gutted my bedroom and moved my pieced together bedroom 'set' into our spare room. Jon has a complete bedset so I am way excited to have it in our room. I will get pictures posted once its done. I am even more excited at the fact that I have glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling and I will get to see all of them. My bed is a canopy so it obstructs the view but man last night when I turned off the light it was amazing!!!

Wedding complications

I just wanted to spread the word out that Jon and I ran into some temple clearance complications so our wedding day has been postponed probably for end of July/Beginnig of August which we should have all the clearance we need 'crossing fingers'. Luckily annoucements hadn't gone out yet :)

Jon's Graduation

Friday June 7th was Jon's big graduation day for his Masters degree. I was definitely going to be there. Jon found out that a big chunk of his family was going to be there too. He was way excited to have everyone be there to support him. His brother Joey headed down on Weds so they could do some golfing on Thurs before the main crowd showed up. Kassie & Jared showed up later that day and they went golfing a second time...silly boy. I just about died when Jon told me the game would probably last about 3 hours...3 hours for golf!! I never would have figured. But hey they had a blast and I am glad he got the chance to hang with them.

I took Thurs-Sunday off both jobs and headed south Thursday morning. I made a stop to see the parents and then headed down to meet up with Nicole (sister-in-law), Kathy (mother-in-law) & Bobby (Father-in-law) in Cedar City and drive the rest of the way to Flagstaff. It was a long drive but gave me more of a chance to get to know my new in-law parents. We finally rolled into Flagstaff about 7:30pm. I was so excited to see Jon! We headed out to dinner and just enjoyed the family company. Friday morning Jon and I needed to go out on a hunt for shirts for our engagement pictures we were going to be taking that day. Nicole, Joey, Kassie & Jared joined us on our hunt to find the perfect shirts. We walked through the mall and didn't find anything really. There were a couple of shirts that could have worked but they were solid colors and I really wanted to avoid them since that was like my WHOLE closet. We finally decided to go back to anchor blue and get the plain pink shirt that we had spotted, well we walk and and there it is..the perfect shirt! How I didn't see it the first time, who knows but I tried it on and it worked!! (see pictures below).
So then we headed back to Jon's place and got ready for his big graduation! The lighting SUCKED!! I wanted to so badly get some fun pictures but oh wells. As we waiting for the ceremony to start Jon was texting his siblings and they were telling him to do all these fun poses once he got on stage. He did end up doing some Football run at the very end but my camera didn't do so well with it. :(
As soon as they started walking out he was waving his hand so we could keep an eye on him because there were TONS of people there. He said that he found us by Jaylynn's yellow shirt and my red shirt haha. Even though I have only been part of Jon's life for 1 semester I am so proud of all the hard work he has done. This kid will go so far with this major and I look forward to where it will take us. I am so proud of him!!

After the ceremony was over we all headed out to try and avoid the crowds. We ended up doing pictures in the parking lot on our way to the buses to take us back to our cars. This is Jon with his Dad Ezra. We were very excited to hear that he was going to be coming up for it.

This is his Mom & Step Dad Bobby. You can just see how proud his family is of him and it makes me that much more grateful to be part of this amazing family and to be part of Jon's life.

Afterwards we headed back and did a BBQ. Jon pulled out his hacky sack that he plays with at work with his clients and the boys were like in heaven! They played it all weekend long. Jon only had a sepa but they still had a blast. After the 4 boys played it for a while then us girls got involved. Yeah we sucked at it really bad but we had a ton of fun playing with it. At the beginning they thought the fun was over because Jared hit it just right that it went off the deck and rolled underneath.
Jon (Black) & Jared (purple) had a hard time finding it. Luckily Joey came to the rescue with a..can you believe it..a flashlight :) I guess it had rolled quite a distance and Jared sacrificed himself and got under the deck and pulled it out. haha

We played it that night until we could barely see it anymore. Then the next day the boys decided that they needed REAL hacky sacks and we went to the mall and picked up 2 ..one of Jared and one of Jon. They were much heavier and harder for at least me but it worked better for their 'catching' tricks. I guess Heber bought one for Jaylynn so now pretty everyone who was there has access to one and is playing around..I can totally for see the tournament coming around the corner.

Saturday we headed up the in the mountains to do our engagement pictures. The whole clan decided to join us which made it a very entertaining trip. We stopped at this horse corral to get some fun pictures and the boys

just decided to jump into this horse trough and act like they were rowing a boat. Goofs! I am glad that the owner didn't show up while we were in there..no there were no horses in there..

Jon and I got those pictures where you are holding hands and walking away from the camera..well Nicole and Joey decided that they needed to show us the proper way to do it...

These are some of our favorites from that day...do you like the shirts :)

Now to get an actual wedding date so we can get our announcements out :)

All in all it was a fabulous weekend!! I was happy I got to meet so many new in-laws and have a blast with them at the same time. I am very excited for the future and the fun and joy my future holds!

Wedding Shoes

So I was on the hunt for the perfect, most comfortable wedding shoes that actually exsisted on the planet. I definitely did not want do to the heals thing because A. They would probably make me taller then Jon B. Because umm they hurt your feet & C... really?? who wears them very long.

Oiginally was going for some flats that were pink or purple with poka dots or something. My friend got married in August and her bridesmaids wore them and I had hoped I would find something similar. I did some searching and didn't find them anywhere...now it was only February and so it was a little early for Spring shoes to beout..either that or they were 'Totally last year' so they wouldn't be available this year. Then for some reason out of no where this brillant idea came up. I had seen these made but never done it myself but I thought hey it can't be too bad... They were actually really easy and fun. Now lets hope that the single knoted ribbons actually stick around through Bridals and the wedding day..but I guess that is why I have extra :)

Yeah they are a little crazy but come on, they are so comfortable and they will hardly be seen. I am so excited for my amazing wedding shoes. As I was talking to Jon about my idea originally, he tried to tell me that if I got to wear flipflops then he got to wear Pink Chuck Taylor Basketball shoes. (yes I did say pink, favorite color is pink...what can I say I love a man who is comfortable in his own skin ) At first I was like Who? So then I did some research..gotta luv the internet... and this is what I found...umm Converse shoes? I even entertained the idea but after much thought..ummm nope :)

But who knows he may talk me into it but highly doubtful :)

So anyway I am so excited for awesome new wedding shoes...

Suprise Easter Weekend

Let me just start by saying..HOLY COW!! I totally forgot how beautiful Southern Utah is with all the rocks!!! I haven't been through Kanab and Lake Powell since I was 16 and it was more beautiful then I ever could remember!! I took TONS of pictures on my way down. I definitely need to make trips down to see Bryce Canyon and Zions sometime soon!! But with trips down to see Jon Graduate and then for our Honeymoon I will definitely see the rocks again :)

Yes I did take these while driving..yes I know not the best idea but I was looking at the road and would hold up my camera click the button and then looked at the screen to see if it turned out...I couldn't help it!! The ride back was late and dark so I didn't get to enjoy it on the way back...had to get it in :)

SOOO Jon and I havn't seen each other since Valentine's Day weekend. We had talked at one time meeting in Cedar City and spending the weekend there. But looking at things and his work schedule we decided it would be best not to. So then we looked into me flying down. Flights were pretty pricey so we decided it would be best to pass. A few days before we 'offically' decided the flight was too much, I decided that I wanted to make a road trip and drive down and surprise Jon. SO I casually emphasised that it was to late to buy the ticket and that we would just have to wait until May at his Graduation because we saw each other again. I was sooo excited for this surprise. Believe me it was way hard because we both had our rough days where we missed each other like crazy! But I was so proud of myself, I didn't give in. I decided that since I was going to be down there then I wanted to 'Egg' his room as part of the surprise. I printed out 270 Eggs to color..yes I know it is crazy but I didn't really calculate correctly in my head when it came to printing them so of course since I had them, I had to use them. I colored for 2 weeks during lunch and cut those suckers out. About 2 weeks before I called his Bishop's wife to let them know I was coming and to see if they could help me find a place to stay and then sent a letter to his roommate to make sure I could get into the house. I had Delanne mail it for me from NM so if Jon happened to glance at the postage stamp thingy he wouldn't get curious as to why his AZ roommate was getting a letter from ogden utah. I told Jon that I would be in meetings all morning and that I was going to try and get out early. I love that my managers were all for helping me if he happened to call in..luckily I didn't make a liar out of anyone but myself since he didn't try and reach me at the office. Friday morning came and I was packed and ready to go. We read scriptures together every morning over the phone so I knew that there would be no way I would get out of the house any earlier then 7:30.

The weather was beautiful and roads were dry. I got into Flagstaff about 3:30 and knew I would haven't much time until Jon headed home before his 5:00 client. This is what the room looked like before I started to decorate it :)

I started hanging the eggs up as quickly as possible as I knew it would probably take me a good hour. Meanwhile I am texting Jon and realize that he is still texting me at 4:00 when he had a 4:00 client. I asked him what was going on. He proceeded to tell me that they didnt show up and that he was going to head back to the office

to finish up paperwork...ummm small problem...so I quickly call him to make sure he isn't stopping by the house first..umm sure enough he was already outside at the mailbox. I quickly told him to hold on just a second and started to clean up all evidence that I was in progress of his surprise and then quickly hid in the closet.

I had made a sign to put on his door that said 'you've been 'egged' enter at your own risk' I quickly put it up and then put the letter on the bed that I had typed up. The letter basically said that since we decided it would be too expensive to fly me down for Easter then I used his connections for my own personal use and that there was one more surprise for him in the closet when he was ready.

Well I heard him come in and then heard him ask his roommate if he had decorated his walls, of course his roommate said no. Well then I hear him walking to the closet, I got so excited. He opened the door and then proceeded to scream/yell and basically run away..okay running is a bit much but he did move backwards very quickly to the other side of the room. I was laughing so hard at his reaction. If only he hadn't come early I would have been ready and gotten it on video likeI had planned...oh well. He stood at the other side of the room just looking at me, trying to take it all in. I guess when he opened the door he was looking down at the ground expecting a box or something and surely didn't ever expect that i would be his surprise. After things calmed down he was sooo very exicted to see me. I don't know if I will ever be able to let him live it down but it was definitely a funny experience. He had to leave for his 5:00 client so I decided to not put the eggs to waste that I hadn't hung up yet and finished hanging them up all over his room and bathroom. The Easter bunny even came early ;)
Can you belive that in a city as big as Flagstaff they basically have NOTHING entertaining to do..yes they do have theaters but besides that only bowling!! Not that we have a huge problem with it because it was our first date but it is still crazy, but what can you do but enjoy it. So we
went bowling. I did horrible at it, I could give you my reasons but then they would become excuses so I am just going to say that I did not do my best. Jon did pretty good, bowled over 100 I think..which for him is nothing.

This man is so funny!! and I love him to death! Believe it or not, his favorite color is pink and he has this breast cancer pink hat. I don't know why he put it on but hey it looked cute so I took a picture :)

Saturday the weather was beautiful so we took at walk around a duck pond. We had stopped to look at something and then this duck just starts waddling up to us. So Jon being the boy he is stooped down and held his hand out like he had food and we soon as many ducks around us...

to bad it was a disappointment to the ducks that he didn't actually have anything.

I love that camera's come with timers now a days...yeah this picture was taken by itself siting on a tree stump with a timer...

We decided that afterall it was Easter that would 'die' easter eggs..yes I know I spelt it wrong but some will get it..okay only Jon but I had to add it...anyway..it had been years since I had dyed easter eggs so I was very excited. Jon ate 3 out of the dozen because they had cracked while boiling...I think he just wanted to eat them :) I really wish I had taken pictures of the last 2 eggs I did. I dipped the egg in one color and then let it dry. Then I took the crayon and scribbled on it and then dipped it in a different color and so on and so on...so when it was done it had all these different color scribbles on them...













For General Conference on Sunday we headed over to his bishops home. Man you don't realize how good you have it in Utah until they are unable to get it on TV this time for some strange reason.. So we got creative and pulled it up on the laptop and put the laptop in the middle of the room while we sat around it. It was definitely wasn't not as easy to keep concentrating but what I actually understood was awesome. Between sessions Jon was playing around his the Bishops kids Ronnie who is 15 sent jon to sit in the corner under the stairs..it was pretty hiliarous.

Tess (9) and Brent (5) were playing horsey with him. In this picture Jon was trying to buck her off. I love how her hair is flying from it.





All in all the weekend was fabulous!!! I am so lucky to have this man in my life and I thank my Heavenly Father every day for preparing us for each other. It is crazy how just weeks before meeting Jon I was telling me friends how I wasn't up for the dating game and that marriage freaked me out enough to keep me single for a while.. but when things happen they happen.

Sunday was a hard day as I had to leave. Luckily the road were good and I only had 1 Deer scare through all of the moutain passes I had to go through. I did only go as far as Fillmore and then was up early Monday morning to finish the trip to go back to work...LOVE road trips!!

Wedding Center Pieces

So I started my search for center peices for my wedding...I had an general idea of what I wanted but didn't know where to go for a good price...Can I say that I LOVE Family Dollar and Dollar Store. I bought the vases and rocks there... Just wondering what your thoughts are on them.. My roommate helped me but the vase part looks a little..bland?? I have ribbon for each of my four colors so the ribbon part will change for each center peice but maybe I am just critical of my own work because I am not very creative... let me know thoughts.