Pics

Engagement Pics

So we got our engagement pics finished! The first time we went to
do our pictures, my mom fell and broke her ankle about five
minutes in, and we had to get her to the E.R., so that night was a
bust. Two weeks later we tried again, and we got the job done. It
was really fun getting ready and taking the pictures, and Mitch did a
really good job fixing up the pics for us.

Man do I have a hot almost-husband or what?! Love him :)

Engagement

Engagement!

Sorry for not writing about our engagement sooner, but I'm not so good with blogging. Justin and I got engaged back on June 5th, and boy oh boy was it a surprise to me! I had actually planned the whole skydiving event as a surprise 30th birthday present for Justin. I got his sister Shannon to come out from Reno, and we surprised him with that the day before we took him skydiving. He knew something was going on, but he thought the surpise was over when he saw his sister Shannon was in town. After spending the morning with Shannon and her boyfriend out and about town, he started to get angry when I didn't drive home so he could get ready for work. When I pulled into the parking lot at the skydiving place, the anger went away, and excitement took hold :) He has always wanted to go skydiving, so he was pretty stoked he didn't have to go to work, and got to jump out of an airplane instead. Well....... unknown to me, Justin's mother and sister had hatched a little engagement plan, and they pulled Justin aside and asked him if he wanted to ask me to marry him that day. His mother had gotten the ring, and they made a bunch of posters that he could hold up at the landing strip when I came in for my landing after skydiving. He was totally excited about the idea, and that's how it went from a surprise birthday present for him, to a surprise engagement for me. We had a bunch of friends and family there for the skydiving, so it ended being doubly fun when they all got to be there for our engagement. Absolutely amazing day!

This was just after Justin and Kyle jumped and right before Shannon and I went up in the plane for our jump. Notice all our friends and family there!

Yep, we got the whole fam damily there, even my mom's dog.... Amazing feeling!!! Can't wait to go again! And while I was doing this, Justin was on the ground doing this....

That's my mom Dian, Justin's mom Sharon, Justin, and the best man Kyle.

This is what I saw when I came down to the landing strip.

Yes, I totally got proposed to in that goofy skydiving hat.

So that's our engagement story. It was perfect in every way.

We've got it on video too, and we are going to try and play that at the wedding.

Sad News

Goodbye Grandma Dorothy

Little did we know when we went to Tahoe last month and moved Nanna into her assisted living community, that would be last time we got to see her. She passed away on April 15th, surrounded by family, and free of pain. Again, we drove down to Tahoe to attend her beautiful funeral, and spend time with family and friends.

She was such a wonderful, special lady. In the short time I've known her, and during the four times I have gotten to spend time with her, she made me feel loved and cared for, and definitly like a member of the family. She will be sorely missed, and she will always remain in the hearts of the people who knew and loved her.

Here are some pictures we had taken with her during our trip to Tahoe in March.

Until we meet again Grandma Dorothy.... we will miss you.

Lake Tahoe March 2010

So Grandma Dorothy (Justin's mother's mother) injured her back in February, and could no longer live in her retirement community, so we got her a nice place in an assisted living establishment. It was a lot smaller, so the family had to sort through her things. Justin, his mother, and I took the trip down to help, and it ended up being a great little break from Utah.

Here's the standard travel pic. This is the first five minutes of an eight hour drive...

The drive down wasn't too bad. We all took turns driving.

The landscape sure leaves lots to the imagination.

Once we got down there, we got to work. We went through all Grandma Dorothy's stuff, and took what she wanted to her new pad, and either split the rest between family members, or gave it away. There was a lot to go through, but we got it done, and got Nanna comfortable in her new home, surrounded by all her favorite things.

Nanna Dorothy got to meet Trigger for the first time, and they went together like peas and carrots :) Grandma Dorothy blinked, but it's still such a cute picture. If you can see, Trigger is holding on to her hands.

Trigger loves his great grandma Dot.

We took one night and went out with Shannon and her boyfriend Chris. We went out to dinner, and then decided to go to a casino for a little bit. We drove right under this famous sign, so I snapped a quick pick.

We stopped to gamble for about 45 minutes and this casino had a pretty big fountain.

I can get excited over stupid things, and I love pictures, so here ya go. I'm sharing :)

During our trip, we got to take a break from moving Nanna's stuff, and we took a tour around the lake with Justin's Aunt Sandy. She was such a wonderful tour guide. She has lived at Lake Tahoe for over 30 years, so she knew all the local history. This is overlooking Emerald Bay. It was the most beautiful day! I have totally and completely fallen in love with this lake.

Lots of beautiful snow and forest. It smelled so fresh!

Our little family, overlooking the lake. Trigger is a little distracted.

We stopped at the renowned CalNeva resort, so named because it sits on the California Nevada state line. It was owned from 1960 - 63 by Frank Sinatra. During that time the Rat Pack, Marilyn Monroe, the Kennedy's, and lots of other celebrities and gangers frequented the resort. There were many secret tunnels dug under the resort so that people could get from one place to another without being seen, and gangsters could escape when the authorities made a stop by the casino. Frank Sinatra lost the resort when gangsters were caught gambling there, and authorities took away his gaming and liquor licenses. At that time, most of the tunnels were sealed up. They offer a tunnel tour of the remaining tunnels though, so we went on that.

The CalNeva Resort sits right on the state line. In their huge gathering room, they have a line right down the middle of it. I took the liberty of planting one cheek in each state :)

This is Marilyn Monroe's cabin. Obviously it didn't look like this back in the early 60's when she

frequented the resort, but being in the cabin she stayed in 50 years ago was still an experience.

In her cabin, Frank Sinatra's cabin, and John F. Kennedy's cabin, there was a trap door in the

floor of the closet that led up to the resort. They are sealed up now, but imagine the secret liasons that went on back then.

This might be where Marilyn and JFK's affair began. Crazy!

Marilyn had such a sad life. After going on this trip, I bought a biography of Marilyn Monroe.

She had such a sad life. I highly recommend reading about her one day.

She was a fascinating lady.

Marilyn Monroe is said to haunt this staircase, and a medium who came in a few years ago said she saw Marilyn sitting on the stairs here, right next to where I am.

I really wanted to get her in my picture, but she didn't show up that day :)

Notice how the stairway goes to nowhere now. The trapdoor was sealed up in the 60's.

Getting in deep now! It's pitch black with the lights off back here.

In the deepest part of the tunnel. Over our heads is where the trap door was sealed, and there used to be futher tunnels behind us that were also sealed up the authorities back in the 60's.

Down in the same tunnel, just before leaving it. Notice the "grave" of Jimmie Hoffa LOL.

It is speculated that he is actually buried somewhere on the grounds of the CalNeva Resort.

This trap door was right in front of the stage, and could be hidden from the audience's view when the curtains were dropped. Members of the Rat Pack would use it to escape from the stage area if they got too drunk to perform or just didn't want to be seen before/after performances.

This could have been the exact booth the Rat Pack hung out in!

That was the end of our CalNeva visit. Very interesting place!

And on our way home, I snapped this photo, which pretty much says it all.

It was time to go home.

Reflections

It's two days before my birthday, and although 25 years old is still relatively young, it's not THAT young. Despite my efforts, I cannot help but reflect on my life and wonder if I've really made all the right steps that have led me to where I am today. By Utah's somewhat skewed averages, I appear to be a failure. I'm not married, or even engaged for that matter. I have no children. I haven't graduated from college yet, and although I love my job, I'll never make enough money there to say... buy my own house, or some fantastic new car.

But here's what I do know: I have the most wonderful family, immediate and extended. They love me no matter what. I have a wonderful man in my life. He is driven, he works so hard, and despite our disagreements here and there (that I usually cause :-/ ) he loves me so much. He will be the most wonderful husband and father. I have a job, and although it's not glamorous, I am working, and I am making a difference in some people's lives that I interact with, and I can feel pride at the end of the day that I've earned my paycheck and the things I buy with it. I am healthy. Most if not all of my loved ones are healthy. I am getting an education. I may not be getting it done at the rate that most people do, but I have had the opportunity to learn many different subjects until settling on what I want to study in more depth. And I believe in a higher purpose. I believe I have a Heavenly Father who loves me, and knowing that His love is unconditional also puts joy in my heart.

So after all of that, here's what I have to say: Screw you weird Utah culture. It's weird that most people are married at 19 or 20 years old. Weird I tell you. I might be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but I'm not sure I agree with people getting married so young, and having children so young and all of that, with hardly any real life, wordly experience. I'm grateful I've gone through what I have and the experiences I've been through. All statistics show that relationships are more successful and fulfilling when both partners have been together longer than 2 years, have a college education, and are over the age of 25. ALL STUDIES IN THIS AREA OF RESEARCH SHOW THE SAME RESULTS. So, I am no failure whatsoever. I am happy and exactly where I am supposed to be. I've let it bother me in the past, but that is no more. Utah is just weird, and just like models in magazines and special effects at the movies, NONE OF IT IS REAL. And because it's not real, there's no use using it as a measure of where you are and who you are. I am the happiest I've been in my life. Children will come one day, when we are ready for them. Right now I am so happy with Justin and my nephew Kayson, and our many friends with children and grandchildren. A wedding will come one day, and it's going to be a wonderful amazing day. I actually love looking forward to it, and that day is going to be even more perfect because we will have worked so hard on our relationship to make sure it will last the rest of eternity. Graduation will come, and I will have worked harder and become more well-rounded than most graduates since I've gone through four different majors.

My advice for anyone should they ask me is this: Do not pay attention to what everyone else is doing around you. The standards will always be false. Live only by your own standards and Heavenly Father's standards. Get married when you want to, not when you think everyone thinks you should, or when everyone else does. I almost did that, and I would have gotten a divorce a year later. Do not feel bad or like a lesser person because you think everyone is moving on and progressing when you feel you aren't. Progression is an individual growth processes.

I love my life, and that is that. Here are some things that have made me happy in my 24th year, and I can't wait to see what goes on during my 25th year :

A little introduction...

Well hello everyone :) After receiving numerous threatening posts from my sister on Facebook and via text message, I've decided to start a blog, if only to get her off my back. My little slice of heaven is in North Ogden with my boyfriend, Justin, of about a year and a half (that's combined, including the first time we dated three years ago. Look for that story later). We rescued a puppy back in November, and named him Trigger, in salute to our mutual interest in firearms and Justin's career as a police officer. Together the three of us make up my little crew, and my life is going fantastically well :) I have a great job I love, and I'm currently a senior at Weber State. Hopefully I graduate next spring. I have an annoying habit of changing what I want to do :) I'm a chick though, so that's my prerogative. Right? Well anyway... so I've got my man and my puppy I love to death. I've also got two sisters, one younger and one older, who are both married, and my parents and grandparents and numerous other extended family and friends that make up my amazing network of people who love and support me through thick and thin. 2009 started out very differently than it ended, and I'm so grateful for all my learning opportunities, and of course, a second chance with the love of my life. Well... I've created a blog and my first post. I'm exhausted, so I'll leave it right there for tonight and continue another day. Thanks for reading my first post. Loves!

P.S. Here's a picture of Trigger. He says hello. He's ecstatic to make his blogger debut.