Home for the Holidays

well today marks one month until i will be married to my best friend. its getting crazy all the planning but i am still very excited. i came home to vegas for christmas. i got home and missed jordan like crazy. its so weird that being with him for only a few months has made it so very hard to be away from him. friday we went to my grandma & grandpa brooks' house for christmas eve. it seems to be getting more and more interesting the older i get. haha. i asked for quilting boards and what do you know... I GOT THEM. everyone make fun but at least i know to quilt. the next morning i woke up early and hung out. mom made us waffles after we opened gifts. i was pretty excited about what i got but felt like a dud for what i gave. this whole not working thing is wearing on me. we went and saw little fockers [which ps was not that great and i was annoyed that parents dropped there kids off like it was a babysitting movie... note to self-never use a movie at a casino as a nany service] we got home and had dinner and sat around. my mom was bummed that no other family was over. she hates when no one is around especially considering this is my last year at both holidays. the next day was sunday-the fam and i went to church. one of my old young women girls played a christmas song that she wrote. it was so awesome. i love her & all the other girls for that matter! we got home and i headed to the airport to pick up my "christmas surprise". jordan came to spend the rest of the week with me. tuesday bryce, my dad, and mom left and went to arizona for an event. bryan turned 21. and now i feel like a grandma. we are going home tomorrow early morning and have a ton to start getting done!

its almost 2011

so here's the things i was thankful for in 2010:

1. the atonement.

2. my family.

3. getting to know jord, dating him, & getting engaged.

4. bryan having the opportunity to head to the real USC.

5. bryce being drafted & signing with the nats.

6. getting to know my new family.

7. moving to wyoming.

8. the beautiful snow & weather.

9. the love my family & the Lord gives to me.

10. that in 2011 i will be married to BEST FRIEND!

wedding planning=busy body

...as a little girl you dream of your 'big day'. finding the perfect dress. having the most perfect groom. the best bridesmaids. the best hair & makeup. and the best time! when youre a little girl you dont think of all the "fun" things that make weddings hard to plan! though i do have the best fiance, best dress(now), and best moh & bridesmaid... the stress that comes with planning-is a pain! hah

this past weekend jordan & i traveled to Utah to start all the plans. we were both SO stressed that i forgot to pack any underwear and jordan (being sicker than a dog troopin' it out) forgot dress shoes. weve decided utah&dress shoes for him DO NOT go together! we got into utah late thursday night. thank goodness our photographer was so awesome- we were late for our appointment with her & she was very understanding since we had to go purchase a few "vital" items on friday morning. friday afternoon we met Whitney & her husband at Marley's in The Shops at Riverwood. We chatted and then headed out to start our engagement photos. We shot for a few hours. I couldnt stop talking (sorry whitney!) hopefully we got some good shots haha. Jordan and I had fun but after we were done we were exhausted, grumpy, sick, and STARVING. we ate dinner at Marley's and let me tell you- UHH-MAZING sliders!

 

see for yourself...

we headed back to the hotel so he could study, and get some rest. he was really not feeling well at all. the next morning we had to be up way early to pick my mom up from the airport. she flew in to help us with a few things. jordan dropped my mom and i off to try on dresses. it was a lot of fun. the woman helping us was way sweet and was 4 months pregnant and sick. sad, but cute! the third dress i tried on was the one i bought. when i saw it i fell in love-though there was another that was playing with my heart i did buy third one. after we got the dress, we headed to our catering tasting. yet again another amazing meal. we decided to go with Good Wood barbecue in the utah area. our menu is delicious and the food is going to be so good! we are very excited!

if you live near provo-GO i promise youll love it!

we then drove my mom back to the airport and headed home. it was getting late by this time and upon crossing the state line into wyoming... there was a beautiful blizzard. haha. it ended up taking us probably 7 hours to get to riverton where we stayed with reese & steph in there "safe haven" for us. we were so thankful we made it to riverton in one piece. jordan drugged me and made me go to sleep bc i was so car sick. once we got to reese and stephanies i was feeling much better but so out of it! we got up the next morning and headed home. it only took us 2 1/2 hours or so. it was so nice to be home. it was such a LONG drive and we will be making the same drive here in a week or so to do some more plans. hopefully they will all be done here soon so i can relax and enjoy all of this! we are heading to billings saturday to size my ring and register(probably the BEST part for the girls haha) i am VERY excited!

It has been a WHILE...

so... its been a few months and a lot has gone on! I recently moved to Wyoming so that i could be much closer to jordan. being so far away was getting pretty hard. it was sad to say goodbye to my family, but its been a lot of fun being here. i have had a ton of support from my family, in so many ways. i have yet to find a job mostly because my sweet sweet mother, wants me home for the holiday's, and i am thankful for that. i am really enjoying being here with jordan & especially with his family. i love them. they have helped tremendously in this transition. they are awesome. its been way nice to get to know them all even better.


i recently went home for thanksgiving. it was nice to be in vegas with my family, but felt pretty weird being there. flying in was VERY awkward for me, especially since it was the first time i have ever traveled for the holidays. bryan picked me up from the airport and we went home to moms alfredo! so delicious. the next day was thanksgiving. my brothers and i did our traditional photo before leaving for grandma & grandpa brooks brunch meal. we sat in the car for a minute and had an 'awkward' funny moment. it made me realize how awesome my family is and really showed me how much we really are alike. it was nice to see our family. i felt pretty bad for grandma, she was up very early with no help cooking, i wish i would have know to help her. after we finished there, we headed to my aunt suzies house for dinner. she is the best. i absolutely love her! everyone was there... i havent seen my uncle jim & aunt carol in years. it was pretty weird, but nice to see them again. my grandma harper was as hilarious as always. ryan & my dad kept everyone laughing. and my new 'nephew' (second cousin) MAX was there. he is so perfect and ryan & jess are the cutest new parents. i just love them. after dinner we headed home and spent the evening watching BUDDY THE ELF WHATS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR. the next day i went with bryce shopping. that was fun. i love spending anytime i can with him. after we just hung out. saturday i got my hair done with britt. i always enjoy seeing her. she is such a great person and friend. i love her to death. we had a good talk it made me excited and nervous. after i went and visited amber, it was great seeing her. it sucks not having her close. we didnt do much that evening since i had to be up at the crack of dawn for my flight. jordans grand parents were on my flight and drove me home for the airport. that was fun spending time with them. i love cresta's dad- boots. hes a funny guy.


NOW for the big news. monday afternoon around 4:45pm jordan drove me out to horseshoe bend. he had been talking about taking me out there since i moved here. he was waiting for it to freeze because coming from a city i have never walked on a frozen lake. we walked out to the middle'ish of the lake looking at the cracks and hearing the lake freeze more. the sun was setting and i turned to him and he told me he had something to ask me. he made up this story. he pulled out a piece of paper and said 'i am the most unromantic person and since i couldnt go get you a ring saturday, i have been looking online and found these three, i want you to pick one out.' he tells me to open the paper, mind you im wearing my goofy mitten gloves and all i have is control of my thumbs, i open the paper all the way and its blank. i look at him and tell him its blank. he says its blank because i have the ring right here. he pulled out the ring and opened the box. he asked me do i get on my knee. i said yes of course. he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him... IN THE MIDDLE OF A LAKE! i of course said yes. i was so nervous and excited! i just couldnt believe it really happened! it was the best moment of my life thus far. the ring came in a red oak box with leather inside... not a VELVET box. haha. the ring, the place, jordan, everything-it was perfect.

we will be getting married on january 29, 2011 in the mount timpanogos temple. it is a beautiful temple in the provo area, and is goregous with snowfall.

i am so excited to marry jordan and be his wife for eternity. he is truly my best friend and i don't know what i would do without him. i am so thankful to have been so blessed with such an unbelievable companion. the Lord must really love me a lot to send me someone as amazing as him. i am so excited... its been a very crazy and emotionally month but november 29 made every tear, worth it. in 2 months i will be mrs. jordan peterson! CRAZY!