3 days!!!

Ok, so I realize that my countdown is probably getting slightly annoying to readers, but you guys will have to get over it. I can't believe we're so close to the big day!!

Oh, and good news. After multiple attempts, I have finally finished our wedding reception video! I was having issues with Windows Movie Maker and getting the timing just right. It kept skipping huge chunks of music on the disc, which was completely unacceptable. But after burning 3 separate DVD's, it's finally RIGHT! And it's stinkin' cute. Not gonna lie, we're gonna have darling kids. I dunno if anyone else knows this, but we were absolutely adorable when we were little. And now we're just hands down amazing looking. In fact, Riley was worried we'd have a problem getting our marriage license today since the world can't possibly handle more cute children, but we got it!!

I haven't posted in a few days, because I've been understandably busy. I can't help that I did school this semester and Riley suckered me into marrying him so close to midterms! I've been busting my butt to get all my homework done and tests studied for. I even have to take a test just a few short hours before our family and friend's dinner on Thursday! But it was either take it on Thursday, or take it Saturday morning. Screw. That.

This weekend we carved pumpkins and scared Baker's parents to death. A little explanation for those two things. So on Saturday night, Ryan Newbold, my friend Jocelyn, Jared, Sammie, and Riley and I decided to trek to Wal Mart to buy ourselves some pumpkins. I wanted to just steal some from a local patch, but they said since I'd been through the temple earlier that day that probably wasn't a good idea....yikes...who knew...So we went and bought some instead. The pickings at WalMart were slim, but we found some decent ones! Riley carved a happy face, mine had a skull and crossbones, Ryan's had a "Y" for BYU (In memoriam of their incredibly humiliating loss to TCU), and Jocelyn's...well...she's a little special when it comes to carving pumpkins, so she took hers home without finishing and hopefully it'll be turned into a masterpiece by her little brothers.

On Sunday we went and met with Riley's stake president. Luckily he decided we were a pretty good match and agreed to sign Riley's living ordinance recommend. PHEW. Anyways, later that night, after watching the Amazing Race (of course), we went with Riley's mom, dad, and sister to drop off the cardboard cutout his mom made at Baker's house. She had it made so he could be in some of the pictures from our wedding, at least in spirit. He's still way bummed out that he's missing the wedding, so this was a small gesture (along with shipping him a piece of wedding cake overnight) to compensate for him having to miss out on the festivities. We stood the cutout, which is basically his head taped on Mitt Romney's body, on his front porch and rang the doorbell and hid. His dad just laughed and thought it was great. Unfortunately his mom wasn't home at the time, so we had to wait for her to get there to see her reaction. Baker is such a great kid! We're probably not the best of influences on him what with sending him packages full of mountain dew to the MTC, but oh well. What are awesome friends for?! Riley's FedEx job gets him like 75% off FedExGround shipments, so we can send him whatever we want for pretty cheap! Sweet!!

Yesterday was kind of a rough day for me. With Riley working 12 hour days, I don't get to see him as much as I'd like. Plus I was getting weighed down with all the stresses of the reception, school, and work, and I guess you could say I kinda crashed. I slept for like 10 hours and laid in bed while I had a billion other things I could be doing. I'm just lucky I haven't gotten physically sick from all the outside stressors. But Riley knows me better than I know myself, and picked up on the fact that I'd kind of hit a wall. So when he got off work, he baked me cookies, rented Aliens vs. Monsters, and brought them up to my house and enjoyed them with me. What a nice gesture, I love him :) Can't wait to spend the next week in Lake Tahoe with him and relax from our apartment and everything else! Hopefully when we get back it'll be totally ready to move into. We're keeping our fingers crossed!!

We have a shower!!!

Good news! Our shower got finished yesterday! We still don't have carpet, or all the walls painted, or the tile done in the kitchen and bathroom, or a fridge, or light fixtures, a nice lock on the front door, etc...but...WE HAVE A SHOWER! Riley's dad finished tiling it, and it has officially gotten my stamp of approval. It looks great! Things are starting to come together, and even though all it really has is some of the paint, it's starting to look like it'll be fit to live in here pretty quick! Looking more and more like an actual apartment rather than an empty space every day.

Yesterday involved my mom, my grandma, Carter, and I dropping our engagement pictures and my bridals off to Frameworks to be framed. 24 hour turnover, doesn't get better than that. The frames we found were gorgeous, and the funny lady that helped us knew just what frames would look best with what pictures. We were really pleased. We then had lunch at Maddox and sat in our cars in the Staples parking lot since there weren't any places to sit outside. I went in to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to pick out another zen waterfall fountain since the one I ordered online doesn't light up, OR trickle water! Dumb.

BUT! After that, I got to meet up with a great friend of mine from high school later that day! It was so much fun to sit and chat for hours with her. We've both gotten really busy and I hadn't seen her since August we figured! But it didn't seem to matter, because we just happily chattered about all the goings-on in life. I'm grateful to have such awesome friends that I know will always be there for me. It kinda makes me feel bad when I drive past Davis and see all the high school kids going out with their friends to lunch, because it makes me miss my own high school years. We skipped out on one too many classes, ditched every assembly, snuck out past dark, went to Albertsons, Quiznos, home, and STARBUCKS nearly every day for lunch, and did completely random, crazy things one too many times; but I have NO regrets. I had TONS of fun, and wouldn't trade high school for the world. In fact, in lieu of reminiscing on all the crazy adventures we had, I'm just going to post some pictures so everyone else can enjoy our awesomeness. I love where I am today, and I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for my amazing friends. Thanks!

Still remodeling...

The last couple of days have been centered around the condo. It seems like someone is always there working, whether it's me, my dad, Riley, or his dad. Which is a good thing, because we're making some significant progress! Riley's dad has been really good to help us with the tile that will be in the kitchen and the bathroom. He's also re-tiling our bathtub/shower area, which desperately needed it! It'll be SO nice once it's finished! The second bedroom has been where the wet tile cutter has been stationed, so we haven't been able to get in there to paint, but we DID finish the master bedroom! Riley and my dad taped it off, and Riley's friend Ryan Newbold and I painted it. Ryan is way more experienced than me, so he did most of the cutting in around the edges, but I wasn't half shabby with the paint roller! I dripped a few times, but I didn't get any on the white ceiling *hint hint* *cough cough*. But seriously. We were way lucky Ryan volunteered to help us, it was way nice of him. I was forced to listen to some oldies radio station with the three guys, and it reinforced my love for Supertramp, Elton John, and a few others. Definitely made the work go by faster! On Tuesday before class, my dad and I painted the living room and that's almost done now, too.

The carpet guys are three days out, so when Riley's dad gets close to finished with the tile, we'll be giving them a call to come and install our carpet. That'll cut down on a whole lot of noise. I really hope our neighbors don't hate us before we even move in. That could get ugly!

On a different note, I just want it to be recorded somewhere that I got 98% on my first Western Civ test. All my studying paid off, but now let's just hope that I can pull it together to take two other tests before the wedding so I won't have to stress about it when we're in Lake Tahoe. I refuse to take ANY sort of homework with me. It'd just take up space, and chances are it'll bever get unpacked, who would I be kidding?

Yesterday I went and picked up my finished bridal shots from Chris, as well as our guest sign in book! Everything turned out great, we're still pleased. If any of the readers are getting married here soon, we'd STRONGLY recommend Robert Wood photo.

Here are a few of the pictures from before we started ripping apart the condo, as well as a couple of Riley and Ryan busy working.

Take note that the seventies called.... and they want their bathroom countertop back.

Less than 2 weeks to go!

Time is starting to zoom right by. Not that it went by slow before, but it seems to pass more quickly now that we only have 11 days till we're married! I'm starting to look at things in a different way. Every time I wake up I think, "This is one of the last days I'll be here in this room!" or when I get food from the fridge "This is one of the last times I can mooch off my parents!". It's really starting to come down to the wire!

On Friday me, Riley, Jared, Sammie, and Cody went and saw Paranormal Activity and let me tell you...it's pretty crazy! We started off the night with having good intentions to make progress on the paint in the condo, but we ended up just buying the paint for the baseboard, the ceiling, and the doors, dropped it off at the condo, and went to the movie instead. The next day my friend Sarah threw a bridal shower for me at her house and invited a few of our other friends. It was such a fun time! I really loved being able to sit and talk with a bunch of friends from high school, as well as other ones I've met along the way. I posted a bunch of those pictures on my Facebook page, but when I get a chance I'll post them on here, too. We had a blast just sitting and giggling, and talking about random things. Exactly what I needed! A girls day!

After that, I went and picked up Subway sandwiches for my family, along with Riley and my dad who had been at the condo all morning and were starving. I went down and helped paint the doors since they had already finished all the trim along the baseboards. They made fun of me that I was a slow painter, but I just wanted to do it right! They they stole my fun paint stick thing so they could paint the ceiling. We bought special ceiling paint that goes on a pink color, but dries white so you can see where you've painted. It was a sickly pink color to start out with, and I could sense the concern in their voices when they didn't know if it would actually dry white. But it did, and all is well! That night we hung out with Jordan and his new FIANCE Alyssa! They got engaged on Saturday! We're excited to have another married couple to hang out with!!! Jordan has been Riley's best friend throughout almost their entire lives, so I'm sure they'll be hanging out when they need time away from us ;) Not that THAT will ever happen! We went and got frosty's and food from Wendy's, sat in Riley's car and talked in the park, then finished off the night watching the latest episode of The Office. Awesome evening.

Then on Sunday we met with Riley's bishop. Riley told him how Jordan had gotten engaged, and said it was necessary he announce it over the pulpit in Sacrament meeting, since Jordan had done the same to us at a ward party! Karma!! We were pretty much obligated to stay for his sacrament meeting and see the humiliation take place. After Sacrament, I went home and tried to finish our wedding video that will play at the reception. I made some considerable progress, and now I just have to add the music! We were STINKIN' cute as kids...just throwin' that out there.... We also booked the Anniversary Inn for the 30th and the 31st since our condo probably isn't going to be done in time for us to stay there before the honeymoon. We're pretty excited about that, it should be a fun place to stay!

We ended our Sunday night watching the Amazing Race with his family, but the recording got interrupted so we didn't get to see if anyone got eliminated! Thank goodness for Hulu. We'll be watching the last 15 minutes of that episode online when it gets loaded. Stay tuned for pictures of the bridal shower!!!

Bathing Benny

As per tradition, Benny was the "happy" recipient of a bath today. There are many reasons for this every other week occurence, namely; the family dog Cooper insists on peeing on the same bush as Benny. Sometimes this happens while Benny is in the act, and I'm pretty sure he gets hit every once and awhile with a few drops. Happy and exciting? I know. Also, Benny thinks it's the greatest thing in the world to just stick his head in the trash can and push it (and its contents) around the house. Not sure how often everyone else checks out the bottom of trash cans, but it's completely unacceptable material to be shoving your face in day after day. So for these reasons, PLUS he sleeps in my bed, Benny gets bathed quite often.
Usually Riley helps me with the process, but he was at the condo prepping it for paint tonight, so I got to do it all by myself. As a bit of background on Benny, he's the nicest, happiest little dog ever. We (well...I) rescued him from the shelter in Salt Lake. He was a hardcore gangster dog roaming the streets of West Valley as a vagabond when he was picked up. That's how I envision it happening. However, I'm sure it went a little more like the dog catcher was perusing the streets and he willingly came up to him to be pet and to receive a treat. I like to think he's a bit more hardcore than that...but...he's not. He's a seven pound spoiled brat.
I really should have taken a picture of him while he was sitting in the bathtub, but it's hard enough using one hand to wash him, and the other to keep him securely in the bathtub to prevent him prematurely jumping out or shaking off. Besides, a picture like that would have been pathetic anyways. He just looks like this dinky little wet rat when he's in the tub.
He doesn't mind sitting in the tub and getting shampooed and conditioned, and he especially loves jumping out into a towel to be dried. But he absolutely HATES getting brushed, and tolerates getting blow dryed. I let him get away without a brushing, but he smells like a wet dog for hours if I don't blow dry him. That process usually involves cornering him and shooting him straight in the face with air. I found myself reasoning with him, which I do all the time, but this time imparticular I really got thinking about what I was doing. I realized I was saying things like "If you don't get blow dryed you won't get to sleep in the bed tonight!", or "Don't bite me or you'll have to sleep in your crate all alone". This got me thinking...are these phrases really meant for the dog? Or am I subconsciously prepping myself for phrases that will be said to Riley in the future? Not word for word exactly, but empty threats nonetheless? We'll see! In the meantime, here are some pictures of our sweet/devil dog.

Trying to get the water out of his ears after his bath tonight

He likes playing with Riley!

What a hard life...

Temple Clothes

My mom, my grandma and I went today to search for a temple dress for me. It was a fun experience to go to the Distribution Center with them and find something for me to wear. I've said all along through our engagement that the church aspects of our wedding have been so simple! Calling and scheduling the temple for our wedding date was as easy as one five minute conversation with a darling older temple worker. Finding my temple clothes was as easy as a 45 minute visit to the distrubution center. It's been all the worldly "extras" that have caused all the headaches! The reception center, the dress, the flowers, the candy bar, etc etc! I think that's a sign, if nothing else, that the church has a great thing going.

After finding my temple dress we went to lunch at Boston's Market in Layton, and ended up making a mandatory trip to DSW while we were in the area. Found a darling pair of boots, couldn't bring myself to spend the $60 bucks on them, so I went to Forever Young on my way to work today and found myself TWO pairs for 50 bucks for the both of them!! SWEET! That was the highlight of my entire day. They're darling boots, and a lot more reasonably priced! I'm going to have to start saving and stop splurging when we get married! But for now it's my money, and my separate bank account, so I feel obligated to buy myself a few things before I have to save for the both of us ;)

Worked a great shift tonight! I still absolutely LOVE my job and I hope I'll be able to continue working here after my time as a "student" is up. We've run into a few snags with the church's hiring freeze and promoting me to a member of the support staff may prove to be tricky. But they're short handed and seem to like me well enough, I love the job, and it'd work out for the best of both parties if I'm able to stay. I've already turned down another job offer because I enjoy my environment here so much. It'd be a hard transition somewhere else because I adore the people I work with and it'd keep me in the right field for when I graduate! I've had some great experiences here so hopefully I'll be able to stay!

Apple Pie!!!!.....?

So yesterday Brianna, Sammie, and I had a novel and brilliant idea!! Since they're in season we decided to go to a local farmer's market type thing and buy a bunch of apples to make apple pie! Awesome, right?! Right! We had a ton of fun! We went and picked out our apples and ended up with 13 lbs of them! The lady was nice and gave us a good discount on them, which was cool of her. We drove in my dad's truck, and that was an adventure (see previous post...) but we made it there and back safely! We came back to my house to make our pie! We made absolutely EVERYTHING from scratch! We peeled the apples, we made the filling, and we also slaved away on making the crust just perfect. Let me tell you. They were award winning pies. Brianna ended up having to leave early to make it back down to Provo for a study group, but Sammie and I baked ours in the oven for the appropriate 50 mins just like the recipe said. After they were done and removed from the oven, we set them on top of the oven to cool down. We were both starving, so we made a trip to Wendy's for some food.

Upon coming back...we were greeted with a horrific scene. Sammie's audible gasp made me quickly realize what had gone awry. Cooper (my family's golden doodle) had gotten into our pies! He had obviously stood up and tried to get at them, because both of our pies were dented and hers had two perfect paw print markings on one half. Luckily he didn't actually eat them, as our pictures demonstrate, but he definitely tried. We think we've narrowed it down to two possible scenarios. Either the pie was too hot and he didn't want to eat it, or we got home right as he jumped up, because the pies were still very much there where normally I think he would've just consumed the entirety of them. Needless to say, Sammie and I both plan on still eating the pies, as well as serving them to our boys. Jared will never know the difference, and I don't plan on telling Riley until AFTER he eats his piece. Aren't they lucky guys?! First and last time WE try to be all domestic!!

This is Sammie being angry with Cooper

As a side note, if anyone was wondering how Jared and Sammie talk to eachother over text? It goes a little something like this...

"Dear Shnookums,

I cherish the passion we share for eachother. I miss my sweet Teddy bear every time we're apart. Love waits for only one thing, the right moment. Soul meets soul on lover's lips.

My little cabbage, your eyes make me swim through them. Oh object of my affection, every day I love you more and more. My smoochy dumpling butt, how much I care for you. You are the Don Juan of my heart, my casanova you.

Love,

Sammie"