We could get used to this

We had a lovely time in Southern California. Again.
It was especially nice knowing that we'll get to call this place home in just a few short months. A few highlights from our weekend (which was actually a couple weekends ago):

Barefoot walk on the beach at sunset...

A 7,000-calorie Nutella Banana crepe from our beloved Cafe Crepe in Santa Monica...

A visit to Downtown Disney...

Grabbing dessert at ESPNZone in Anaheim...

And - of course - seeing the sun, visiting the Hunts, driving by our future home, staying at the Hotel Kerr, chowing down at In-N-Out, sitting in horrendous traffic for two hours and therefore missing Sprinkles Cupcakes by five minutes, getting free dinner at Olive Garden, eating Susie's bacon waffles, and spending time with some of our favorite people.

Yeah, we could definitely get used to this.

Minus the traffic, that is.

I still date other boys

And they're pretty cute, too! The only downside is that I have to pay for these ones :-) Before Matt and I get married, I'm taking each of my five brothers on a "date" with just the two of us. I've been having fun spoiling them and (hopefully) giving them some fun memories with their big sis. Three down, two to go!

First, Kaleb (6) and I went mini-golfing and grabbed some dessert afterward. It was his very first date and he was such a little gentleman! He opened every single one of my doors and even "paid" for our activities (handed over my debit card).

I took Matthew (12) to see the Harlem Globe Trotters when they came to Salt Lake a couple months ago. They were so much fun to watch! Matthew's an incredible athlete so he especially appreciated their dunking skills. After the game, Matthew even got to meet the star, Big Easy, who autographed his brand new Globe Trotters jersey.



Most recently, Christian (15) lucked out and got to go to Six Flags Magic Mountain with me. Matt had a track meet in LA on the 18th, so I took Christian out early to get some serious roller coaster riding in. We soon discovered that the only problem with taking your 6-foot-tall little brother on a "date" is that other people end up thinking you're actually dating (e.g. the photographer who told us to kiss for a picture?!). I really hope I don't look young enough to be dating a fifteen-year-old.

Any ideas of what I could do with Josh (4) and Gabe (2)? Matt and I have already taken them to the zoo, but I was thinking of Jump on It or Kangaroo Zoo... or maybe the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point?

Engagements {Great Salt Lake}

We ended our day at the Great Salt Lake, where the storms had brought with them an incredible backdrop.

I love him, you know?

A HUGE thanks to McKenzie Deakins for being such an amazing photographer.

And that, friends, marks the end of our engagement pictures recap. Hope you enjoyed!

Engagements {Capitol Hill}

Next, we changed in our little portable closet (suburbans with the back seat taken out and deeply-tinted windows, anyone?) and headed up to Utah's own Capitol Hill for some classic shots with my soldier.

Next: Last but not least, casual pictures at the Great Salt Lake.

Engagements {City Hall}

It was important to us to take traditional Sunday-dress pictures to send out with our invitations.

So, Matt brought out his favorite suit, my mom sewed me a pretty dress (they just don't make modest dresses for tall girls), and we started our engagement session at Salt Lake's City Hall and The Exchange Place. Here's a little sampling of all the great pictures McKenzie took at those locations (I'll post the others separately). You'll have to be watching your mailbox to see our favorite picture from this series, though :-)

Next up: My man in uniform.

An Easter Lesson

There is something so innately powerful about the pure and simple testimony of a child.
Tonight, my family watched The Testaments to celebrate the real reason for Easter, Christ's resurrection.

Immediately after the movie ended, 2-year-old Gabe stood up and sweetly announced to everyone,
"My Jesus loves me."
It was a neat moment.

Then again, I guess there's always room to learn. Gabe has been struggling lately with the concept that you can love more than one person at a time (and therefore takes turns loving Daddy, Mommy, or the favorite sibling of the moment).
When Gabe repeated the same statement a little later, we (forgetting his current love hang-up) asked him if Jesus loved Joshie, too. "No," he replied. "My Jesus loves me."

Banquet at the Broadmoor

Every spring, Air Force hosts their annual football banquet at the beautiful Broadmoor in Colorado Springs...

...which means that, thanks to my handsome football-playing fiance, we get to enjoy a nice little date at the 5-star hotel.

It was kind of crazy to officially mark the end of Matt's time with Falcon Football at the banquet last weekend. Even with all the injuries he had to deal with, it was an incredible experience that we're both grateful he was able to be a part of.

(Matt's senior media day picture)

And now, with that said, I can get around to posting the rest of our engagement pictures. Stay tuned!

All the world is waiting for the sun

Although, a little rain never hurt anyone.

This would be a little preview of our engagement pictures, taken by the fabulous McKenzie.
Care to see more?

PS- the title comes from a Breaking Benjamin song that Matt sings to me with his guitar. Just in case you were wondering.

Sharks & Stingrays

So, after two years of begging and pleading, I finally convinced Matt to go to the Denver Aquarium with me. Everyone says it's a must-do in Denver--which was good enough reason for me to go--but we didn't know much about it other than that. I think we were both pleasantly surprised by how entertaining (and educational, of course) it was.

In fact, Matt was entertained from the moment he got to put on his scuba gear.

The aquarium takes you through different ecosystems, showing you which fish (and a few other animals) live there and providing some fun activities along the way. Matt went mining for gold in the mountains...

... and then we got the weather report in the desert. Bet you can't guess who's more excited about the warm desert sun.

We especially enjoyed the rainforest, which had a bunch of fun animals like a tiger, turtles, parrots and PIRANHAS! I dared Matt to stick his finger in their tank (because we're really mature like that), but he didn't (because we actually are somewhat mature). I think he was a bit creeped out by their beady little eyes:

Since the tiger was asleep, the turtles took home the prize for the rainforest section. Maybe we're just easily amused but they were cracking us up! They'd be sitting on their rocks and then carefully inch toward the water... and inevitably dive/fall in before they were quite ready. It was pretty cute.

Then we got to the "ocean," where Matt tried (unsuccessfully) to communicate with the fish.

The ocean section had a few of these tunnels, which are always fun.

Even more impressive, however, was the huge shark tank that let you get up close and personal with the, um, precious things.

Matt was a little apprehensive at first...

...but then he warmed right up.

And just when we thought our little aquarium tour was over, we walked into the stingray exhibit and got to pet the little guys! I may or may not have been a bit jumpy every time they'd turn and look at me while I was petting them.
Matt, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind.

It was a good time.