Trip to Hagerman, Idaho

Jake has been wanting me to experience Idaho for quite sometime. He used to come up here a lot as a kid, since this is where his mom grew up. They have this big ranch with like 20 or more horses in the middle of no where (to me). It's actually smaller than Vermont!!!  It was really fun actually! I was able to stand in the middle of a field, with like 10 horses just surrounding us, wanting to be petted... Usually I just stand on the fence and try to pet them... so this was a little nerve racking. But, they were all friendly horses.. Jakes cousin was also shoeing horses, which was my first experience watching that happen. It looks pretty painful, but I guess they don't feel it?? I got to pet the horse, as it was getting shoed. This is Sadie.

Jakes Uncle Frank took us on a horse and buggy ride through town, after Brandon shoed this horse... I felt amish as everyone stared as we rode on past.. but I am pretty sure the whole town knew his Uncle Frank.

 In the front..that's Jakes Uncle Frank, and his daughter Jelinda with her little girl Savannah...

It was soo windy outside. Beautiful day, but the wind was a killer! We were going to ride horses, but we figured we would just go up again when it was a little warmer outside... and I build up a little more courage :)

Jakes Uncle is trying to get rid of some of the horses....so he offered me a horse as a wedding present... I guess they have too many.. I said, wow, my dad would love that! Maybe a return for my wedding ;)

Then we went and saw some falls that were near there ranch... I forget what these are called... But they were really pretty...The water was crystal clear.

 Apparently, they used to come off this whole cliff, but they put generators in, and something to control where it ran off...

To bad we didn't plan ahead... we could have done our engagements :)

We went to this abandoned barn that was used back in the day... There was an owl there, and this was its little baby.

 This was in Twin Falls, Idaho... Marissa and I were trying to imitate the statue... but it was rather difficult...

 The bridge behind us was huge! People were jumping off it as we were there... We saw 3 people jump off. It was pretty crazy. I guess it's the largest "legal" bridge to jump off of... Snake River I believe is below it.

 Jakes little cousin Savannah wanted to go see the alligator.. They have a town pool, and just to the side they had this... It was kinda random.

And then... Shoshone Falls.. Incredible! It's a must see for people who can't get out to Niagra Falls. Apparently, these are taller than Niagra, but Niagra is much wider...They were rather intimidating to walk down too..

The Crew... Jakes brother Matt, and sister Marissa that made the trek to Idaho....It was a really fun trip, and I am so glad we went!

Liz's Wedding

May 21, Mt. Timp Temple

One of my good friends Liz got married this weekend at the Mt. Timp Temple. It was so neat to be able to actually go into the temple and see her sealing. Jake and I are actually planning on getting married at this temple as well! It was almost a miracle that there was sun that day, since it was raining for a week straight... and as soon as Sunday rolled around it was back to raining!
The day turned out perfect for her, and I am so excited for Cameron and Liz!!!

This was one of the bridesmaids Lauren. We were kinda the run around girls on Friday trying to get things all coordinated :)

The Mt. Timp temple from the side

The entire bridal party....

The DJ, also my "fiance" :)

The bride and I ... and, don't mind my slouching... I have like 4 inches on her :)

My Fiance...

Meet Jake when he was a little boy....I absolutely love this video. It makes me laugh.. That's his little sister Jennica. His passion for music started at a very young age ;)

The Engagement...

 I don’t even know where to begin… May 6th, 2011 was a day talked about for weeks with us. It was not only a 30th birthday for Jake, but there was also a Graduation with his Masters at Utah State… my parents 44th Anniversary and my good friend Liz’s endowment day… A very exciting day! Jake told me the previous day, “Man, there are a lot of good happenings on this day!” Little did I know there was also a surprise that was going to blow me out of the water!!

The day started off kind of funny... Jake and I have both been sick with colds. But, I told him I wanted to take him out to breakfast at Kneaders, before we headed up to Logan, Utah for his graduation. You could tell my mind was so out of it, because when we sat down at Kneaders, I bursted, “Shoot! I was supposed to pay for your breakfast!” My mind was just not thinking. I have been planning, and coordinating with Jake’s family for his big SURPRISE birthday party later that night for the last few weeks. The whole day, even week, I would try and watch my words, because Jake and I think very alike... and I didn’t want to give him any idea that he had this big surprise party that night.

The day went on, his graduation was so great! I felt like it went by so fast, and we were just back in the car racing to get back home. Little did I understand at the time, it was for something I did not have any clue about.

The original plan was Jake's sister, Marissa, was going to be calling around 8pm, and she was going to say she desperately needed help carrying something for a work party. However, she called around 7pm, and wanted us to go over to the “party site” right now. I was soo confused! There I am talking to Jake's mom, trying to figure out why she is calling so early… all the people that I coordinated with weren’t going to be there till 8.. But Riss was trying to get me over there, and to hurry… and somehow people were showing up early apparently.

So with full confusion, and worry about how this surprise is going to come off... We headed down there. We opened the doors to this place, and there is a sign with candles pointing us into another room.

We opened the door and there lay 260 roses, scattered throughout the room. The room was absolutely gorgeous! There was bouquet after bouquet of roses all over… with rose pedals and candles lighting a path to a table with wine glasses (sparking cider) and a picnic basket of dinner. (My thought process-->“Wow, why did Riss go to this extreme?” “That was really nice of her to have a little romantic setup for Jake and I after a crazy day”) There was another sign that said “Play Me”, and it was to a video that showed pictures of Jake and I from our very first date at the Kenny Chesney concert all the way to our last taken in Connecticut. (My Thought process-->“Man, Riss did a really good job getting all these pictures of us.” “Man Jake, this is something you would put together!” ) While watching this whole video, looking around waiting for Riss to come in, wondering how this surprise was going to happen, so confused on everything while listening to “Marry Me, by Train during the whole video)….Jake then proceeds to get on one knee, and I still didn’t get it… and then the Ring… I see the ring, and he asks me to marry him. I screamed, “Shut it!” “Are you serious?” “You were in on the surprise too!”….. After a few dramatic moments from me, he says, “Well, is that a yes?”….

I was 100% completely surprised! I could not even believe it. 1. He pulled it off without even me knowing/thinking that it was going to happen EVEN when it was happening… 2. His parents and siblings were ALL in on it as well, so the joke/surprise was really on me. 3. Again, I was so surprised and in shock. I was actually sweating while Jake was crying :)

Needless to say, it was such an amazing night. We left for a bit to call our families and tell them the great news, and then we went into the party with everyone waiting there for us. It was such a great great night! Much thanks to all the help and work that was put into the night!!

After four years, we are finally engaged!!!

Oh, and I apologize for this post being so incredibly late.. Blogger has been down for over a week...

Visit to Connecticut... with Jake!

So this past week, I was able to go home for a week to Connecticut and just spend time with my family. It was such a great, relaxed week with my family and watching my two cute nephews! They are growing so fast, I can't even believe it! Only 5 months apart, they have the cutest but two really different personalities!

Jake made the trip as well! I had a few suspicions, but when we got to the airport we got out of the car and Jake grabbed my bag, and proceeded to grab his.. and says "Alright, got my bag!" ... I was confused, but soo happy!!! It was so nice having him make the trip with me.. It was a quick trip for him, but he was able to experience and see where I grew up. I loved having him out there for Easter weekend, and being able to meet some of my family and friends.

We made sure he got a Pizza Palace Grinder as well :)