Spring is in the air

As of March 20th spring has officially been here. As of March 28th, spring has been in my house. Seems kind of silly, but my birthday is the reminder that spring is here and summer is coming. Its so nice to know that winter is loosing its draw, and that flowers and warm temperatures will be here (including JUNE)!!!

Spring to me is the promise of wonderful times to come, and what better way to celebrate it then a new year in my life. I am officially 20 and out of my TEENS! I will NOT be a 19 year old Mormon bride, and of that I am SO grateful.

Spring cleaning is the latest demand on my time, including spring cleaning of my grades, room, and the boring winter activities me and Jared have been doing. Out with the inside activities, and in with the fun outdoors things like hiking, swimming, cliff jumping, water skiing, camping, outdoor sports (namely tennis), and kite flying!

The one thing I actually wanted to do for my birthday was go fly a kite, so naughty me and Jer skipped Sunday school, went to Mueller Park and flew a kite.

We had an absolutely wonderful time in the sun and breeze, and I can't wait to do it again!

Spring is also a time for my family to break out our spring tree, but because of my birthday celebration with all my Stan Buck cousins, we had to wait till after. It is something that I fondly remember as a child. You have the branch from a tree (broken off of the tree obviously), and then make colorful tissue paper flowers and attach them with pipe cleaners to the branch. Its just a reminder of all the beauty that will soon be here, while its still ugly outside with no leaves on trees, and brown grass.

One of the best things I am looking forward to now, is moving home in exactly 3 weeks and being done with winter semester. Along with that comes wedding pictures, wedding showers, and completely all the wedding planning and details for the reception! The next big thing we need to get done is invitations, but I'll wait for those until the last week of April. In the next week or two I need to register at the stores with Jared and we are still vacillating on where we're going to register. One item I definitely have taken care of for married life is a really nice mixer! My Parents bought me a really nice Kitchen Aid for my birthday that has thousands of extensions including a juicer, a noodle presser, a can opener, and more!

I can't wait to be able to use this fine piece of machinery that I have wanted for forever! It is plain white, but it will do anything and everything I want it to in regards to baking and I am totally stoked! YES STOKED! Even though I don't get to use it until we're married, I want to break it out as soon as we are moved into wherever we are going to be living (we have yet to go apartment hunting) and make Jared some amazing bread, or a cake, or a pastry, or something!

Easter is this upcoming weekend. Jared and I were going to go to a family Easter Egg hunt. However because we want to have our own traditions, and one of these (for me at least) is having our own easter egg hunt I have decided to surprise him with my own variation and exciting things to do on Saturday as our Easter egg hunt. We also are looking forward to receiving divine counsel from the leaders of our church, and can't wait to be uplifted and edified this conference weekend. Overall absolutely loving the fact that spring is here, and loving all the fun things to come!

Distance makes the heart grow fonder...

It's only been a couple days since my last post, but I am incredibly lonely and sad without Jared here. We had an amazing weekend which included a double date where we cooked delicious pizza and played games. It was nice to relax and have fun conversation with friends who helped us to unwind from this past week. After Jer left to go back home I could only think of how much I wanted him here with me, and for him to comfort me as I prepared for a test. Thank goodness I got it together, studied with the help of my roomie Whit, and got a 90% on my test!

As many of our friends who were in close contact with us before we got engaged know, Jared and I's deal was we couldn't get engaged until we read the entire Book of Mormon together. We finished just a few weeks before he proposed, but have since decided that we want to always be reading the scriptures together as a couple. So we have now started into the New Testament which I'm excited will enrich our testimonies, and help prepare me to enter the temple. "It is an outward indication of an inner feeling that we have for Him. We should always remember that it is by His invitation that we come to His holy house, the temple of the Lord. We should respond to His invitation by being worthy, by being prepared, and by having the temple as a priority in our lives" (Lionel Kendrick, Enhancing Our Temple Experience).

Because engagement is a time of preparation for the life you will have together, Jared and I have started going through a marital question book. It sounds cheesy, but so far they are really good conversation invoking questions! Ha! I used to make fun of the people who did the questionnaires, but hey if you can't beat them; join them!

Here are some pictures of the book itself! It was recommended by a friend who is now married. Thank you Ren Wakefield!
























(honestly the book sits on my desk in between weekends just collecting dust. But we're getting better! It will help a ton once we're both down with semester.)

I hope that with dedication to honestly answering the questions asked and doing everything we can to find out all the smallest details about each other, then we hopefully will not be surprised by many differences of preference in marriage!

I seriously have loved this semester! Between my marriage prep class, and my mission prep class I have so much good information and critical advice at my fingertips I'm feeling rather prepared to get married! One thing that my mission prep teacher, Professor Bott suggested, was that while on your honeymoon (in marriage or with a new mission companion) you should hold a companionship inventory and make it a habit in your relationship. I brought this up with Jared, and thank goodness he knew what I was talking about because I sounded crazy while trying to describe it! We agreed that this is something of importance, and I'm sure it will help our communication as we try to better ourselves as a couple. Hopefully as I learn new things, I will be able to discuss them with Jer so we can be more prepared for life married! The next three months could not go fast enough, even though there is still a lot of details and planning left to do!

I didn't post these but here is a really fun thing that Jared and I did a couple weeks ago. We went to Color Me Mine (my childhood love) and painted a platter. Between taking turns and playfully arguing over whose team was better, I think we're ready for a test of patience. Or maybe that was our test of patience...oh well.


          
(This is the non-fired, freshly finished being painted picture)

We had a BLAST doing this and would recommend it to anyone who needs some serious stress relief. Although I think it may have caused more trying to out-do each other on our side of the masterpiece! We had a blast doing this, and I can't wait to make matching mugs, or plates or something! The world will know there is such a thing as a successful inter-marital holy war couple!!!

Over the 3 month mark!

It's been almost a full month since Jared proposed, and already almost all of the big decisions and problems have been taken care of. The photographs, flowers, and family outfits are the only things left to find. I went and ordered the cake last Saturday and it is going to be DELICIOUS!!! And gorgeous might I say!

Since the planning got started my concentration and drive to make school number one priority has gone downhill quickly. I'm holding it together now that the important and big decisions have been made. Thank goodness the planning is going along quickly so I can turn my attention else where. The only problem is that I'm completely and fully DONE with this semester emotionally, and mentally. I have no desire to make myself study, especially when there are more enjoyable things to do such as wedding planning!

Well, as of two days ago we were officially at the three month mark from the wedding! It's crazy to think that in three months I will be married to my best friend! Twitterpated is an understatement.

The latest developments in Jared and I's life is that we got the HONEYMOON booked!!! And he's on spring-break, and therefore was able to come to visit me for two whole days right after the weekend down in Provo. We loved being able to spend time together for FOUR DAYS for the first time since Christmas break. We finally got to go play racquetball together (I won), and I cooked him dinner, which consisted of strawberry spinach salad, pasta, and baked potatoes. The baked potato didn't turn out so well. But now I know how to make baked potatoes. Kinda like now I know how to properly make a grilled cheese sandwhich thanks to Jer. Let's just keep it that I am best at cooking deserts and baked goods,



(ex. braided bread that I made)

but stink majorly at dinners or entrees!



(ex. left the pizza in the oven too long.)

So Jer, I admit, openly in front of anyone who reads this blog, that I am a terrible cook when it comes to certain things, and that you will need to teach me a lot of things or suffer lots of burned dinners when we first get married. But you are such a wonderful chef so I trust we won't starve. Here's to hoping anyways.

My amazing Man and absolutely gorgeous ring

A ton of people have been asking for pictures so here are some of the finished ring and wonderful man in my life! I'm so proud of Jer for picking everything out himself. He did an amazing job and my ring is absolutely what I want and dreamed of!


(you can't see it, but the center diamond is perfect cut and colorless, so its very sparkly!)

This ring reminds me of my grandmothers ring, very antique, detailed, and very much me. I love the special details of my ring, and how beautiful it is. I love it so much, and I couldn't have thought of anything more amazing that Jared could have gotten.


(I love the side detailing, diamond accents, and metal work)

I am so happy with everything Jared did, and I am so proud of my ring and what it represents!


(my ring is huge and its so weird to have it on my hand finally!)

Today Jared and I went and had our first shots of engagements. Here's just one picture of us in a setting that we love!



I'm so ready for June to come and to be able to get married and sealed forever! I'm even more excited to never have to leave Jared at night, we'll never have the awkward goodnight doorstep kiss while others watch us (you know who you are), and we won't have to worry about being chaperoned. I can't wait to get to cook together, to make a home together, to have nightly scripture study, to get ready with each other, and to go to church together. I cannot wait for married life, and to have all the wedding planning done and dealt with!