The latest and greatest

in the Farnsworth world is a long list today, which I am very grateful for. June has been a perfect kick off summer month, so here's what we've been up to. 

First off..

Last week we met with the surgeon at Utah Valley hospital. We learned that he came down from Primary Children's about 3 years ago and got the pediatric specialty surgery unit kind of up and running I guess. There are actually 8 surgeons though, and whichever one is on call will perform the surgery. He made us feel pretty confident that any of them will do a great job and they have all the same equipment/etc. as Primary's so we don't need to worry about delivering here. So we took a tour of the NICU and that was nice to know what to expect. 

There was actually a baby in the NICU who has gastroschisis and we got to see him. He's been in the hospital for 2.5 weeks and is doing well. He was hooked up to a ventilator and IV/etc. and he just looked soo small and vulnerable. And yet, there he was, crying and moving and the nurses were comforting and soothing him and it just made everything so REAL! They asked me if I was going to be bringing a baby to them and I said yes and they were so sweet! They said they would take excellent care of him and he'd be just fine. We got to see the baby's scar as well, which was nice cause I had no clue what to really expect. It's not a huge scar, but still decent sized from his belly button down to near his pelvic region. The surgeon told us that about 1/2 of gastroschisis babies don't have a belly button after surgery is all through... but I figure that will be a great "getting to know you" fact in the future right?? At least that's what I'm telling myself in case it happens :)

After our appointment, we went to Cubby's for a little lunch date and topped it off with an ice cream cone at Macey's. I love afternoon dates! 

 I took my glucose test, which seriously was not bad. It tasted like a very sugary orange Gatorade.. although it did burn a bit going down my throat. But, I don't have GD so that's nice! However, I am pretty low on iron so I'm taking lots of extra iron now.

I am starting to feel quite pregnant finally. 29 weeks! Here's an updated belly pic

I've gained about 11 lbs now and at my appointment yesterday with the specialist they were VERY positive about baby's progress. He is measuring ahead in everything, except just a couple days behind in his stomach (which is normal, since half his stomach contents are on the outside...) but they are thinking and hoping not very much bowel is out since his stomach measurements were so close to normal!  I've noticed it's getting slightly harder to breathe and I am constantly uncomfortable when I sleep because I've ALWAYS slept on my back and now I can't really do that. Baby is kicking and moving like crazy and I love it. He also gets the hiccups about once a day which always makes me laugh. It is seriously so fun to have a little life inside you that moves when he wants. It's weird to think he really is ALIVE in there! I watched him yawn and suck his finger on the ultrasound and my tech could even see hair on his head. One thing I like about gastroschisis... I get to have an ultrasound at every appointment!

Two weekends ago, I went to Pocatello for my sister in law's baby shower. We had a great time! Rachel is due on July 5th and her baby shower was so adorable. After the shower we went and got pedicures and either we are super lame because we all got the same thing... or we are just super cool. I think the latter.

I am getting SO excited for the 4th of July! These better last til then!

This past weekend, Taylor ran the Utah Valley 1/2 Marathon down Provo Canyon.  He was a little nervous because he hasn't been training very hard since school and track ended, just running more for fun now. But he still rocked it. He got 3rd place, which meant he won $250 bones! His teammate from BYU who also graduated recently got 1st place, and then the guy who won the Ogden marathon this year got 2nd, and Tay got 3rd. We decided to have fun with his winnings. I don't remember the last time we went to the mall and both got something we want/sort of need...but mostly want :)
Here's what we got:

New kicks! Woo hoo!

Snagged this picture right as he was finishing. So exciting! And Taylor decided he wanted a new haircut for his race, so I did a little chopping on Friday night for him. Here was the result:

Don't worry, that nastiness was gone by Sunday morning. Although it was kind of fun seeing him look all gangster. A little part of me thought it was hot... but mostly gross.

Saturday night we spent with Taylor's extended family at the Orem Summerfest parade and fireworks show, with a BBQ at his grandparents house as well. I am so happy to live in Utah close to so much family and not too far from our parents. We are blessed! 

Happy Monday!!

A baby boy...and a little thing called gastroschisis

The past 3 weeks have really been a whirlwind around our neck of the woods. We got all moved in to our new apartment in Orem, and we've absolutely loved it. 

Things it has that our old apartment did not: 

1. Luscious carpet that my feet adore

2. A storage room (or more like 3 of them) that fit a TON of extra things

3. Washer and dryer 

4. Satellite TV

5. 2 bedrooms instead of one

6. Lots of windows and space, making it feel so homey and nice 

7. 2 minutes away from Jan and Judson, which is very handy and awesome 

We will probably live here until Taylor finishes PT school, so we wanted somewhere that had some room and that we'd actually WANT to live in for 3 years. I think we picked well.

Taylor started PT school on Monday, and so far he is loving it. I am not loving how much time it already takes up, but I can't really complain. It's fantastic that he's gotten in and enjoying it, and I'm grateful he is working so hard so we can have a bright and stable future. 

 Of course I had to snap a first day picture...

What a cutie! He is all dressed up for class pictures. 

Here are a few pictures of BYU graduation that we attended 3 weeks ago. My parents and his parents were able to make it down and I was so proud of him. 

About 3 hours before this picture was taken, we went in for our ultrasound. I was very excited, but also nervous. I'd felt nervous for weeks about it, which maybe is weird, I don't know. It seems like most people are just pumped to find out the gender, but for some reason I was quite concerned about how the baby was developing and wanted to hear that everything was okay.

The ultrasound tech went through all the structures and took measurements and everything, and it was so cool to see our baby in there! She told us early on that it was a BOY (thrilled by this) and said he was growing properly and right on track with my due date. At the very end though, she said, "I do have one concern..." at which point my stomach dropped and I waited for the worst. 

"It looks like your baby's abdominal wall did not close correctly, and his intestines are outside of his stomach, meaning he will probably need surgery right after he's born. I'm going to go grab the doctor, and she will come in and answer all your questions." 

And she left the room.

And I started sobbing. 

Taylor and I were alone in the room for about 5 minutes before the doctor came in, and I was trying to control myself but I was extremely nervous. 

The doctor came in and looked at our ultrasound, and told us she believed our baby has gastroschisis.

It's basically a birth defect hernia where the intestines are outside the body, and there is no known cause for why it happens, it just happens. About 1 in 5,000 babies a year are born with it. The doctor told me I would probably need to deliver at U of U, and the baby would have surgery at Primary Children's soon after. They wanted this diagnosis confirmed by a specialist though, so they set us up an appointment and we had to wait 3 WEEKS to get in. Friday (2 days ago) was the big day. 

The doctor confirmed the diagnosis and the appointment was very helpful. Basically, it is a completely repairable birth defect. It often takes more than one surgery to get the intestines back inside the body, so our boy will be in the NICU anywhere from a couple weeks to a couple months, depending on if there are complications. The UVRMC hospital we go to just got a surgeon on staff who has performed many gastroschisis surgeries, so there is a good chance I can deliver in Provo instead of Salt Lake, which would be so much handier for us. We will be meeting with the surgeon in a week or two and then we'll know where we'll need to deliver though. LOTS of doctors visit coming up. The doctor said there is a higher chance of stillbirth and bladder problems with a gastro baby, but those are still uncommon. Usually the baby just has a scar, but otherwise there are no long term effects.

Taylor and I feel very optimistic that everything will work out alright. Sometimes I still have moments of panic and worry about all the things that can go wrong, money, how we will make it all work, and if our baby is going to be okay... but I imagine everyone has some of those concerns with any baby.We have felt overwhelmed by the love and support we've received though. Both our families have fasted, I've received so many texts and letters and words of encouragement and it really does help calm our fears. I didn't want to say too much about it until we could meet with the specialist and learn more, but I feel a lot better now.

I cannot WAIT to meet my little guy and love him and hold him. I know the first little bit is going to be so hard, watching him go through surgery and struggle through the first bit of life, but I know that we'll get through it and it will just be an interesting entry into existence. I am extremely thankful it's not something more serious involving his heart/brain/lungs/etc.

So besides that, which kind of consumed our past 3 weeks, life has been great. We were able to go to Ogden this weekend and watch Taylor's dad run in the Ogden Half Marathon, and he did awesome! 1:55! It was beautiful and such a fun atmosphere, I am all pumped up to do it next year hopefully.

And now I am going to go enjoy the rest of my Sunday evening. Happy Sabbath! 

Fast cars and freedom

Soo it's been awhile since I've blogged. There's been a LOT of stuff going on with us. So many decisions made in the last 2 months, but it's been such an exciting time. First off, check out our new baby..

Hello Toyota Corolla! We got this little beauty about 2 weeks ago now, and we love it. It's scary buying a car though.. we probably check to see if it's locked about 3 times a night before we go to bed but I'm sure that will start to wear off soon, right? 

We took Taylor's car in to get it fixed because the brake light was on, and when we picked it up, the brakes were totally nonfunctioning. We would push them in all the way to the floor and the car would still be rolling. So we demanded they fix it, because it wasn't like that when we took it in at all. They had our car for FOUR WEEKS. And when we got it back finally, the brakes worked okay but still not great, and there were other problems. We were so unhappy with the service we got, but we were planning to sell it soon anyway, and this just sped up the process. Good riddance, Alero. 

Speaking of new babies though.. 

Ours is finally growing! I have been waiting for weeks to start feeling anything, or seeing any weight gain. Being pregnant has been incredibly easy for me so far, and I say that out of complete thankfulness. The only change I have had is getting frequent headaches, but I haven't had any morning sickness at all which has been quite a blessing. All my pants still fit fine, and everyone always seems amazed that I'm as far along as I am and hardly showing. On Saturday I will be 21 weeks! Here I am at 19 weeks. 

I was starting to getting worried that I hadn't gained any weight and wasn't feeling any movement yet, but this week I jumped up 2 pounds and I think I'm feeling the little flutterings of life finally! We find out the gender next Thursday, and I am DYING. I'll be nearly 22 weeks when we finally know the sex and I just can't wait. I will be so happy with either a boy or girl. In fact, I'm just glad it's not a decision I have to make. It would be hard to choose! 

Taylor got into Physical Therapy school, and we've pretty much decided to stay here in Provo and he will go to Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions. It's a private school in Provo, and the PT program starts on May 12th. 

We are feeling great about it! 

It wasn't his first choice initially, but I'll be able to keep my hygiene jobs (which I just love and would be so sad to leave) and it's much closer to our families. He graduates from BYU on April 25th, so he only has a little break before life gets crazy! 

We are moving to a basement apartment in Orem next week, and I am veryy excited about it. It feels HUGE compared to our teeny little place right now. AND it has a washer and dryer. Can life get better than that?! 

Here is the kitchen. It has two rooms, one bathroom, a storage room, and a very large living room area. Our current apartment has treated us well, but it would just be too small with a new babe. 

My heart has been pretty heavy today though, and let me tell you why.

We sold sweet Tess today.

 :(

This was the night I bought the scooter, 2 years ago. Haha-- just noticed I'm wearing the same outfit as my first picture. Seriously though, this was the best purchase ever. I am so sad to see it go, but we just don't need it anymore, and we'd rather have the money. It was awesome for zipping around BYU though, and for little scooter dates in the summer. I took her on a last voyage yesterday, and we said our goodbyes. I'm glad she's going to a good home :) Luckily I was at work when she was driven away, so no tears were shed. 

Other than that, we've just been enjoying the spring weather and anticipating graduation! I've been working about 4 days a week for the last two months because I'm picking up shifts from a girl who is on maternity leave. We're glad for the extra work so maternity leave won't be a shock to our finances! 

Oh… and you know what else happens next week?

OUR ANNIVERSARY! 

We've been married for a year on April 26.. wowza how time flies. Best year of my life, no hesitation. 

We will celebrate by moving into a new apartment and Taylor running the mile at the BYU home track meet. Oh yeah baby.. we know how to party. 

I sure love this guy!! 

Let's hear it for New York!

So if you'll remember Taylor's Christmas present to me, it was a trip to New York for the 5th-9th of February. It came and went so fast! We had a blast, and here's a little run down of the trip. 

Taylor flew out with the track team on Wednesday around 10:30 AM, and I flew out on my own on Wednesday at 8:30 AM. He tried to get me on the same flight as the team but there were some complications, but everything still worked out really well. Just had to wait at the airport for a couple hours for him to arrive. We had direct flights to NY which was super nice, and then buses transported us to our hotel right in the heart of the city! We stayed at the Hilton midtown, and it was only about a 2 block walk until Times Square was surrounding us.

We thought we'd be getting a king bed in our room, but were greeted by this sight:

We probably could have gotten it changed but we were too lazy. I totally felt like Fred and Ethel from "I Love Lucy" in our separate beds, but let's be honest. I slept great. There were tons of other track teams staying at the hotel too, so it was a party. Here was the view from our room:

We had to be a little careful what we walked around in, as in that we didn't just wear our underwear with the windows open. The building right across the street was an office and let me tell you, we could see exactly what those people were doing, and they could see exactly what we were doing. Even though we were way up high in the skyscraper, the office was just as high as the hotel and I felt like if both our windows were open, we could easily have a friendly little conversation. Of course, we could have just closed the blinds.. but I liked the sights!  The streets in Manhattan are narrow! And they are all one way. 

Once we got to NY we went out immediately for some dinner and to see Times Square, which was a pretty impressive sight in my little Idaho mind. The next morning I slept in while Taylor ran with the team, and then we went and hit the Empire State Building and the World Trade Center Memorial.

It was pretty frigid while we there.. temps in the low 20's most of the time. The top of the Empire State Building was partially closed off due to ice (super lame..but luckily it was the most boring side of it that was closed) and we still got great views. BRR!! This is at the top. 

On Friday we took it easy so Taylor would be fresh for his track meet the next day, but we thoroughly enjoyed visiting 34th street and hitting up Grimaldi's Pizza, which was the best eating we did that whole trip. Goodness it was so yummy. We left stuffed and very pleased. It was a big pizza and we ate every last crumb. 

Later we went and checked out The Armory, which is where the track meet was going on. That place is electric.. it is so fun to be a spectator there. I've always rather liked track meets, which is good, cause on Saturday I sat there for like 7 hours watching races. That was pushing it… but they play loud music during the races and I don't know if it effects the runners much, but it sure made me enjoy the day more. Somehow it makes it more intense and fun to watch. Tay ran the mile and did well, he got 3rd in his heat and 6th overall.

After the race, we went to the Metropolitan Museum which was astounding to me in size. We probably only saw 1/3 of it at best before we were just exhausted. It was pretty neat, but slightly boring too? Is that bad? I felt very uncultured while we were there. I liked the statues/ etc. but I got really tired of looking at little spoons/pots/artifacts from a million different cultures. We are really glad we went, but I think Body Worlds or the American Museum of Natural History would have been more up both of our alleys. We did have an unfortunate surprise though.. as we were leaving, we thought we knew where a subway was to get us back to our hotel…but we were VERY wrong. We ended up walking like 24 blocks to get back, and let's just say I was more than a little hangry before we even left the museum, so by the time we got back… hah. We did a progressive dinner that night and absolutely stuffed ourselves by the end of it. 

My favorite aspect of the trip was seeing Wicked on Broadway….ahhhhmazing. Glinda was SO funny and Elphaba was fantastic. Couldn't have been more pleased with them, and I realized I'd been missing out on so much of the story! I knew all the music really well but you just don't get ALL the story from it. It's been stuck in my head for weeks now, and I'm totally ok with it.

Overall, things I like about New York: 

1) So many good places to eat 

2) clear air (kind of amazing it's cleaner there than it is in Utah!)  

3) public transportation is so handy 

4) lots of exciting things to do

Things I did NOT like:  

1) Public transportation is dirty and a rat ran out right in front of me in the subway.. shudder .. 

2) It was freezing cold every day and Central Park was basically an icy cold wasteland at this time of year. Perhaps my language is a bit strong there, but I'd imagine it is far prettier and more enjoyable when it's warm 

3) Public restrooms are sometimes hard to come by, which is especially trying if you happen to really need one for some reason or another (…not that I speak from experience or anything…) 

4) You are hounded on the subways and street corners for money constantly

Oh, and we really enjoyed visiting the shops in Times Square too. Especially M&M World! 

I adore this picture. 

We also learned that every time we entered the Hershey's store, we were greeted by a free piece of chocolate. We went in there every time we passed it :) 

We are so glad we were able to go and feel quite blessed, but feel no need to return any time soon! We got to do and see pretty much everything we wanted and NYC was everything I hoped it would be. If we do return someday, we decided it will be when it's warmer :) 

For now though, on to other adventures!

Oh what a wonderful life

..it is my favorite Christmas movie, and I fully agree with the title. Oh what a wonderful life I am living! Taylor and I had the best Christmas ever. At least I did, I didn't actually ask him.. I'm sure he would agree though. I was rottenly spoiled and had to keep telling myself that this Christmas will probably never happen again, so enjoy it now. And enjoy it I did, despite being annoyingly sick with a sore throat/extreme runny and stuffy nose. Couldn't breathe through EITHER nostril for 2 days.. I wanted to kill somebody. 

Highlights of the break were: 

-going to Frozen-- awesome. We listened to the soundtrack on repeat ALL day, and we didn't tire of it. 

-going to Saving Mr. Banks-- quite fascinating. It's a miracle Mary Poppins ever became a movie! 

-making gingerbread houses (aka graham cracker houses)- we decided to do it in partners and we had to pick a structure out of a hat to build. Taylor and I wound up with the Empire State Building, which ended up being quite fitting-- but more about that later! 

notice the taxi, road, and trees in Central Park :) 

-Christmas Eve German Dinner- yum. It's so pretty and fancy too, just a fun occasion for one and all. We also had a really nice little Christmas Eve program. Whenever I'm with the Farnsworths I love the music I get to listen to/participate in. They are such a talented group! 

-The annual Burnham bowling shindig. Seriously.. it's the best. My mom stocks up on $5 bills and we take to the alley. She hands out $5 for every strike, and $5 if you get two spares in a row. Last year I sucked it up and earned a measly $5 and that was IT! This year Taylor and I cleaned up, and we made $55! The overall winner also gets an extra 5, and I don't like to toot my own horn but.. toooooot. Guess who took that achievement home? Although had my dad played a full round, he would have easily taken that title away from me. My dad is a darn good bowler. It's very generous of my parents and it is just so fun. EVERYTHING is more fun when winning money is involved, right? 

Taylor looks like a dirty stripper but NBD. 

-talking to Dallin (Elder Farnsworth) on Christmas morning. He is doing awesome and has such a great attitude. I can't wait to officially meet him! 

-opening presents.. of course. We got spoiled by both sides of our families. We opened most of our presents at the Farnsworth's on Christmas morning, and I unwrapped a new purse and iPhone from Taylor--which I love-- it's so much faster then my dinosaur iphone 4. It was all I was expecting and more than enough since phones aren't cheap. Taylor kept apologizing that that's all he had for me and so I was totally confused when he brought out an envelope for me. 

He explained it by saying he decided he wanted to write me a Christmas card, so I thought that's all it was. Except his family all had their eyes glued on me and cameras out, and I noticed the envelope was pretty thick. So I got slightly suspicious.... and I opened it up and lots of papers started falling out. One was an email confirmation of plane tickets purchased... one was a picture of Times Square... etc. and I realized...HE SECRETLY BOUGHT ME A PLANE TICKET TO NEW YORK! I was SO pumped. It's a huge bucket list thing for me, and since Taylor will be racing there for track, it was going to be the cheapest time we could ever do it. His plane ticket/food/etc. is all paid for, so it was just my ticket to buy. And he was crafty and did it so I wouldn't see it on our account. Such fun. I love a good surprise. 

And now I get to see the Empire State Building in person! 

And now I realize this post is starting to get lengthy, but I just have to talk about my mom's gift for us too. It was SO special and something I want to remember. 

So my mom sang to us every single night when we were kids. She knew so many songs, and we absolutely loved them. My mom will sing them to her grandkids too, and they all love them as well. My sister in law started having my mom teach her some of the songs, because her kids were requesting them. My sister, Jan, sings them to her kids, and when I babysit they ask me to sing them. And they are SO impressed when I know the same songs :) 

Anyway, it's become quite the tradition and legacy of my mom. We have repeatedly asked my mom to record them, because even though we know most of them, I still forget a lot of the words and can't remember all the songs she would sing. So she did record them, and printed up all the words also. She also gave us some of the beloved songbooks we owned as children. She gave this gift to all her kids, as well as some homemade PJ's, and other things. It was such an awesome gift and one I will truly cherish forever. I can't wait to sing my own children those songs I love so much, and now I can always remember them. I just went away from Christmas this year feeling so incredibly blessed. 

And my parents also threw in these for us... dream come true :) 

We have wonderful families, we are lucky to be in school and have jobs, and the future is as bright as our faith. I am so grateful for my Savior for making a happy life possible for everyone as long as we come unto Him.
Happy New Year! 

series of un-unfortunate events

The first un-unfortunate event was our trip to Indiana, which was an all-expense paid trip to the thriving metropolis of Terra Haute. It actually reminded me a little bit of Pocatello, only even dumpier. No offense Pocatello...I love you. But the "armpit of Idaho" phrase doesn't come from nowhere.

BYU qualified for the NCAA Cross Country National Championship, and if your husband is going, then BYU pays for the wife to go too. This only happens at the national race, so I was reaallly hoping Taylor would get to go. And he did! The team is only allowed to take the top 10 runners, 7 of which would actually run, and 3 of which would be alternates in case someone got hurt. Taylor was the first alternate, so he didn't actually get to run, but he still went and so did I.

And we had such a fun time. There were five other wives that went too, and when our husbands were off practicing and running the course, we would go to the mall/go out to eat...whatever our hearts desired really. On the day of the race, we all piled into a van and went to watch. It was a HUGE meet, tons of runners and people watching the runners. It was kind of funny actually, because all the running fanatics were sprinting across the course to cheer people on and I saw more than one person get slightly trampled.

It was sooo cold that day too.. according to the weather it was 29 but felt like 10. Everyone was FREEZING, I literally have never had colder toes than I did that day. I felt like if I took off my shoes, my toes were going to be black. It had been raining all week leading up to the race, so the course was extremely muddy and wet. We all got pretty dirty. BYU got fourth overall! The top 4 teams get on the podium and get trophies/etc. so it was awesome. We went home, warmed up in the hotel's hot tub, ordered pizza, and went to Catching Fire later that night. SO great. I loved it, even more than the first one.

The weekend after this was Thanksgiving, and unfortunately both Taylor's and my family were out of town with other family members. We decided we would throw our own Thanksgiving bash, which included hiking the Y, a pumpkin waffle breakfast, going to Despicable Me 2, eating Thanksgiving dinner at Cracker Barrel, and doing a little black Thursday shopping. It was so fun. The next day we rode the Trax down to Salt Lake and saw the lights. They don't have quite as many lights up this year, but it's still pretty amazing. And aren't these clouds amazing? I love the sky in this picture. Thanksgiving Day was GORGEOUS.

Last Wednesday, we went to my work's Christmas party. They took us to Tucanos and we had a blast. So fun to see everyone in something other than scrubs and meet everyone's spouses. I work for such an awesome office. They gave us a Christmas bonus, and then they doubled the amount, and told us to use the second half to do something nice for someone else, and not to spend it on ourselves. I thought that was so unique. I'm so impressed by the dentists for encouraging the spirit of Christmas and giving. I left that night feeling uplifted and happy. And then Taylor and I bought a little Christmas tree for our apartment and I'm obsessed with it. Literally... it's on all day long and I look at it over and over.

And now I will leave you with a funny, and a question. Do all you other girls shed as much as I do?? Seriously, my hair is everywhere...... screaming infidelities..... yeah everywhere. We find it on skateboards that I never use, in Taylor's shoes, in the trunks of our cars and pretty much anywhere you can think of.. we've found it there. My roommate in college found it weaved into her mattress once---and I didn't even share a room with her, OR ever really go into her room. Anyway, Taylor told me that if I was going to be an "inside pet" then we were going to have to vacuum on the daily to keep this hair at bay. That's one reason we can never have a dog inside... my hair PLUS the dog's hair would make our house nasty. Sigh.. I guess it's just a #girlproblem. And #firstworldproblem.

April 26, 2013

Well, Tay and I have been married for 7 months now! It's been fun to think back on the memories of our wedding day, and then see them come to life in our wedding pictures. Here is how I felt that day... 

It all went by almost in a blur. We were dating long distance our entire courtship, up until the day of our wedding! Taylor took a final the morning before our wedding, moved out of his apartment, and drove home to Pocatello at about 10 PM. I was at the church with my mom getting the reception all set up still, so he stopped by and we had a few minutes to ourselves to talk about the next day and marvel that it was REALLY here!

I got to bed about 11:30 that night, and since we had so much family at our house, I slept on a foam pad in the living room along with my brother, Mark, who was also kicked out of his room to accommodate family. I found it pretty amusing that I slept in the living room on the floor the night before my wedding, but I could have cared less. I remember sleeping very well until about 5 AM, and then I woke up and could NOT go back to sleep. I had a hair appointment at 7:45, so I went to that, got back at 9 and then my friend Rachel did my make up (she is the sweetest, and such a pro) and had to be in the car by 9:30 to get to the Idaho Falls Temple by 10:30. Except we were not in the car until about 9:50. I got to the temple and saw some of our guests there before we were.. oops. But it was fine, I met up with Taylor and we got our records verified, we changed, and they took us up to the Celestial Room to wait.

It was then that I started getting really nervous. I wasn't nervous about getting married, I was just nervous because I didn't know what to expect and everyone was going to be watching and I could already feel my emotions going crazy. Taylor was so sweet and so stable though, and I gathered myself together...

Which lasted about 5 minutes, until it was time to go do the thing. The second I walked into the sealing room, tears came to my eyes and I was just overcome with happiness that so many people were there to celebrate with us, all of whom I loved so much, and that I was marrying someone in the temple who I knew I would have a wonderful life with. I had to work hard to keep the tears off my face. I hate crying in front of people. Our ceremony was really short, but it was perfect. 

And honestly, the rest of the day went off without a hitch. It wasn't stressful at all. Nothing went wrong, everything was taken care of and we had a beautiful day. We went to the luncheon after taking pictures at the temple, and then on to the reception. We stayed at the Black Swan that night and left the next morning for Park City, where we stayed in a big condo for the next 3 days.
I couldn't have asked for a better wedding/ honeymoon. And the transition to married life has not felt like a transition at all. It's been the easiest, most natural thing in the world. We have yet to have a fight, which I'm pretty happy about. I hope it stays that way forever.
And now here are some of my favorite pics from the day!

The last two pictures made me laugh the hardest...
Cutest little Austin and all his drool. And as for me.. I was just trying to get a piece of hair out of my mouth. I think I had just barely succeeded when the picture was taken, but I still had that disgusted look on my face. Don't worry, it wasn't directed at Taylor :)