here's to 6 months!

In honor of our six months of being married, I decided to share how Chandler proposed to me. We had an opportunity to share this story last weekend with some friends (every couple was sharing their story), and it was so fun to reminisce. I thought it would be good to have it written down somewhere.

The weekend before we got engaged we started ring shopping. It was something we did on a whim while we were heading to a concert and we had some time to kill. We both wanted to get an idea of what we liked in a ring, then Chandler wanted to choose one for me on his own based on what we liked. We went to several different jewelry stores throughout the week, but the one place we had a coupon for was only open during hours that I couldn't go because I was in dance rehearsals in the evenings. Chandler decided to go see what they had, to see if we would want to use the coupon. My younger sister, Leigh, went with him so that he could see some ring ideas actually on a girl's finger (they always look different on someone that in the cabinet, ya know?). I guess during that little trip they picked out a ring. They had picked one out, but had forgotten to take any pictures so they went out of their way to go to another jewelry store just to take pictures of rings that they had 'looked at' - so sneaky. Also, Leigh had told Chandler that I was expecting to be proposed to that weekend. That made Chandler all the more determined to propose to me earlier - when I would least expect it. That was Wednesday, February 1.

On Thursday, February 2, Chandler sent me a text while I was at school suggesting that we should go to the temple that evening. I thought that was a great idea! (Little did I know it was just a ruse to get me to dress up :). He also sent me a text shortly after saying that I shouldn't eat anything when I get home, that he would have something ready to eat already, so that we wouldn't get to the temple too late on a school night. Very thorough, another good idea, I thought.

As soon as I got home (a little after 8pm) Chandler met me at my apartment so we could leave. He told me that we should hurry and leave because he had heard about another jewelry store in Provo that might be fun to check out (a good decoy so I didn't know he had the ring). He said we would find some place to quickly eat out, and that since we were going to check out a jewelry place we probably wouldn't make it to the temple. That was fine with me. I was excited to spend time together.

Chandler then proceeded to drive towards downtown Provo to 'look' for this jewelry place he had mentioned. It was getting dangerously close to 9pm, and I wondered if we would make it before it closed. While in the car, Chandler also asked me how he thought my dad would react when he called to ask my dad for his blessing on our marriage. (He had actually called my dad two days before, but he asked me how he thought my dad would respond just to add to the decoys. Such a sneaky guy!). I said something supportive, saying I didn't know exactly how my dad would respond, but that I thought he would support us and say yes. Chandler just smiled.

A few minutes later, Chandler decided to pull over to look up directions to the store. It was basically 9pm. We decided we probably wouldn't get there in time anyway... Then Chandler, gesturing to the restaurant we had pulled in front of, suggested we just eat dinner there. I half-laughed in disbelief and said something like, "I actually love this restaurant, and my family has come here on a few special occasions! ...But it's pretty pricey... I don't think we should just randomly spend this much on food..." (Chandler actually knew that I liked the restaurant - "La Dolce Vita" - because Leigh had told him so when they had picked out the ring). He convinced me that it was okay to eat out and spend a little extra money sometimes. I conceded (secretly really excited to eat a nice dinner together while we were dressed up), and we went inside.

The restaurant was all to ourselves! No one was in there that late on a Thursday night, so we had a nice private dinner. The Italian food was delicious, and there was a deal that we took advantage of too. Our waiter kindly took a picture of us (at my request, because I wanted to document a fun evening). Towards the end of our dinner, Chandler started pulling something out of his pocket with this sweet smile on his face. My mind started racing! Is he going to propose?! I thought excitedly. Then he walked over to me and wrapped a beautiful real pearl necklace around my neck and closed the clasp while he told me how much he loved me and thought I was so beautiful. I felt so flattered and so loved. He was being so sweet. Okay, this is his way of apologizing for not having a ring yet. How sweet. I was thinking to myself. I thought that was the end of it. Chandler had played his cards so well that I wasn't expecting a proposal anymore that night.

As we were about to leave, Chandler got excited and suggested that it would be fun to drive by the location of our first date (the yard that we had gone to rake a bunch of leaves). I told him I wasn't sure I remembered where it was and he said he didn't really remember either (another lie to keep me in the dark) but that it would be fun to go look for it. We drove almost straight there (he had found it earlier in the day just to make sure he would know how to get there). When we got to the house it was pretty dark, and pretty late (about 10pm). It was fun to reminisce how far we had come since our first date. Then Chandler suggested we get out. I was apprehensive about it. I didn't want to be considered a creeper in a random person's yard this late! But I agreed to get out for just a minute.

We walked around a tiny bit. Then Chandler started to turn the conversation to his religion class. He talked about how in his class his professor had talked about finding the person you wanted to spend forever with and how I had all the traits he always wanted in a spouse (how romantic :). Then he said he had one question for me (this is the point when I clued in to what was happening). He knelt down on one knee, in the darkness lit by only one street lamp, on the cold grass and asked if I would marry him. I giggled and said yes!! Then kissed him. Then I proceeded to say "you are such a punk!" - referring to all of the little things he had done to throw me off. It was amazing, such a joyous moment! And the ring was dazzling! He had picked the perfect one.

After the excitement subsided a little (it really hasn't since then to be honest. I am still as excited now as I was then about being married to Chandler - more actually!), we both sort of asked "now what?" We went to the temple to sit in the parking lot and talked about the excitement of getting married. Then I called/texted a few people (it was too late in the evening to tell everyone). It was a beautiful night.

I am so in love with Chandler and the relationship we have together. We are both far from perfect, but I love that we are able to talk things out and strive to be greater together. He is the best!

Showing off my ring! We were tired, because it was late, but so happy!

food and forts, among other things

This post does not have an overarching theme - there were just too many fun things I wanted to share!

After the BYU "Spectacular"!

A couple of weeks ago, when my parents were here, they bought all of us (me, Chandler, and my two younger sisters Leigh and Erin) tickets to go with them to see the BYU Homecoming Spectacular performance in the Marriott Center. It was a lot of fun. There was an error with the tickets, and we ended up sitting in the final row of the nose-bleed section (the back wall of the Marriott center was the only thing behind us). It was fine though, we had a great view of everything! And Chandler and I got to add yet another show to our list of performances we have seen :)

Another thing I wanted to share is to always remember to have the heart of a kid - it makes simple things more enjoyable! When Chandler was doing homework one night, about a week ago, I was bored of waiting around for him, so I built myself a fort in our front room. We had built forts a couple of times when we were engaged and one time I slipped while calling our fort a mix between a fort and a hut. We now endearingly call them 'horts'. So, here is a shot of my 'hort'. It was fun and passed some of the time. I felt creative and excited at the thought of figuring out how to make the best 'hort' imaginable.

Chandler later joined me in the 'hort' and we read scriptures together before bed. It was fun! And it was an amazing and very spacious hort if I do say so myself.

Then, a few days ago, I used the leftover ingredients my parents left with me to make my very own "Mulliner Homemade Pizza". I struggled with the dough a bit (so far my biggest weakness in cooking has been making bread doughs...), but it turned out pretty good! Here's what it looked like!

sausage, shredded pepperoni, and ham all covering an authentic Italian sauce and dough - yum!

Also, Chandler had another club event with the AIS club (Association for Information Systems) and it was another activity for him and a 'guest'. It was a concert with "Ryan Shupe and the Rubber Band" hosted once again by the generous Ernst and Young accounting firm. It was full of fiddling and fun, ringing cow bells and clapping clappers, and topped off with a free CD at the end and goodies all around - including a giant cookie on a stick (like a lollipop) for each person in attendance. Such a fun (and free) time and another one for the books!

Ryan Shupe and the Rubber Band in concert

We love our simple, yet still exciting, adventures. Spending time with Chandler is my favorite thing to do. :)

What simple things do you enjoy?

I am grateful for...

There are so many wonderful things in life, and I decided it would help me to have a post dedicated to expressing my gratitude for a few things. Ever since Chandler and I knew we were getting married we decided to begin a little gratitude journal that we write in every night. We have been really good about it so far, but we don't spend time writing extensive lists of things we are grateful for - just a brief entry each night. This can be my slightly longer list of things I am most recently grateful for. :)

This is just one list of things I am really grateful for: (in no particular order)

-a visit from my parents! They live in CA and it has been months since I have seen both of my parents. They were in town this past week! It is always nice to see family and spend time with them. I am so grateful for my mom and dad - who they are and who they raised me to be. I am looking forward to Thanksgiving with them in sunny So. Cal!

-my home! Chandler and I live in a beautiful and comfortable one bedroom basement apartment with the most adorable landlady. We so proudly call it our home. I am so grateful for the kitchen - which is teaching me to stay on top of things (like dishes), and which has enough counter space for all of my fun cooking experiments. Grateful for the washer and dryer too!

-my jobs! As mentioned in the previous post, I am grateful I can work a few jobs that I enjoy and that feel worthwhile. As an extension of this, I am so grateful for my wonderful students. They are sweet hearts and I am lucky to be their teacher. :)

-General Conference! Last weekend instead of going to our normal church meetings we had an opportunity to hear from our modern day prophet and church leaders. It was exactly what I needed to re-motivate myself to be better and to feel inspired by truly amazing men and women of God. I want to be more like them in so many ways, and I want to have a home that always houses the spirit of the Lord. I am grateful for my Heavenly Father and that He gives us moments like this to help us enjoy our journey here on earth.

-Fall weather! It has been fun seeing the colors of the trees begin to change in the past couple of weeks and to feel the crisp air.

-exercise! I have been horrible at consistent exercise ever since I graduated and stopped dancing every day for hours. But I am grateful for my body and that it is healthy and that I can exercise. (I have even gone running twice in the last few days!)

-My husband, Chandler! Chandler is my best friend, and we have grown so much together each and every day. He works so hard in all he does, and he is always caring about me and my well-being. He is a good example. He is really funny and has the most amazing smile ever. Chandler is my support and the love of my life. I look forward to spending my life with him and beyond. This month we hit 6 months of being married - here's to being newlyweds for life!

What are you grateful for?

Work!

Work is always an exciting venture. Thankfully since Chandler and I have been married we have both been blessed with a lot of good work. There have been some ups and downs with our jobs, but all in all we feel very fortunate with the opportunities we have had to work. We feel like the way our job opportunities have come about has been a blessing in and of itself - a miracle each time.

Cardboard cutout! (a promotional thing at the BYU library)

I am a ballet teacher, and I love my work and the progress I get to see in my students! The way the job came to me about 10 months ago was a miracle, and the fact that I love my job and my students is so wonderful! Over the summer I was teaching dance every morning and working most evenings at the UVU Research Call Center. Chandler was working at the BYU Library scanning books for Inter-library loan. I wanted to get a job with more hours during the day and looked for months to find a good job - nada. Luckily Chandler was able to work full time hours, even though it wasn't the most glorious of jobs. He also got another job for a month or two in the summer moving books in the BYU library from one end to the other. Again, not the most glorious of positions, but Chandler worked so hard to do what he could and make the most of it.

Since school started, things have been different. My teaching was moved to the evenings (since my students are in school), and Chandler began working fewer hours at the library since school is a full-time job by itself. He also got an opportunity to be a Teachers Assistant for one of his previous professors. It quickly became clear to us that it was not realistic for Chandler to keep both jobs and try to be successful with school. So he decided to just keep the TA job and leave his job at the library. Naturally, we have worried about finances and how we would make things work just like everyone does. I have had moments where I felt like I should be doing more. Even with working at the call center and as a dance teacher I had so much free time during the day. I didn't want to waste it. Chandler was working so hard and I wanted to do the same! Since June I had been looking and praying for another good job but had been turned down nearly everywhere...

But we have been blessed along the way. :) Along with my regular classes, I picked up 2 students who are doing private dance lessons. Also, my friend and fellow teacher who teaches at the same place I do had a baby a few weeks ago. It has worked out that I have been able to substitute for some of her hours - almost doubling mine. I have loved being able to teach more for the last few weeks! Also, about a week ago I got a call from one of my previous professors. One of his colleagues was in need of an assistant for a ballet class at a new high school for the arts. I told him I would love to look into it, and one thing led to another and a couple of days later I got to start! It is definitely a unique opportunity to be in a high school setting. It's a real challenge actually to keep 40+ kids in line. But I am grateful I have more reason to get up in the mornings and that I have yet another opportunity to work - and in my own career field! Chandler and I joke that I could pick up a fourth job because I still have some time in the middle of the day, but who knows what will happen. :) I just know that I am grateful for every opportunity that we have had, and that because of our opportunities to work we have been able to live a very comfortable life within our means. We are really blessed and grateful for work!

Concerts and Friends

At the Nik Day concert - Central Utah Water Gardens

When we are asked what Chandler and I like to do together a common answer that we give is that we love to see live shows! Ever since our first date we have loved attending live performances. We have been to many in the last 11 months and look forward to more fun dates like this in the future. Just to list a few, we have been to see BYU Percussion Ensemble, Young Ambassadors (BYU performing group), Vocal Point (BYU mens A Capella group), Utah Regional Ballet, a BUNCH of shows at Disneyland and California Adventure, LDC Choir at the Orem Institute, senior recitals at BYU (the most interesting was a Basoon solo performance - very unique), Nik Day (at Central Utah Water Gardens outdoor pavillion), and Chandler has even gone to performances to watch me dance as well as the performances of my students (even sitting alone I might add).

City Creek Mall

One of the most grandiose performances we have been to yet was at the end of August - we saw "Wicked"! Neither of us had given each other a wedding gift when we got married, and we decided this would be our gift to each other. It was my second time seeing it, but it was Chandler's first. We decided to make a day of it, since we were going to the matinee in Salt Lake. In the morning I had to get a head shot for my job, then we headed to Ikea to eat a yummy and cheap brunch. After Ikea, we had time to kill before the show, so we went to go check out the newest mall in Salt Lake - the City Creek Mall. It was so fun, and BIG, and had beautiful water features. We walked around a lot (because we decided to just park once that day, and just walk to everywhere from there). The mall was fun, with stores that are not usually seen around here. And there was a fun toy store (of course we spent some time in there - the biggest pull for me was the word games and puzzles of course :). Then we headed to the show at Capitol Theater! Wicked was so wonderful. We were on the ground floor and had pretty decent seats. We laughed so hard at some parts, and enjoyed the beautiful live music and dancing. Such a great show. Well worth the money we spent. We definitely want to continue going to live concerts; it's just so uplifting and inspiring watching others who are so good at what they do.

The electronic sign was shifting, but you can almost see that it says "Wicked"!

In the theater - not the best pic, but we didn't  want to get in trouble for taking a picture in the theater.

Another thing I wanted to write about briefly is the value of good friends. It's quite the transition going from single life to married life. It's hard to keep the same friends from before. Obviously Chandler is my best friend, but it's good to have other friends too - especially friends that are married so we can have common friends. :) Anyway, we have become good friends with one of Chandler's classmates and his wife. Roy and Kelly are their names, and they have the cutest little 3 month old baby girl named Annie. They invited us over for dinner once and we really hit it off. I don't think I had laughed that hard in a long time! It just felt so comfortable. We had them over yesterday for Sunday dinner and games, and it has helped a lot to balance out all of the crazy schoolwork our husbands do. It's nice to have such good friends. (And Kelly does ballet too! We were actually at a summer dance intensive together forever ago. Small world!). So here's a shout out to great friends! It's such a blessing :)