Sunday, September 25, 2011

Dreams Come True


When I was a little girl, I used to daydream of marrying prince charming and setting up house to live happily ever after. Many days, my best friend, Stephanie, and I would dress ourselves up and "walk down the aisle" of my bedroom, pretending to get married. We would set our "husbands" (the over-sized teddy bears named Mr. Fuzzy and Big Berkley) at one end of the room, have a wedding, and then practice throwing the bouquet to each other. We talked about how we would be each other's maid of honor, and we planned our wedding colors and designed our dresses.

Back then, I had no idea what it really meant to fall in love and become a partner in a marriage. I just knew it was something I wanted. Over the last several years, however, I have seen this dream come true...better than I ever imagined when I was five. Getting married nine and a half months ago has been the biggest blessing of my life (and Graham is a much superior husband to the stuffed bear of my childhood). And standing beside me, supporting me all the way, was Stephanie.

Then, last week, the rest of the childhood dream came true. I was able to be a part of Stephanie's wedding to her own prince charming. Although it was a whirlwind weekend trip to San Diego, I would not have traded the experience for the world. Stephanie looked beyond beautiful, and as I watched her interact with her husband-to-be over the course of the weekend, I felt strongly that this was a man I could entrust her to. He brings out the best in her, supports and encourages her, and loves her with a clear devotion and loyalty. I look forward to watching them grow together in the coming years, and I feel so blessed to have been a part of celebrating with them.

So here's to childhood dreams coming true, albeit in different (and better) ways than I would have imagined.
Steph & Nick

Graham & I remembering our own special day.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Life has been crazy around here lately. I have started teaching school again, and I never cease to be amazed by how tired I am after a week of full-time work, especially when work involves entertaining adolescents all day. I'm SO glad to be back, and I have a great bunch of students this year (they're even starting to get the hang of opening their lockers), but GOODNESS I've renewed an afternoon relationship with my bed. I'm getting back into the schedule, though, and I'm looking forward to the year.

It was wonderful to have the three-day weekend of Labor Day after the first week, and Graham and I made good use of the extra day.

Saturday, we went to the Manti temple with Robyn and Jeff, which was awesome! The building is straight out of the pioneer era and the hand-carvings and paintings are gorgeous. There is a special spirit about the temple, and I felt clearly what a labor of love it was to build.
Monday morning, we went canoeing on the Provo River with a college friend (and his wife) of Graham's. I had been wanting to go canoeing all summer, and we hadn't gotten around to it, so I was really excited to get out on the water and channel my inner Pocahontas.

That evening, we got together with Graham's dad and younger brother to have family night and make homemade pizza and homemade ice cream. I was nervous about cooking for them since the last time they came over was the only time since I've known Graham that I really botched a meal, but the food turned out well, and we had a great evening. Below are some pictures of the three musketeers diligently making our dessert. I had never made ice cream myself and I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but I found a GREAT recipe for rocky road online, and it was a hit! WAHOO!
I'm not sure I was really rested before the new school week rolled around, but we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!