A Trip up the Canyon

Today, Brad wanted to get out of the house. I can sit on the couch all day but it's not his most favorite thing. He offered to take me up Provo Canyon because I've been wanting to mess with my camera some more in a different setting than up and down our street. So! We stopped by Subway to grab lunch and headed up the canyon. Enjoy (:

most proud of this one. random guy longboarding by

never noticed this cabin before

slow shutter...

fast shutter!

rainbow trout

brad doesn't like pictures. this is usually what I get

had to get out of there. storm was coming!

My New Toy!

So my wonderful husband may or may not have gotten me a Nikon D3200 camera for valentines day...and given it to me early (: I LOVE taking photos so this blog is going to turn into a pretty visual one! I'm no pro and I have a lot to learn...but I still love taking photos. Here are some that I've taken around the house and up and down our street. Enjoy!

BYU Pool

Got Brad to come along

our home

welcome (:

The Big Day!

So after about 4 months of planning with the mothers, the wedding came. It wasn't easy setting up a reception in a state that neither one of the families live in, but we made it through. Thank you Internet!

Brad and I left for Arizona on Thursday morning. Monday-Wednesday we took finals and I moved all of my stuff into our apartment. Easier to get it done before leaving for 3 weeks. Anyways, got me all moved in and then left Thursday at 11:30 a.m. Suggestion: DON'T leave later in the day for a long trip. It sucks. I like getting to my destination before the sun goes down, so arriving in Gilbert at 9:30 was a struggle. But hey, Brad had a final in the morning...kinda important.

So we got there and chilled with the fam bam. My parents had gotten there a couple hours before us. We weren't up long before passing out though. Friday was a prep day. We (my sisters and I) had to..well wanted to get our nails done. We got around to that after hitting up the mall and getting lunch. You know. At 6, Brad and I headed to the airport to get 2 of my lovely bridesmaids: Kenzie and Rachel. Our reunion was the best (: hadn't seen Kenzie since...man, probably graduation. Chel and I saw each other over the summer but hey, just as excited to see her too!

We met up with Kim and Hayden at Organ Pizza Stop. Coolest. Place. Ever. This guy played a huge organ in the middle of the restaurant. The organ is hooked up to a bunch of other instruments as well. He'll play any song you request. He played all of the songs we requested. Couldn't leave until they played Star Wars for Brad! Left the restaurant with Kimmy and headed back to the hotel. Didn't stay up too late cuz this chick hadn't slept in days. For some reason, I had maybe gotten 10 hours of sleep in the past 3 days. Call it stress, wedding jitters, whatever. I felt calm but sleep just wasn't on the agenda. So I took a nice big sleeping pill...and went to bed. But first! I gave my girls their bridesmaids necklaces (: I had to do something for them. They've been with me through so much growing up and they were now there for me on the most important day of my life. I was so glad they liked them. 4 sisters, 4 friends. Greatest group of bridesmaids.

So! passed out. may or may not have said a couple things I have no recollection of...but! Wedding

morning came. Kenzie did my hair, Kim did my makeup, Rachel did my toes haha. They took good care of me. Brad picked me up at 10 and we headed to the temple. Now, I can't really say much more about the wedding ceremony. Temple ceremonies are sacred in the LDS religion so we don't openly speak about it. What I can say though is that the sealing was amazing. I'm so glad to be sealed to my husband for eternity (:

Coming out of the temple was awesome!! All of our friends and family were there to support us. Even my Uncle Victor and Aunt Tonya were there! Huge surprise. Victor and Brad have a bromance, let me tell ya. It was an honor having them there. But that's not all! Like I said earlier, no family lives in Arizona. Everyone who was there made the trip to support us. We felt very special.

Lots of photos were taken. It was quite the afternoon of laughing and smiling. Nicole, the photographer, even flew in from Clovis to be there for me. She'd been taking mine and my family's pictures for years. We had a good time with the pictures, and then headed to the luncheon. Ok, I don't know if I've just been to the wrong luncheons or what, but when speeches came around, I have never seen so many people cry. I even cried! Kim and Tiffany were asked to speak, but Rachel and Kenzie wanted to too. Jeff, Brad's best man, spoke for the boys side haha. They all cried. Jefferey almost did haha. Wasn't a bad thing! I felt honored to have such good friends. It was clearly known that if Brad hurt me, he would have an ambush coming after him. Love my girls (: The food and set up was amazing. Mama Kendall is to thank for that.


We had a couple hours in between to relax for a little, but then it was on to the reception. Setting up went pretty smoothly...minus the flowers that weren't supposed to float. But my girls got right on it and fixed it! Brad was very happy with the turn out. He hadn't seen a lot of these people for a long time. His family moved from Arizona two days after he left on his mission. We cut the cake. Yeah good thing we guessed which layers were real and which weren't. Not too much frosting everywhere either! The father daughter dance was my favorite. I mean, yes, mine and brads dance was special, but I am very close with my daddy. He made me cry dang it. I wasn't planning on crying at all that day. Blah. I will never forget that dance though (: so special.

Around 8:20, my ladies came and helped me out of my wedding dress and into my "exit" dress. Those girls took care of me until the last minute. Kim even packed Brad and I some food from the reception. All of our friends and family lined up outside and we ran to the beautifully decorated truck. Shout out to Tanner for the Mountain Dew!

Thank you to all that were there or a part of the process. I couldn't have asked for anything better (: I mean that. Moms, thank you for helping me plan the wedding and for making it all happen. My glam squad, you guys literally saved my life. I can't thank you enough. You are all the best!!

Now, we did have two open houses as well; one in Clovis, one in Sandy. Fun fact: We drove from Provo, UT to Gilbert, AZ to San Diego, CA to Clovis, CA back to Provo, UT. About 2,300 miles total. My grandparents let us use there home and I am very grateful for that. A lot of close friends and family came to support us there as well. The house looked beautiful and my grandma's food was so good! In Sandy, Brad's mission president let us use their home. Ah, such a pretty house. It was a very relaxed open house. No big decorations, just some food and a hot chocolate bar. It was still nice though! Lots of friends and family came to support once more. The highlight of that night was my EFY boys showing up. Those four are something else.

The whole wedding adventure was something else. Would I do it again? No. definitely not. That's why I'm only getting married once (: But it was worth it. So worth it. Thank you again everyone.

Married life has been pretty great! Stressful in some areas, all you married people know what I mean, but overall awesome. It's an adjustment, but it's awesome starting the next chapter of my life, especially with Brad (:
 

Alright, alright. Here it is (:

Background: So Brad and I had been discussing marriage for a little and I'd shown him a couple rings. He knew a guy who custom made rings back in Arizona, so of course being Brad, he jumped on that real fast. After a couple weeks, I knew that he'd contacted the guy, but Brad refused to tell me when it was coming. 

It all started with the flash flood in Arizona. It's Tuesday and Brad gets on this angry rant about how the flood just had to happen. I finally get it out of him that the ring was supposed to get shipped but it's being postponed because of the rain. On top of that, his mom is texting him, trying to get information, he's texting more people trying to get ideas on how to ask me, AND he's trying to find a new photographer because the one he was going to use to catch our engagement was going to be out of town when he wanted to do it. He was a wreck really. By the time night comes around, he just wants to get out of the apartment and breathe for a little. I agree and we decide to go to In-N-Out for dinner. 
*hint hint* 
Now I was in sweats. and had no intentions on changing. Why would I? I was comfortable. Brad asks if I wanna put on jeans or anything. Um...no?
*HINT*
So we go there and eat, sitting in the same spot we sat the first time we ate there because we always do that. After dinner, we get back into the truck and he pauses for a little. He then starts to talk about how today has been rough. He finally understands how I feel about the wedding stuff. It gets stressful! (yes, we were planning the necessities already so places weren't already booked and what not). I kinda laugh and feel for him. He tells me how he's been thinking a lot about EFY all day and wanted to drive around to some places we hit while working EFY if that was ok. Sure! Why not?
*once again, flag holly, FLAG*
We drive down the street past Old Navy, our khaki store. We drive past Applebees which happens to be right there next to it; we had our first date there. Then we head back down to Provo, going to New Heritage, the dorms where we stayed with our kids for EFY. 
Sidenote: Brad was on his phone a lot but I wasn't thinking much of it because he'd told me how he was trying to plan all this stuff for later. 
Back before we left the apartment, I'd asked if we could go to the Bell Tower because it's my favorite place on campus. I go there to think, or do homework, or whatever I feel like. So after sitting in New Heritage for a little, we head to the tower which isn't far at all. We sit and look out at campus and up at the tower. It's real pretty at night all lit up. 
Now. for the LIFE of me I don't remember what we were talking about. All I remember was that we moved to another bench, looked back at the mountain and the moon peaking up over it, and then we were talking. Somehow we get to the point of me asking "What?" and him asking if I really wanna know. 
"I don't know"
"you sure?" 
"I don't know. Am I sure?" 
"You tell me"
"Do I WANT to know?" 
"Yes"
He then proceeds to get down on one knee and pulls a ring out of his pocket (: shoulda put on jeans dang it.
"YOU LIAR!!!" yes. those were the first words out of my mouth. 
"Hey Holly?"
"yeah..."
"I love you. so much. Will you marry me?"

"YEAH!" 
He slides the ring onto my finger and it fits perfectly. He stands up and gives me the biggest kiss (: I finally realize the photographer and he gets closer to get better shots. It was a moment of lots of hugging and kissing and laughing and photos being snapped.
 I meet and talk to Wacey; such an awesome guy. We get some more pictures of the gorgeous ring. Then back to the truck to go home. Was the night over? heck no. calls, texts, posts...everything blew up like a nuclear bomb. but you know what?

I was happy. so freaking happy. and I still am! I get to marry my best friend. BEST friend. I can't even begin to tell you how that makes me feel. Brad is more than I deserve, let me tell ya. He will do anything and everything for me. Life will get crazy and we will get busy but you know what? By the end of the day, Brad will be home and I will NEVER have to question his love for me. 

Eternity with this guy? Bring it on

aaannnddddd....and and....it begins!

Back to Provo and 2 weeks off of EFY. First week I spent at my aunt's, which was nice because i was closer to the boyfriend...but things got rough. By Thursday night of that week, I knew that it wasn't right. The relationship wasn't progressing and things had changed. Was it my fault? Most likely. I still respect him and I don't regret dating him at all; I learned a lot and grew. It just wasn't meant to continue on. It was rough though. For a good couple days I was down and just not happy. Brad did what he could to make me feel better but every end of a relationship needs healing.
  The next week, I was back in Provo, hangin' with Brad after he got off work. That Thursday was his birthday and he really wanted to go home for it. Vernal is where his family lives which is about 2.5 hours away. He invited me to go and I said I would if that's what he wanted. Wednesday after he got off work, we headed to Vernal. It was a fun weekend! We went boating where I learned how to water ski...kinda. I could get up but staying up was a struggle. I think my record was like 8 seconds. I'll have to work on that. We also went out to dinner with his cousins one night. Had all of the fam who lived in Vernal over for cake and ice cream the night of his birthday. There may have been other things that we did but i really don't remember :P still! it was nice being there (: felt very comfy.
Fun Facts:
*Brad has four sisters. I got to meet 3 out of the 4. They're pretty awesome girls (:
*Mine and Brad's first kiss was early on his birthday. like 1 a.m. We'd been talking on the couch and...well the story is different depending on who you ask, BUT. we kissed. so that was a pretty great birthday present for him yeah? (; 
  The next two weeks I was at EFY; one in SLC and my last in Provo. Brad came and saw me a couple times when I was in Provo and my kids got to meet him. Finishing up EFY was definitely bittersweet. I'd had an amazing summer and met lots of great people, but it was also a fulfilling finish. When I got into Brad's car Saturday morning after all my kids had left I yelled "NOW WE CAN ACTUALLY DATE!" Danny, my co who was riding in the bed of the truck, heard me and laughed. It was partially true...Him and I were headed to California in a week, and I'd be staying till the end of the month so...yeah. Before going to California though, we got to go to my aunt's wedding! he met A LOT of my dad's side: all of the aunts and uncles, grandparents, some cousins. I'd met a lot of those at his birthday so we were even now (; all in all, everyone loved him.

Shannon (Brad's sis) and I the day I became Brad's girlfriend

   On Sunday, July 27th, Brad asked me to be his girlfriend (: After being together all summer with EFY and becoming the best of friends, I was so down to date this guy. He'd really proven to always be there for me and I knew he really deeply cared about me. Let's do it. Once the news hit Facebook, it blew up like ants attacking candy. All of the counselors and EFY kids: "I KNEW IT" or "I CALLED IT" or "FINALLY". Yup. The world was waiting on me. SORRY everyone!
  The next week we headed to California. What a drive. but hey, if i can last 11 hours in a car with him, that's good yeah? He'd met most of my family at the wedding but he hadn't met Tiff. For those of you who know me well, you know Tiff has to approve of the boy. Thats just the way its always been. Luckily, she arrived Saturday late, so she was able to go with us to the coast on Monday. THAT was a fun trip. man oh man. Tiff, Brad, Jared, Sierra, and I all went. The boys spent a lot of time  digging a hole because thats what Jared likes to do at the beach. Turned into Tiffany throwing Rolos at Brad. Therefore, he got the nickname Rolo Man. If Tiffany gives you a nickname then you're pretty much in so we were good to go (:
  Sadly Brad had to head back to Utah for work so he flew out on Wednesday and I was at home for another week or so. I got back a week before school started, after being at Kaley and Derek's wedding in St. George. From that point on, Brad and I got to date date. No more traveling, no more nothin. Anywhere he went, I went and vise versa. We did a couple more trips down to Vernal, hittin' his father's sides family reunion. We went out at least once a week...though its getting harder now that school is in, but Brad really tries his best to do that for me. And, yeah! It was great!
  Now you all want to know how the heck he proposed.
Side note: I don't like having to give an excuse for how fast it happened. Meeting in May, getting engaged in September. That's not what I planned whenever I thought about who I was going to marry. I wanted to date the guy for a year. CLEARLY that didn't happen. How I look at it. Brad and I were with each other. almost 24/7 during EFY for the whole summer. that's a lot of time if ya think about it. if it had been a normal circumstance, say, only seeing each other once or twice a week for a couple hours, then yes, we would've dated longer because I wouldn't have known him as well. but let me tell you. You get to really know people at EFY. any of the counselors or kids can attest to that. with that, there will be no more explaining on the subject.
  back to what I was saying. How he proposed. Now that's a fun story... (:

Prologue pt 2: All smiles

So Brad and I arrive in San Antonio with the 65 other counselors, ready for a great 2 weeks. And it was! Texas kids were really nice and a change from the kids in Utah. Not bashing on my Utah people! Texas and Utah are just two very different places.

  Brad and I never got to be Co's while in Texas, which was a downer since they were Brad's last two weeks, but we did hang out whenever it allowed. By week 5, the counselors AND kids had started asking Brad and I if were dating...nope! we were best friends. that was it. had a boyfriend back in California remember? plus, he would be back in Utah by the time I got back from San Antonio. Since we got this question a lot, we tried to play it off as being siblings. Some of the counselors bought it but it didn't last long. All of my kids did! but Brad's kids saw through it.
   Now I must mention, Brad started off doing pretty well with the whole best friend thing. He didn't make any comments about my boyfriend and backed me up when I told people we weren't dating. But um...yeah that started to fade. Brad and I are alike in MANY ways, one way being that when we wanted something...we got it. the whole patience thing only lasts so long. So here and there he would start to throw in teasing comments "Yeah we aren't dating all because of Holly". Thanks bud. But you know, he was always there for me when I was going through a rough patch. He was the first one I texted or called when i was feeling down. He really WAS my best friend. Now, the boyfriend didn't like this too much but i laid down the law. If he couldn't put up with brad, then he would have to let go of me because Brad was my best friend... for those of you who see a flaw in this...yeah you're on the same track as my sister. Tiff was like "Holly. you cant date someone and have a guy best friend. it doesn't work." of course i wanted to prove her wrong...
   The weekend in between sessions we got to do whatever we wanted. Brad and I had already planned to go to Six Flags because it was literally a 20 minute drive. We grabbed Nathan and Sarah, got to Hertz to rent a car, and was off to the park. BEST. DAY. EVER. oh man. let me just give you the highlights.
1. we went on this 200 foot tall swings thing. Brad is afraid of heights. need i say more? it was kinda funny.
2. There was this water slide where you got into a big plastic cylinder thing. kinda like the canisters you put your money in at the bank when your in the drive thru and it shoots up the pipe. so you get in the thing and the door closes. cross your legs, arms crossed across your chest. the norm for going down a slide. but...there was a countdown... 3, 2, 1, LAUNCH. the floor DROPS out from under you and you go shooting straight down the slide. oh man it was the best. Sarah was freaked out about this one but she did good!
3. If any of you have been to Wild Waters in Fresno, CA or Seven Peaks in Utah, then you know what i mean when i reference the Sidewinder or the U shaped ride (don't know what its called at the Seven Peaks). So this one in Texas is like that except WAY bigger and its more of a funnel then just a U. you get on a square 4 person tube to ride it. perfect, there were four of us. so brad and i are on the down side as it plunges down the side, with Sarah and Nathan on the other side. Nathan was across from me and oh my gosh. his face was unforgettable. mix of thrill and sheer terror. his side was beginning to lift up and he thought he was going to fall out. so great.

After the park, we went back home to change and then hit up downtown San Antonio. We went to the Riverwalk...it was breathtaking. the lighting with the cooler weather and the river right there. restaurants on both sides; on the ground level or up a story. it was so pretty. we found this Mexican restaurant and sat outside, overlooking all the people on the walk. the dull lighting, the live music

coming from the restaurant, the great food, the company...we all just looked at each other with smiles on our faces. i cant tell you the last time i was THAT happy that i couldn't talk. I wanted this. I wanted this happiness all the time. to never end. I looked at Brad and knew he was thinking the same thing. After eating we visited the Alamo because I love Miss Congeniality so I HAD to see it (:
   On Sunday we got the privilege to drive to the San Antonio Temple. We lucked out when the temple president showed up for a meeting and let us in on the grounds. YES. we got lots of pictures (: it was a nice way to end the weekend.
    Week two in Texas was crazy, if not crazier than the first week, but we had a great time nonetheless. By midweek, Brad had realized that we were going to have to head back to Provo soon, back to our lives, since he was done with EFY. and...me back to my boyfriend. Of course he didn't like this. we made the best of our last couple days together, cherishing our last dance on Friday night.
  I didn't like this. I didn't like that mine and his friendship pretty much had to end. it was a struggle.
On Thursday, I had had a deep conversation with one of my girls over a guy that she was dating. she  felt very strongly about him but wanted to keep it friends since both of them wanted to serve missions. gooood idea (: i said one thing to her that made a huge impact on me, since I'd been struggling on what to do with my personal situation. "You marry your best friend". Mmmm...


Saturday came around and we were headed back to Provo. Did I have everything figured out? Nope! but it wouldn't take long.