My Beautiful Strawberry Bridal Shower!

On Saturday, I had the most perfect bridal shower! My matron of honor and future sister in law, Meg, hosted the party and did such an amazing job. A big thank you to her and all my bridesmaids as well as my mom and Dan's mom for everything they did to make it so pretty, yummy and special!

 I'll post more pics on facebook once Dan's sister Katie sends me the photos she took, but here's a little sneak peak now from what my mom took.

The beautiful strawberry mantle! I love the vintage plates and embroidered strawberry napkins.

Visiting with friends and family!

My beautiful bridesmaids... from left to right, Laurie, Linnea, Kersti, Meg, Kaitlyn and Jenny.

I really did get "showered" with presents :) I got so many fun and awesome things for our apartment, including this adorable Brita water filter. I need one of these for obvious reasons...

With my cute and precious fiancé after the shower. He even wore red to match the strawberry theme :) I'm sooo excited to marry him!! XOXO

Such a fun, perfect day!

NCLEX

I graduated from the BYUI nursing program in December, but I was not officially a Registered Nurse until I passed the national licensing exam, the NCLEX. I had prepared for it all through the nursing program and then studied as much as I could this semester. I was really nervous since this test would have such a big impact on my life. I could always take it again but I really wanted to pass the first time. As it got closer and closer to my test, I was still scared but also felt like I was as ready as I would ever be. The night before my test, Dan gave me a blessing of comfort which meant a lot to me and helped me feel more relaxed. The closest testing cite is down in Ogden, UT and the only appointment time was 8am, so I left around 3am to drive down. I felt calm and confident as I took my test. An hour and 40 minutes later, the computer shut off after I had completed the minimum 75 questions (the test can be as long as 265 questions, the test just ends when the program feels you have either shown a pass or a fail). I walked out of there feeling good because I felt like I had done pretty good, and I drove home. I started to worry during the day though. I was afraid I had gotten a lot of the questions wrong and that's why the computer shut off at the minimum. Two days later, I paid to see my quick results and this is what I saw...



I PASSED!!! I was SOOO happy!! I can't believe I'm finally an RN after all the time and work I've put into it. Also, if you go to the Idaho State Board of Nursing, you can look me up. It's pretty cool :)

Birthday girl :)

Today I turned 22!! It was SUCH a fun perfect day thanks to Dan and his and my families. After church, he made me his amazing Cajan Chicken Alfredo for dinner. Mmmm soo good!!

I was banished back to my place after while he did his birthday magic. When I came back, he had set up all my presents and the table looked so festive!

Birthday cuteness!! We made my favorite carrot cake the night before and it turned out perfect. My mom made it for me my 1st birthday and I've loved it for as long as I can remember.

After munching on chips, dip, m&m's, punch and hummus, it was time to open presents! I was so excited and got soo many awesome treats and surprises :)


I really liked this coat and Dan's mom searched all over to find it. It turns out they had it in the Idaho Falls mall, it must have been meant to be!!

I blew out all my candles so hopefully ALL the birthday wishes I made will come true!

Yummm!! Enjoying the cake...

I had such a fantastic birthday and thanks again to everyone who made it so special and magical!! This will definitely be an exciting year for me!! XOXO

Worst blogger...

It's been awhile since my last post so I just wanted to do a little update. Dan and I are out at BYUI which is soo fun! I love having him out here with me finally! We're busy with classes and I'm studying to take the NCLEX, the national nursing board test. I can't believe I turn 22 in less than a week. That seems so old to me haha. I'll have to do a birthday post soon :)

Engaged!!

It's been a while since I last posted, so I'll quickly update my life :) I survived finals and graduated from the BYUI nursing program! It's nice to be done, but I'll start working towards my BSN next semester. Now I'm home and it's been awesome relaxing and hanging out with Dan and my family. I wanted to post our engagement story and here it is...

Dan and I were in Disneyworld enjoying my first full day there since I had school and got there a little later in the week than him and his family. We had the most fun, perfect day in the Magic Kingdom and then had a delicious dinner at one of my fave restaurants, Whispering River Canyon. We wanted to watch Wishes, the special firework display, on the beach at The Polynesian and we could watch it there across the water. We rushed back from dinner, stopped by our room (little did I know it was so Dan could get the ring out of the safe there) and went down to the beach. During the finale, as the music was talking about wishes and dreams coming true, Dan said to me "I wish you would marry me. Will you make my wish come true?" We'd been talking about marriage for a long time, so I did not realize he was proposing until right after when he got down on one knee and said "Will you marry me?" and opened the box with my gorgeous ring. Of course I said yes!! I was so surprised because Dan and his mom had tricked me and told me my ring would not be ready for a few more months lol. I couldn't stop staring at my ring and absolutely LOVED it! I picked the setting and Dan chose the center stone but then we had it made and I had not seen what it actually looked like. It came out perfect! We hugged on the beach and one of the most classic moments was as we were leaving, when an older couple who was standing behind us and had seen the whole thing said "Now make it last for 52 years like us" Then I called my family to tell them my exciting news and we went back to the hotel where Dan's family was waiting to see my ring and hear all about how Dan proposed. We also updated our relationship status on Facebook, haha gotta make it Facebook official!! SUCH A MAGICAL NIGHT AND I CAN'T WAIT TO MARRY THE LOVE OF MY ETERNITY!!!!

Magical Disney World

To celebrate Dan's mission homecoming, his family all went to Disney World and his parents invited me! It was soo fun! It really is the most magical place on earth :) Between the two of us, we took about 700 pics, and here are some of my faves!

Cinderella's castle is so classic! And so are all the cute Disney characters made out of plants and flowers...

I adore vanilla soft serve... and the cute guy I'm sharing it with ;) Yum!

We loved the new Star Wars Star Tours ride! We had to get a pic on the landspeeder :)

Good times in Epcot! Test Track is one of our fave rides there

I reminded the sharks at the Finding Nemo exhibit of an important fact; Brita is a friend, not food!

Haha I got a pic of Dan with Dori!

Dan's mom suggested that we plan a date night dinner for just the two of us. I love France in Epcot and Dan agreed that it would be the perfect place. We went to the Chefs de France and it was DELICIOUS!! Definitely my favorite meal of the week!

Dan got an amazing French onion soup (I stole bites), a mini French baguette and we both got duck in orange sauce with polenta and green beans. Duck has always been one of my favorite meats, and I found out Dan really likes it too. For dessert, I got Creme Brulee and shared with Dan. Everything was fantastic!

Mickey's Christmas Party was awesome! We enjoyed parades, shows and a special Holiday version of Wishes fireworks display!

We also had yummy hot chocolate, cookies and enjoyed that the park was not as crowded as usual.

Dan LOVED collecting these Star Wars and Toy Story figures called Vinylmations. You can't see what figure you're getting until you buy it and open the box, but if you get a figure you don't want or already have, you can go throughout the parks to these black boxes and try to trade it for a different figure you want.

Dan lookin cool with the Army man from Toy Story :)

Prime Time Cafe is fun... but make sure you eat your veggies and don't put your elbows on the table, because the waitress will scold you!

We went to Animal Kingdom right before we left. I got this shirt with leopard print to wear there. My favorite things there were Expedition Everest, the rapids ride and watching It's Tough to be a Bug.

But the best part of the trip was... WE GOT ENGAGED!!! I was SOO surprised and it was sooo magical!! More posts on that to come ;)

I had SUCH an amazing time!! I owe a big thank you to his parents for taking me! It could not have been more perfect!! XOXO

My fairytale...

Once upon a time, there was a girl...

Who was madly in love with a boy...

He was perfect and everything she had ever dreamed of and she wanted to marry him, but she knew he needed to serve his mission first. And he did...

And she waited for him! And sent him letters every week and holiday care packages...

And it made her soooo sad not to be with him, and it was the hardest thing she ever had to do, but she knew he was doing what he was commanded to do, and she prayed he would always feel her love and time would pass quickly. And finally, two years passed...

AND SHE WAS REUNITED WITH THE LOVE OF HER ETERNITY!!!!!!!!

And he was even more perfect and amazing than when he left!!! And she can't wait to marry her other half and live happily ever after!!!!

I LOVE YOU WITH ALL MY HEART DAN!!!!!!!!! YOU WERE WORTH EVERY SECOND!!!!!! XOXOXOXO