Our Home-To-Be

I had a request for the floor plan of our home-to-be! Sorry the picture quality isn't the greatest...i had to have Josh send em to me from his phone. Let us know what you think! :)

Bring It On!!

We have big news! Our construction loan was approved! We will be building here in Malad just down the road from Josh's parents. Now that we've been approved it's time to bring on the fun! Josh and his dad got started right away by pushing snow the other day. Our well diggers are supposed to be here Wednesday. It's gunna be a while til we get to the 'fun' stuff...gotta get past all the hole diggin and cement pouring first. I"m sure plenty of you are asking the same question I get asked all the time when I announce we're building...WHY MALAD!? Well, despite the fact that it's an hour either direction to the nearest mall, walmart or movie theater...i LOVE it here. I can't picture any other place I would rather raise my kids. I think there are so many advantages to living in a small town and going to a smaller school..and definitely more opportunities! Aside from all that...i just plain love living in the country. I spent about a year living in the city (Provo and Ogden) and i HATED it. Plus, in the Malad Valley...you have mountains no matter which direction you're facing! Here's some pics of our property.

And so it begins..

It's official. MY blog is now OUR blog. Josh and I each had our own blogs, but neither one of them saw much action. So, we thought maybe if we just used one that might change [hint, hint ;)]
Josh and I decided we wanted to get in shape for the wedding...well, and just in general. So, we joined the gym here in Malad and today was our first workout! Let's just say, it's been a while, (for me anyways!) but I LOVE the feeling afterward and I know that for the rest of the day, I'll feel great. However, I'll be honest..my favorite part about the gym is the tanning bed. haha. I didn't go today, but you can bet I'm plannin on it. Tanning beds are like therapy to me. I know josh thinks I'm nuts...but oh well right?
Other than joining the gym, we haven't done a whole lot of planning for the wedding. Mostly just brainstorming. I happened upon a picture the other day and it has sparked some serious inspiration. I'm super excited to pick out decorations and such! And I definitely feel that I will be able to have the wedding of my dreams without spending much at all! No joke. I don't want an expensive wedding. I want it relaxed and casual. Heck, feel free to show up in jeans and a t-shirt if you'd like! :)
Also, some of Josh's friends/co-workers gave us an engagement gift and I LOVE it so I thought I would share it with you.



Thanks guys!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Well, it's dad's first birthday in heaven today. He would've been 45. I just wanted to post some pics from the time we had him here with us. It's not going to be an easy day..and i know from time to time these days will come along, but i didn't want today to go by unrecognized.

I miss you more whenever i think about you dad. Happy Birthday!
Love You More.

The Proposal!

Yay! We're Officially ENGAGED! :)

I figured it would be easier to just post the story/details here instead of telling and retelling the story. (Not that it isn't one of my very favorite stories anyways...just long. You understand, right?)

Well, first of all..I already knew Josh had the ring. We picked it out together a while ago. That was a story all in itself haha. We had originally picked out a different one...but i just couldn't stop thinking about this one. I didn't know how to tell him! I was so afraid he would be upset or hurt...but i finally spilled the beans. Josh was very understanding and was glad i had told him. "Ya only get one.." he said, "..and it has to be THE one!" So we got that taken care of and i continued to wait somewhat patiently. I told him I didn't care how or when he did it...but that i would prefer it be a complete surprise (since i already knew he had the ring and all).

Josh did just that!

He had so many things going on to lead up to the BIG surprise.
First of all...He had my friend Kiersten ask us to go on a double date Saturday. We were also supposed to meet up with one of his buddies and his daughter later that night at the temple to show them around and hang out. He stole one of my co-workers numbers from my phone so he could have her talk to my boss and make sure i had the weekend off. (i couldn't figure out why my boss was being so nice and giving me the weekend off...nice is not her strongest suit to say the least!) Well, Thursday rolls around and he announces he has been called in to work on Saturday and that we wouldn't be able to go on the date or meet up with his friend. I was DEVASTATED!! We usually only get to see each other on the weekends as it is and this weekend was already shortened for us because he was going to be busy moving all his stuff home Friday. Anyways, I was debating whether or not i should just volunteer to work Saturday and get my turn out of the way..which sent josh into a bit of a panic, but nobody at work let that happen. I decided to go hang out with Kiersten anyways on Saturday and agreed to meet up with Josh's buddy as well and show him around since josh 'couldn't be there'. (the fact that i'm super gullible and easy to persuade made all of this very easy on josh!)
After I hung out with Kierst and some friends, they dropped me off at the Bountiful temple to meet Josh's friend. I walked around back and couldn't find em anywhere. so i continued to walk around and finally walked in to the trap! There stood Jake (Josh's brother) videoing the whole thing. I was still a little confused until Josh appeared! He walked up to me...gave me a very sweet lil speech..and dropped to his knee. So perfect!!

But wait! The surprises didn't end there! We headed home from the temple, but josh said he needed to stop in brigham and get a few things for his mom at the store. While we were in there, he decided he was hungry. he suggested we go to Maddox cause he, "hadn't been there in forever!" So off we went. Well, when the hostess took us back to our table...there sat both our families! My mom, Step-mom, Grandparents, Josh's parents, and brother were all there waiting for us. Josh had also planned that whole thing too. He's so good at what he does ;) haha.

So there you have it. The detailed version of the proposal.

...and here's some pics too!

Here's us at the scene of the crime. Moments after he popped the question!

and my lovely ring. i LOVE it. (not quite as much as i love joshy...but close! ;) )

i am the LUCKIEST girl. ever. :)