Alec's Farewell/MTC Drop Off

*This is a very long blogpost, but I want to document every bit of these memories, if it's too long for you to hear all the nitty gritty details, skip to the last few paragraphs where I causally bear my soul

The series of events that led to Alec leaving for his mission were nothing short of exciting. Alec submitted his mission papers shortly after graduating high school. We were expecting to hear his report date and where he would be serving around the 4th of July. I even brought my laptop to our hotel the weekend of the 4th just in case we needed to Skype last minute. 

Weeks rolled by and we were all wondering how long the mail really took to get a couple states away. Long story short, on Wednesday,  July 13, we found out that mail doesn't take that long. Instead, his mail got lost in the mail. We found this out through an email Alec received welcoming him to the Idaho Pocatello Mission. We all thought it was a joke because Ethan and I live 15 minutes away from the boarder of his mission and our family is known to play pranks. *cough cough Mark*

4th of July Weekend!

This year 4th of July took forever to get here. Mostly because we bought tickets back in March to attend the Stadium of Fire where Tim McGraw was performing! Ethan has never been to a concert, and we are both huge Tim McGraw fans, so we anxiously awaited the day to come. 

We got off work early Friday and drove down to Salt Lake to watch our good friend marry his sweetheart Caroline. We missed the ceremony, but made it to the gorgeous reception at the Joseph Smith building at Temple Square. It was gorgeous and all the pink and sparkles had me reminiscing about our wedding. It was fun to spend time with friends from home and celebrate the newlyweds. 

That night, we stayed in a hotel and spent the next day hanging out with each other while walking around beautiful Salt Lake. We headed back to the hotel early and got ready for our night! The drive down to Provo went by faster than usual as we chatted the whole way down with excitement running through our veins. 

We got to the stadium and found our seats. They were pretty close to the field, and the weather was just right. The event started with performers and music and skydivers! It was awesome, but we really were looking forward to the main event... watching Tim McGraw.

Alec's Graduation

Alec and I have always been very close, but as if leaving to college didn't make it difficult enough to make it home for all the major events back home, getting a big kid job where I have limited vacation days really made it rough. 

Alec graduated from high school over Memorial Day weekend, and I started my new job just two weeks previously. I requested the time off,  but my boss said it probably wouldn't work out. I was devastated, but tried to work through every situation in my mind of how to get to the graduation. The Thursday before Memorial Day, I realized that it was't going to happen. After attending all of the major events in Alec's life, I wouldn't be there for this one. I was probably crushed more than he was. 

Friday rolled around, and five minutes before my shift ended at 6:25pm, I jokingly asked my managers if I should start driving to California for the weekend to make it to the graduation. My manager looked at me and said "Actually, I can take your shift. Go for it." 

I pretty much freaked out, I knew I would be there for Alec. And so Ethan and I ran home to pack and were out the door and on the road by 7 pm. 

Ethan is actually the best human in the world for driving to and from California all the time for me.

What Happens in Vegas...

In case you forgot, I got Ethan a trip to Vegas for his birthday!! After about a month of waiting, we finally got to cash it in, yippee!!

We stayed at the Excalibur which was fairly nice, but I probably would have picked something more central to everything next time. We got there at night time, and went to dinner at Rainforest Cafe. Ethan hadn't been there before, and I wanted the trip to be full of fun, and exciting experiences.

Spring Break 2016

After graduation, Ethan and I took a month long spring break trip to visit our families and play before heading back to our full time jobs. Let's just say... we definitely made the most of our time off. First, we headed over to Colorado Springs to hang out with the Watsons for a week. During that time, we played tons of games and went on too many ice cream trips. We were too busy chatting most of the time to take any pictures, but I realize that this has become a trend, so next time we see them, I will have to remember to document. 

After fun in Colorado, we met my family in Nevada for a two-day handgun defense training course. Mark has been wanting to take us, and got the family passes for Christmas last year. I wasn't really sure how it was going to be, but it ended up being a blast! Katie had to work, but her husband, Chris, still came and it was loads of fun!

 

College Graduate!

CLASS OF 2016: WE DID IT!! 

In September 2012, I showed up at Brigham Young University in Rexburg, Idaho completely unaware of what I was getting myself into. Since my first day at that school, I have...

-taken 52 courses

-had 23 different roommates

-attended 9 semesters of school

-attended 8 weddings

-lived in 7 different apartments

-created 6 different PR proposals

-completed 5 internships

-survived 4 Rexburg winters

-kept 3 different jobs

-suffered 2 broken hearts

-failed 1 class

-switched my major 0 times

Pink & Gold Bridal Shower!

Back in February, I had the opportunity to plan a bridal shower for one of my friends. It was so much fun to plan everything, poor Ethan had a pink & sparkly home for the months leading up to the party.

Originally, I purchased a majority of the decorations, but at the end of the day, nothing was exactly how I wanted it, so I decided to save money and make everything by hand, I'm pretty pleased with how this bridal brunch turned out!

Here's a little peak into the special day!

Easter

Easter is kind of a strange holiday for young married couples. Do you get each other baskets? Do you hide them from each other? Do you make a fancy dinner? Or do you just think of the Savior and go to church and wait to start traditions until you have your own kids?

Ethan and I talked about what we wanted to do, and we decided that we would do Easter baskets. Anytime we would see an Easter section in the months leading up to Easter, we looked for baskets, but could not find anything cute. We ended up finding these cute matching totes in the dollar section at Target (holla! I'm obsessed.) And the Easter planning began.

For several weeks, we secretly decided what to put in each other's baskets. With stockings, baskets, and pretty much every holiday in general, we try to set a budget/limit so we are giving and receiving similar things. On Easter morning, I set out our baskets and when Ethan woke up, I told him we had to see if the Easter bunny had come yet!!

He did.

Birthday Month! Part II

After such a perfect birthday, thanks to Ethan, I was more than anxious to get his birthday going. I had been planning Ethan's birthday for a couple months and could not wait to surprise him, especially after all he did for me. It was torture waiting for his birthday to finally come.

His birthday is March 26, but we decided to celebrate early with Ethan's brother and our friends, Katelynn & Erik. Because of this, I decided to treat Ethan to a little pre-birthday breakfast.

That night, we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner because Ethan really wanted their steak. Look at how happy he looks with the addition of shrimp to his plate!

After a delicious dinner (and no dirty dishes to clean!!), we went back to our house and had everyone over for games and a birthday treat! We played a couple of party games, and then busted out 'pie face'. It's this hilarious game where you spin a dial and have to turn a knob on a contraction as many times as the number on the dial says. Essentially, every once in a while, the hand comes up and pies you with a face full of whipped cream. It's hilarious and everyone was laughing. I wish I saved more pictures of it, but here is what I found...

I had someone make these cute Star Wars cupcakes for his birthday. They even had a delicious chocolate chip cookie dough filling! Yum!

Birthday Month! Part I

Now that its officially not March anymore, I guess it's time to blog about all the March happenings! March is a busy month in the Watson home because Ethan and I are both March babies! However, this year, Easter and lots of homework also squeezed their way into this month, so there was a lot going on.

Ethan's brother and mom also have March birthdays, and we were able to stop by and bring Ian some cupcakes that were American history/war themed for his birthday... so fun!! And they turned out great!!

The weekend before my birthday, Ethan and I went to get good Mexican food and drank some virgin frozen drinks to celebrate, yum!!

And I got the pair of Nikes I've been eyeing in the mail from my mom!

March 9th was my birthday, and I have to say, it was one of the best. Every year, I do something fun and exciting for my birthday, but this year, Ethan insisted on planning everything himself. I have to admit, I was pretty skeptical because I tend to be let down by my high expectations, but not this year. Ethan hit the ball out of the park and made me feel incredibly special. Since my birthday was smack dab in the middle of the week, I slept in a little and went to work. I work in the Advertising and Marketing office on campus, so my co-workers put a happy birthday wish on the monitors that play advertisements around school, so fun! They also brought me other treats, and it was very thoughtful.

While I was at work, a cake-shaped flower arrangement was delivered from my sweet brother, Alec.

 


After work, Ethan and I went straight to our ballroom dance class. We were both exhausted and anxious to get home, but Ethan suggested we finish the class. Little did I know he had arranged for my friends to arrive at our house during dance class to surprise me.

Home Sweet Home!

As we pack up this apartment, our very first apartment together, I can't help but feel a range of emotions. This is the first place we got to call our own.  This is the place where we hosted our first Halloween murder mystery party, our first Christmas gift exchange, and our first Easter dinner. This is the place Ethan cooked me steak for the first time on Valentine's Day, and it is also the place I learned that I need to prepare dinner nightly, or my husband will starve. This is the first place we bought furniture for, decorated, and cleaned... every single weekend. 

There were lots of surprises, packages, milk shakes, game nights, dinner dates, Netflix marathons, flowers, prayers and cuddles in this apartment. This apartment holds lots of laughter and some tears too. 

We don't own this house, in fact, sometimes, we struggle to pay rent to the people who actually own it. But, this is the place we came home to every night. A place we felt comfortable, warm, and safe. 

However, I am so excited for the homes we share in the future. In one of those homes, we will have our first child. Eventually, we will celebrate birthdays and leave for vacations. We will buy tiny beds for our babies who will occupy the extra rooms instead of the storage that is there now. We will watch those babies put out cookies for Santa and pack their bags for the first day of school. We will teach those kids about the Savior and His love for them within the walls of those future homes. We will have many ups and downs within the walls of those future homes as these big changes happen in our lives. 

So for now, I am extra grateful for the place Ethan and I got to call home for a short period of time as newlyweds.

We spent the first seven months of our marriage in this tiny place. 

It wasn't much, but it felt like home because of who we shared it with... each other.

Six Months

The stars were aligned this year because without the extra Leap Year Day, our six month anniversary would have been non-existent. Tender mercies :) haha

In honor of six sweet months, I thought I would write about my six favorite things about Ethan. It was hard to pick just six because I seriously adore this boy.

1. I love that Ethan takes the time to surprise me when I'm having a bad day. Sometimes, it's having dinner ready when I get home from work, sometimes it's surprising me with my favorite flowers, and sometimes it's ironing the table cloths for the party I'm planning without me even asking. He even surprises me by supporting my spontaneity by driving me out of town for a few days, trying my new recipes or partaking in a couples massage for Valentine's Day.

Wedding Day: The Exit

I have been to so many weddings where only like one or two people are there when the bride and groom left, and I was terrified that no one would be there to fulfill my dream of having a sparkler exit at my wedding. Luckily, when we walked out of the venue, there were two long lines, packed with friends and family holding sparklers. It made me ridiculously happy to see. 

Wedding Day: The Bouquet & Garter Toss

Ethan wanted all things traditional at our wedding, so of course we had a bouquet toss and garter toss.

During the bouquet toss, we had "Man! I Feel Like A Woman" by Shania Twain playing.

Wedding Day: The Dances

Ethan and I did our wedding dances a little different than most people do. Because my dad, Mark, and Alec are all important men in my life, I wanted to make sure I got to honor each of them during the dancing. 

First, Ethan danced with his mom

 to a song called "A Mother's Song"

Wedding Day: The Entrance, The Shoe Game, The Cake & The Toasts

Our entrance was supposed to be grand, but it wasn't planned or executed very well (my fault). We came in to Jason Derulo's "Want to Want Me" and it was a lot of fun. The bridal party came out dancing and then Brooke and Preston came out with a sign introducing us. 

Wedding Day: The Details

Okay, so I am not kidding when I say that my wedding was the most beautiful wedding I've ever been to. I don't even feel bad saying that because my mom did 99% of everything, therefore all credit goes to her. 

Since Ethan and I were up in Idaho in the months prior to our wedding, this superwoman of a mom put together this gorgeous, princess-like, perfect wedding in THREE MONTHS. 

I told her I wanted it to be light pink and silver/sparkles and glam, but not over the top. I asked for fresh flowers and she basically spent three months texting me pictures and calling me to make sure everything was perfect. 

I can't thank her enough for making my dream wedding come to life. She is incredible, but not offering her services to anyone else, anytime soon because it was a lot of work :) Here are just a few details to capture how perfect and gorgeous this wedding of mine was, all thanks to her. 

Wedding Day: Getting Ready

Since I originally got ready at 5am, I definitely needed to retouch my hair and make up by 4pm. Luckily, my mom was there to help me. I didn't get pictures of me getting ready early in the morning, but I'm so glad my mom convinced me to take some while I was getting ready before the reception because I love how they turned out. 

Wedding Day: The Bridal Party

As explained previously, Ethan and I got married in a temple. You can read all about my temple marriage here. Because we got married in the temple, there wasn't an aisle for either of us to walk down. 


Ethan and I still wanted our families to be included in our wedding party, so we had our brothers and sisters be our bridesmaids and groomsmen. There were so many of my good friends that I wanted standing beside me on my wedding day, but since there was no place for them to stand during the actual ceremony, the bridal party served a very different purpose. 

I am so grateful for my close friends who understood, loved and supported me despite this decision. Sometimes, people can get touchy about who is/isn't in the wedding party. Planning a wedding is stressful, so it was nice not to have to worry about my best friends being mad at me. 

The bridesmaids were my sisters: Katie and Shelby, 

and Ethan's sisters: Crystal and Veronica. 

The groomsmen were my brother: Alec, and Ethan's brother: Ian.

The junior bridesmaid was Ethan's youngest sister: Emma.

And the flower girl and ring bearer were Brooke and Preston.

Wedding Day: Temple Guests & Family

Here is almost everyone who attended our temple sealing. About ten people who were there didn't make it into the picture, but boy are Ethan and I lucky that so many people love and support us. Most of these people had to wake up early in the morning and drive anywhere from 2-15 hours to come support us that day. I know that many other people would have been there if distance and the ability to go inside the temple weren't a factor. Thank you to all of you as well. If you look closely, you can see Ethan and I somewhere in the middle :)

Wedding Day: Temple Exit

As explained previously, Ethan and I got married in the temple which you can read about here.  Exiting the temple shares the same excitement as the newly married bride and groom kissing at the alter. Mostly for record sake, here are some pictures of us exiting the temple hugging our family.