For 2011, it is pretty easy to decide what the highlight of our year was..... MARRIAGE! April 28th could not come soon enough.
The celebrations began on Tuesday night as I went through the temple for the first time. What an incredible experience it was. My mom was by my side the entire time, and I had quite the support system there. For the first time, my family was all together in the temple with our spouses. I am pretty sure this is exactly what heaven is like.
The next day, Garrett, his groomsmen, and the guys in the family headed out for a little bachelors party! The went out for some golfing. You know us Mormons, we are quite the partiers! That night, we had our wedding dinner. Since Garrett's family is from out of town, my sweet mom offered to do the entire dinner. We had it in their unbelievable backyard and it was definitely a night to remember!
It was pretty enough to be a reception in and of itself! We had a delicious cafe rio style dinner, a little performance, and time to meet everyone in town for the wedding. If you know my mom, you know she doesn't do anything half way and this was definitely not an exception. When I look back on my wedding, this night will be one of my favorite memories.
After the party had died down, I met my best friends for our little gelato tradition! The night before one of us ties the knot, we all head to Scottsdale for a delicious treat. I don't know what I would do without these girls!
The day had finally arrived! Since we did not get married until 3 PM, we had plenty of free time in the morning. We both attempted to sleep in (key word: attempted). We had a little breakfast, and the Garrett decided to meet some family at the gym to waste some time. I ran a couple miles to burn off some of my energy, and then started the getting ready process! Before you know it, my hair was done, make up was on, and I was ready to head to the temple. It was at this time that I discovered the dress I had picked out to wear wouldn't fit over my big hair.... one of the many times my sister's wardrobe has come in handy!
Our wedding was perfect. The room was filled with the people we love most, and it became official that Garrett would be mine forever. How could it get any better than that?
It was then time for the party! If you know me, you know I am pretty laid back. I wasn't one of those girls who was worried about every little detail... but who would be with a mom like mine as the planner? It turned out beautiful, and I loved everything about the night.
Sadly, we left the party without getting any of the delicious food! We didn't discover this until we got to our hotel, but don't worry we survived! Once we arrived, we were informed that the only rooms they had left were double beds... haha oh well! The next day we relaxed, checked out of our hotel, and explored Scottsdale a little bit. We then headed back to my parents house to enjoy some of the leftovers. Our next stop was the airport! All of the adults in my family headed to Colorado for our reception there.
We got a little lost on our way to the reception...but don't worry we arrived about 2 minutes before the reception began! Sadly I have no pictures from the night.. but it was beautiful! It was a blast hearing everyone's stories about Garrett, and meeting many of the people I had heard so much about. And my sisters/ the groomsmen were quite the troopers for standing in line most of the night!
The next morning, Garrett and I were off to Hawaii! We arrived to sunshine and clear skies, which we enjoyed for about 2 days. The rest of the 10 days were.... rainy to say the least! We had flash flood warnings just about the whole time. I got a little nervous that our condo was going to float away! But we still had a blast.
After leaving paradise, we flew back to Arizona to pack up our wedding gifts. My parents rented a uhaul to help move us to Colorado. The pulled the trailer, while we followed behind in my car. We had quite the road trip! The highlight was our stop in Santa Fe for some delicious New Mexican food and a movie.
Once we made it to Denver, we had quite the long list of things to do! We got there on Friday and started the moving in process. Thanks to our parents, Randy, and Melissa, we were able to get all moved in one weekend. Thanks to American Furniture Warehouse, we were also able to furnish our little apartment without spending every dime we had.
My parents headed back to AZ on Sunday morning, and I had a hard time saying goodbye. But our lives in Colorado quickly began as we headed to our new ward, and Garrett started his new job. I had a couple weeks to get our house in order before I began working. The rest of the summer was the start of real life for Garrett and I! But we did get to do a few fun things, including a trip to California with my family (where I forgot my camera), a couple trips to the cabin, hiking our 1st 14er, a weekend road trip to Utah, and a hike up to Hanging lake.
Stay tuned for our crazy fall of football and traveling! And sorry... I'm a little bit long winded!
