14 Days of Valentine's!

Yes, I know it's not Valentine's day yet, but I am writing about it. Sue me. I have had such a fun Valentine's celebration with Matthew so far! My sister's and I have a tradition (it was really their tradition, I just joined in this year...) of every year doing the "14 days of Valentines" for our husbands. Man, I have had so much fun! The funny thing is, I think I have enjoyed it more than Matthew has! Ok, I'm sure he's enjoyed it, but I have just had SO much fun.

My favorite day so far (before today, today is going to be AWESOME, details and pictures later) was the day I got nerf guns and we had a war. The funny thing is, the day before we had gone to Nicole's house and she had done it for Jeremy a few days prior, so we played with their Nerf guns for forever. Nicole had gotten 2 "big" ones for her and Jeremy, but then she got some puny guns for Makelle and Parker to play along. Well... when I went to Walmart to buy MY guns, there was only one of the "big" guns left... I thought about getting the big one for me and the puny one for him, but instead I just bought 2 puny ones. It was SO funny. Matt had gone out for a run and when he got back, I was hiding and his gun was sitting on the table with a note. It said something about declaring war on him. Well... The idea was for me to jump out before he had a chance to grab the gun, but he read that dang note faster than I expected! I heard him cock the gun and I said "OH CRAP!" and jumped out trying to shoot him. The next several minutes consisted of us running around our apartment and Matthew ducking, diving, and rolling all over the floor, and me just screaming. Our apartment is NOT very big... Haha the only held 3 darts at a time, but we kept just grabbing more and reloading our gun. It was so much fun. We have a lot of fun together. Since this is my blog, I'm going to say that I kicked his trash. ;) Afterwards, we were sitting on the couch laughing and he had the gun in his hand and he looked at it and said, "These are the same guns Makelle and Parker got, aren't they?" Dang... he noticed...

The other days have been lots of fun as well. Some have been smaller than others, but I just like to consider them as daily reminders that I love him. I have gotten him a pita from the Pita Pit (what we had on our first date) and taken it to him in the library, given him coupons, sour patch kids (marriage is sour and sweet), candy grams, etc. My NEW favorite is today... He won't read this before it's done, right? :) Nicole and I made chocolate-dipped fruit bouquets for Matt and Jeremy and delivered them to their work! Matt's little brother, Michael, works with him, so I'm having him take it to him when he goes to work. I am SO excited. Nicole and I had so much fun doing it and I just delivered it to Jeremy, and he loved it. We'll see what Matthew says! :) Nicole looked it up, and in order to have one of these professionally made and delivered to them, one this size costs like $100! I'm not even joking or exaggerating. It was so much fun to make too, it wouldn't have been nearly as fun if I just ordered it. Oh well, I just hope he likes it! Funny thing is, the one day I don't have planned is... tomorrow... haha the actual day! I'm a failure... I'll come up with something. :)

Update:

I had a little bit of a drawback to my awesome two weeks of celebrating... Last Monday night I was coming home from work and walking up the stairs to my apartment when all of a sudden my back tightened up. It literally felt like I had been stabbed in the back and I couldn't breath, walk, or anything. It was probably one of the worst pains I have ever had in my life (coming from the girl who has torn both of her ACL's...). I made it into my apartment and on the couch, but Matthew wasn't home, he was at his basketball game. I sat on the couch for about an hour and waited for him to get home (I had texted him and asked him to come home as soon as he could). He got home and looked at me, and I have never seen him get through that door and to the couch so fast, I had tears streaming down my face and neck because I couldn't raise my arms up to wipe them away. Nothing was helping. Matthew was AMAZING though. He immediately went into action. His little brother has had back pain for YEARS, so Matt called him over. Mikey brought over some of his muscle relaxants to try and help me get through the night. For that night and the next day Matt had to get up with me in the middle of the night when I had to use the restroom and had to literally pick me up out of bed and walk me in there. I couldn't stand up on my own. We went to the doctor first thing the next morning and of course they just said "I pulled a muscle"..... Seriously? Bite me, I've pulled a muscle before. That made me mad because I was in so much pain. Oh well... They gave me a pain killer and a muscle relaxant (I didn't tell them I had taken someone elses the night before) and sent me home. Long story short, Matthew has been so amazing to me throughout the whole thing. He has done EVERYTHING for me, and won't let me do ANYTHING (ok, so that makes me kind of mad...). But there are little things every day that he does that just confirm my decision to marry such an incredible man...

Besides that, life has been good! Matt is preparing to take the MCAT on April 13th (AHHHH!!!!) and I am just trying to find motivation for my classes before I graduate in May (AHHH!!!!). Life really is just fabulous. Lately, it has kind of gotten monotonous because we're just doing the same things day in and day out, but it's comfortable. We change it up every once in awhile. Mainly, I'm just so excited for spring break and summer! I love that time of year because Matt and I enjoy doing things outside so much. It will be a lot of fun. The med school applications will start sometime in May or June and then sometime at the end of the year our lives could be changing a lot. We should find out around then or the first of next year where Matthew will be attending medical school (assuming all goes well and he gets in). Have I told you how smart that kid is? He took his first practice MCAT not too long ago and he got a 33! For those of you who don't know what that means, basically, at all of the schools he is looking at applying to, their average score is a 25-27. Just thought I'd brag for a minute. We'll see what happens when he takes the real thing. :) There are a lot of exciting things coming up for us!

Well... this whole post has basically been my way of saying one thing. I love this time of year. But mainly I love this time of year because it reminds me how it makes me feel when I share my love with someone else. It reminds me of how EASY it is to do something small and fun to remind someone you love them EVERY day. I love my husband so much, and I love everything he does for me. I have made it a goal to tell him something SPECIFIC that I love about him every day. No, I will not proclaim it to the world on Facebook, and I will not just tell everyone else how much I love him, that takes away from how personal and intimate "love" should be. I will look him in the eyes and tell him, I will leave him a note, or I will send him a random text. If you like to say it on Facebook, that's fine too, it's just not how Matthew and I are. It's not that hard. Yes, I know that I'm a newlywed, and yes, I know that marriage gets harder, but I know that if I can make the effort to tell him how much I love and appreciate him DAILY, our marriage will be strong forever, and we will be just as in love 50 years from now as we are now. :) Ok, I'm off my soapbox now. I guess this is my blog, which can be "my journal", so I want to say this to hold myself accountable days, months, and years from now. I want to see if I can look back on this post and say that I have done it. If you have read this post until here... Get a life. Haha just kidding, thanks for reading and maybe you can leave me some advice on how to love him on those days when we probably won't like each other very much. I know they'll come. Haha love you all! Happy Valentine's Day!

Fall Break! (If you can even call it that...)

So Utah State has one thing going against it and that is the length of its fall break. Seriously? Only one day off? That's kind of a joke and hardly anytime to really get a break. Nonetheless, Matthew and I decided to make it worth it somewhat. Our friends, Justin and Jessica invited us to go to Lagoon with them about a week ago, but we figured we couldn't go because we both had to work. On Thursday morning, Matthew found out that he got Friday afternoon off, so we figured if I could find someone to cover my shift, we might as well go! Well... after making a few phone calls and having an awesome coworker and manager working it out for me, I got it off! So we got to go to Lagoon when I hadn't been there in forever!

Jessica, Justin, me, and Matthew in line for Colossus

Well, after helping my sister with a minor emergency (she loosened a pipe in her kitchen and the result was water everywhere. She was home alone with 2 kids and since she was stuck holding the pipes together, she had no one else to turn the water off. The result was Matthew and I driving over there to help her out. haha) we met Justin and Jessica and headed out. We got in for half price, but the only way we got the deal was by entering at 5 PM for Frightmares. So we showed up and were determined to make it worth it (the result was us literally running from ride to ride like children). It was so much fun!

Matthew and I after getting into the park

The good news is, we made it onto all of the rides we wanted! We didn't make it to the Rocket in time, but we decided beforehand that wasn't a priority. The longest line we waited in was for the Samurai, of course, but it was SO worth it! I love that ride... Since I hadn't been to Lagoon in FOREVER, I had never been on the ride "Wicked" before. Holy. Crap!! That ride was a blast. You shoot off, go straight up, straight down (and I was in the front), through corkscrews, and just SO fast! My eyes leaked the entire time and I had tear streaks on the side of my face after it was over. I loved it!

The best ride of the day!

During one of our "breaks" from the ride, Matthew decided to spend $2 to have some lady try to guess his weight. He was convinced there weren't very many people that can actually guess how much he weighs. Can you blame him though? I couldn't do it! Well... He was right, the lady had NO idea what to guess because he is so tall but so skinny, and he won a little stuffed dog! Of course he didn't care what he got, so he let me choose the color and everything, so I chose the bright pink one! (surprise, surprise...)

The new addition to our family :)

All in all, it was a way fun night. We got hot chocolate and food afterward on our way back to Logan. Jessica and I of course fell asleep on the ride home, so Matthew and Justin just got to chat the whole way. I was glad we got to take advantage of the ONE DAY we got off instead of just working. And I am getting better at taking pictures of what we do, AND better at blogging! YAY! :)

On another note... STORIE BETH IS MARRIED!!!! AHHH!!! On Wednesday, I got to go down and go to Storie's wedding and reception and it was such a great day! I hadn't met Jared before, which made me so sad, but I love him already! He is so great! Their ceremony was beautiful, Storie looked gorgeous, and we are excited to add another enthusiastic couple to our little group! Friends forever? I think so...

Storie and Jared coming out of the temple

So stinkin cute!!

Best Friends Forever!!

There's the three of us... Met Fall of 2009 playing soccer in New Mexico and now 2 years later in Fall of 2011 we are all MARRIED! We never would have thought that we would all be married within 4 months of each other, but it has been such a fun and exciting summer for all of us. I love them and I love their husbands and I hope we have a fun, lifelong friendship together!

Jaynee also got married on the 15th of October. I forgot my camera, which makes me so sad, but she looked BEAUTIFUL!! I got to go to her ceremony, luncheon, and reception that day and it was so much fun! I am so happy for them, but so sad that they will be in Cedar, so far away from us... Happy weddings though!! What a fun time of our lives, I am so happy for all of my friends, and even happier that they have all chosen to be married in the temple!! Happy, happy times! All is well here. :)

Top Ten Thursday

Ok, make fun of me for knowing this, but today it has been one year since Matthew and I went on our first date! WOW! I love looking back on all of the fun times we have had over the past year, and we weren't even married for all of it! It really is so hard for me to remember my life before I met Matthew, and I don't even like to think about it. Life is just so much better with him, not to mention LOTS more fun! In honor of our "one year mark" (even though this date isn't nearly as important as June 4th...) I am going to do Top Ten Thursday on the top ten most memorable moments from the past year. (Keep in mind, these are in no particular order...)

1- This one just happened the other day, so I thought I'd share. Matthew had a headache, so I was bringing him some Ibuprofen (prescription strength, at that...). So I walked into the room to hand it to him and (from his point of view) all I did was start freaking out and spitting white stuff out of my mouth. I ran into the other room and started rinsing my mouth out with water and gargling it. Matt and my mom had NO idea what was going on. What happened was, I had some candy corn in one hand and his pill in the other. Instead of popping the candy corn into my mouth, I put the pill in and bit down on it. It crumbled in my mouth and it was DISGUSTING... I don't even know if telling the story over the blog even makes it funny, but when Matthew tells it, it makes me laugh so hard I cry.

2- I have a feeling that a lot of these moments are going to consist of me either A) doing stupid things, or B) falling. This is the latter. Most of you have probably heard this story before but... oh well! Once upon a time, Lauren was going over to Matthew's apartment to see him. She decided she was going to knock on all of the windows of his apartment that she passed on her way to his door. Well... All this really did was get everyone in the apartment's attention before Lauren got to the front door, slipped on their welcome mat, and fell down straight to her butt. Once again, I laughed so hard I cried. I also believe Matthew's exact words were "I'll give you a second to get your pride back before opening the door." On another note: This was one of the first stories Matthew told his family when I first met them... Embarrassing!

3- Telling the story from #2 at my parent's house and accidentally slipping and falling AGAIN when reenacting it. This one resulted in a GIANT bruise on my butt....

4- Going to the Coca-Cola factory in Las Vegas and trying 16 flavors of Coke from around the world. We were laughing our heads off! Each of us would take turns trying it first, and when I tried the one from Italy first and was freaking out at how awful it was, Matthew didn't believe me until he tried it. He freaked out with how awful it was too. I loved listening to him try to describe how they tasted (ex: "It tasted like someone brushed their teeth, spit in a cup, then spit some mouth wash in there and watered it down and then made a drink out of it!" I believe that one was from Djibouti...)

5- The first time Matthew saw me in a competitive atmosphere (and the first time I saw him, gosh he drove me nuts...) We were playing Catch Phrase with my family and it always gets really competitive, especially when we play boys vs. girls. Matthew was being obnoxious (like he does when we're competing against each other) and I was getting SO mad. He thought it was hilarious. Once he watched me play soccer, he just realized competition brings out a whole new side to me.

6- One day Matt had an eye doctor's appointment and I was in Salt Lake for some reason. He called me after his appointment when he was laying down on his bed and I have never heard him whine like that before! I was laughing SO hard, and we still laugh about it today. He had his eyes dilated so he just kept saying, "I can't even read the paper! I can't see!" And he just went on an on... Like I said, this could just be a "you had to be there" thing, but this is my blog and I'm just kind of journaling at the moment... :) It was funny.

7- Watching Matthew dive head first into the waves on our honeymoon to Mexico and wondering just how old my husband really was. He seriously is the biggest 10 year old I've ever met. The kid has so much energy!!

8- The day we went up to campus and sat on a grassy field to watch "Falling Skies" online. We had to go to campus because we didn't have internet at our apartment. This date also consisted of us playing cranium with just the two of us. We also probably played Gin like crazy because I was obsessed this summer!

9- Where would I be without including our first date in my favorite memories?? That is where it all began. Dinner at the Pita Pit (which also consisted of playing Battle of the Sexes with just the two of us), painting pumpkins, and then going up to campus and "bowling" with the pumpkins. We knocked over half-full water bottles. Matthew will probably claim that he won, but we all know I did. Then to end the night, of course we had to go get ice cream from Charlie's! :)

10- Obviously this list wouldn't be complete without mentioning the day of our first kiss, the day we said "I love you" (even though that same day I thought he was going to break up with me), the day he proposed, and of course the day we were married!

We have had so much fun together this past year, and I can't wait for the many MANY years to come. Sorry for the cheese-ball post. I've never been one to be mushy on Facebook, and even if I was Matthew would never go along with it, but this is my blog, and sometimes I feel like talking about my husband and how great he is and of course to tell everyone how much fun we're having in our new life together! And no blog post is complete without some pictures, so here are some of the many faces of Matthew and Lauren. :)

The date where we ate everything with our hands and fingerpainted! :)

After we worked out some time. We like to pretend we're hard core. :)

The date where we went rock climbing with Alisha and Alex. :)

Last but not least, the very first picture of us together at the HOWL last year. :) Chick magnet? I think so...

Sometimes I like writing my thoughts. :)

Ok, so every few months I have a post about how I'm going to be better at blogging, but I never am! I think I just need to face the facts and realize that I just suck at blogging. One of these days I will get around to posting about my wonderful wedding day and our fabulous honeymoon, but I'm afraid that day is not today. Sadly enough, I have had a draft sitting there for about a month and a half now, and I just add to it every once in awhile. *Sigh* Maybe someday I'll be good at this.

What I was thinking of posting about, however, is that fabulous relief society broadcast and my favorite talk so far by President Uchtdorf. Gosh, those men always know what to do to really help me out when I am feeling down on myself and just down in general. This semester has been a tough one to say the least.. I go to school at 9:30 in the morning, go straight to work, and get home at 8 to what? Study or do homework before the next day begins. I have had countless breakdowns because there just aren't enough hours in the day. I really want to be able to have a clean house, clean dishes, a made bed, and then to just snuggle up with my husband at night to just have some time together. Oh boy, was I mistaken when I thought that was a realistic dream!

So on top of everything, I went to the broadcast on Saturday night with some friends and sat there and listened to a wonderful man giving me hope saying that I am not perfect and that's ok. A man telling me that I shouldn't hang my head because the most majestic being in existence loves me unconditionally and accepts my weaknesses. I especially loved when he told us that we are so quick to accept other people for their weaknesses, but extremely slow to forgive ourselves for our weaknesses. You know what? I'm not perfect. There are dishes in my sink, clothes on my floor, I have been struggling in school, I lose motivation to do anything a lot of the time, but that doesn't matter because every day I can wake up and strive to be better. I can try my best to be who I want to be, but accept it when I fall short. On top of the fact that God loves me, I have the best husband in the world. :) I don't know how I ever made it through the day or semesters of school without him. He motivates me, encourages me, and tells me that I am doing a good job (even though 99% of the time that's a lie). The man is wonderful and even cooks and sews my pants for me! So you know what? Life isn't so bad afterall. I have a wonderful husband, an incredible family, and we aren't doing so bad here.

And to top this all off, I found a quote this week that I am OBSESSED with. It was perfect to go along with the week I've had! :) Leave it to Elder Holland to help me out.
"No one of us is less treasured or cherished of God than another. I testify that He loves us-- Insecurities, anxieties, poor self-image, and all. He doesn't measure our talents or our looks; He doesn't measure our professions or our possessions. He cheers on every runner, calling out that the race is against sin, not against each other." Isn't that so great?? I love it. :)

So there you have it... Not sure if this post was me whining or showing that there is hope! Hmm... Take what you want from it, I suppose! I will get around to posting about my endowment, our wedding, honeymoon, and married life eventually! :)

Time to stop being bad at this!

Ok, I haven't posted since I got engaged... SO much has happened, I'm not even sure I could begin to play catch up! But I guess I'll see how this goes... I am getting married in 2 weeks. CRAZY, right?? I am so excited, I can hardly stand it!! All of the wedding plans are basically all complete, so I am ready to do this! Anyway... Back to the update!

Time for Catch up! I had some fun for Easter this year. Matthew went home that weekend while I had to stay up here and work, so that just left me with WAY too much time on my hands! :) When he came back up that Sunday night (Easter), I had made him a homemade giant easter basket. Yes, I am aware that it looks nothing like a basket, but it was a lot of fun. I got him his 3 favorite gatorades, a couple of shirts from Nike (SUPER cheap since Kel works there and gets me a discount), and then "enough candy to give him diabetes". It was a lot of fun.

Another event... Matthew graduated!!!! YAY!!!! It is only the end of the beginning, but STILL! I am so happy for him and so proud of him for working so hard and getting done. We had a fun day together going out to lunch with our families (my parents came up too) and then we headed back to Salt Lake for the weekend! Next up: Matthew will apply for Med School this summer. He takes the MCAT in July and then the applications will go in and we'll see what happens! If he doesn't get in this time around, he will probably go back to possibly complete his Masters and Ph.D. We will see what happens! I'm not too worried about the whole thing, it'll be an excited couple of years!

(a picture of Matthew and I in the Spectrum at graduation)

What else... Let's see. I got a new job!! :) I had been working at a call center here in Logan to get some money coming in until I found another job, and I finally found one! Those call centers really start to wear on you. So now I work at a store here called "The Book Table". It is a cute little store kind of like a Barnes & Noble or a Borders. I work upstairs with all of the childrens toys and scrapbooking supplies. It actually is a lot of fun. My bosses are really cool and laid back and it's a fun job! It's just customer service, but I get to set up displays and everything and I have a lot of fun with that.

On another note, I will also be graduating next spring semester!! :) All I have to do is take a few classes this summer, 18 credits in the fall, and 18 credits in the spring and then I'm DONE! I know, I totally make it sound like it's not a very big deal... It's going to be a tough year, but I have to do what I have to do I guess! I am really excited that I will be able to finish a year earlier than planned. It will be good, and I'm hoping school will be a little better/easier once I'm married and all.

I know this post has way too many words and not enough pictures, and I don't know why I don't have more pictures, so I'm sorry. I also had an awesome bridal shower that my lovely sisters put on for me, and we had a lot of fun! There was good food, no lame games, and awesome company! I have the best family in the world, and, on top of that, I also am marrying into such a loving and supportive family! I am so incredibly lucky!! I love my mother-in-law, father-in-law, sisters and brothers, aunts, uncles, grandparents, everyone! I am one lucky girl... We had a fun day! I am also excited for the week of my wedding. I will work Tuesday and Wednesday, and then on Thursday I head home to get my hair done and then I go through the temple that night!! SO excited I can hardly stand it!! The next day (Friday, the day before the wedding) all the boys will be going golfing and then when they get home, the girls will be going to get pedicures!! YAY! I am so excited! It will be one "last" hurrah with my sisters before I get married! Gosh, I am just so excited for my wedding, spending time with my family, and everything. It will be a great day! I probably won't post before my wedding, but I will try to post about it fairly soon afterwards! Then I will announce where we went on our honeymoon because as of right now, I have NO idea where we are going! Stinkin Matthew and his surprises... That is all for now!

I'M ENGAGED!!!!

It's true! It's true! I am engaged!! February 10, 2011. Happiest Day of my life! I figured instead of posting the engagement story a thousand times, I would update my blog for once and tell it all here. :) Before you start reading, beware! I am very long-winded, and I will include every single detail!

First off, let me start with the history of Matthew and I. We met up here at Utah State last October. I was playing intramural volleyball with a bunch of girls I had met playing ultimate frisbee on the quad one day. Matt came to every single one of our games, and that is how we met. We went on a few dates, and ended up seeing each other every day after that.

Now to Matthew... He is the kindest man I have ever met. He is 6'7" (how perfect is that??), from Woods Cross/North Salt Lake area, and he has a wonderful family. He loves to run and work out. He is perfect for me in every way, and he treats me like a princess. :) He will be graduating from Utah State this May (yay!!) and then applying for med school this summer. We have SO much fun together, and no one is able to make me laugh the way he can (I realize that seems like an easy job, but he can even make me laugh when I'm angry!) He is so thoughtful and fun (as you will see with the engagement story), and he is the most selfless person you will ever meet. He loves freely and easily and always shows that love to everyone he meets. He makes me want to be a better person every day so I can come a little closer to deserving him. What can I say? I'm crazy about the kid and I definitely got lucky...

Ok, so I am sure that is enough with the mushy gushy stuff, although I could go on for hours about him... Now to the moment you've all been waiting for! Actually, it was the moment I've waited my entire life for, and I found the perfect man to make it perfect!! Yesterday, Matthew told me we had a wedding reception to go to after I was done with my review session. So I hurried home and got changed into a skirt and then I waited for him. He told me he would pick me up in half an hour, but he had to go home to eat because he was starving (typical). So... For once, I was ready and waiting for him... :)

Then about a half an hour later, there was a knock on my door. I opened it and... it wasn't Matthew... It was his roommate, Justin, dressed llike a chauffeur (spelling??). He told me that he was asked to pick me up to go to the reception. So I grabbed my coat and asked where Matt was and he said, in an english accent, "I'm not privy to give that information". I started to kind of suspect that something was up. So Justin drove me to first dam (a lake-type place in Logan), and escorted me to the shoreline where my handsome boyfriend was standing in a suit, sporting his new haircut and clean-shaven face (I found out later he had shaved about 3 times that day, haha).

Then I look on the water, and there was a canoe sitting there with fake candles inside and some blankets. (If you've ever seen "Tangled", think of that... ADORABLE, right?? I love that movie...) He helped me down into the canoe and gave me the blankets to wrap around my legs to keep warm. Then he got in and Justin pushed us off and Matthew steered us to the middle of the lake. Then he just started making small talk. Asked me how my day was, how my review went, etc. All throughout our dating history, we have always gotten hot chocolate together. Several of our dates, we go on hot chocolate runs all the time, the first time we said "I love you", etc. So then he said, "I should have brought some hot chocolate, my hands are freezing, I'm sorry!" Then, out of nowhere, two of his friends, Lance and Braden, come paddling up behind us in a canoe and give us two cups of hot chocolate. :) Love it! Then they left and our conversation continued.

The next run, they came paddling out again and brought me some flowers. They were pink and yellow roses with a black ribbon tied around them (our wedding colors). SO cute! So we started talking again and he told me that there was a moment when he knew he was going to marry me. I asked him what it was and he said "I'll tell you later." He asked me if I had a moment where I knew, and I said that I had and I told him. After I got done telling the story he said "Do you ever wish that your life could just be like a movie where music plays at all the right times?" Then he asked me if I had chosen our wedding song yet, and I told him I was leaning towards the song we had danced to in his living room one night. (It's called "Look After You" by the Fray. Look it up! :) ) Then his friends came out once again with a guitar. He got it out and started to play that song for me and sing it to me. He changed some of the words of the song to say something about sitting with a girl on a lake and then he said "My heart is starting to believe in fate". At this point I'm just in tears thinking about how lucky I am.

After that, he puts the guitar away and says "Ok, let's get out of here, it's cold..." He starts to paddle us towards the shore and starts to tell me how he knew he was going to marry me the night we were dancing to that song in his living room. He said so many adorable things, and I was in tears the entire time.. Then we got to the dock, and he helped me out of the boat onto the dock. I climbed out, and so did he. The dock was lined with tiki torches and candles, and there was rose petals all down the dock. So we walked down the dock, the rose petals went into the shape of a heart with a ring box in the middle of it. He said "Oh, what's this??" And went down on one knee to pick it up. He looked inside and said "I think this is for you" and turned the ring box towards me. He looked up at me and said "Lauren Waite, will you marry me??" I stared at him for a few seconds and then I said "OF COURSE!!!" He stood up and gave me a hug and a kiss and then his friends were on another dock and they shot fireworks off. Then, I was engaged!!!

Here is a picture of all of Matthew's wonderful friends who sacrificed their nights to make it PERFECT for us! Thank you so much, guys!! :)

So... There you have it! I am engaged!!! We will be married on June 4, 2011 in the Salt Lake Temple. I am the luckiest girl in the world, and that proposal is everything I could have ever dreamed of!! Matthew and I are going to have a long and happy marriage, and I know I will have so much fun spending the rest of my life with him. Sorry this was so long, I love telling stories!! :)

The future Mr. and Mrs. Wright!!! :)

Thanksgiving. Time to give thanks. :)

Wow... So it has officially been years since I've posted on here. I am a terrible blogger. The past few months/several months have been full of ups and downs and maybe even a few rights and lefts. I wish I would have written it all down, but I'm sure some day I'll take the time to do it. Today, sitting in church, I decided I needed to make a post. I have grown so much lately and learned more about myself than I thought was ever possible. Life turns on a dime and we have to be there to embrace it, accept the change, and move on from it. This post isn't going to be an update, but I feel like in honor of thanksgiving, I need to go through at least my top 5 things I am grateful for. Today in church I decided to write 100 things I'm grateful for, but I guess I atleast want people to read this post, right? :)

1. My wonderful parents

I think it is safe to say that I have the most wonderful parents in the world. It hit me even more like a brick wall today at church. A high councilman spoke and really put it in perspective for me. He said to us: You never know the love your parents have for you or the sacrifice they put forth to make you happy until you are a parent yourself experiencing it. I know without a doubt that this is true. I have two of the most loving parents ever. They have been there for me through every soccer game, every tear, every fear and frustration, every surgery I've had (you may think that's only a couple, but it's not, trust me), every ear infection, every flu bug, every case of strep throat, every mental or emotional break down, every dirty diaper as a baby, every angry moment, and, most of all, every single heartbreak or let down. My pain is their pain and I know they would give anything to take my pains away. They have sacrificed more for my happiness than I will ever know and I will never be able to thank them for. They are two incredible people. I LOVE MY PARENTS.

2. My family

(My oldest brother, Josh, and his wife, Ang, are missing from this picture. I couldn't find one with all of us...)

My parents have done a wonderful job raising everybody in my family. I know I talked about my family last Thanksgiving, but how is there ever enough to say about such wonderful people like all of my brothers and sisters? I have definitely lucked out big time. I am the youngest of 6 and they are all the most incredible people I know. They have all taught me something different in my life and they have all helped me out when the going gets tough. Everyone deserves to know that someone cares about them, and I feel SO incredibly lucky to have the siblings I do to tell me they love me, care about me, and are here for me. I love them all so much, and they are wonderful examples to me in my life. I strive to become them every single day of my life. I want to find a marriage as happy and successful as all of theirs. I want to raise my children in the most loving and uplifting home just like they are all doing. If I patterned my life after ANY of their lives, I know I would be happy and successful.

3. Being a member of the LDS church.

I don't think there is a greater blessing in my life than being a member of this church. It literally plays a part in every single aspect of my life. It gives me perspective, good values, wonderful friends, leaders who care about me, and a wonderful knowledge that there is something bigger than everything else on this planet. I find comfort in my life because of my church. I have a knowledge that I will be able to live with my family forever and through the eternities because of this church. Temple marriage is such a wonderful blessing. I know that I don't have to accept anything less than living with my family FOREVER. I know that this church has been the source of my happiness since the day I was born. I know that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me and His son, Jesus Christ as well. I know that they are two perfect beings who will love me no matter what, and that knowledge is greater than anything I could have ever asked for.

4. My friends

Whether it's high school or college, I have always been so blessed with the greatest friends ever. Friends who are always there for me no matter what. Friends who I can call up when I am hysterical and in tears and they will drop everything they're doing and just talk to me. Friends who care more about me and my happiness than anything else in the world. Everyone needs to have friends like I do. I don't know how people survive without friends like mine, because I know there is no way in the world I could have ever made it through those years in high school, and even my years in college, without them. I have amazing friends who are there for me whenever I need them. They are wonderful examples to me in my life and are always encouraging me to be a better person and be the best I can be. I have really lucked out in finding the friends that I have today. :)

5. Trials

I know, not what you'd expect to be on my list of top five things I'm grateful for, right? I mean, I haven't even talked about food, shelter, clothes, my amazing school (UTAH STATE!), or anything like that. Well... Maybe it shouldn't be on my top five, but this is where my mind has been lately. I am so incredibly lucky for every hard thing I have gone through. They say you can't know the good without the bad, the happy without the sad, the joy without the pain, etc. Oh, how true that is! I have a good life. I don't have a difficult life compared to lots of people in this world. But I have times that are hard for me and hard things I've had to go through. I think of a song by Carrie Underwood that says, "I'm grateful for every break in my heart, I'm grateful for every start, some pages turned, some bridges burned, but there were lessons learned". It is so true! I would not be the person I am today if it weren't for the hard times. I have been able to build my character throughout the hard times and I am a much stronger person because of it. I know that hard times are truly for our benefit, and we can't experience true joy until we have felt true pain.

Other things I am grateful for:

My extended family, my dog, my roommates, food, my apartment (and my home), the leaders of the church, Freedom, temples, missionaries, armed forces, the opportunity I have for higher education, my healthy body (although sometimes it doesn't seem so healthy), my ward, etc. There are lots, but I'll stop there... Ok... One more...

UTAH STATE!!!! I love my school! I know this semester is basically over and I haven't posted about it once, but I love this place so much! I have never been happier than I am when I am here! I love Logan and my school and I love being an Aggie!! :) :)