they draw and travel

i've discovered this ongoing contest of maps draw by artists around the world, i couldn't stop looking at them, they were really good! Here is the winner from this last week::

Don't you just love it!? How creative! THIS is their facebook page, and here are some more of my favorites::



the after party

we had our reception in the beautiful provo library...i've alway loved it there, and it was so gorgeous that day.



all of my curls came out from the heat...and my lack of ability to hold curls in my straight straight hair...but my lovely anjanae did a quick loose braid for the reception and it was so comfy!

i had decided from the very beginning that i didn't want to hire a decorator, i had lots of ideas and lots of dreams i've put together through out my life and i didn't want the typical hanging lights or white drapes covering the ceiling. the ball room in the library was huge and beautiful as it was so i took several trips to good 'ol hobby lobby and bought everything myself. not only did it save me tons of money but it provided me fabulous decorations for my new abode!

i've got a sudden obsession with glass bottles, i just can't seem to throw any away. i've been cleaning them out and placing them in a line on the landing in our hallway.  sparkling grape juice, jones, fancy pants bbq bottle from virginia, you name it! so these guys were just adding to the collection.

 

Matt has a group of friends he grew up with (many of whom were in our kindergarten class picture we framed and displayed) and they have a fabulous tradition. At each wedding (there are only 2 of them left to be wedded) they come up with a fancy routine to a Ke$ha song. They had the whole right side of the ballroom move to the left and preformed for us. This was my favorite shot:

nowwww the cake. mmmm it was good. and it was AMAZING! i found tonya online, she runs a little bakery out of her basement and she is oh so very good! it you are interested you can go to her website here.

i danced with my dad to Because You Loved Me by Celine Dion. My sister who was married 2 nights before me didn't get a father/daughter dance. i fixed that. i gestured her over to have some of the song...even if it was pretty close to the end of the song...

matt and i do have a song, it took a bit to decide and then one night whilst we watched the fleetwood mac episode of glee, we heard it. santana did an amazing version of Songbird and we both knew right then that it was the one. it is her version we used that night. everytime it comes up on my ipod i get all mushy inside.

everything might not have been exactly how i pictured it, but it was oh so perfect to me! i had sooo much help and amazing willing friends that i can never repay fully. my new husband was so good at keeping my stress level down and i just let everything happen. it was an amazing night!

the day i wed

Our fabulous photographer, Emily, sent our wedding pictures today!!! I will tell you what, I am not a patient person but she was pretty darn fast! (she currently does not have a running website, but contact me if you are interested.)


My cousin, Jen, was the one that did my engagements. She was going to be out of town for our wedding so she had her neighbor/assistant (i believe) come and take good care of us. I'm so glad she did! Great deal, great lady, and great pictures!!!


I gotta tell ya, this is gonna be a cheesy and lovey dovey post because I need to take at least a moment to publicly share how lucky I am, and what an incredible husband I have. SO if you can't handle that then I believe it is time you exit....

I married my best friend and kindergarten sweetheart in the Manti Temple on July 8, 2011 at 11:30 in the morning.

Everyone says that they have the best husband, the best mom, the best sisters...I won't do that because I'm sure you'll think what I think when I read that - "OH PLEASE" - but I'll tell you what, there is NO one better for me than my Matt is. He really does complete me and make me so much better. I could never accomplish all of my goals and dreams in this life with out him by my side supporting and loving me. I am so blessed.

My parents were married in the Manti Temple as well, they have a picture of their hands on a doorknob there. My dad had just come back from living in Hawaii so he was very dark, right next to my fair skinned momma.  She said she would send me a copy of the picture so I can put it next to this one we have of that same doorknob:

Here are most of the oh-so-lovely bridesmaids....

 
...and the fabulous groomsmen...

Matt, I love that you bring out the best in me. I love our sense of humor together. I love that you listen to what I say. I love that you always know what to do when I'm down. I love the security you bring to our relationship. I love the trust we have for each other, the forgiveness, and longing to be together. I love all of those small things that speak so loudly of how much you care. I love you. I love us.

1 universe, 9 planets, 204 countries, 809 islands, 7 seas, and I had the privilege to meet you.

For you, there'll be no more crying
For you, the sun will be shining
And I feel that when I'm with you
It's alright, I know it's right

around the world in 8 hours PART 1

While everyone might think my favorite part of Orlando was Harry Potter World, the truth is that Epcot was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. I wish I had thought of the idea first...only disappointment was the lack of representation of Russia...I've moved on though.



We got touch of magic passes for Disney so we each picked a park.  Having worked at Disney Land in Anaheim I had zero desire to go to the Magic Kingdom and luckily he couldn't care less. Matt picked Hollywood Studios and I picked Epcot. It was honestly amazing, so much culture. The best part is that all of the workers in the different countries represented are actually native. Only French born and raised people can work in France, only Norwegians can work in Norway. LOVED THAT! I wanted to make friends with everyone so they'd all want me to visit and stay with them!!

SO we took a walk through all of the countries, starting with Canada. I'm not sure if it was my lack of interest or if there really wasn't much representation there. I was too excited to get to the next country...



ENGLAND! ...where we saw Mary Poppins, thank you very much! Of course we took pictures in the red phone booths as well as buying a little tea pot and my favorite tea (which I discovered in Ukraine).

Next stop along the way was France. I loved hearing those beautiful accents. We saw Marie from Aristocats, Aurora, and some little monuments dedicated to the amazing Remy from Ratatouille! BUT my all time favorite part of France was the most. delicious. ice cream. i have EVER. TASTED!!!



The rest of the journey to come...

Joanne Rowling

I'm wondering how many people caught the J.K. Rowling story, Magic Beyond Words, on TV this last week. I'm going to confess...I watched it 4 times.

With the final Harry Potter movie out and our trip to The Wizarding World it was interesting to watch how it all began.

Did you know her first name is Joanne and she doesn't have a middle name? The first people to help publish suggested she should come up with some kind of initialed name like R.L. Stine because men rarely read books by woman. Joanne was very close with her mother, Katherine, hence where the "K" came from in her pen name.

Joanne met and married a man in Portugal who cheated and abused her.  Soon after her daughter, Jessica, was born Joanne left her husband and went back to London to start over. That's when she decided to finish a book she had been working on for a long time, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

Did you know that J.K. Rowling had the last chapter of the 7th book written before she even finished the first book?

In just 3 years J.K Rowling went from being a single mom on welfare to being one of the richest people in England.

The movie seriously inspired me to go for my dreams, it motivated me to accomplish something great in this life. If she can do it, I can do it. And so can you.  

Go HERE for more random facts on the books...was Dumbledore gay? Does Neville get married?

expecto patronum!

to all you harry potter fans out there who have NOT gone to the wizarding world of harry potter, i tell you to GO! oh it was incredible...amazing...magical...life changing...ish...



There are a couple of different rides for this part of the park but the necessary one is in the castle, the line is loooooonggggg and it probably always will be but it is so worth it. As a hint, go as a single rider because you'll get through in half an hour tops.

The line takes you through the castle, through the dark arts classroom and halls with moving pictures. you see dumbledore's office, the penseive, the sorting hat, so many awesome things!



Hogsmeade was so much fun, you get to go through the joke shop and honeydukes candy shop! If you want to stand in a huge line you can go in to see Olivander and get your own wand.  It's was so magical.

the absolute BEST part, most incredible thing to ever happen, is the butterbeer. it was amazing. delicious. unforgetable. we were warned ahead of time to get the frozen one and it was PERFECT!!!

LOVED IT!!!