Happy Birthday to Cal

Yesterday we celebrated the birthday of David's dad, Cal. He turned sixty, but he thinks he is still 29.  It was nice to gather around him with so many of his family members to celebrate him.

Cal is such an amazing person. He cares so much about his family and is willing to do anything for them. Some of my first memories of David's family include how welcoming Cal was to me. He is so sincere and so kind. He made me feel comfortable and welcome in his home. I love him so much and am so grateful for his example. I hope that someday I can be as good of a person as he is. 

As Sue was putting the candles on the cake (all 60), Cal was on the computer creating this sign.

The sign reads: 

Fire Marshall Notice

The fire Marshall has declared this birthday cake a

MAJOR

FIRE

HAZARD

It cannot be safely lit!!!

Too MANY Candles

After the sign didn't work, he went out to the garage and came back in with a blow torch to light the candles.

After quite the struggle, Amy finally confiscated the torch by telling him that it's against the rules to light your own candles on your birthday.

More Pictures: 

 

Happy Birthday Cal! We love you!

{the moment}

The next post in {the wedding series} is: "The moment you knew he was the one."

As I think back about our dating experiences - I can think of several times that I "knew" he was the one. I think for some people, it's like one big step. Like- going up an elevator. However, for me it was more like going up a ladder. Something would happen and I would think "this boy is amazing-he's got to be the one" and I would take one step up on the ladder. I realize that most relationships are like this - but I just wanted to explain because there were lots of times when I "knew" he was the one. I think that all of those experiences combined helped me to fall more and more in love with my David boy. Here are a few in particular:

I spent the Christmas holidays during December 2008 with the Peaden Family. It was kind of a fluke that I ended up spending so much time there - but I loved every second of it. I really liked David, but I think that this is where I really knew that he was the one for me. I loved to watch him interact with his family. Suddenly, I felt like I knew him better than I ever had before. In addition, I got to know his family better and grew to love them each so much. (Sometimes David teases me that I married him because I fell in love with his family - which is not true. But it was important to me to be with someone who loved their family and that I fit in well with their family. It just so happens that I fell in love with him AND his family during the same weekend.) After seeing David be so kind, so funny, so excited, so happy and just so perfect ... I knew that I was going to marry him.

Even though I really did love David, I wasn't quite ready to make the commitment. But one day towards the end of February... I was talking to one of my friends in my apartment about David. Actually, we weren't talking about David - we were talking about the boy that she was dating at the time - but I kept thinking about David. She said something to the effect of "If you love him, you know he loves you, you know he makes you a better person, you know he will be a great father, and you know that he will always be strong in the gospel - what else do you need to know before you know you should marry him?" It seems silly, but it hit me like a cool breeze in a stuffy room. I knew all of those things about David, but I just kept waiting for something... more. After that realization, I was free from the constraints that I had placed myself in. I had known that I wanted to marry him - I just didn't know how to take the next step. That night, after an intense Aggie Basketball game in the Spectrum and right as David was leaving for the night, I hinted that I was ready to get married. (Previously, I had been very clear about him not asking me to marry him until I told him that I was ready or else I would probably say no. I know... i'm a loser.) The look on his face was priceless. Shock, amazement, joy. I'm pretty sure he thought that I would never be ready. But that night it was so clear, it all made sense. David was everything I ever wanted - why was I waiting for something else when what I wanted was right in front of me?

Sometimes, when I look back, I think that I knew I wanted to marry David on our very first date. Sometimes, I think that I didn't really know until we were looking at each other over the alter in the temple. But ALWAYS, when I look at him, I know that I made the right choice - and those moments are the ones that I treasure most. 

Vacation Time

Oh, how I love summer. However, there is one thing I love even more than summer and that is... 

VACATION!

David and I have been vacationing for the last several days and it has been wonderful. We headed down to Saint George last weekend and spent several days enjoying the sun, the pool, and the many Saint George  attractions. We loved watching the fireworks on Monday night at the park next to the temple, loved meeting up with my cousins for lunch, and loved being able to just hang out and not have to worry about going anywhere or doing anything. I loved it. 

Unfortunately, I was a lame-o and didn't take many pictures. I didn't take pictures of the Tabernacle tour we went on, or of the 4th of July festivities/fair we went to, or all of the bridesmaid dresses that I tried on (trying to find the perfect one for my little sisters wedding.) Here are the pictures we did take:

Waiting for the sun to go down so the fireworks could start. 

The beautiful Saint George Temple on the Fourth of July. 

This is the pool where we spent much of our time. 

We were able to attend a session at the Saint George Temple. I absolutely love being inside the old pioneer temples. They are beautiful and special in a very unique way. I love the Manti Temple, the Logan Temple, the Salt Lake Temple, and now the Saint George Temple.

We went to the Visitor Center and learned all sorts of amazing things about the construction of the Saint George Temple. My favorite thing I learned is that the temple is actually made out of red sandstone with a covering of white plaster. They repaint it every several years and powerwash it every couple of weeks. It's amazing how white they can keep it amidst all the red dirt down there.

I want everyone to note how long my hair is. It's reeeeally long. Longer than my little sister Jenna's for sure.

My hair? Still long in this picture. Yes.

We went also went to a ghost town called "Silver Reef." It was awesome.

We got a bit more than we bargained for in our self proclaimed "He-be-saying" (not historian.) But the tour was fun, and it's crazy to think about all of the people that used to live in the largest town in Southern Utah that now is completely deserted. 

It was so nice to be able to take a break from life. Fortunately for me, even though we are back in Lehi - we still have a couple more days of vacation time. Last night we pulled our mattress into our front room and we have been watching Netflix pretty much non-stop today.

 

 

 

 

We live such a good life!