~Engagement Photos~

I did a post about our anniversary back in November and mentioned that I never got our engagement photos digitized.  It turns out my dear photographer, an old roommate, reads my blog and sent the pictures CDs to me!  What a great friend, eh? 

Thanks a million, Adrienne!

When Nick and I were getting married we had ZERO money, so it was all about cutting costs.   One of my fabulous roommates, had a nice film camera and offered to take the pictures for us.  We bought 6 rolls of really really nice film (some color and some black and white) and headed out to the Bridal Veil Falls trail with her on a Saturday morning for a few hours.

I don't even know if we paid Adrienne for her time.  Then I took all the film and had it developed and she had a CD made from the negatives.  I thought she did an amazing job, especially considering there was nothing touched up.  These are just the pure images she captured with her old film camera. 

It was so fun going through all of these and picking out my favorite photos.  Some of them I had completely forgotten existed even though I know I have them all printed off somewhere....

We used the top right one in the collage above for our wedding announcements.  I like it, but at the time I think I was more excited about the picturesque background, and in all honesty I didn't really know what I wanted, what my style was.  I just did what other people told me to do.  In fact, I'm pretty sure I just had my roommates vote on their favorite picture and that's what we used.  I've told Nick so many times that if I had it all to do over again I would do a lot of things differently.  Like I would probably pick this picture below for all our wedding announcements because to me it's a better representation of who we are... casual, barefoot, snuggled up laughing and smiling from ear to ear.

I must say, though, that the one thing I would not change if I had it all to do over again is marry Nick.  That was one of the best decisions I've ever made in my entire life, and I thank my lucky stars that I had the sense to marry such an amazing guy... even when I was young and naive and blinded by romance.  

 I love you a little more every day, Mr. Blue Eyes.

Her Mother's Daughter

A few weeks ago (before I decided that I'm too pregnant to hang out in the humid heat in my own house and started using my A/C) our house was sweltering hot by mid-afternoon.  I never napped well, and Alec and Lyssa frequently woke up hot and grouchy.  One day in particular Lyssa woke up and her entire back and legs were soaked with sweat and she was not happy about it, so I let her change her clothes.  She peeked in her closet and chose an old pink poka dot dress.  I gladly put it on her and instantly felt all nostalgic.  

See, this pretty little number is a dress my mom made for me when I was her age, and though I don't remember much from those very young years I remember LOVING that dress.  

My sister, Erin, had a matching dress that I likely wore after she grew out of it, so that may be why I remember it so well. (Apparently they also had detachable collars at one point, though I don't remember them... or Erin's friend that I'm trying to copy in this picture.)

As Lyssa ran around in her "pink dress", whirling and twirling I couldn't resist taking pictures!  I've come to the conclusion that this little number must have shrunk over the years because it is much much shorter on Lyssa than it was on me at that age, and neither of us has ever been very tall.  

me (age 2)

Lyssa (age 2)

It's fun to compare the two of us at that age.  Though I have seen similarities between the two of us in younger pictures, Lyssa definitely has a look all of her own, with darker hair, darker skin, darker eyes, the classic "Parkinson upper lip", and no crazy cowlicks (Alec was not so lucky).  She's also got her own brand of personality, and I LOVE IT!

There are still enough similarities though that you can easily say 

"She is her mother's daughter" 

and for that I feel lucky.  

~Our Engagement Anniversary~

It's anniversary time for the BYU crowds... you know, all the people who got married at the end of the summer right before the Fall semester started. Or all the people who wanted to get married between Summer and Fall semester. That time of year when the Salt Lake Temple has somewhere between 50 to 60 brides a day starting as early at 6 AM. My fellow BYU alumni should know exactly what I'm talking about.

(September 2004)

Well all this anniversary talk has got me thinking about my own marriage. This isn't our wedding anniversary time of year, but it is the anniversary of our engagement. You know, the anniversary of all the promises you don't intend to keep... then again most people probably take engagements well and don't make their husband-to-be sit and convince them that they will still be their own person even if they get married. Most people don't get engaged the night after they get back from a summer long life changing experience half way around the world, but whatever.

(The day after my roommate took this photo. Yes, the ring was way too big and barely fit on my middle finger.)

The night we got engaged Nick took me to play mini-golf (sadly one of my least favorite dating activities), then to dinner in an Italian restaurant (where I sat frozen and shivering under a blasting air conditioning vent) and then to the Provo River (ideal, as this was the place where Nick first told me he loved me). Nick even brought along strawberries with sour cream and brown sugar for dipping. Yum!

I was feeling a little jet lagged and emotional as it was, but when Nick got down on one knee to propose I really started to cry and they were not tears of joy. I was a basket case, and poor Nick had know clue what to do besides start making silly promises that he couldn't keep... like that we would dance together every night, that he would make me laugh every day, that I wouldn't have to change my last name, or that we could always go home to my parent's house for Christmas.

Some promises just don't get kept and that's the way it is.

Luck for us all the really important promises were made on our wedding day, and they have all been kept.

And really that is the way it should be.

(Our Wedding Day at the Jordan River Temple)

Nick may not have kept all his engagement promises, but he did come home from class last night with an extra cookie special for me.

And when I broke off half my fingernail and was writhing on the floor in pain (that's right... into the pink part... big ouch) he never laughed and he went and found me two bandaids. He even helped me wash and condition my mop of hair so I wouldn't have to use my maimed right hand.

Hey, if that isn't love I don't know what is...

(photo courtesy of Rosie)