Hayley

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Our first Christmas

We had a decent amount of snow this past winter. Got hit with almost a foot of snow that closed the park for a few days. The dogs had a great time frolicking.

We also got the chance to take Chris's parent to Busch. We had a great time walking around to see all the lights and shows. We braved the sky ride where we froze. Chris tried to hunker down to avoid the breeze. It was cold but worth it.

Slacker...

Yes, that is what I am. I'm totally behind on my blog.

So Chris and I have left Virginia and have moved to Oak Harbor, Washington. It's so beautiful out here. I miss VA and the people I worked with, but I know I will be happy here for the next three years. I was a very, very long drive, but being able to stop in AZ for a few days made it totally worth it. Our new ward is amazing with so many outgoing people. Making friends has been so easy, and being a small town, we are all pretty close to each other. Chris recently got called as the EQ 1st counselor and I'm now a RS teacher. It's awesome. I have a lot of fun and it's so great to see Chris really embracing the gospel. He's now realizing how busy Sunday's can get. We are also in choir and will be singing a duet for stake conference at the end of April.

So far things are going great. We have a beautiful home and wonderful friends nearby. I miss home and my friends, but we will get to see them soon. We will be in AZ for about a week in April to get sealed in the Mesa temple. I'm so excited. And Chris will finally be able to go through the temple. I can't wait!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

The ring and the dress

Chris and I started looking for a ring, but I couldn't find the style I wanted. I always loved my mom's ring that had a design on the band, so I was trying to find something like it. There wasn't anything at all. We decided to call a jeweler to see what they could do. After we met with him, he told us to come up with a design and e mail it to him. I jumped on the computer that night. I found a design that I loved, so Chris and I took it apart, repeated it and came up with something we were happy with. We took the central design and put it on his ring, then took parts of it and created mine. We were originally going to keep the black background, but after seeing it without, we decided against it. I absolutely love my ring. I couldn't be happier.

Originally I had planned on making my own dress. I have had the patter for a few years actually. I decided to try on some dresses of the same style to see if it would look ok on me. We tried 3 stores, and then found the perfect dress. I wasn't even looking for it. And... it was on sale. I couldn't pass it up. We flew back to VA with my dress.

I've always wanted to have a little color on it, so I decided to add to green beading at the waist. It came out perfect. I couldn't have been more happy. After that I cut off the halter strap and built a small jacket to go over it and my veil. It turned out lovely, don't you think?

April 10th, 2010

Chris and I met in October. After a couple of dates, we were seeing each other every day. We couldn't stay away from each other. We made it official in the middle of November. Shortly after that Chris started meeting with the missionaries and decided to get baptized. It was a great day. We were engaged in December and both went back home to AZ in January to meet the family and plan the wedding. That's the short story. We plan on getting sealed in the Arizona Temple in January or February of 2011 after we move to Washington. I can't believe it's been 5 months already. I can't imagine my life without him.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Florida trip

We recently took a trip to Orlando, FL for Tanya's wedding. We decided to make it a family trip for my birthday too. We left Saturday afternoon and stopped at Brandon and Tiff's for two nights. The kids had fun turning uncle Chris into a jungle jim. Tuesday we spent a few hours at all 4 Disney parks. Thanks to my friend Brock, we got in for free. He also got us a discount at a Disney hotel. We stayed in the 1980's section, complete with a giant Rubix cube. The next day we spent at Sea World. We were able to get in free and I could get a discount on all purchases. Totally worth it.

Tanya went through the temple the next morning. It was great to be able to be there with mom. Later that night, Chris and I went to the Arabian Nights show. The horses were beautiful, but the show was a bust.

Tanya got married the next morning. It was the first time I got to go to a temple wedding. I'm so excited for when Chris and I get to go after his year mark. We then all went to Olive Garden for dinner, good byes and a 9 hour drive back to Brandon's. It was a lot of driving and tired feet, but it was completely worth seeing my family. Happy birthday to me.