September 17

I was the personal attendant for my beautiful bride friend! Isn't she stunning?

August 26

We got a table and chairs for really cheap, and I have finally recovered them! Much better!

August 21

I found a few cool things for the apartment over the weekend. This chair was purchased at Goodwill for $10! It was filthy dirty, but I was able to clean it pretty easily. It's gonna be the reading chair in the upstairs 2nd bedroom. I found this fabric for curtains when I was out with my friend Jesse. I love the bold pattern! This is in our living room.

August 17

This is a coffee table that Mark's mom and dad gave to us. It's pretty ugly, so I decided to strip it and refinish it. Stripping wood is seriously the most tedious and messy thing ever! Refinishing (what I'm doing here) is the easy part. It looks a little better now, but it's still a dated looking coffee table. :) It will be good for now!

August 16

Mark and I hung out with a bunch of kids while their moms did a mini triathlon.

August 2

This was such a fun, relaxing Saturday. Mark and I rode our bikes to downtown Nampa to the farmer's market. We bought these flowers for $.75 a piece I think. Later we made some cookies!

July 31

This is one of my two bestest friends and me, at a friends wedding. Fun fun night!!

July 22

Mark and I cooked our first REAL dinner. From a recipe. Married life has been so fun. We have been so busy, but also have had time to relax! I don't think I have truly relaxed in a long time. The wedding is over, school is over, NCLEX is over. AHHHH! so nice

July 11

This was out last day in Cancun. We had to check out of our hotel about 3 hours before were got picked up to go to the airport, so we sat in the lobby with tons of other people and watched the World Cup game. We walked around outside a little and took this picture.

July 10

This was the day before we left, and it was the first day that we didn't have anything planned. We sat on the beach, read our books, and ate and drank (all-inclusive!) all day long. Man, it was pretty dang awesome.

July 9

Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus. Yes, we went scuba diving!! I have been a few times before with my family, but Mark has never done it before, and I was pretty excited for him to try it out. We had a short lesson in the pool, then we went out on a boat to their dive spot. We were with a couple from Portland, and a couple from New York. The couple from New York didn't end up doing it, they felt claustrophobic, which is a pretty common feeling. Mark used up his air quickly, which happens to beginners, so he had to go up and I stayed down there for 5 or 10 more minutes. Right after he left, I saw a shark!!! I guess it was a Nurse shark (how appropriate) and it was 4-5 feet long. I swam after it for a while but it was pretty fast. Ah, it was sooo cool. And both Mark and me were sad he missed it.

July 8

Today we went on another excursion. We went to this place and did zip lining, dune buggies, and cenote swim. All three were so so fun. We zip lined over the jungle from tree to tree. Then we rode the dune buggies through the jungle, and because of the rain, it was so MUDDY! The picture is of us after we got off. Of course Mark drove as fast as he could through the puddles, and I got a ton of mud in my eyes at one point. The "cenote," or sink hole, felt so refreshing to swim in after we were all muddy. They had a small zip line set up over the top of the water so we could jump in from it.

July 7

Honeymoon! After one day of rain in Cancun, Mexico, we had a really fun day planned. We went to see the Mayan ruins, and on the way we stopped at a "cenote" which is pretty much a big sink hole. There are a bunch of these sink holes around Cancun, they are so cool. This one that we went to was like 180 feet deep. The water is cool, and super clear. There was a small cliff to jump off, and little black fish in the water. It was SO cool! Then we saw the Mayan ruins. They built this whole area all according to the starts and sun and all this stuff in the sky. So amazing.

July 3

The Real Photos

This link will take you to the photos taken by our photographer. SOOO awesome!


This is the slideshow that was shown at the reception.

Man, there is nothing in the world like your own wedding day. I was so filled with excitement and happiness that it is impossible to take it all in! We started out with getting our hair and makeup done, then on to pictures. I'll never forget seeing Mark for the first time that day. I was pretty calm and collected all day, except for seconds before I walked down the isle. Luckily my sisters were right there and they helped me collect myself! It's hard to describe my feelings during the ceremony. The importance of the event weighed heavily on me (as it should), and I was very emotional, but focused on my Dad, then Mark and the words of the pastors.

The reception was SO breathtakingly beautiful. I shed a tear when I saw it all put together... If you click on the link up there to the pictures, you'll see. We ate delicious food, and listened to very meaningful toasts from a variety of people. I kept thinking over and over, "This is MY wedding! I'm marrying Mark!" and I wondered how I could possibly absorb all that was happening. I didn't, it's still sinking in. I am still enjoying it all just thinking about it. Mark and I danced the night away with family and friends. Ha my grandma surprised people by gettin' down on the dance floor. We left the reception through a tunnel of sparklers, totally always a dream of mine!

The 6 months of wedding planning were probably the most fun of my life. My mom and I had a blast with all of the planning, despite just a few minor disasters. We had a vision, and it turned out to be above and beyond what either of us imagined I think. Mark and I were so excited and in love while we anticipated our wedding day. I think we juggled our last semester of school, work, track, clinicals, wedding planning, and still tending to our relationship well.

July 2

This is the night before our wedding, at the rehearsal dinner. Mark's family did a wonderful job putting it all together. They had awesome decorations, and really delicious food! I was feeling so excited for the wedding the next day, and pretty relaxed about everything. I really just enjoyed every moment.

June 30

This is my bachelorette party. Kaitlin planned a super fun party. We went out to dinner, then went back to my parent's house, made smoothies, and sat in the hot tub. We tried to watch Run Away Bride, but I think we all fell asleep!

June 21

Mark and I went to get our marriage license today at the courthouse in Caldwell. Wow, I'm getting married!!

June 19

This is a picture from my personal shower, with all my gifts hanging up. :) My sister with the help of Mark's sister and sister-in-law put this shower on for me. It was so much fun, and very cute. We played some great games. Linnea made this tutu for me to be silly and wear during the shower.

June 16

I PASSED!! This might be the best screen shot I have ever or will ever take. Wow, I really can't believe it. It was a difficult test, harder than I had anticipated. I studied hard though, and I deserve it I think! I guess the vacuuming worked...

June 13

OK, this vacuum... there are no words. Its a Dyson, and it has the ball thingy so it turns really nicely. It also has suction power that you wouldn't believe. You can see how full it is, and this is after going over our small apartment one time. I love it! This was a shower present from my Grandma Marie. Yes, I'm a spoiled brat. This was my relaxation the night before I took the NCLEX!!

June 6

I had a destination shower in Scottsdale, Arizona with my Aunties, Grandma and cousins on my Dad's side. It was SO fun. We ate delicious food, got massages, relaxed by the pool, and went shopping. This was our vehicle, which they so beautifully decorated for me!! I will never forget this shower, it was so fun and it was very meaningful and memorable.

May 26

Knobs. I would like some new ones for this old dresser that we got. That thing on the left is some of the hardware that is already on it that the new knobs need to match. I kinda like the cream... I think it will lighten and brighten them up.

May 23

I had a shower with my Mom's side of the family today. Her sister and sister in law gave it. It was fun to see my family and celebrate with them. This is my mom, my Grandma, me and my sister.

May 21

We bought a couch!!! Mark and I went to a few different furniture stores, and this is the one. We bought the floor model, so it was a great price.

May 20

My mom and I went to the florist today and worked on flowers. These are the inspiration, aren't they so cool?? The florist had some stuff made up for us, and it looked so beautiful. They are so creative, and we have loved each other's ideas!!

May 19

Mmmm, I love pea soup, especially in this awesome cow bowl.

May 16

Mark was so helpful in the move. :)

May 15

I WISH I HAD A BEFORE PHOTO OF THIS OVEN!! It is moving time. I am moving into a 2 bedroom apartment in Nampa, and Mark will move in after the wedding. It's very exciting! and I love the apartment... except this oven had about 4 pounds of burned on food ALL OVER IT. I spent a good 5 hours cleaning it all out with this extremely potent oven cleaner. I think my lungs bled a little from the fumes.

May 10

Mark and Aaron. Being very twin like tonight.

May 9

This morning I skipped church, went over to Mark's apartment and helped him and his room mates clean/move out. Mark's room mates have been fun, I always like going over there and getting a laugh or two. After that, we went out to Parma and had lunch at my Mom and Dad's house for Mother's day. We opened some more graduation presents, and one of the was this Lladro! From my parents! For those of you who don't know, Lladros are these awesome little figurines, very pretty and expensive. My mom has always had a few that she has cherished, and now I have one of my own. :) After lunch at home, we went to a bbq at one my nursing classmate's where to took this awesome picture on the trampoline.

May 8

Graduation Day! Wow! I can't believe it's here... I don't think it has all quite set in yet. I have earned a bachelor's degree in science and nursing. The ceremony was pretty long and fairly boring (though not as boring as I had anticipated). It was good to see everyone from my class since I haven't been very involved lately. After, we had a dinner party in honor of Mark and me at Mark's parents' house.