"THE" LOVENOTE!! My Side of the Story...

HAPPY DAY!!

Okay, I'm sure you have all heard the wonderful news - Chris and I are officially engaged!!!!  I'm sorry to any of you that I may have awakened in the wee hours of the morning to whisper my tale to.  Thanks for listening.  For everyone else, here are all of the delightful details of that beautiful night.


Unfortunately, Christopher made it to his blog a little quicker that I did and has already written his side of the story.  Feel free to read his version.  However, I would like to recount for you the true tale of our elated engagement.  (You should probably read his first so that I can correct all of the misperceptions.)


Christopher and I had known that we were going to get married on May 22nd.  We went ring shopping on the 24th and I told my parents on the 25th.  Once we decided to get married, things started happening pretty quickly as plans were already starting to be made.  It was a little overwhelming for me.  However, things slowed down alright.  Chris had known that he needed to have "the talk" with my father before he could officially ask me anything.  He kept me waiting for two weeks! He cleverly kept taking me ring shopping, even though we had found "the ring" the first day we went shopping.  In an effort not to lie to me he simply kept telling me that he was nervous to talk to my dad and he wanted to find the right time.  I think I even told him to "buck up and be a man" because I was starting to get impatient. :)   


Finally the day came, but I didn't really have a clue.  I had a hope, but he kind of did a good job of crushing that....


Chris is a caterer at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.  Last week they had the 100 Years Celebration and Chris had to work almost every night.  It was going to be a crazy week.  Chris told me that they had given him a gift certificate to The Roof Restaurant but it was only good through a certain date and we needed to use it by Monday (June 6th).   This is where my hope began.  "Hmmm, dinner at The Roof," I thought to myself. "Could it be?"  So I dressed up nice and he picked me up at my house.  


Dinner was beautiful with a terrific view of the temple and fabulous food.  However, Christopher didn't seem nervous or overly anxious at all.  I checked for a ring box or something bulky in his pocket but I didn't see anything.  Chris was also very low on the compliment meter.  I think in an effort to throw me off, he steered clear of almost anything mushy.  So my hopes began to diminish.  


After dinner he simply started to walk to his car.  We usually walk around temple square when we do something in the area, so I asked if we were going to go for a stroll.  He casually agreed.  He was so casual about it that I didn't want to go anymore.  I asked him what he wanted to do and he said, "Whatever.  I hadn't really planned anything after this."  Seriously, he didn't have anything planned?!   Now, Chris isn't the biggest planner, so this wasn't too uncommon.  I tried to  imitate  his casual tone and suggested that we could just go back home and watch a movie or something.   He again said, "Whatever."  Geez.  :)


We got in the car and started driving.  Then he sort of gasped, as if he'd just remembered something.  "Hey, do you want to go see that garden I was telling you about," he suggested?  He had been telling me about a garden behind a church house that we could take engagement pictures in.  Well, he had wanted to show it to me and we didn't have anything else planned, so I agreed.  He had sufficiently dashed my hopes by then so I didn't really think anything of it.


He drove around for awhile "trying to find" the church.  We eventually got there and he pulled into the parking lot.  We walked around to the back of the church and I got my first glimpse of the garden.  There is a large pond with a small waterfall surrounded by brick pathways and hand crafted benches.  On this particular night, the pathways were lined with burning candles and the pond was filled with floating candles.

"Hmmm," Christopher said.  "Someone must have already been here."  Okay, now there was no doubt.  It was going to be tonight!!  Chris walked me around the pathway to a bench on the other side of the pond.  In a vase by the bench was a beautiful bouquet of orange lilies (my favorite flower).  Chris picked up the bouquet and handed it to me.  Inside I found a card that I softly read aloud.  All I kept thinking in my head was, "It's here, it's finally here."   I couldn't stop thinking that as he pulled my ring out of a calli lily and got down on one knee.  All I could wait for was, "Kara, will you marry me?"  I think I squealed a little as I leapt onto his knee and said "Yes!" about six times.   

And that's how it happened.   Anything that Christopher says beyond this is fabrication.


Okay, okay, not complete fabrication, but he did get a few of the details wrong!  Firstly, we had already finished the actual proposal before I started "dancing around."  We had walked back to the other side of the pond because I wanted to take pictures and "bask in the moment."   But yes I did have to go to the bathroom.  And yes, I had just gone to the bathroom about fifteen minutes earlier.  But when you've gotta go, you've gotta go!  I was trying my best to hold it, but to little avail.  I remember Chris saying, "You know, it's pretty  hard to bask in the moment with you prancing around me."  That's when I told him.  I've gotta go!!


After trying to convince me to go in the bushes (honestly, Chris, in the bushes on my proposal  night) he finally consented to take me to a gas station.  And I know that he is a good man and tries to obey the laws of the land, but seriously, the ox was in the mire here!  I swear he was going 25 miles per hour the whole time!  I'm going to have to drive myself to the hospital when I go into labor, cause I sure won't be waiting for that when the contractions kick in!


Luckily, once that was taken care of, we were able to go back to the gardens and comfortably bask in the moment.  Everything from here on out in Chris's story is pretty accurate.    

It was a beautiful night and sometimes I still can't believe that it's real.  I keep staring at my ring telling myself that it is real!  I am really going to marry the most amazing man that I've ever met!!  Fabulous.  

We are going to be sealed for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake Temple on August 6th.  

Save the date!

California, here we come

"Have you been to California, seen the sights and people there?  Walked the streets of sleepy sea towns, tasted salt ocean air?" 

The weekend started off right with a Saturday morning visit to the San Diego temple.  I have always heard  good things about the San Diego temple, but seeing it is sooo much better.  The architecture looks like a modern castle with crystal white walls beautifully set against the windy grey backdrop of La Jolla.  However, the exterior is nothing compared to what lies inside those pretty walls.  It's like comparing a tree bud in the beginning of spring to the full bloom of a summer flower.  Large stained glass windows illuminated the spacious celestial room.  Spiral staircases and detailed wood work made the San Diego temple one of the most beautiful that I have ever visited.  Kara's Recommendation: all must visit one day.I have!!  I just spent Memorial day weekend in San Diego with one of my best friends, Lindsey.  It was a perfect vacaction.  I spent the long, wonderful weekend not worrying about anything in the world.  Can you imagine, three days of glorious girl time?

After the temple, Linds and I spent the afternoon eating pizza, lots of mexican food, shopping, and updating each other on the details of our lives.  We were both beat by the end of the day and crashed into our respective beds (Linds, a nice queen sized bed; me, a lovely air mattress.)  I slept like a baby.

Virgin, of course.  :)

Sunday was a wonderfully restful day.  I went to Lindsey's ward and met a few of her friends.  After church we ate leftover mexcian food (yum), gave each other pedicures, and watched the Lion King.  (Aaaaah, savenyaaa, alamiiiisimlamoooo, savenyaya.  Okay, I'll give fifty cents to anyone who can tell what I was just doing there.)   And of course, the day would not be a complete without an hour long photo shoot full of ugly pictures.  :)  

  

Monday was beach day!!!!   We started early (10:00am) and picked out a luscious spot on the beach.  For hours we simply basked in the sun reading books, taking naps and talking.  We ate at a great oceanside burger place with the best fries ever!  

 

Oh, and highlight of my day, I saw the biggest bird I've ever seen!  I didn't even know what it was.  Lindsey informed me that it was a pelican.  I didn't think they got that big, but it was amazing.  Birds are cool.  God is cool for creating cool birds.  Yeah, those are my deep thoughts on that subject.  :)  


In all seriousness, I am so grateful for good friends who know you inside out.  I am so thankful for a friendship that has lasted for more than 10 years.  It's good to know that I always have a home inside the heart of my best friends. 

Love you guys!!

P.S. I am just waiting for pictures before I can update you on all the latest happening with my bestest bestest friend, Christopher.  I'm the luckiest girl around and I can't wait to tell everyone all about it! :)

What a week...

Well, first things first.  Below you will see the sad remains of my cellular phone.  Yes, I have officially killed my phone, after a good few years of use.  

The murder weapon - the washing machine.  

And let me tell you, that washing machine does its job well!  I came home from a fun dinner with my friends Saturday night with so many things to do.  Since I work Monday through Friday and then volunteer at the temple on Saturdays, I don't have a ton of time for some of the basic things like washing my clothes, cleaning the apartment, mowing the lawn, etc.  So in my mad rush to finish my errands Saturday night I decided to throw a few things in the wash.  When I came home from my errands I was looking everywhere for my phone and I couldn't find it.  I had looked everywhere.  Then I checked my pants pockets and a sinking feeling entered my heart -- I hadn't been wearing these pants all day.  I had thrown the jeans I had been wearing into the wash.  No...I couldn't have...could I?  I rushed to the washing machine and found there buried within my clothes, my poor, water-logged cell phone.   

So I will hopefully be getting a new phone soon.  In the meantime, everyone, email me. :)

However, this week wasn't a complete failure.  I happened to find the cutest pair of high heels a month or so ago.  I contemplated buying them but as you can see, they are pink.  What would I wear them with, I thought?  I was strong and I left the store without them.  But I didn't stop thinking about them.  Oh no.  For the next month I contemplated how many outfits I could wear these lovely shoes with.  By the time the month was over, I had convinced myself.  So I marched right back to the store and bought them.  Of course, this was before I new that I would also have to buy a new phone.  So, this will probably be my last purchase for awhile.  But I do love them and I am excited to wear them soon!

Also, Chris returned from Europe!  (Man those two and a half weeks felt like a long time!)  I was so excited to see him and I got a little surprise when he came over.  He had not shaved the whole time in Europe and had grown quite a healthy beard.  I didn't know if I would like it, but I actually thought it looked really good!  Too bad that he has to shave for work.  So of course, we had to document this momentous occasion before he took the razor to his face.  (And he said I could put it on my blog, so it's all good.)  


Just for kicks, I found a pretty funny quote about beards here.  Gotta love the early Christians...


"How womanly it is for one who is a man to comb himself and shave himself with a razor, for the sake of fine effect, and to arrange his hair at the mirror, shave his cheeks, pluck hairs out of them, and smooth them!…For God wished women to be smooth and to rejoice in their locks alone growing spontaneously, as a horse in his mane. But He adorned man like the lions, with a beard, and endowed him as an attribute of manhood, with a hairy chest--a sign of strength and rule." St. Clement of Alexandria, 2.275

Lovenote #5 - Beauty

i have danced ever since i was a little girl.  i didn't start formal lessons until i was about seven or so, but i twirled, spun and jumped at any moment i could. i continued dancing all through high school even though my body wasn't "made for dancing." i am only a meager 5"4 and i inherited some pretty flat feet. but my soul was made for dancing and i persevered until i could convince others, and myself, that soul was all i needed.

after a long, four-year absence from dancing, i have finally returned! i started taking classes again at a studio in orem. 
and i love it! 
 even though my body is taking its sweet time to remember, my soul feels as if i've never left.

recently, a byu animator, ryan woodward, worked with dancers to help give others a glimpse of that feeling. he videoed a choreographed dance and then captured it with animation. i love this short film and the feeling that it portrays. learn more about the process of the animation here.

beauty is all around us. my friend just wrote a blog post on beauty that inspired me. this video also inspires me. it takes an art form that i love and combines it with something new. the animation can sustain movement and create a visual image of the feelings a dancer often experiences. i hope that you can find a little beauty today, hopefully in this video.  But if not, find something else that makes you smile, and share it with someone you love. 

love you!!

My Mother

Take a look at my gorgeous mother!!!

So I just got off the phone with my sister (a wonderful mother of three) and we were talking about how we are simply never going to be perfect.  Yes, that was a big revelation to us this week.  

But how can you blame us for having such high expectations when we have a mother like this one.  She is nearly perfect in almost every way.

My Mother

5"6

Gorgeous green eyes

54(?) and still has skinny legs

Beautiful voice

Wonderful piano player

Soft-spoken

Funny

Dedicated to the gospel

Just graduated from BYU (Yay!)

Seriously the most patient person I know

Devoted grandmother

Clean

Doesn't criticize

Best listener

Great advice giver

Loves unconditionally

I've always known that my mother was there for me.  She is my best friend and I can tell her everything, and I basically do.  :)  I'm glad I have such a wonderful relationship with my mother.  I think it all started when I was 16 and I started dating. (Okay, it probably started way before that when she would clean up the crushed crackers that I had thrown on the floor or patiently helped me look like a girl after I chopped off all of my hair.)  But, those years in high school are very good memories for me.  My mom would always stay up and wait for me at night on the little white love seat upstairs (the one that had the pattern that reminded me of the salt lake temple).  I would come home and she would just play with my hair and listen to me as I recounted all the details of the previous three hours.  She's always had time for me and has put her children and her husband before herself.  Where on earth did I get such a great mom?!

Here are some of my favorite mothers on the planet.  Of course my mother, in the middle front row, my two great sisters, Kristine and Kathleen, my sister-in-law Larynn, and my Grandma Lee.  I don't have a picture of my Grandma Brough on my computer but she is wonderful too!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

to all of the hardworking, amazing mothers in the world.

Spring Has Sprung!!

...at least in some parts of the world.

at first glance, it looks like a giant child armed with a box of crayons has been set loose upon this landscape. vivid stripes of purple, yellow, red, pink, orange and green make up a glorious patchwork. yet far from being a child's sketchbook, this is, in fact, the northern netherlands in the middle of tulip season. the dutch landscape in may is a kaleidoscope of color as the tulips burst into life. the bulbs are planted in late october and early november.  more than three billion tulips are grown each year and two-thirds of the vibrant blooms are exported, mostly to the U.S. and germany.

their dazzling colors are thanks to the years in the 17th century when tulip mania swept the globe and the most eye-catching specimens changed hands for a small fortune. but, like a rainbow, this colorful landscape is a short-lived phenomenon. the netherlands produce more than nine million tulip bulbs a year. when the flowers are gone, however, the land will be cultivated for a rather more mundane crop of vegetables. 


these pictures were sent to me in an email, so i don't know the original source...sorry.

Vesele Velekonoce!!

...that means happy easter!

the czechs taught me a few fabulous easter traditions.  you may have already seen these beautifully handcrafted easter eggs at stores or in homes.  many czech families paint eggs just like these every easter.  and they are pretty serious about their egg painting; everyone in the family participates on easter day.  usually, they blow the eggs and then coat them in zeli juice (basically sauerkraut juice) to harden them.  they will then paint them and hang them on trees outside their homes to complete their easter decorations.

my wonderful boyfriend, chris, had a brilliant idea as we (and when i say "we" i really mean his parents) were making easter breakfast.  why don't we make scrambled eggs for breakfast so we can blow out the insides of the eggs and paint our very own czech easter eggs?  great idea!  

i have never blown an egg before, and i will be honest, i think it a tad strange.  chris went first, and it was a little weird to see oozing yellow and white stuff come out of the butt of an egg.  yes, those were my exact thoughts.  for some reason a mixture of images of giving birth and going to the bathroom came to my head.  sorry, but not gonna lie.  however, after i got over the initial shock, i too blew my own egg.  

then began the painting, and i've gotta say, i don't know how the czechs do it!  it's tough!  i'm convinced that they have magical tools that help them make every line perfect.  but, i don't think ours turned out that bad.
take a look!

mine is the purple one on the right and 

chris' is the yellow and green one on the left

looking sharp...

i guess he was still a little hungry... 

we even hung them on the tree outside his home for good measure.

now, we definitely have a long way to go to even begin to compare with the czechs, but for a first try, 

i'd say 

not too shabby!

below is a video of another crazy czech easter tradition.  i'm not even going to explain it.  just use your imagination.  :)  (yes, i was a missionary, and yes, this was appropriate...)