10 Days!

That's right everyone. Ten days. I can't believe Dallin and I have made it to this point. It felt like we would never get here. I feel like we have so much left to do...even though we really don't. I am trying not to get so caught up in the STUFF and realize that in a week and a half...ten days...240 hours...14,400 minutes...864,000 seconds...Dallin and I will be married. I can't wait.

Whelmed

o⋅ver⋅whelm  /ˌoʊvərˈʰwɛlm, -ˈwɛlm/

1. to overcome completely in mind or feeling: overwhelmed by remorse.
2. to overpower or overcome, esp. with superior forces; destroy; crush: Roman troops were overwhelmed by barbarians.
3. to cover or bury beneath a mass of something, as floodwaters, debris, or an avalanche; submerge: Lava from erupting Vesuvius overwhelmed the city of Pompeii.
4. to load, heap, treat, or address with an overpowering or excessive amount of anything: a child overwhelmed with presents; to overwhelm someone with questions.

Farewell Sweet Ocean

I am back home from an amazing week in Ocean Isle Beach, NC. It was a very much needed break from reality and what better way to do that than to go to the beach? We did some serious boogie boarding, wave jumping, pool swimming, sun soaking and deck sitting. It was hard to leave but I was ready to come home after being away from Dallin for an entire week. Can't wait till next year when he gets to come with me!

He finally surprised me...

On Tuesday night, Dallin asked me if I wanted to go for a drive. For those of you that know him, this is not an abnormal request as he thoroughly enjoys driving his GTO. We ended up driving in the country looking at houses for sale. I thought we were on our way home, when Dallin turned into Watkins Mill. He took me down by the water and we walked out onto the dock. The sun was setting and reflecting off the water. We stood out there for a few minutes enjoying the beautiful surroundings. On our way back towards the car, I said this would be a great place for pictures as I was looking out at the water and the trees around us. He asked, "What kind of pictures, Jan?" and when I looked back at him, he was down on one knee with the ring. (Last week he told me that the ring wouldn't be here from Utah for another week.) I am pretty sure I proceeded to hit him on his chest and say "shut up!" Dallin laughed at me as he put the ring on my finger. Obviously I said yes after I got over the fact that this was actually happening. The rest of the night was spent smiling uncontrollably at each other...pretty sickening right? But we are pretty excited and I wanted to share the good news with you all!

Ocean Isle Fever

I think when I grow up I am going to be a professional beach bum. I came to this conclusion two years ago whilst vacationing at Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina with my Dad's family. Every summer, my Grandpa Bob rents a huge beach house for our whole family to enjoy. It is a huge sacrifice to be his granddaughter, let me just tell you. Our house sits smack dab in between the waterway and the ocean. We literally walk out the front door and have a dock overlooking the waterway for fishing and crabbing and out the back door to the pool and the dock that leads to our ocean of a backyard. Our biggest decision for the day is whether to go to the pool or the ocean first. Such the predicament right? I wasn't able to go last year but will not miss out on this week of pure ocean pleasure again! I am counting down the days until my feet are sinking in that warm North Carolina sand. The next three months can't go fast enough!





I don't think it gets any more gorgeous than this!



Nothing like a day of boogie boarding with my crazy brother!




This is how freckly I got. Notice the white horseshoe shape on my nose--apparently I have no pigment there. Weird.

He is a roar!

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This is a video from my Utah trip. Braxton is so funny...he was cracking us up all night. It amazes me that he remembers me from visit to visit considering I moved back to Missouri when he was 6 months old. When he first saw me, he gave me a hug and said, "Thanks for my blanket Aunt Jan." He is such a doll and SO smart for just turning 3. He kept trying to get our attention by saying, "Hey guys!" I love this kid.

The Day O Love

I have come to realize how much I LOVE being cheesy. This was my first Valentine's Day with Dallin so I wanted to go over the top with the cheese factor. Dallin always asks me why I love him and I usually give him a couple of reasons at a time. I decided to make a list of all of those reasons. I then put each one in a balloon so he would have to pop them to find out. He came over to my apartment with my favorite meal of all time...ahem...Monterey Chicken Burrito and Espinaca from the one and only Jose Pepper's. When I opened the door, his reaction to all the balloons was just what I expected. "Whoa!" We savored our Monterey Chicken goodness and then I handed Dallin a knife to pop the balloons. He had little comments for each reason and had a giddy smile on his face the entire time. It was definitely worth all the preparation and wrestling of balloons just to see his face. All in all, it was a very memorable first Valentine's with a funny boy.