Blooming In Kansas

Whew!!! Who knew moving across country would be so hard?!?  Now that Mike and I are settled in Kansas here's a little run down.  After a couple months in a family members home we starting looking for our own place, after much searching and deciding, we found the perfect place.....so we thought!  Four days before move in, I received a call from management saying that our apartment is no longer available, they suggested some other, smaller apartments to us, which we decline.  They then suggest the building next to them.  Everything about the other building is exactly what I didn't want...from the outside.  Once we walked in, I couldn't believe how this place was exactly what I wanted AND they were able to let us move in on the same day we were planning in the other apartment.  Needless to say we took it and have been LOVING it ever since.  We attended a few Royals games during the summer and we also went to the flatlands music festival where we got to see Rodney Atkins, Darius Rucker and Luke Bryan!!!  Not long after that we saw Blake Shelton, I will give Kansas props in the fact that they have a lot of great country concerts.  I started a job at a pediatric dentist office, after 3 months there, I decided that my moral compass pointed in a different direction than theirs and went on my way, quickly being hired at an orthodontic office where I LOVE working!!!  Mike is still at BKV earning employee of the month and being recognized in Kansas as a rising star in the marketing industry!!!  Along with all of the excitement of moving, we got to come home to celebrate our friends getting married in October!!  It was an absolutely gorgeous wedding, this couple is being perfect for each other and I was so glad we got to see their special day.  Speaking of special days Mike and I are officially 184 days away from our wedding!!  Planning a wedding from Kansas that will be hosted in Utah is stressful and hard, some days are better than others, but so far I have had tremendous help from my girls and my wonderful mother.  I am so excited to marry the man of my dreams, who would have thought that a friendship that burned out would turn into the amazing relationship we have? 

the year of firsts PART TWO

After we got home from New York our lives together continued to go for a crazy beautiful ride!! First up was Mikes FIRST PAGEANT!!! Mike was such a trooper as he sat through 12 HOURS of pageant.  I wasn't competing in this pageant, I was royalty with the Utah Cinderella pageant.  So not only did he have to sit through the pageant, but he didn't even see me compete.  He got into it though and started picking winners in each age division :)

Soon enough Mike had the opportunity to watch me compete in a pageant.  This pageant is one of my favorites by far.  It is the pageant that got me started doing pageants, Miss American Starlet.  It is held in Palm Springs California so we got to have a little road trip together.  After a 4 days of pageantry fun, it got the best of Mike. Some people just can't hang in the pageant world ;)

We also had our first year dating anniversary coming up.  Since I know Mikes love for country music, I got us ticket to see Kip Moore, Justin Moore and Eric Church in concert.  By far one of the best concerts I have ever been to!  

We also had our 1 year dating anniversary!!  Mike took me to the Melting Pot, where I had never been before, and oh my goodness it was sooo good!  Mike stood by my side when I had to give my Cinderella title away, which meant retiring from pageants.  And we stood together during our first Christmas in our apartment together, and New Years!

I know this post is mostly pictures but I think it was the best way to show and describe all of our firsts together, there were so many and there will be so many more.  Photos are worth a thousand words and tell a story in themselves.  

Mike also graduated with his Bachelors in Science in Mass Communications from the University of Utah but he didn't want to walk for graduation and also wouldn't let me take grad pics :(

The year of firsts PART ONE

After Thanksgiving on November 29th 2011,Mike FINALLY asked me to be his girlfriend!!!  Thus began an eventful year of firsts!!! First up was Christmas!!  Mike was trying to pry me for ideas for gifts but I wouldn't break, until I accidentally told him how excited I was to get a snow globe from my mom.  He thought he was so clever in finding out something he could get me.....until he found out that I collect the Disney Princess snow globes, not just any old snow globe.  So imagine Mike's surprise when I let him know BEFORE I opened his present, that I only collect Disney globes?  Well needless to say it started a wonderful new tradition for us to start collecting snow globes from him.

Next was first Valentines Day.  Now this was kind of weird because we had only been official for about 3 months.  It was still one of the most wonderful days, mostly just because I got to spend it with him :)

AND WE GOT OUR FIRST PUPPY COOPER!!! 

Shortly after Valentines Day was my 23rd Birthday.  I wasn't expecting much because honestly, Birthdays have always been something that I didn't want people to go all out on me.  Mike surprised me with the most beautiful Calla Lilies I had ever seen.  I don't even remember telling him that Calla Lilies were my favorite flower!!!

My most favorite "first" was our first big trip together.  His cousin Andrew and fiance Aley had just moved to New York and suggested we go and visit them.  Because of his parents generous hearts and love we were able to go see them in the city.  We went to the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, A YANKEES GAME, Times Square, the 9/11 Memorial, Wall Street, Central Park, Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, and the Empire State Building.  While we were visiting all of these places, and seeing all the souvenirs, we were trying to figure out what our "thing" would be that we buy whenever we go on trips together, we saw all the typical things, magnets, key chains etc. but we weren't empresses with any of those, until we spotted the Christmas Ornaments!!!!  One of my favorite sites to see was on top the Empire State Building at night.  We got to see freedom tour lit up, the statue of liberty lit up, times square in its full glory and the city beaming below us.  After what seemed like forever on top of a swaying tower thousands of feet in the air, I was ready to get down.  Mike kept taking laps around the building though.  After much irritation, and freezing fingers, Mike finally stopped in front of  me and pulled out a box.  At first a freaked out a little but it was quickly replaced knowing he wouldn't propose so soon.  When he opened it the most beautiful Sapphire ring with a diamond halo was staring me in the face.  Mike had decided to get me a promise ring.  Not only had he got me a promise ring but it was his mothers that she had offered him to give to me.  I can't even begin to tell you how my heart would swell every time I looked down at my gorgeous ring.  His mother loved me and approved of me enough to offer me a family heirloom! 

History repeating itself....kind of

After hanging out non stop on the weekends, Mike and I got back into the swing of each other.  A couple years apart didn't keep us from being perfectly compatible for each other.  We would play board games, go for walks in the park and watching movies, just loving each others company.  I bugged him about feeding the ducks for the LONGEST time.  After seeing all the ducks I decided this date might have been a bad idea!!!

One of the first outings that we had before we were "official" was Halloween 2011.  We had such a blast with his group of friends one night and my group of friends the next night.  He was superman, and it couldn't have been a better indicator of what he would be to me, my superman.

I had the opportunity of my best friend coming up for Halloween and Mike got to meet her.  A big test for a guy in my eyes is how well he can get along with my friends, especially a friend I consider a sister.  He was so great with her, making conversation with her and acting like he'd been her friend for years.

The holidays were approaching fast and Mike and I realized that our time with each other were going to be interrupted by Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Thanksgiving was first and Mike asked me what my plans were.  My family is so small and scattered all across the country and now that my sister is married, my immediate family only gets together every other year for Thanksgiving when we can all be together.  2011 happened to be the year that my sister would be going to her in laws for Thanksgiving so my family wasn't going to be celebrating.  So when I told Mike I probably wasn't doing anything for Thanksgiving, he kept asking me "is there anywhere else you can go" and pressuring me pretty hard about making plans for Thanksgiving.  I thought this was very strange of him, but that is part of the reason I fell for Mike, he's unpredictable in the best ways.  I could have never predicted that the reason for his awkwardness was because he was trying to find a way to tell me that he wanted me to come home with him for Thanksgiving.  Now, I was VERY nervous because I had never gone home with a boy for any holidays, I'd only met Mike's father, and to top it off we weren't "official" at this point we were still just friends.  The plane ride over to Denver Mike and I were nervous wrecks!!!  Him because he HATES flying, and me because I knew he was an only child and he had told me stories about his mom and what she did for a living.  She was an incredibly successful and powerful business woman.  I was terrified to meet her because I knew if she didn't like me, a future for Mike and I was just NOT going to happen.  As soon as we stepped off the plane we were met by his mom and dad and I was immediately embraced by his mother, she gave me the most incredible calming hug, full of excitement and love.  This was the beginning of a very strong love I developed not only for his mother and father, but his extended family.  I knew I wanted to be a part of that family the day I met his mom and dad. 

Having your phone stolen isn't ALWAYS bad

How would I ever know that a hockey rookie party would change my life?  It did, in more ways then one, but the only one that matters is Mike. In the fall of 2008 I was invited by a long time friend and I figured, why not?  What is the worst that could happen?  Showing up to the party I was one of the few girls there in a sea of collegiate hockey players, the night seemed to be going in my favor, that is until 2 hours passed and not one guy had talked to me.  As I was working up the courage to ask my ride if we could leave, one lone guy came up to me and whispered "Are you dating James?" "NO!" I laughed, and that is where my night getting to know Mike began.  At first he acted like he wanted nothing to do with me, but as he would say he needed a little "liquid courage" to come talk to me.  As the night was coming to an end I realized I was the only sober person at this party and many of them needed a ride home.  I was elected to drive Mike and some of his buddies home.  Mike insisted I stay at his house and he would take me to my car in the morning, of course I agreed.  We stayed up talking and watching Fievel Goes West.  In the morning we didn't exchange numbers, no last names and no way to connect with each other again.  I was really disappointed and I figured I would never see this kid again, until next weekend when one of his fellow hockey teammates invited me to another hockey party.  This weekend meeting went on for about 2 months until we finally friended each other on facebook, lame I know but it helped me get his number, apparently he was too shy to ask for mine, so I did all the work :)  We talked and texted non-stop for the next few months, and then months turned into years, we became incredible friends.  I knew I wanted to be with him but he was in a serious relationship with his High School girlfriend and I didn't want to intrude.  It got to a point where it was too hard for me to be just a friend with Mike and in 2010 I deleted his number and deleted him from my facebook.  I went on to have a couple rough relationships and in the Summer of 2011 I was going through a rough breakup.  My friend Mandie begged me to go out with her, she thought it would be good for me to get out of my broken hearted bubble.  I protested and fought it, but Mandie won.  Dragging me to a Fraternity house at the University of Utah was where Mike's and my paths crossed once again, ironically not through any efforts of our own.  A random Frat boy took my phone and text a random number.  No big deal to me until the next morning, when I had that random number wondering who text him at 3AM, we exchanged information until we both realized, we knew each other, but this time we were both single....we went out 2 weeks later on August 20th 2011.