Surprises.... GALORE!

My first B-day in Logan, I wasn't expecting a whole lot. I had a feeling Collin would make it special just because that's the type of man that he is. He has been surprising me ever since we got married. It's so nice to live here in Logan with him, rather than having the 4 hour drive round-trip while I lived in Provo.

Anyway, as I was walking home from work on Friday night, I tried calling just about everyone in the family, but to no avail. So, I continued walking to rather short, but beautiful 2.7 block walk home. All of the sudden, a car headed the same direction came to a screeching halt, with crazy people screaming obscenities at me, so I thought. As the scenario unraveled, it was Kristy Denney, Kim Denney and Carly Walton all yelling my name to surprise me in Logan. I hadn't had any visitors in the 3 months I've lived here, excluding my parents and 1 of Collin's brothers. So, it was a fabulous surprise to have them come! Turns out Kristy planned the whole thing, with Collin and even my Mom in on the whole thing. I used to truly hate surprises when I knew they were coming! Collin (and now everyone else) has gotten SO good at keeping secrets. Tricksters! All of you!!! :)

Somehow, they made the sleeping situation work out!!! Hope it wasn't TOO uncomfortable.

So, I took the girls to our place to show them around. That didn't take very long, and we were all hungry for dinner. Collin suggested we go eat at the new restaurant that opened up. The Beehive Grill. It was delicious! Since that weekend was the grand opening, and one of their trademarks is Gelato, they came around with tester samples for everyone. Magnificent. After dinner, we went back home to stay up chatting til all hours of the night. Then, in the morning, Collin left early to go Goldsmith at his store (he's been learning how to actually make the jewelry under one of the head goldsmith's at Needhams). He's getting so good. The rest of us girls went to Angies, "where the locals eat", for some breakfast. SO YUMMY!

Carly had to get back for a family reunion with Spencer, so the girls left to head back down south. What an amazing surprise to have some of my most favorite people in the world come up to Logan for my birthday. These girls are true friends and know exactly what to do to make my day! :) I love you guys!!!

Shortly after the girls left, I texted Collin (upon his request) to let him know they'd left. About 10 minutes later, he comes home and starts dragging me out the door up the stairs. Mind you, I'm on the phone with my parents. Sorry, i had to let them go. :) As my eyes glanced up the stairs from our basement, I saw it! Collin had, yet again, surprised me! That little sneakster got my a cruiser bike for my birthday! AND a new ring. It's a white gold band that is engraved on the inside: "Pretend your birthday is everyday of the year so this ring always applies !Feliz Cumpleanos Mi Amor!" What a doll! (I still need to take pics of my new bike and ring!)

Collin and I at the Summerfest!

The rest of the day was a bit stormy, but it wasn't going to rain on my parade. We still went to the Logan Summerfest and walked around. Then, we drove down to Salt Lake and went shopping for a bit and then met Skyler and Melissa Sanders as well as Jacinth Santistevan and her boyfriend Keiv for dinner at Happy Sumo. For dessert, though, we ventured over to PF Changs. Nothing beats the Great Wall of Chocolate. Oh man! The perfect ending to the evening! I love those places, and I LOVE those people!!! It was so nice of them to meet us in SLC for my birthday dinner!!!

Needless to say, I had a fantastic birthday!

A few other birthday surprises included:

*an amazing birthday get together planned by the Gnomes! These are Collin's good friends from his last singles ward! I love these girls, and they were so great to have a dessert night for my bday! :) thanks girls!

*a cute card in the mail from Emily! She had Aydan, Mya and Peyton sing their version of "Happy birthday" .... ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE! Thanks for sending a piece of home my way!!

*a package from my mom! she'd already given me a present when we were home for jen's wedding, but still wanted to send me a little something! she's the best mom ever!

*another package from the other best mom... Collin's mom, Jeri! She sent me a necklace and bracelet all the way from Uganda, where they're serving their mission! It was absolutely spectacular, and such a surprise to have her send something all the way across the world.

*I had lunch with Val and Brittany this last week too! They met me halfway for a great afternoon. Love these girls! They spoil me with their friendship and love!

All in all, this birthday was a huge success. And I wasn't even that excited to be 25. A Quarter of a Century! Thats kind of a big deal, so I am grateful to those of you who helped me have a great celebratory week! It was amazing!!!! THANK YOU ALL!!! Loves!!

What a day!!!

Last Monday, I had the day off from Hallmark (thank goodness).  It's been nice working there for really only a few reasons: I have a (VERY) little income at $7 whopping ones an hour! I have met some super duper cute girls that I really love to work with.  It gets me out of the house and meeting great strangers. Thats about it.  

Anyway, since I didn't have to work that day, I decided it was the perfect time to go down to Utah County.  First, I met up with Kim and Kristy Denney at Zupas.  They work near each other in American Fork, so we got together to have lunch on their break.  I just adore these girls.  They make life so wonderful; fabulous TRUE friends!  Gems!  I could go on all day long about these incredible girls.  They have changed my life for the better and I am grateful for them in my life.

On my way to Provo, I got a call from my brother saying that Sadie and DeDe had forgotten toothpaste for their Soccer Camp at BYU. I stopped at the grosh and then headed to the dorms.  Talk about Nostalgic.  They were staying in Helaman Halls.  CHIPMAN hall no less!  Many,  many years ago, that is where my BYU legacy began.  What a great place!  I really loved BYU, all the great people I met, and all the memories that I have there.  

After my quick stop at the dorms, I went up to Nordys, naturally.  I still love that place so much.  I have great friends that still work there and it is such a beautiful store.  Puts things into perspective, when I had such a great job there and  now I work at Hallmark!  Definitely grateful for what I had!  I ended up buying some sweet orange peep-toed sling backs for Jens wedding last weekend. And they were on sale.  :)  Can't beat that!  Anna met up with me there, too.  I feel like I hadn't seen her in ages, but really it had only been a few weeks.  I love her.  She's changed my life, too.  We have become so close, especially since we got to live together for a year and a half.  What a precious treasure she is.  I'm so excited for her to go to Italy for the summer and to have so many great experiences there.  

We left Nordys and headed to Red Mango, which is also a delight.  Frozen yogurt with toppings.  There are a ton of places like this in the Provo/Orem area, and I miss them. Healthy and Yummy.  What else can you ask for?  So, we went there for a little treat and Jacinth met up with us too.  We had a great time chatting away about odds and ends of life.  They're having a fabulous summer and fantastic things are happening for both of them.  We have a blast together.  Obviously! :)

As I started my 2 hour trek back to Logan to get back to "mi corazon," I made a quick stop at IKEA!  First of all, what a dream!  That store is a diamond in the rough in terms of shopping available in Utah.  Collin and I fell in love with a bed there a few weeks ago, but of course it was on backorder.  Lame.  So, we've (I've) been checking online every day to check the availability.  Miraculously, the day that I happen to be passing through the Draper area, it was AVAILABLE! With the green light to get it from the husband, I picked it up and hauled it into my car.  Luckily, all the boxes fit in my Subaru. Love that car.  

After everything was loaded, I finished the beautiful trip home to Logan, completely satisfied with the great day off that I had been having.  Even the scattered showers didn't get me down. The only bummer about the whole day was that a few of my friends were out of town so I couldn't see them. Next time though!!

Here is the finished product. Collin put together the bed all by himself while I read him Ensign articles and a few chapters from the Book of Mormon for FHE.  Great Night!  Great Bed!  LOVE!!

Lovin Life

My life is so wonderful!  I love it! I have the best hubby in the world.  We have the cutest place that is just perfect for us.  We have so much fun together, even when we are just sitting at home watching NBA or NHL finals (I married the perfect man for me, dont you think?)!  I guess we're still in that sick, disgusting, 'make you wanna vomit' honeymoon stage.  Eh well, hopefully it never ends.

We're starting to dig into our callings as ward missionaries. I got to teach Gospel Principles Class today, which didn't go as awful as I thought it would.  And we are starting to get to know new people all the time.  

We had dinner up in Layton tonight with a bunch of family! Luke/Nicole, Lindsey/Ozz, Casey and Jodi/Chris all came with their kids.  It was so great to hang out and see everyone.  I wish we lived closer to them, but Logan is SO beautiful this time of year.  Its  so green because of all the moisture.  I wish more people could come visit us, because it really is gorgeous around here.

I'm still in the market for the perfect job, which is obviously  not the best time to be searching for such a thing, but I did have a fantastic interview at the Migrant Headstart.  It was my 3rd interview there, so hopefully "3rd time's a charm."  It would be such a great job for us, so when I find out on Tuesday, hopefully I'll have good news to share.  If not, I still have a few other opportunities in the works. We'll see what happens.

This week, we get to go to Colorado for Jen and Dustin's wedding.  We are so excited to go for the visit, but even more excited that they are getting married.  Feels like just yesterday that we were going to Denver for our own wedding.  I guess it was less than 3 months ago, but still... I do wish we could go on that cruise again!  Maybe for our 1yr anniv next year we'll take a trip to Puerto Rico (I only say that because there was a commercial just on saying that we could do that for cheap... we'll see what life is like in a year).

No fun pics this week because we haven't had a ton to document, but I will definitely have more for next week after the wedding and all.  :)

There's No Place Like Home

Last weekend, Collin and I got to go home to Colorado for the weekend. It was so much fun, but far too quick. We drove to the airport right when Collin got off work (he was pullin out all his James Bond driving skills to get us there). It was super close. We got to our gate as they had already started boarding. But we made it! :) Saturday was Jen's bridal shower. We had so much fun and she got hooked up. It was so great and such a blast. Amy put together the whole thing. She worked some miracles; must have learned that from our mother.

While we were showering Jen, Collin was hanging out with my dad and the rest of the guys. They got to go to Woodys (the yummiest wingery west of the mississippi) which I was bummed about at first, but got over it shortly thereafter. We had plans to go to the Lake or to the Mall, but both fell through and we just hung out at my parents house. We had a little bbq and played the rest of the night.

Cory and Amy's families came, as well as Jen and Dustin. It was so much fun just shootin hoops on the sport court and roasting marshmallows with the kids. The cutest thing was watching all of the kids with Collin. They love him, especially Jaxon. He was his little shadow! Absolutely adorable!

I love my nieces and nephews. Sunday, we also got to go listen to my dad speak in church. He's pretty much amazing. He spoke on Temples and was truly inspired. I loved it! I have the best parents ever! :) They're such great examples! After church, we went and hung out with Emily and Aaron at their new beautiful house. Its so fabulous, and suits them perfectly. I'm super excited for them. That night, everyone came over for dinner again and we just played all night. I couldn't ask for a better weekend just hanging out with the family. Check out how sexy my hubby is playing basketball!!

We are excited to go back to Colorado for Jen's wedding in just 3 and a half more weeks! YAY!!!! :) Aren't Jen and Dustin cute?!

CHECK! CHECK! CHECK!

I have met some super cute friends and have started liking my Job more! I'm working at the local Hallmark. It's great, because I have something to do, and I'm contributing (if you can call it that) to our income, and I have more responsibilities. It's part-time, so I can continue looking for a different or additional job. Collin and I got callings at church! We are both ward missionaries, which I'm really excited about because I have never had that calling. It will be so fun to learn and see the work that we can do together as missionaries. I was also called to be the ward chorister, which will be fun to do again. I'm excited. The ward is super welcoming too! We've met with the bishop, the Elders Quorum visited us, the Relief Society is scheduled to come by and we already have an assignment to speak the day before Memorial Day. I don't think there's any other way to say "Welcome to the ward" than "We'd like you to speak in Sacrament Meeting!!" Collin is thrilled to speak (especially since he hasn't in about 5 years... clearly, that was sarcasm), but I am really anxious to hear him! It will be a great experience. It has also started to get warmer here in Logan! I walk to work, which is so nice! It's only a few blocks away, so its a great way to start and end the day! Oh, and we're going home for Jen's Bridal shower this weekend! I'm SO excited! :) Things are definitely turning around. (Sorry about the depressing previous blogpost!)

I'm Ready!

I'm ready for... *A better job than the one I walked into the other day. *Summer (i'll settle for spring warmth). *Tennis, Volleyball, Catch, etc. *The internet at home and to not have to go to the library in order to access it. *A frame for our bed (right now our mattress sits on the floor... can you say white trash?). *A job I like. *Our trip to Colorado for Jen's wedding! YAY!!! 6 weeks!!!! *Friends. I left all of mine for desolate Logan. *A calling. This will help the "friends" thing I'm sure; going to the new ward on a more consistent basis. *So You Think You Can Dance to start the new season! Love the show, and luckily, so do Collin's friends (they're girls, not gay). *A job that I feel justified working as a college graduate. Married life is still fabulous and Collin treats me amazingly. Just love him. We have so much fun together! I love cooking for him! I must say though, I need to work on cooking healthier meals (if you have suggestions or secrets, let me know). I have plenty of time to have the house clean, but I should probably deep clean more frequently. I always have the laundry done, but I guess we could buy an iron and I could go above and beyond. There's always room for improvement, right? Logan is growing on me and I am working hard to find good employment. We need to take more pictures, so I can add some this this bad boy. I'll work on that, too. :)

Home Sweet Home!!!!

Well, Collin and I have been married a month now and have loved ever second of it. I was just telling Brooke today about how I always thought it was so cheesy when people would say "I love my spouse more today than I did yesterday" or "We love each other more and more everyday." CHEEEEESY! But, I have joined the club. Collin sent me a text today from work and just said "Hi! Love you!" It got me. I love that guy!!

So, since I don't have a job and along with the help of my fabulous parents who were in town this last week, our basement apartment is finally finished. Everything is organized, hung, clean and fabulous. I really love our home. When we signed the contract, I would always say "its adorable but its TINY." It's still the same size, but it really is just perfect for us. I love it. So, here are a few pictures.

Easter Bunny!

I have the most adorable husband! All weekend, I was planning on doing an egg hunt or something silly for Collin for our first Easter. Instead, all my plans went down the poop shoot, because I was stricken with a gnarly migraine. Not my idea of a good time. So, I was pretty much bed-ridden and confined to the darkness of our basement on what was a beautiful day. Collin came home from being at work for a few hours (yep, on a Saturday), with 2 dozen roses in hand. What a doll! Can he be any cuter? (don't answer that for yourself yet...) So, we had to the grocery store later that evening for a few things, but I decided that it would have ruined any sort of excitement for a cute Easter surprise if I picked up goodies with him there. So, essentially, I forgot about the whole idea toward the end of the night, until it was too late. I woke up Sunday morning and started getting ready for church. Collin came in with the biggest Easter basket I've ever seen, filled with chocolate, jelly beans, eggs, frisbees, water guns, THE WORKS! He's SO cute! I love him!

Love and Marriage

The biggest change of my life has taken place, and it couldn't be better! Looking back on the last month, it all seems like such a dream, but then I realize I'm awake and that I'm LIVING that dream.

The Wedding

March 14th was the most perfect day of my life. It started out really early: I woke up at 540am to get hair (by Randi Eudis) and makeup (by me) done. Randi was super fast and it looked even better than she'd done it the trial run. My mom and I then drove to the temple together where we met Collin and Lou (his dad). It really was the most beautiful day I had ever seen in March. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and hardly any clouds in the sky.

The sealing was at 9:30am and was the most incredible experience. It was so special to have both of our families there. In a room that supposed to fit 35 for the max. capacity, we had 52 total. Parents, Grandmas, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Friends. What an experience; the love and spirit in the room was so tangible.

We were so lucky to have so many people join us on our wedding day. So many people came from Utah (The whole Rothey Crew, Collins aunt Judy/uncle Lew, my roommate Brittany Pierce, Brett/Kristy and Kim Denney, Tawny/Andrew George, Chase/Ashleigh, Jayci and Skip Carlson, Daron and Anna Young, Jacinth, Rob/Rachel, and Cortland), New York (Collins best bud Trevor Owsley), Washington DC (my besty Carly Walton) and all parts of Colorado. We are so grateful that such great friends would sacrifice to be there with us.

The Reception

After the sealing, we took some pictures and then headed straight to Stonebrook Manor. There, we took more pictures with family and had the reception. Again, everything ran smoothely and was so much fun. We had a little line with our parents, had some delicious food (we were starving and it was SO good), cut the yummy cake (I wish I had more) and danced with our parents. When things were winding down at Stonebrook, we said our goodbye's. Collin gave the sweetest little speech, thanking everyone for coming and for being such a great influence in our lives.

I'm so glad we had an early sealing and reception, because we were not pressed for time at all. After the reception, we headed to my parents house, where we opened gifts with both of our parents, Carly and Collins aunt/uncle. We were spoiled and really felt the love from everyone who came to support us. Once we were finished, we left for Downtown Denver. My dad had made the arrangements at Hotel Teatro which is just down from the Denver Center of Performing Arts. It was SO nice; we had valet, and a nice little card from the concierge Congratulating us on our marriage. Everything was perfect. Later that night, we were getting hungry, so we splurged and walked down the street to Good Times. Exactly what we needed!

The Honeymoon

The next morning, we checked out and went to the airport to meet my parents to give them back their car. We flew off to L.A. and then took a shuttle to the Long Beach pier to board our cruise ship; Royal Carribean cruise to the Mexican Riviera (Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta). The cruise was definitely the way to go for our honeymoon. We loved it.

The first port at Cabo, we tendered little boats to the shore. We bartered for a good excursion and took a glass bottom water taxi around to Lovers Beach, some seals and the Arc. Then, we walked into town to find a good taco stand. I asked some random locals where the best one was and we had some yummy fish tacos for lunch. I LOVE speaking spanish, and it really came in handy. We spent some time in town and then at the beach. It was so warm. I wish we could go back.

The next day, we arrived in Mazatlan where we played it by ear again. We decided to do a city tour. Our bus tour guide, Homey, spoke amazing English and took us all around town. Its actually a really cool, vintage town. We saw the Lighthouse, some cliffdivers, Satans tunnel, a beautiful Catholic Cathedral, and some shops.

Our last port, we stopped in Puerto Vallarta, which was my favorite town. We took a taxi from the pier to "downtown" where we walked down the boardwalk, saw sweet sand castles, went to a church then to a few markets. I loved the atmosphere, and again, speaking spanish was so much fun.

The cruise was so great too. Tons of things to do. A few highlights: We play a few rounds of mini-golf every day. They had yummy ice cream whenever you wanted. Every night, the stateroom attendant would fold the towels into some animal. After dinner, we'd always rush to our room (so Collin could relieve himself of all the water he drank, and so I could see the awaiting creature on the bed). I would DIE laughing every night. I loved it (cheap humor, I know... I'm easily amused).

Also, the people we sat with each night for dinner were fantastic. A couple who got married the same day from AZ (Andrew and Justine) and a family from Canada (Dave, Diana, Jordie, and Sara). We had some great chats and laughs together. Great people! The waiter (Nebo) and asst. waiter (Nicole) entertained us too. What a great honeymoon! We had a blast!

Final Countdown!!!

A month has gone by since my last post! The ride has been a crazy one, but I'm hoping the next 3 weeks go by quickly. Engagement has been a blast, but I'm thinkin marriage is going to be way better. I'm most excited to be in the same city as Collin rather than driving 2 hours, one way, to visit him. We have made it work pretty well, taking turns traveling and also meeting in the middle at his parents house in Layton. Let's see! In the last month, most of the plans have been finalized. My last blog post was dedicated to my miracle-working mother. She continues to amaze me as she's organized everything for the wedding all the while making everyone's lives easier in Colorado, too. Amazing lady! The most recent accomplishment is the announcements that she addressed, tied bows, stuffed, mailed, etc. I LOVE them and think they are the greatest, especially because it features the sexiest man alive (not Hugh Jackman, but Collin Rothey).

We've also had a few bridal showers. A few friends threw me one at my apartment and had the best turn out. So many fabulous friends came to support and partake in the fun. The desserts were divine, the games hilarious and the gifts ... unmentionable! I had so much fun! I loved it.

The following week, my future sister-in-laws threw me a shower with Collins aunts, cousins and family. I met a lot of family that I hadn't met previously. I'm honestly marrying into the best family. They are all so fantastic. It was amazing to get so much support from them, especially because most of them hadn't even met me yet. Great people. This weekend, Collin and I are going, along with his parents, to Colorado. "Parents meet the Parents" weekend. We're also having the Colorado shower too. Collins presence has been requested for this shower and he is so funny about it. I think he's nervous, as well he probably should be. I'm excited for the fun though! I love going home and spending time with the family. One last update before I conclude this post, this last weekend was fabulous. Collin came down to Provo on Saturday for Valentines Day (and gave me a beautiful silver charm bracelet with a heart engraved with "te amo"). Although we didn't get to go to Tucanos as planned (4.5 hrs is far too long to wait), we did get to hang out with Chase, Ashleigh, Brett, Kristy, Skyler and Melissa. We got takeout from California Pizza Kitchen, then watched All-Star basketball and played Wii fit! It was so much fun hanging out with our fun married friends. Almost felt like we were married too, until we left for the night in different directions.

Sunday, I went to Logan where we had a few dinner appointments and then hung out with Collins fabulous friends to celebrate Cody's birthday at the Gnome Home. I love his friends; they have made me feel so welcome enough though I'm an outsider from Provo (for now). MONDAY was an incredible holiday. I'm not talking about Presidents Day, although, it was great to honor them. I AM talking about Collin's birthday. We both had to work in our respective cities, but then I went up to Logan with his parents that evening to take Collin out to dinner. We went to Cafe Sabor, which was pretty 'sabroso.' I love spending time with Collin, and I'm excited for the eternity we will have together! (Cheesy and ridiculous, I know... deal with it... I love him!) That's all for now! I have to get back to packing, job hunting, and ironing out loose ends.