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Saturday, December 4, 2010

Thanksgiving and Black Friday

Well first off this is Spencer.  I am not very good at this so this is just a warning.  I am writing this because Jan wants me to and she is doing her homework right now and I was going to but forgot my backpack at home.  I truly did forget it though.  It is nice having a break from all the work Ive been doing with the end of school coming up.  Anyways on to the title of the post.

So for Thanksgiving Jan and I went down to St. George with my family.  We left on Wednesday and it all started out with Jans' car not starting because she had ran out of gas.  So she had to have Heidi come and rescue her.  It also had been snowing a ton so the drive down for her to Salt Lake was slower than normal but she got to Salt Lake safely.  Meanwhile I was trying to get my family ready to leave for St George and none of them were helping.  My dad was coming down later that evening with Jason and Christina (my bro and sis-in-law) so he wasn't there.  My mom was trying but she still couldn't lift much from her surgery and well my little brothers were doing absolutely nothing.  Not even wanting to pack.  Fortunately my sister Michelle was trying to help.  She was getting them to pack and bringing stuff out and trying to help me and my mom.  I was very frustrated by the time Jan got to my house though and I still had a lot to pack into the suburban. 

After we finally managed to get everything loaded we left just as it was starting to snow hard again.  Going to make the drive great.  The drive started out ok.  I was driving and well it wasn't to bad at first.  But after about a half of an hour I decided that we really needed to pull over and fix the car.  The problem was that the windshield wipers were not working PERIOD.  So I could not see because all the other cars were throwing salt and mud on the windshield making driving difficult.  Now this would have been easier if it had continued to snow, but it had snowed enough to make the roads wet and then stopped.  Leaving me with nothing to wipe the salt and mud off.  So I pulled over and cleaned my windshield and we grabbed some lunch. 

We continued driving and I only made it about 20 miles before the windshield was bad enough that I pulled over and cleaned it again.  I figured this was going to be a long drive.  This time though my mom ran in to buy some windshield washing fluid because it was low as well and I figured its probably frozen but this may help.  This did help for a little and I was able to clean my windshield although only temporarily.  Another issue arose though the cashier took a picture of my moms' credit card that she used and so my mom called and canceled her credit card. 

Anyways the rest of the drive I couldn't really see.  It was like driving through a blizzard and fog at the same time.  Occassionally I would try throwing some fluid on the windshield while driving because I didn't want to pull over anymore though.  BAD IDEA.  So from time to time I pulled over on the road and splashed the windshield so I could make out where cars were on the road.  I still ended up getting us to St. George in 4 1/2 hours though.  I love speeding.  :) 

In St. George we went swimming that day and that was a nice relief.  It was still cold down there although we definately had it warmer. 

Thanksgiving we went to this restraunt called Switchbacks.  It was a nice buffet and who doesn't want a buffet on Thanksgiving.  Umm that was good.  We also had a turkey bowl.  Thats always a must and was fun.  We won of course.  This was the day that we also got a newspaper with all of the ads for the coming evening.  We went through all the ads and figured out where we wanted to go and when.  Most of my family thought we were nuts for going and in the end they all were jealous and wanted some stuff we got, but we will get to that later. 

Black Friday.  The day where people see lives flash before their eyes over sometimes small issues.  I basically was a first timer though because I don't like shopping and I don't like waiting in lines.  It wasn't all that bad though.  We started out by hitting up Walmart at midnight.  Man some people there can be freaks about legos and DVDs and things that weren't that big of a deal to fight over.  I didn't like it at this point because I just didn't see the point of fighting over such small issues.  Jan came out victorious though.  She found and got her crock pot.

Later that morning, at 3 to be exact is when KOHL'S was opening, and don't worry we had been in line for over an hour and had good spots.  So when we were allowed inside we took off looking for some presents and things we wanted.  We met towards the back of the store and jumped in line.  A long line at that.  The line wasn't moving at all forever and Jan just kept shopping.  I stood in line and she went about finding more cool deals.  I eventually had my turn and found some stuff.  We left there and went to Radioshack because my brother wanted something there and we were going to help him out (since we were awake already).  So we waited in line there too because it didn't open until 5:30.  When it opened fortunately there weren't too many ahead of me and we got in and out quick.  We went home and got some sleep, but then my mom wanted to go and saw what we had and was jealous so she wanted to go see if she could find some stuff too.  So we went back.  Back to KOHL'S.  We later went to vistit my grandparents the Hafers' and saw their new house.  Afterwards we went to the temple and that was a nice experience as always.  That night the Jazz beat the Lakers though :) and Boise State lost in overtime :( it was a good game at least. 

Saturday my grandparents, the Gygis', had rented out this place where we all came together for the whole day with all the aunts uncles and everyone.  I ended up spending a lot of time building a puzzle and Jan went and looked for engagement clothes.  I went at the end and looked at what she had found though.  The BYU and Utah game was on as well.  Good game.  Started out rough though with neither team really playing. 

Sunday we packed up and came home.  Once again a long drive because this time it had even snowed in St George and the roads were really bad and we had to go slow the whole way home.  It took us forever, but the windshield wipers worked.  It was a good weekend.  :)

Sunday, November 21, 2010

We're Engaged!!

I am sure that you are all dying to know how it happened.....that is if anyone knew about this blog. We are going to start telling people soon and it will be fun to look back and remember this time in our relationship. It happened on November 13, 2010. Spencer had been throwing me off all week and didn't want to let me know that it was actually going on happen. On Tuesday he asked me if I wanted to go ring shopping on Saturday. I was like what you don't even have a ring yet? I thought for sure that he already had it and was going to propose soon hopefully on Friday or Saturday. I was so confused, mad, and frustrated all at the same time. I said that we could go, thinking at least we could get the ring then and I would know for sure that he had it. It was a main topic of the week, that's for sure.

On Thursday, after I got off work, I headed over to Brian and Heidi's to see if they knew anything that was going on and I drilled them with several questions. There apartment is where Spencer stays when he comes up to Logan so I figured if anyone knew if he had the ring it would be them. They told me he hadn't said anything about it and didn't have any new information. I was still determined to find out.

On my way to Salt Lake I stopped in Plain City, where I also asked my mom and dad several questions. They said that they didn't know when he was going to do it and that he hadn't even talked to them yet. I was very confused at this point. I knew that they wouldn't lie to me. I assumed that I was wrong and accepted the fact that it wasn't going to happen this weekend, maybe next.

On Saturday we had a lazy day watching football, doing homework, sleeping, and we even went on a nice little jog that morning. Don't worry no more working out for us, zumba is so much more enjoyable and a much better workout. Then we both got ready for dinner and were out the door just in time to go to our dinner reservation at The Roof. If you haven't ever been there before it is a really nice restaurant that looks over the Salt Lake Temple. On the way there I got kind of mad at Spencer and asked how he didn't have a ring yet and asked when he was going to propose. Okay I wasn't mad, just frustrated. We had a really good meal and enjoyed our time together. Spencer was still trying to plan everything while we were eating. He was texting everyone that was involved and making sure that we were right on schedule with our plans.

While we were eating our dessert the waiter brought a fortune cookie to our table and said I think that I was supposed to bring this to your table. Spencer looked at me and ask, "do you know anything about that?" I said "no, do you?" Then he said, "no?" Not wanting to open someone else's cookie I just let it sit there for about 10 minutes. I didn't want to ruin it if it was for someone else. Finally Spencer decided to open it and see what it had to say. It said to go the roof of the Conference Center and you will find my fortune there. He still just acted confused and so did I. Then, right when we were leaving, I asked if we just wanted to go there and see what was going on. He said, "sure why not?" We started heading over and this was when I figured something was going to happen. We walked in the door and the first lady that we talked to said that we weren't allowed to go up there after dark. Thank goodness for the next lady (who Spencer had arranged everything with) that said she could take us up and let us see what we could after dark.

We were the only ones up there and Spencer suggested (after not be able to find the second fortune cookie) that we go and look over the edge where the waterfall goes down the front of the building. There was a big banner with picture of us that said, Will you marry me in big white letters. He said, "can you read that?" Then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! It was so cute. Once he got up and we had our moment together he said, "do you know who is down there?" I said, "your family." Then he said, "and yours!!" I was so surprised! It was great to have our time alone but still have our families there to share the experience with us. I love you Spencer!! We are getting married March 4, 2011 in the Salt Lake Temple and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you and grow old together. There are so many fun adventures to come!
Getting the banner ready....

Both of our families waiting for the big moment

walking down to see our families

Our Engagment Picture in front of the Conference Center

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

The Love Story....

Well every love story starts out with with the question how you meet. Some like to call it a church function but I just like to say.... My first day in Germany I briefly met this kid named Elder Hafer and he was going home to get some medical problems looked at. The only reason that I got introduced was because he was in the MTC with my trainer. After a long six weeks and a miracle, Elder Hafer was able to come back to the great land of Germany. I was still serving in Frankfurt at the time, and we didn't see each other again until he was transfer to Hoechst in a three some. I had already been serving in the area for awhile and had just receive my second "golden", we had a really good cycle together. Elder Hafer and I served together in the same zone for the rest of my missions, about eight months and we became good friends.

As Spencer returned home we wrote a few letters and emails back and forth as I continued to tell him to go on as many dates as possible and he answered my question about what it was like being home. I got home about six months later and we remained in contact. My first time seeing him in the states was at Bajio, that was an awkward first visit. No worries it all went uphill from there.

We planned to hang out with mission friends several times but for some reason the only two that could ever make it were of course Spencer and I. I think that is part of Heavenly Father's sense of humor. haha. Chili's, bear lake cabin (meeting the family as a Sister that served in his mission), going to see Robin Hood, until finally we went on our first real date. It started out by eating at Siegfried's, what is better than German food? Then we went and saw a movie, where after an hour and a half Spencer finally had the courage to hold my hand for the first time.

Since that date we have really got to know each other and fallen more and more in love every day. Something I always catch myself thinking is why does this feel so much different this time? Spencer is currently living in Salt Lake and I am in Logan. We both can't wait to see each other on the weekend and count down the days every week. Hopefully Spencer will be able to move up to Logan soon but until then we will continue having a long distance relationship and loving every minute of it.

Here are a few pictures from when we were serving together. We both really loved this time of ourlives as we came closer to our savior while serving our brothers and sisters.
Carving pumpkins as a district
Christmas street preach (the week Spencer headed home to Salt Lake)
Chalk Drawing: The Gospel of Jesus Christ. One of my favorite things to do on my mission because there is always someone to talk to in Frankfurt
District Picture
At the temple during Christmas. We are covering the nativity but it was actually really pretty. ha ha.