Our proposal story

Kevin and I had been talking marriage for a while but due to school and family schedules we knew that we'd be getting married in the Summer of 2012. Not very close.. so although I was pretty anxious for some bling, Kevin was determined it would be better to wait until February or March to get engaged. (that's what he told me anyway...)

---Monday, October 24---

I had finished a long day of work and teaching dance. I was tired and looking forward to a nice, relaxing evening with my man, cuddled up and warm. He had other ideas.. he came to pick me up from dance and said "We're going on a date up the canyon tonight!" Mind you, it was already after nine o'clock at this point. I was hesitant but he was excited about it and pretty adamant. Kevin and I drove up to a beautiful spot in Provo Canyon, overlooking the valley. We wrote down goals, hopes, and dreams that we have for different points in our lives. 6 months, 1 year, and 5 years. We put our papers in a time capsule and buried it in the mountainside (with the plan to come back in 6 months and see how we were progressing on our goals.) We enjoyed hot chocolate, curled up in a blanket, and talked about everything under the sun. It turned out that the night was everything I wanted. Nice, relaxing, cuddly, warm, and most importantly spent with Kevin.

---Wednesday, November 23---

Kevin's mom, Sherri, texted us both telling us she had a school assignment that required her to see the exhibit at the Springville Art Museum. Her husband had planned to go with her but was stuck in Salt Lake so she wanted to know if we'd keep her company. We had "nothing planned" so decided to go. After looking around for a little while, Sherri left to go to the bathroom. Kev and I continued to wander around the musuem. Kevin was a little jumpy. He wanted to sit and wait for his mom, then decided he wanted to go look at stuff in a certain room, then got "tired" and wanted to sit again, then suddenly hopped up and wanted to go look in another room. We were walking throughout the room just enjoying the pieces when I stopped at a beautiful painting of two girls praying together. I loved it and was looking at it for a long time, reading the plaque about it and noticing every little detail, I was totally oblivious to the fact that Kevin was just waiting me to move onto the very next thing so that he could pop the question. Finally, he took matters into his hands as I heard him ask, "What do you think of this one?" I looked over and much to my surprise, found the paper I had buried in the mountain a month before, framed and hanging up in an art exhibit. In a state of confusion, I turned to Kevin who was getting on his knee. My confusion instantly turned to shock. 'Is this really happening?! I thought he was waiting until February!! Oh my gosh this is real!!' I had countless thoughts continuously running through my head. Kevin was saying darling and romantic things about making my goals and dreams come true but honestly I didn't process any of them. My brain was only waiting for four words. And then they came. "Will you marry me?"

And of course I said, "Yes!"

Little did I know:

-Tuesday, October 25-

Kevin's brother Robby took a trip up the canyon and dug up our time capsule.

-Some day between October 25 & November 22-

I surprised Kev with a note on his windshield while he was at work. Right before work he had picked up the framed paper. It was sitting in the passenger seat. I didn't notice.

-Wednesday, November 23-

Sherri did not have a school assignment at the museum and did not have to go to the bathroom.

Kevin was "jumpy" because there was a group of people around our frame reading it intensely and he was just waiting for the room to clear out.

I love our proposal story. I love that it is unique, personal, and surpising. I love that Kevin thought it out carefully and that the whole proposal took a month to execute. I love that I have the most romantic fiance and that I get to marry him this summer!

--The Many Adventures--

This is my boyfriend Kevin Holcombe..

And these are some of the adventures we've been on:

Human size chess (I won.)

We took a road trip to Colorado... Obviously we did not want to come home!











I am technologically challenged and could not figure out how to turn this picture....

But this is us at Stewart Falls. Yes we did hike in the middle of the night!












Timpanogos Storytelling Festival!!!!!
this has been a family tradition of mine for as far back as I can remember and it was so fun to have Kevin with us for his first time at the festival.

Camping at Little Deer Creek with the Holcombe family.

Can you tell I was FREEZING?

You may think by their attire that we are at a BYU event.. but we aren't. We are at the Scera for the Storytelling Festival. Kev and I came down from camping for this. And on our way back to the campsite that night.... got lost for a couple hours. Whoops!

Sundance lifts for Labor Day

Little Mermaid at Tuacahn
...I was like a little girl I was so excited.











After the Tuacahn show we went to Vegas to visit my sister, brother in law, and niece. Love them all!! After the tragic BYU game (we lost to Texas of all schools) we went out for crepes to soften the blow. They were divine!

GO COUGARS!!

So there is a little peak at how much fun we have. I wish I had a picture for every great event because trust me, there is a lot more where that came from!

blessings

Last night, my little brother, Nathan, had chest surgery. He had this condition (Pectus Excavatum) where his ribs curl in instead of forming the cage they're supposed to. The Haller Index (measuring the indentation of the chest) is set at 3.5 to consider surgery and Nathan's was at 6.45 and his MRI scan showed a deformity in his right atrium and ventricle from the depression. The procedure was to remove the cartilage from his sternum and ribs and insert metal plates to hold the ribs further out.

To say the least, surgery freaks me out.. I was stressed and worried. But luckily, all went just as planned and Nathan has started the recovery process. I feel so blessed and grateful how great things have gone thus far.

UPDATE:

He is currently watching Madagascar and is happy as a clam.

A few minutes ago, I was in the lunch room of Primary Children's Hospital and met a remarkable woman. Her fourteen year old daughter recently became paralyzed. She was laying on a hammock, with three friends, at a pool party, when the brick column holding up the deck the hammock was supported by collapsed on her and broke her neck. For weeks they didn't know if their daughter would ever be able to speak again. She has made significant progress and now her biggest concern is the scar left on her forehead (like most teenage girls would =])This mother was so positive about a situation I can barely even imagine. She will probably never know it but she inspired me so much.

There will always be trials given to us. Some bigger than others. But we will never be given more than we can handle. It is just important to find the blessings and lessons that accompany hardships and remember that the Lord knows our capabilities better than we do.

I open at the close

As a little girl, I loved when my dad would go on business trips throughout Europe. Of course I missed him while he was gone but he always came back with gifts for us.

When I was six, he returned from London with a book for Kristin and me. What he found was a freshly released title from a no name author. J.K. Rowling.. sound fimiliar? My dad brought home a first edition copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

I still remember him reading aloud to us in a room lit soley by flickering candles. I remember crawling into bed with my big sister, the night he read the chapter about the mountain troll because I was too scared to sleep alone.
I remember my friends at school discovering the story I had already fallen in love with, a year later when it was released in the US and feeling proud that I had read it first.

Since then, my life has been filled with Hermione Granger dress ups, a Harry Potter themed birthday party, and wishing a letter in emarald green writing would turn up in my mailbox when I turned eleven; with crushes on the stars and with later realizing that they are not very attractive yet still finding them endearing; with high anticipation and longing to read and to see what would happen next; with midnight book releases and movie premieres.

Last night, I attended the last of those premieres and of course it didn't disappoint. I soaked up every second of the beautifully done finale. As the end credits began to roll, my tears did as well. It was all over. A series that has been such a vital part of my childhood has come to a close.

But really.. that is a ridiculous thought. These books and movies will always be around to whisk me away. More importantly, all my great memories marinated by my imagination of the wizarding world will stick with me.

Someday I'll read to my children in a dim room by the candle light, watching them venture off to worlds of their own and allow the whole process to begin again



"Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?"

Humphrey Family Pictures

This is my fabulous (not to mention beautiful) family whom I love dearly!

Obviously I'm a daddy's girl.

I also have the greatest siblings I could ever ask for.

These are the handsome Humphrey boys.. no. men.

My older sister, bestest friend, and the ultimate example.

My amazing dad and his "souvenirs."

The Beauforts. Brad, Kristin, and Miya.

Best brother in law ever! Set the bar high for us kids still in need of spouses..

Kristin is one hot mamma! literally.

If you are wondering if that is my bra strap, the answer unfortunately is.. yes.

If you didn't notice then pretend you never read the above line.

Nathan. One of my favorite people in the world.

Always brings a smile to my face. always.

Tyson is already a heartbreaker and he's only 13.

Not only is he a stud, he is good at everything.

The newest addition to our family, little Miya.

I absolutely adore being an Auntie to this sweet girl.

But not many people love her more than her Pappa does.

The real us.

I am so grateful to have been born into such a loving family. I wouldn't be me without each and every one of their positive influence on my life.

I love you guys!

Thank you to Suzee Anderson, our awesome friend and neighbor, who took these gorgeous photos.

Greetings from Vienna

This is Ali and Jessie reporting from the beautiful Swiss Alps! We are so excited to be in Europe together for our study abroad. Just check out how green and beautiful it is here.

...The hills are alive with

the sound of music...

......

........

Ok ok.. so we aren't really in Austria..

Allow me to explain.. Jess and I planned to take a seven week long trip with BYU to Vienna this summer. We were going to be room mates and were SO excited to explore the other side of the world together. Unfortunately, sometimes life doesn't go as planned. This trip got included in one of those 'sometimes' and didn't work out for us. So yesterday, the first day we would have been in Vienna, we improvised a little.

We took a nice trip to "the Alps"..more commonly referred to around here as Hobble Creek Canyon. There, we set out a blanket and my laptop to sit and enjoy Julie Andrews serenading us for a couple hours.

And what would a faux European trip be without.. CHOCOLATE!?

The largest contributor to us not being in Europe for real? ............

This ROCK on her finger.

So who could be mad about that??? Not us!

So in the end.. would it have been nice and exciting to take a trip together across the ocean? Of course! But it's not like that's the only adventure out there for us. We have plenty of life to live and who says that you have to go somewhere else to do it? I mean, look how stunningly gorgeous the background of our pictures is. This canyon is ten minutes away from my house! It is easy to get caught up in the excitement of traveling to foreign places. Ironically, we are too quick to take the majesty of our own backyard for granted. America is blessed. Utah is BEAUTIFUL! And no matter where in the world we are, Jessie and I are best friends.

We've made a pact that we will go to Europe together someday. For now, I am content to soak up every moment & every memory, right here at home.

My first go at blogging.

Well.. here it is. My very first blog entry. I don't know how good I'll be at this. My goal is to not make anyone fall asleep. So here it goes:

I just recently turned 20 which surprisingly has been a weird adjustment. I mean, I don't really conduct my life differently than I did a few weeks ago. But just knowing that I'm no longer a teenager makes me feel as if I should all of a sudden be a "grown-up."

I think one of the biggest contributers to this feeling is that 6 days before my birthday, my best friend from high school, Aubrey Rentz, became Aubrey Erickson. Her wedding was darling and she made the most gorgeous bride. She was finally married to her high school sweetheart and it wasn't just pretend anymore.

Five days later, my last day as a teenager, my other best friend dropped the bomb. She and her boyfriend planned to get married at the end of the summer. I was thrilled but shocked. Last weekend it became official. He popped the question and she said yes! Jessie and I have become closer then sisters over the last few years. You could say we'd been connected at the hip. The thought of losing that bond scared me, and honestly still does sometimes. The thought occasionally crosses my mind, 'What am I going to do without Aubrey and Jessie at my side?' or 'better get down to the cat shelter to start my fate as the introverted, weird cat lady' but those thoughts flutter away after only a moment. With the excitement of helping prepare another wedding, I don't have time for pessimism. Not to mention that seeing my best friends as happy as they are, vicariously fills me with such love and gratitude. It makes me willing to share them with Andrew and Taylor.

These girls are amazing examples and even better friends. I'm so blessed to have them in my life and I know that regardless of us being in different stages of life, that our friendship will last. My job now is to be there for them, and someday, when it's my special day, they'll be there for me just as they always have.

Love you girls. Congratulations on your marriage and engagement!

Well... are you still awake?