21 things about turning 21

hunger games/harry potter dreams

awesome white cowboy boots

princess candles in german pastries

festival of colors...almost

warm weather

water fight instead

tangled

waterfall hike

birthday cupcake on top of said waterfall

21 candles

cake smashing

wiping frosting all over the U blanket

sunset

bryson making up own lyrics to "go the distance"

learning how to throw rocks

brazilian food

loving brazilian food

pepper spray

new capris

footloose

love calls, texts, and fb messages

thank you all for being so sweet

love you, b. thanks for making it the perfect day

you are the birthday wish that came true

What Better Way to Celebrate Love Day?

Okay so I didn't mean for it to take this long

But I got a job

And I go to yoga for at least 4 hours a day

in. tense.

sooooo

ACT II

Basically I knew it was coming

The girl almost always knows it's coming

We started ring shopping the beginning of December

Which is when I found

THE RING

It was absolutely perfect and I just wanted that one

but it had a few too many zeros on that little price tag

so we kept looking

and looking

and looking

And it just wasn't coming together

He kept saying we should look some more

His dad had a friend..

His friend knew of someone...

etc. etc. etc.

So I tried not to think about it

Because my fingers are so small it would take

6-8 weeks to make anything anyway

So I didn't think about it

Very much

So at the beginning of *the week* he tells me 

he's planned a double date for Saturday

"Saturday works, right?"

Wednesday..."Still no plans Saturday, right?"

Friday..."Still good for tomorrow?"

Yes, and you have never been so concerned

about a date before, silly

So it's Saturday. And Mike's wife is sick so Bryson's making me dinner.

(This actually didn't tip me off...he does this a lot)

So

I'm getting ready.

And I have the thought,

It would just be soo great if it happened tonight

But it wouldn't. Couldn't.

But...

I know.

(Argument inside my head, nbd)

So I'm driving

And the thought hits me again

and I literally say out loud to myself

"Erin, it's not happening tonight. There's no way he has the ring yet."

So I pull up.

House isn't decorated.

He answers the door.

No tux.

Walk into the kitchen.

No candles. Crepe paper. Balloons.

But there is...

A box.

Not a little ring box

An old Capezio shoebox 

The time capsule that Bryson had made at the ripe old age of 6

That we had found in his closet months ago

To be opened "later" (we both knew what that later meant)

So I start to shake a little bit
(I wasn't the only one)

And we sit down and open it

There's a picture, newspaper clipping, some plastic cars,

And one of those books you make every year in elementary

"All About Me"

So we start reading through the book

A handprint, a footprint, some favorites

And at the end

A note that said

"One day I want to get merryed in the temple..."

I looked over at this poor shaking kid and said

"I can't believe you wrote this when you were six!"
(I was still slightly in denial)

Then it said some other cute things and at the bottom

"...I want to merry erin"

1st thought: "He had a girlfriend in first grade named Erin?"

2nd thought: "He's on one knee. With a little box in his hand."

And he asked me if I would "merry" him

And I said

YES!
(P.S. It was THE RING...custom made just for me :)
Then we ate the amazing fondue he made us
Then we took pictures
(Which were supposed to be on here but of course they aren't working)
Then we went bowling and got a huge discount
And the VIP room to ourselves
Then we got ice cream

Cuz we're cool like that.
Perfect Night

So that's the story that probably everyone knows by now.
But I am so so so happy.
I never thought I would ever be this blessed.
I just love him so much!
I love how when he laughs really hard he rubs his eyes
and that when we're saying goodbye on the phone he says,
"K, well, I'll probably text you in a few minutes cuz I'll miss you."
I love that the Gospel is the most important thing to him
and that he never judges anyone
I love that he's the one with the wedding countdown on his phone
and is jealous that he doesn't get a ring yet
I love that he makes me blanket forts for Valentines day
and gives me footie pajamas for Christmas
I love that he quotes movies more than me
and encourages HP movie marathons
There's more, but basically
I love him, I love him, I looooove him.

 May 10, 2012
I think it's going to be a great day
:) :) :)

Happy Happy Happy Monday!

...which started with a happy happy happy HAPPY saturday

probably the best saturday of my life

ever ever ever

okay, let's cut to the cheese

i mean, chase

you'll probably get both

because after all,

I'M ENGAGED!

it's kinda cool. kinda unreal. kinda mostly just awesome.

want the story?

oh, i knew it.

can i start at the very very beginning though because it's such a good story and even though i'll probably bore you to death with it, i want you to have the full experience

i'll try and leave out all unnecessary words. it may even turn into a poem.

poem engagement story

who am i?!

once upon a time

i didn't make the dance major at byu

so i went to ucmt

and on the first day i knew 100% i needed to be there

and not at byu

so within like 2 days

i become bff with this awesome possum girl named

TIFFANY

and she's the best friend a girl could ever have

super sweet, super cute, super hilarious, super fun

laughs at all my jokes

lets me call her turkey cupcake

(my nickname christening abilities are amazing, I know)

etc.

well, we became all buddy buddy

and she decided to set me up with her brother's best friend

months pass

then one day we're on break and i bring up that one kid

what was his name?

bryson?

right, bryson...

...you should text him

so she did

and he wanted to see a pic

well, we decided one of my model pictures would be a good idea

{i think it was the first pic from this post}

and within a minute he replied

"i'm in"

hehe

i believe it was the next day that i got this text

skipped the falling in love warning though

then imagine dragons concert

cold stone

thor

circus

sushi

longboarding

scum

words with friends

cafe rio

studying

harry potter halloween costumes

tennis

stick shift driving

picnic
bowling

kid history

and a lot of other things

turned into me falling for this truly amazing person

i knew after two dates

he's known for about 16 years

intermission

The Body Issue: Part 2

I remember it most in high school.
The weighing, the skipping meals, the worrying.
Worry worry worry
I wasted so much time worrying!
I worried about my bubble bum in ballet
I worried about eating school lunch
I worried about fitting in size 0's
I was told all the time that I was skinny
Tiny
After a while, I thought that was who I was
And that if I woke up one day and wasn't, I wouldn't be me.
My body began to define my spirit
I realize now how potentially dangerous that is to a soul
My focus was skinny and the byproduct was a small obsession
And a lot of wasted time
(It could have been so much worse)
Now balance is the focus.
I am healthy and happy
I have learned to love myself and others
I am stronger
I am wiser
I am less critical
I am closer to the Lord
And I'm still thin--but that isn't the point.
The point is I am trusted with a divine gift
Everyone is
And we choose every day whether we'll
Care for it
or abuse it

Choose the first one

The Body Issue: Part 1

So...I've been debating whether to do this or not

It's personal

And people might not like it

But I think I should

Here it goes

I used to not have a very healthy image of myself

Not in an extreme way, just in subtle ways.

I would say that most, if not all girls

go through phases of 

hating her body

loving her body

wishing her body...

changing her body

conforming her body

starving her body

critiquing her body

etc. etc. etc.

I did that

Sometimes I still do

And I think a lot of people don't understand

That the 5'3" 110 ish pound girls

worry just as much as everyone else

So

I want to switch up this blog a little bit

I'll still post the pics and stories of Life a la Erin

But I want to talk about my testimony of

the human body

I hope you will read this little series

And that if you don't already

You will learn to love your body

Cuz it's pretty cool

The Boy is Back in Town (The boy is back, the boy is back)...

The Sunny Sunny Sunnies for this Lovely Week

• B came back from Brazil. Tan, which is new. And as sweet as can be, which is not. I have said it before and I will say it again. . . I love airports. P.S. I am also oh so grateful that he served his mission before we met. Those two weeks felt like foreva. 
• CHRISTMAS! My momma is the best and gave me gift cards to like every restaurant in Utah so the boy and I have free dates from now until Independence day! Add in the Pass of All Passes from B and we may last until Thanksgiving. I exaggerate, I know. 
• Playing Bananagrams on Christmas. Winning this game with my clever placement of "Pathology" (how do you like that you UCMTers?) I want it for my birthday, just so everyone knows. The game, not a disease.
• Losing every single pound I gained over the holidays with the worst case of the stomach flu this girl has ever had. Actually, this really isn't happy, but that I'm back to solid foods is very happy indeed.
• New Years Party: Awesome food, hilarious friends, Star Wars Wii game - complete with lightsabers, Step Up 3, and a pretty decent kiss. I have a good feeling about 2012.
• My New Year's Resolutions. TBA...soon.
• The look on B's parent's faces when I was peeling his back (all that sun...) Typical Saturday night activity for us.

Sorry no quotes this week

Happy Monday! 

Meet Nonac

'Twas the week before Christmas

And all through the house

house tiff found on her way to our party. return trip required

Not a creature was stirring

Not even a monkey

monkeys bryson and i saw at hogle zoo

The presents were given two weeks in advance

In hopes that Bryson would come back super fast

momma kim's present

tyler's present wrapped up so nice...

don't worry, it was just a watch

The children watched Star Wars instead of sleeping in their beds

tiff's wrist...

lightsaber/lint roller = erin skywalker

girls' night at its finest

While visions of mistletoe danced in their heads

hogle zoo

funny story... see below

And with Tiff's cute face and I with my new toy

bah! love her

this is my graduation present nonac. ha.

We all tried to forget about how much she missed the boy

this is actually my "stop taking my picture" face

Basically, here's what it all means:

Bryson is in Brazil for two weeks. In a beach house. On the beach. In Brazil. BRAZIL BEACH HOUSE. For Christmas. Where it's warm. In Brazil on the beach. He wore shorts to the airport. Lil' punk. Sigh. I'm over it. I get Europe in April. With cute little girls. When he's in school. Ha. So really, we both got/get our dream vacations and everyone is happy... and lonely.

Tiff and I had a Star Wars marathon which began with driving around Lehi looking at the fabulously decorated houses. Following which, we took many pictures. And then we got tons of blankets and fell asleep before we even finished the first movie so the whole marathon thing kinda didn't happen. Still so much fun with my little turkey cupcake.

Oh, and the funny story. Bryson (and Tiff) had surprised me at school (which I will talk about in an upcoming post) so I had to be a good girlfriend and get him something before he left for his beach house. (We're having second Christmas when he gets back) Trip to Walmart. Huge Hershey kisses in the front which couldn't be passed up. Originally went in for mistletoe. Found that stuff. Mission accomplished. Except I'd look really weird going through the checkout with only those two items so I start searching around everywhere. And then the Holiday Pringles started singing and my two presents became three. And I looked totally normal going through the checkout.

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight!"