What we've been up to...

Since the engagement, life has seriously been a whirlwind. It feels like each day drags on but in retrospect, I can't believe we've been engaged for close to a month!

We spent July 3rd with the Duncan side of the family... It was such a fun day! We went boating at Utah Lake and I attempted (and eventually succeeded!!) at getting up on a slolum (sp?) ski! The weather was perfect and it was fun to hang with the fam! Even baby Kyson (2 mo) came along on the boat! Talia (almost 2) was adorable and loved splashing around in the water and holding the flag while everyone was skiing. It was neat to finally see Taylor able to ski. I didn't get to see it in Lake Powell cause of an injury he had but he was so impressive and got some good rooster tails!

That night we had dinner together as a family and then did some fireworks of our own. Talia played with her "spawklers" and had the cutest reaction when they told her she could hold one all by herself! We then went and bought some fireworks of our own and put a little show on in the neighborhood. They were nothing big, but it was still a fun way to celebrate!

A couple of weeks ago, Taylor surprised me with tickets to The Fray concert. Jacques Mannequin performed as well as a band called Miece. They were nothing short of AMAZING! It was a perfect night.. still in the 90s (silly Utah weather!) but bearable enough to throw our blanket down for a great concert! The coolest part was when he did a cover for Kanye West's "Heartless" in an acoustic version. We also had fun hanging with the newly-weds Mike and Alyssa Nelson and our engagement buddies Matt Latimer and Christine Garcia (they got engaged the same day as we did!)

For Pioneer Day weekend we went up to Grandpa Bailey's cabin (Taylor's Grandpa). We had fun horseback riding, ATVing, hiking, and hanging out with the family! At one point, Taylor and I were riding Bucks and Beau and my horse took off in a dead run through the forest in an effort to find Taylor's horse... apparently, their inseparable... but it scared me half to death! Luckily, I didn't fall off! Taylor then took me up Gardner's Peak on an ATV ride. The whole way up was extremely rocky, but when we got to the top there was a beautiful field full of wildflowers and it looked out over the valley.. It was gorgeous! These are pictures of Talia and Sadie my future nieces up at the cabin.. They are so cute!

My cousins, the Lundgreens, also came to visit over Pioneer day weekend so we left the cabin on Saturday morning and spent the day with them in Park City! Taylor had his first ever Alpine Slide experience. The scooter was probably about 2 feet too short for 6'6" Taylor!

The story... Becca's Side

Since Taylor wrote about his side of the story, I figured maybe I should give my side!

To start out, I NEVER in a million years imagined the summer of 2009 turning out the way it has. I, in fact, stated out loud to my best friend that in order to get married, it would have to be this summer or never (for the next two years), thus, implying a miracle. Given the fact that I was in nursing school, I had no time to focus on serious dating relationships because school would consume all of my time and emotions. There was also another problem.. I wasn't dating anyone that I thought could have been a marriage prospect... so I for sure thought it was game over for the next two years... Oh, was I in for a HUGE surprise.

A couple of weeks before Taylor and I met, I went on a photoshoot with Michael Mangum http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Murray-UT/Michael-Mangum-Photography/78241016345?ref=ts. He decided to take me out on one of his first human-subject shoots to test his portrait taking skills. Well, needless to say, he did an amazing job. He posted a couple of pictures on his facebook album. Including this picture:

This picture is where it all began. Taylor commented on this picture saying something along the lines of, "So, Mike... when are you introducing me to Becca... haha" Harmless comment, right? I took it as a compliment from a really cute guy (from what I could see of his profile picture) and that was it.

About an hour later, I got a text from Mike saying "Hey, so did you see that comment from that guy under your picture? What do you think of going out with him?" Well, from what I could see of him I thought he was way cute, so I figured why not? Well, Mike set this whole thing up for a date. A couple of days before, Taylor and I started messaging and getting to know a little bit about each other. This was the first picture I ever saw of Taylor... cute, right?

Fast forward to date night... I have NEVER been that nervous for a date... EVER. I was a jittery mess. I tried on about 80 outfits and couldn't decide on anything. I was running around like a crazy woman. I was painting my toenails and knocked the bottle over... ALL OVER my floor, desk, and area rug. I remember thinking, WHAT is wrong with me? I was hoping to gather some semblance before I actually had to see this guy face to face.

When the doorbell rang, I walked upstairs and could see his face through the window in the door. I couldn't even believe my eyes. It was literally like a dream. He had this incredible smile when I opened the door. I invited him in and went downstairs to get my jacket. "Don't screw up" I remember thinking. We hit it off instantly and went to dinner at Cafe Rio. We probably talked in there for like 2 hours sharing funny stories and realizing we had a lot of commonalities. He could sing! This surprised me most out of anything. I was completely impressed. It kind of started to rain.. He asked me if I minded getting my hair wet. Truthfully, I didn't. I figured if this guy really wanted to like me, he would like me with my hair wet, too. What the heck? So he took me to the base of Ensign peak. It was a muddy hike and as we got to the top it started sprinkling heavier. Regardless, we sat up there for probably another hour and a half and talked overlooking the lights of Salt Lake City. Romantic? Yes. However, I was such a nervous wreck I couldn't even remember what my favorite movie was. I was pretty sure he thought I was an idiot.

We went to his house and played Candy Land. He was giving me what he refers to as "The Candy Land test". A test? On the first date? I was just hoping that whatever this test was, I was passing. Apparently all the test was testing was whether I could make a silly childhood game fun. His mother came downstairs and the first thing she said was.. Oh, she'll pass.

When I got home that night I laid in bed for an hour fretting about how the date went, wondering if he liked me, if he thought I was an idiot, if he would ever ask me out again, if his mom liked me... blah blah blah. I was a nervous wreck but smitten and twitterpated. Obviously, we went on another date, and another, and another.. It didn't take long for us to openly admit we really liked each other and not too much longer to say we loved each other.

It has been an amazing journey. I never thought I would say I could be grateful for Facebook, but I am as silly as it sounds. It ended my 2 year bout of dating mystery and has landed me someone incredible.

I am so excited for our ventures through life, marriage, kids, etc. These will all begin on October 10, 2009 in the Salt Lake Temple! Until then, it's planning like mad and getting ready for the next school year.

I got my miracle...

Suddenly life means so much :)

The story... from Tay's side

Awhile back I decided to start my own blog about my lovely college days with all the fun details to go with it. College then left me with no time to blog. Instead the blog became an out for my dating frustrations, which at the time seemed legitimate, but are now so funny to look back on. Don't get me wrong, dancing with your girlfriends still makes you look like an idiot, but I am so grateful for the events this summer that have changed my life.

As an introduction, University of Utah sports had become my life. To follow the 13-0 football team to a Sugar Bowl defeat and to watch the basketball team's dominance to a Mountain West Conference Championship, I THOUGHT had made my life complete. I had given up on females and their stupid games and decided that sports could give back 10 times more than any girlfriend could. Girls were ridiculous and my walls were built high.

Near the first of April I was sitting at work one day doing my Facebook thang. (I wouldn't call myself an "Fbook Stalker" but I got pretty professional with the etiquette.) I was checking out a photo album of my buddies', who just happens to be a photographer, when I happened upon some pics of some beautiful girls. That was the first time my eyes fell upon one Becca Spear. Now I wish that this happened some other way than through Facebook, maybe so that telling the story doesn't have to make me seem like such a creeper. You have to hear me out on this one, I am not one to find my next date on Facebook, but this time around I had to at least give it a try. I did the logical thing and commented on my favorite picture of her, making sure she was tagged so that both Mike and Becca would get the notification. "So when are you introducing me to Becca... haha." Notice the laughing gesture.

I truthfully never expected anything to come of it. Like I said before, sports meant much more to me than any girl... and gross weirdos comment on girls' pictures all the time right? And all I really did was suggest a compliment that I quite possibly was attracted enough to this girl that I might consider wanting to meet her and take her out. Harmless, right? Almost 30 minutes later I received a text from Mike with the words, "So you really wanna meet her? She's down."

On April 24th, 2009 Becca and I went on a date. She opened the front door and I almost ran out of air. I decided that no matter the outcome, at least I'd have a night to stare across the table at someone or something so gorgeous. We went to Cafe Rio, took a hike up Ensign Peak, then played a rousing game of Candyland. I couldn't get to know enough about this girl... I wanted to know everything. Usually first dates stressed me out, trying to make a great impression instead of being myself. I mean, setups were the absolute worst way to go to enjoy my weekend off from school. But the stars aligned and we hit it off. Thanks to my buddy Mike, a date 2 was in order since he sent me a copy of the Facebook chat conversation they had about how much she wanted me to ask her out again.

Almost 3 months later, without any type of stupid games or nonsense involved along the way, last week Becca accepted my proposal to marry her in the Salt Lake Temple on October 10th, 2009. She has destroyed any type of wall or barrier that I once had, and has made me happier than any other time in my entire life. We are all meant to go through crap in order to distinguish the crap from the happiness... Rascal Flatts explains it better than I ever could below. But I am so grateful that the Lord has blessed me with such an incredible girl to walk side by side with me through life. The adventures will continue, but now I'll have the love of my life to experience them with. "Suddenly life seems so much." :)

-Taylor

We're engaged!

It's been forever since I last posted.. time to update you all!

This blog is now being dubbed Taylor & Becca Duncan... You read right... That means we're getting married!! October 10, 2009 is our chosen date. We'll be getting married in the Salt Lake Temple!