Summer coming to an end

So both Taylor and I are back to school. I can't believe we graduate in a year!

It has been an amazing summer just being able to spend time together and take some fun vacations!

The beginning of July we were able to go to Philadelphia with my side of the family. We went to Maryland, Washington D.C., New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware, and Virginia ALL in seven days. I couldn't believe it. I was so excited to show Taylor my old stompin' grounds and teach him a bit about where I grew up. We were super exhausted when we got home but it was so worth it! The highlights of our trip were: The shore, the food, NYC, the food, Holocaust museum, the food, oh, and the food... did i mention that?

On July 24, 2010, Taylor's grandfather, Bud Bailey, passed away. It was such an amazing and incredible experience. I personally had never dealt with death before on such a personal, close level, but it was such an enriching and bonding experience for both Taylor and I and his family. It made me so grateful for our eternal family and the blessings the gospel brings into our lives. He was such a great example of what a man should be: he always put his family first, he was extremely generous, loving, fun, happy, adventurous caring, and spiritual. I think he is someone we can all aspire to be. I am so grateful I could know him, even though it was for such a short time, but even so, he had such an impact on me. Love you Grandpa Bud!

We were blessed to be able to buy a new car for Taylor. It's buh-bye Betsy!! Poor little Bets had over 215,000 miles on her, but she treated Tay well since his mission. It was on to better horizons. My company turned over their fleet of cars and so we had the opportunity to buy a 2007 Chevy Impala for a sweet deal! We flew to San Diego, picked up the car, stopped at Trader Joe's (LOVE that place), and then drove to Vegas where we met our friends, The Williams, for a fun-filled weekend! (I was finally legal! Woowhee!). Hilary and I had many adventures that included gangsters, watching security guards get punched out, Austin Powers, Brett Michaels, and sign language. It was great fun. If you are ever bored and want a good story, just ask.

As the perfect wrap up to our summer, we went down to Lake Powell with the Duncan fam. We were able to ski, wakeboard, hike, and TAN. It was truly lovely. I now know why Taylor never really wants to go anywhere else on vacation. It is SO relaxing and beautiful. We found a new canyon called Twilight Canyon. I love looking at all the beautiful creations Heavenly Father has given us as we wend through narrow passageways. It truly is heaven on earth. I also like thinking about how all of the rocks and structures have changed over time through erosion, water evaporation, and such while listening to Enya echo through the slots. It's truly perfect!

Now, sadly, we are back to school. Oh well!! Next summer we will be grown ups and have real jobs and contribute to society! Exciting! I am starting my psychiatric rotation for the next 7 weeks. Wish me luck! I'm sure I will have some great stories!

[PICTURES TO COME SOON]

Okay, Okay, I know. I'm HORRIBLE at blogging.

So we had our year [of meeting] anniversary in April. Tay and I went up to Park City and did some shopping at the outlets and then commemorated our first date by eating out at Cafe Rio. Here's a picture of us up at Cafe Rio at Red Rocks.
Summer has been really good so far! Both of us ended up doing really well in school! YAY! Taylor started summer school and is taking Survey of Jazz... He loves it.... not really, but he's doing well in the class considering it has a reputation for being difficult. In fact, he has gotten "A+" on everything he has submitted.. no number attached. He feels like he's reliving the days of elementary school. I started summer school a couple of weeks ago. I'm just taking a writing class (A GE)... It's kind of nice to have a break from the stress of nursing school.. this class is so low key it stresses me out! I just don't know what to do with myself.

In other exciting news, I decided to high-lite my hair. I have always been TERRIFIED of coloring my hair. But my sweet sister-in-law hair extraordinaire did a WONDERFUL job and now I don't think I'll ever go back.. I'm addicted. Being true blond has been the best! It added that extra va-va-voom. Thanks Ange!!

Another fun thing we have been doing this summer is playing golf with Taylor's frat buddies. It's something we did every Thursday last summer and the tradition has continued this summer! It's so much fun to play mini-golf and I'm happy to say I have slightly improved over last summer! I guess it's paid off! Anyways, for one of the golf nights, we went to Mulligans. A year ago [almost to the day] we played there. Tay and I had taken pictures in front of the sphinx when we were first dating and so we took another one this year. It's so fun to look back and see how much has happened since then. Then we were just dating and now we're married! See for yourself...

Taylor and I also are lucky to have birthdays during the summer when we're off from school so we celebrated Taylor's 24th birthday in May and my 21st birthday this last weekend. It was so much fun! We had a birthday celebration with the Duncan family last Sunday... my sweet mother-in-law cooked the most delicious parmesan chicken with home-made rolls, green beans, salad, and yummy cookies and cream dessert! IT WAS AMAZING. I was stuffed to the brim. Thanks Duncans for a fun celebration and all your thoughtful, fun gifts!

On my birthday, Taylor and I went boating with his parents on Utah Lake... It was the first warm Saturday in a long, long time! So, we decided to take the boat out and "wear it in". It was so relaxing and fun to be out on the water and getting a [much needed] tan! Needless to say, Taylor and I accidentally missed some spots with our sunscreen and now have lovely burn lines. We'll spare you the pictures. Moral of the story: When you don't see the sun for close to a solid year, wear >30 SPF. Later that night, we went with my family to the Red Iguana in downtown Salt Lake... they have the yummiest Mexican food... I highly recommend. On Sunday, we had the traditional Fathers Day/Birthday dinner with my family complete with surf & turf... it turned out so yummy. My mom even made her delish corn bread (which is one of my favorites). Then, we had strawberry-rhubarb pie for dessert... Happy Father's day, to my wonderful Dad! Thanks for all you do for me... I really am so grateful!
And, Happy Father's day to my father-in-law, Doak! Thanks for being a great example and father to Taylor!

Okay, I think I've sufficiently updated the blog! I promise I won't go another 2 months! If I do, you have permission to slap me!

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

The happenings of 2009 til June

So, I created my blog last November because I was an avid follower of the blog "Seriously So Blessed" plus I thought it would be cool to have my own online journal. Well, it's now June of 2009 and I haven't made one post... not ONE!

Here's my first official post of the Gab - Fest blog.

I'm in nursing school at Westminster College... it has proven pretty difficult, but I enjoy the challenge. I will be starting my second semester in a couple of months. Luckily, as the semesters move on, we are getting more and depth and more specific to the departments of the hospital. For instance... This fall I will be studying Geriatrics [the elderly population] and the traditional Med/Surge nursing. So STRESSFUL, but lots of fun and worth it in the long run :)

Also, some other exciting news... My parents have bought a house! We used to be living with my Mom's parents. They haven't been doing well over the last year so we were staying with them and also waiting for the inflated housing market of Utah to settle down. Finally.. an answer to our prayers! They found a cute Spanish Colonial bungalow on Yale Ave right around the corner from our current location. The house really is darling and will only need a couple renovations [another plus!].


Summer, so far, has been filled with lots of fun. I got to go to Colorado to see my new cousin Jacob Paul Spear be blessed. Being able to see family and catch up was a good way to kick off the summer... It's so fun to have a new baby in the family! Congrats to Paul & Mary! :) I also had the opportunity to go to Chicago with Jena and see the big city.. I had kind of forgotten the city life so it was fun to see all the sites and be at least [a little] closer to the east. Finally, at the beginning of June, I got to go to Lake Powell with the Duncan family! It was my first time ever in Lake Powell.. I think I can now consider myself a true Utahn... Okay, maybe not. BUT I learned how to water ski and wakeboard! I also overcame my fear of cliff jumping and took a jump off of a [20 foot] cliff! The weather was pretty decent, but we did have one bad day where there were 60 mph gusts [!]. A boat even capsized in the middle of the lake. We stayed over by cookie jar and got to tour some Canyons [East and Face, I think]. The boys got to do some bass fishing and the family had fun doing some crazy tubing! It was really cute to watch Austin, Taylor's 4 yo nephew learn how to water ski.. I was jealous! He even went knee-boarding.. what a good sport!

As a result of the above paragraph, I will probably not be taking any more extended vacations from work. I pretty much crammed all my summer fun into those 3 vacays! Definitely worth it, though! Now, it's just working and online schooling for me! I'm hoping to teach myself a piano piece to perform in church, too... Fantasy in D minor by Mozart. Anddd waiting to hear back from Primary Children's hospital.. I'm trying to set up a gig where I can go volunteer in the Emergency Department there.. Pretty exciting. Oh, and last but DEFINITELY not least.. I'm really happy to spend the rest of the summer with Tay! :)

3 days til I'm 20!!