| taking advantage of little moments |

this getting married and moving to seattle business is really starting to sink in. i've realized that after i move, i won't have opportunities to go out with friends or family like i do now, so i have been trying to fill my days up and soak it all in.

the other night my friend bre and i went shopping and to the cheesecake factory. she is hilarious. i usually think it and she says it or vise versa. i've never met someone who literally has the same thoughts and interests as i do.

the next day, i went to city creek with my future in-laws. we walked around, shopped and ate at blue lemon. yum! i truly love breck's family. they always make me feel so cared for and so special.

that evening i met my favorite co-workers EVER at cubby's in lehi. we stayed there and laughed the night away. we were there for two and a half hours! rocky mountain elementary truly left me with the sweetest of friends. i told them they better still go diet coke runs and send me selfies while doing it!

| tour of utah |

i never thought i would be so sad to leave utah. utah has everything! there's always so much to go do and see, indoors and outdoors. although seattle, has SO much to do too, i really will miss utah.

one thing i have always wanted to go experience was the tour of utah. while scottie was on his mission in san fernando, california, the tour of california went right by his apartment. so as i am living up in park city and the finish line was here, scottie and i decided to venture on over to watch the finish.

biking is so nerdy but SO awesome. on stage 6 out of 7 of the tour of utah, riders had a 13,000ft of elevation gain. talk about athletes. the whole aerodynamic of why they ride so close to one another fascinates me. 

riders started at park city main street and ended there as well. the energy at the finish line was intense, like gave me the chills! riders flew (i mean, F L E W) right past us to the finish line. i bet that was the coolest feeling to finish after seven days of riding.

| johnson bridal shower |

my sisters, lindsey and lisa, were kind enough to throw me a bridal shower. it turned out perfect! my mom was in town for both showers. while she was here, we finalized a lot of wedding things. can't believe it's exactly two weeks away! 

| laing bridal shower |

i feel so grateful to be marrying into such an awesome family. i met all of the laing family members on the second date (how crazy is that!). since that day, i have truly felt an unconditional love from them.

breck's mom was kind enough to throw me a shower with their side of the family and their family friends, who i have come to know over the last year and a half. i felt so spoiled!

terri whittingham (the one whoe set us up), her daughter and breck's mom!

{future sister in laws!}

| thank you, mr. postman |

early last fall i wasn't sure where breck and i would be a few months from then. long distance was hard. when were we ever going to live in the same place? i was a teacher, so the only possible time we could live in the same city or state would be in the summer. 

however, i had a feeling "go through the holidays," and boy am i glad i did. i had that impression a few times, but i was a little confused. mainly because through my eyes, we would see each other for a few days during thanksgiving and christmas break and that would be it. w r o n g. the big guy upstairs sure knows us better than we know ourselves. 

breck was able to live and work in utah from thanksgiving break until my birthday, january 10th! he didn't find out until mid-novemeber. we both look at it as a tender mercy. during that time is when i knew i never want to be without him. 

so since i knew then that we were going the distance, i made him the cutest book of us on shutterfly for christmas. we look at it all the time! i am sooo obsessed with shutterfly.

for the wedding, i made our guest sign in book on there. i also made a cute little book called "our story." it is officially my new favorite!! this book tells how we met, places we've been and things we've done, how we knew each other was "the one," and the engagement from his perspective and my perspective. i know it is a book we will always cherish and look at! 

so thank you, mr. postman. i don't think i have ever been so excited about the mail before!

| girl time |

before i get married and move to washington, i wanted to have a sleepover with my nieces. kylie was a girls camp, so it was just alli and courtney. although it poured rain (i think we get more than seattle these days?), we still made it a party.

things to be noted:

+ did makeovers on the girls. i went all toddlers and tiara's on them and they l o v e d it.
+ ate a lot of watermelon (after all, it was national watermelon day)
+ swam in the hot tub (luckily, my parents place has one)
+ made endless amounts of duck tape flower pens
+ had a sleepover in the king size bed
+ played lots of dora memory

my nieces are the sweetest girls on earth. i'm serious. alli keeps things spunky and courtney is an A N G E L. i had so much fun with them and was grateful to be able to share that memory with them.