It was more than a dream... 6.7.13

The morning of June 7th, 2013 is still as clear as day. I woke up not remembering ever falling asleep the night before. It didn't matter though because I felt good. I was excited, nervous, and happier than ever. 

It was the day I was able to be sealed to the man of my dreams for time and all eternity. 

It was MY day.

The day I had been dreaming of my entire life.

It was my wedding day.

My two best friends Tiana and Alyssa were able to be there as I was getting ready that morning. Tiana did my makeup and Alyssa helped with my hair a bit. It was really special to have them there with me because they are so dear to my heart.

After eating a little bit of a bagel (because of the lack of apatite I had), Drew & I drove up to Manti with my parents. We exchanged letters and read them aloud to each other on the way up. It was a ride of tears and emotions and it was so special that I will never forget that drive.

Being surrounded by friends and family in that beautiful temple is a picture that I will never forget. The room was filled with love and peace and more joy than I had ever experienced in my life. 

Before we knew it, we were coming out of the temple doors to be greeted by even MORE friends and family! And boy, that sure was a sight! It was such a rush, I can barely remember it! Drew picked me up and spun me around and then kissed me while everyone cheered and clapped and congratulated us! 

We were hurried along by our photographer and after taking pictures with friends and family at the temple, we were finally on our way back to Richfield for the luncheon (and thank goodness our photographer moved us along-- it was getting pretty hot!)

The luncheon was perfect. I had changed into my cute yellow dress that was my Grandma Micki's, and when  everyone was ready, we entered the reception/luncheon hall and walked to the front to join our parents at the head table.

My dad welcomed everyone and thanked them for joining us on our special day and then Drew's dad gave a blessing on the food. Cocomotive catered for us and I am so glad they did because they did a splendid job! We ate delicious buttery-soft crescents with a tasty chicken salad, a fruit kabob, a summery green salad, and a little lemon cake with a chocolate-filled raspberry to top it all off. It was marvelous!

While we ate, my best friend Tiana and & one of Drew's best friends Taylor stood up to give a little speech. (We had asked them to do this prior to the big day so they would be prepared ;)
They both rocked it! It was touching to hear what they had to say and it made us all very happy. We love them so much and appreciate them doing that for us! 

After they gave their little spill, we showed our slideshow that a ward friend made for us of our lives-- from the time we were born up to the day we had our bridals taken. The slideshow is amazing and we both love it so much! It's pretty entertaining to watch, considering how good looking Drew and I used to be when we were younger... ha! ;)

  Drew stood up at the end of the luncheon to thank everyone for sharing our special day with us and he mentioned that if it weren't for each one of them, we wouldn't be the people we are today! It was cute. I swear he is PERFECT!!!! 

Later that evening was the reception. We had lots of help with the finishing touches of the reception hall and  I couldn't have been happier with how it all turned out! It was all exactly how I dreamed it to be! I was so happy! Music was playing, friends and family started gathering in again, the dessert treats and popcorn all looked so good and smelled so good! (And it tasted absolutely delicious!)

Everything was a complete dream come true! 

Drew and I greeted everyone who came through our line and we had little helpers here and there bringing us nut & mint cups along with lemonade and refreshing honeydew water. Before I could even blink, I was already standing near the cake table slicing the delicate off-white cake. It was lemon flavored with strawberry filling and it was dreamy! Luckily Drew and I didn't smash it in each others' faces (wooo! sorry to be a party pooper,) but Drew did smash it on my lips just a little bit on complete accident-- only because I closed my mouth too soon-- HA. So it was my own fault. It was o.k. though because he kissed it off playfully! 

Then I stood with a bouquet to throw to all the single ladies. My first throw was a fail and it went straight up and then straight down... it landed right behind me. How humiliating! Ha ha... so I laughed it off and said that was practice! Then I threw it again --this time perfectly-- and guess who caught it!? The one and only Kambry Jensen! My beautiful sister who will be a senior next year! (ha ha you're a wee bit too young to get married, but no worries... you caught the bouquet! that means SOMETHING is in store for you ;)

After that, Drew took off the garter (he's so funny) and flung it to all the single men. Tiana's friend Jordan caught it and he was so proud! It was fun to see how happy he was!

After those events, the floor was cleared and the song "Butterfly Kisses" came on and it was time to dance with my dad. This was a moment I had dreamed about ever since I was a little girl... There was a time in my life at a very young age that I made the decision that I would dance to that song with my dad at my wedding someday. And there is no doubt I would cry. That song has been one of our favorite songs as I have been growing up and it has so much meaning to it.

"She'll change her name today. 

She'll make a promise and I'll give her away.

Standing in the bride-room just staring at her,

She asked me what I'm thinking and I said

'I'm not sure- I just feel like I'm losing my baby girl.'

She leaned over...

Gave me butterfly kisses with her mama there,

Sticking little white flowers all up in her hair

'Walk me down the aisle Daddy, it's just about time.'

'Does my wedding gown look pretty daddy? Daddy, don't cry.'

Oh, with all that I've done wrong I must have done something right,

To deserve her love every morning and butterfly kisses."

Holy cow. How can you not cry? It's such a tender song and it was so perfect to dance with my father to. We just danced and stared at each other as memories flowed down our face in the form of tears.

He whispered, "you're beautiful Kate"

and 

"you're so precious..."

Wow, it was such an emotional 5 minutes! But it was so beautiful and I am so grateful I had those 5 minutes to be with my dad. It was a moment I will never ever forget. I love him so much and I am so grateful for him. He will always, always be my father.

After the song got over, he escorted me over to Drew and gave me away. 

Drew brought me out to the dance floor as the song, "All About Us" came on.

The mood lightened and I heard people chuckle as Drew sung the lyrics to me and spun me around. He spun himself around a couple times too! It was a perfect first dance song for us. Absolutely PERFECT! 

After our dance got over, the song "I Do" came on and we invited everyone onto the dance floor to join us! It was a blast! For a short moment we danced around with our friends and family. Everyone was smiling and laughing and having heaps of fun. It was a glimpse of heaven.
After we got done dancing around, everyone gathered outside to send us away.

When we were ready, we left the building and entered a starlit sky full of bubbles and family and friends waving goodbye. We climbed into Drew's dad's remodeled Model A car and we drove away! Cute cans that my family had decorated clanked behind us and blue, yellow, and green tissue paper balls followed us as well. Drew's dad drove us and honked the old "awoooguh" horn! 

It was fun to drive off in his special car! 

And that is the story of the first day of the best days of our lives.

...it was more than I could have ever imagined. 

I get to now be with my best friend for all eternity. I get to see him every day of my life and I get to laugh, cry, learn, and grown with him all of our days. I love him so much and I am so grateful to have him by my side for always and forever.

And now I am here to say that dreams really do come true! 

....and if you're lucky, they're better than you could ever imagine! 

Love,

Kate

It's almost here!

            This is really happening!!!!!! FOUR DAYS!

Love,

Kate

Weekend happenings!!!

I graduated from Southern Utah University on Friday and then I went to the Manti Temple on Saturday. It was a big weekend full of fun, friends, family, loved ones, and plenty of emotions.

Check out the details of my weekend here. I'm so grateful this lovely boy was there with me through it all!

Love,

Kate

ps. 33 days!!!

A true Aussie!

Drew had the opportunity to pick up his friend Michael from the airport today. He flew in from Australia! He'll be serving a mission in Tuscon, Arizona and we're taking him to the MTC tomorrow!

 Today we had bridals. I met Drew up in Manti and Michael got to tag along. It was an absolutely beautiful day and I am so excited to see how the pictures turn out!

 Later that evening we came back to Richfield and had a fire and roasted smores. Apparently they don't have "smores" in Australia! 

 It was fun getting to know Michael and to see Drew's happy face as he's been able to spend time with an old mission friend.

It'll be fun taking him to the MTC tomorrow! We wish him the best of luck as he serves the Lord! 

Love,

Kate

That smile!

This boy is seriously my sunshine. Look at that smile right there! Doesn't it just light up your day?!

It lights up mine every single day.

Drew and I just spent the last couple days together in Cedar and St. George. We had our engagement pictures taken and we even found a cute place to live! 

I'll be able to post some pictures in a few days as soon as I have access to them.

Until then, we have a bridal shower this weekend in Richfield and one next weekend in Cedar.
Fun times ahead!

Love,

Kate

Conference weekend

Drew and I really wanted to go to General Conference this spring but our chances to get tickets didn't look promising. He got work off that weekend anyways, and planned on coming up to spend the weekend with me and my family.

{But what I am here to tell you is that blessings are REAL.}

Out of nowhere we were actually able to get tickets to three different sessions of conference!! We quickly adjusted our plans and before we knew it we were on our way up to Salt Lake.

We made plans to pick up Tiana and her friend in Orem and then we spent Friday afternoon at the Hogle Zoo all together.

The zoo is under construction right now (waiting for a new African Savannah to be built) and so it only took us an hour and a half to get through the entire thing! I really didn't care about any of the animals except for the sloth. I knew there would be a sloth there because I had seen a sloth there 13 years earlier... so there HAD to still be a sloth there, right? 

Besides, sloths are my favorite animal in the history of the world ever and it is my ultimate dream to hold one someday.

Well Drew, being the sweetheart that he is, was determined to find the sloth for me.

We finally found it right at the end of our zoo tour and I was so happy. I just stared at it. It was so cute. I was so happy to have been able to see it! 

 After the zoo, we took Tiana and her friend to the train to ride it back to Orem. Then Drew and I drove up to Centerville to meet up with my beautiful aunt Katie and her sweet husband Briant! [This is where we would be staying for the weekend.] We went to dinner with them and met up with my other aunt Kami and her husband. They met Drew for the very first time ever and asked him question after question! 

What dreams and ambitions do you have?

How are you going to get there?

What do you want to do/be?

And so many more.

It was fun listening to them talk and laugh and get to know each other. I absolutely loved it! 

We went back to Katie and Bri's after dinner to continue visiting and to eat ice cream and play some games.

It was a fun date night!

The next morning we woke up early and were treated to french toast for breakfast! We then set out for Salt Lake to attend our first ever General Conference together.

it. was. incredible.

I will never forget the feeling I had the moment I saw Thomas S. Monson for the very first time walk into the room. Everyone stood up and the entire building was still. The spirit rushed over me and I felt so warm, happy, and peaceful! Tears filled my eyes and I knew for a fact that the spirit IS real and that Thomas S. Monson truly is the modern day prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and that the church is TRUE!

I know that Joseph Smith truly did see God the father and His son, Jesus Christ, and that through him, the gospel was restored to the earth! I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that by being obedient and by living by its precepts we can come to know our Savior Jesus Christ and we can gain a testimony of ourselves that He truly does live and that he loves us. 

I absolutely loved conference. I know that the leaders that spoke to us were inspired by the spirit to know what to prepare for and speak about.. and I know with all my heart that if we follow their counsel we will be blessed!! I know it.

Because we didn't have tickets to Saturday afternoon session, we went to the tabernacle on Temple Square to watch the broadcast. That was fun to be in the old tabernacle because that building is absolutely beautiful! 

We spent the rest of the day shopping around City Creek and the Gateway mall. We were exhausted by the time we made it back to Katie and Bri's!

The next morning we were treated to another delicious breakfast. We packed up our things and headed down to Salt Lake to attend the final two sessions of conference; then we would be on our way back to Richfield.

The sessions turned out to be absolutely beautiful. It was wonderful to be a part of the congregation as we stood to welcome the Prophet as he entered the room. One of my favorite parts was probably waving goodbye as we watched the Prophet and his apostles leave because they would wave back!

 As we left Salt Lake that beautiful Sunday afternoon, my car began to act funny. First, my stereo started cutting out as we tried listening to music. Then we noticed that my lights weren't very bright (as we looked at them in the reflection of a building). While we were on the freeway, we realized that the blinkers were dim and eventually the speedometer began ticking back and forth whenever we would signal to make a lane change. 

I called my parents to see what we should do at this point and they told us to go over to the very right lane in case we needed to pull over. Drew had predicted that the battery was dying and sure enough it was. We had made it to the south end of Provo by this time and then the speedometer started dropping like crazy. It read that we were going 20 mph when we had to have been going at least 60 mph. Then the car started decelerating drastically. We had barely passed an exit and I thought, "Oh great, there goes our chance! My car is going to die before we make it to another exit!"

Luckily, we came right up to the next exit and slowly (with the pedal floored) we crawled right around the huge bend of the off ramp. Up ahead however, was an incline which took us on the over ramp. I did not think we were going to make it at all because we were barely putting along.

Miraculously we made it to the very top of the incline and suddenly my care completely stopped. 

It had died right at the top of the over ramp. 

I began crying at this point because all I wanted to do was get home to my family, but I couldn't help but be completely grateful for where my car died. We were in a safe place, out of harms way, AND I wasn't alone. I was with Drew! I was so grateful for that.

I had been talking to my parents all along and they told us they would figure out a way to get us help.

As we waited for them to call us back, Drew and I sat there in silence as I softly cried.

Then I heard the most beautiful sound I had ever heard.

Drew sang, "Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side..." 

He continued to sing with all of his heart those beautiful words that mean so much to my soul.

"... Be still, my soul: When change and tears are past, all safe and blessed we shall meet at last."

I cried some more, but I was filled with such gratitude for him and for his effort to comfort me.

I knew that we were safe and that we would return home safely to my family within the next couple hours.

Shortly after, my mom called to tell us that a man was on his way to come help us out.

To make a long story short, he checked my car and found that the alternator was in terrible condition.

We were able to get a new one, (which by the way was very rare because the store just so happened to have only one of the exact type/style/model that we needed.) Coincidence? I think not!

The kind man installed the new alternator and charged the dead battery of my car with his truck and jumper cables.

Less than two hours later we were back on the road on our way home.

 Our prayers were answered that afternoon. What a blessing it is to have the wonderful gospel in our life and the faith that we have in our Heavenly Father and in his son Jesus Christ. 

So that was our weekend.

It was full of adventures, blessings, tender mercies, testimony builders, humility, love, prayer, great friends, and wonderful family.

I am so grateful to be a member of the church and I am so blessed.

Love,

Kate

We're staying young forever

Drew and I have managed to never go past an entire week without seeing each other. I don't even know how we do it, but it is definitely a miracle! 

The day after Easter (Monday), I went down to St. George with my best friend Tiana to visit some of our other friends. Drew drove down with his friend Taylor, and we met up and went to dinner all together. We then spent the evening at Fiesta Fun playing arcade games, riding the go karts, and eventually ending the night with a game of mini golf. The entire night was full of fun and great times! 

I absolutely love going on dates with this boy. He is seriously incredible and I fall in love with him more and more every single day. I could have never dreamed of someone so perfect for me!

I can't wait for more adventures with him because he is simply the best.

Love,

Kate