This Past Week...

Sorry for the LONG wait for another post...if you only knew what happened this past week. Let me back up and explain. Aaron found out on May 14th that he would be leaving in a week to head up to Utah to work for my Uncle Steve on his farm. After a couple of tears we planned our last week together for over a month. Two days before Aaron left my mom remembered that I had a one way flight home that I still needed to use and so the plan began...drive up with Aaron to Utah and then fly home back to AZ! Perfect! I called Aaron up and said, "So...how would you feel if I drove with you up to Utah?" Aaron said, "What? How? That would be great?" My parents and I drove to Aaron's house on Saturday Afternoon, caught up with his family, had a wonderful prayer and blessing and then Aaron and I were off to Utah! We decided to drive to St. George and stay at my Grandparents house. Let me just tell you...the 7 hour ride felt about 7 minutes. Not exactly sure what we talked about or did but it went SO fast. We stopped and ate the packed lunch I made which was of course PB&H with Sun Chips.

We then went through Vegas and debated whether or not to go through the Drive Though Chapel and get married but we figured we might want some family and friends there to attend so we decided against it...but we seriously thought about it. Here are some pictures of us driving...you can't tell but Vegas IS in fact in the background.

We arrived at Grandpa and Grandma's house pretty late and so we got some delicious dinner to eat out of the freezer (frozen dinners!) and then headed to bed for another day of driving in the morning.

"I am so lucky my future wife knows how to cook!"

We woke up the next morning and for breakfast decided to have a fun time playing "Panacke Pictionary".It is just as the name sounds. You make the batter, shape it on the pan into a specific shape while the other tries to guess what you are making. Here we are playing the game:

Warning: The game is harder than you would think and good luck trying to make very detailed shapes out of pancake batter. Below are some of the items we made...see if you can guess what we made.

Giraffe, Music Note, Sun

Mickey Mouse, Penguins, "A", the Temple

That is a heart that he is holding up that he made for me...just in case you couldn't tell. How cute!

Now...try and guess this one. Well, it was suppose to be the NYC Skyline but we deicded it looked more like March of the Penguins.

March of the Penguins

Can you see it? It's quite amazing! The big penguin in front with the penguin in a pouch (do Penguins have pouches?), the middle one has a wing and then the baby in the back? Totally amazing, right? We went to at my Grandparents Church in St. George and then went to visit the St. George Temple and it was beautiful.

We then drove the rest of the way through Utah and stopped in Beaver at "CamperLand" next to some goats for lunch. We opened up Aaron's car, sat down and made ourselves right at home. Yum!

We then drove the rest of the way to Spanish Fork to meet up with the Von Bose's for some wonderful dinner and delicious bithday cake. We had such a fun time playing with the girls and celebrating with everyone. Aaron then dropped me off in Alpine where I would spend the week with the Story Family and Nanny while Aunt Jan was gone for the week.
On Monday Aaron started work and I nannyed all day. It was a little bit of a crazy day for both of us. Aaron had a full day of new work, wasn't able to move into his apartment and locked his keys in the car so sadly we weren't able to see each other, but made plans for the next day.
On Tuesday though I headed to Provo and met up with Aaron. We went to the BYU Library so Aaron could fill out and print some papers he needed, then we headed to the grocery store to feed Aaron for the week. Aaron found Honey Vanilla Body Wash that he thought could maybe double as food and to clean himself in the shower. Haha.

"Helps Clean and is Delicious Too"

 We didn't have much time after that so we went on a quick walk around the Provo Temple and then Aaron dropped me off and we said goodbye until the next day.

The next day Aaron was nice enough to come up to Alpine and we hung out with the Story kids. We played some board games and watched the first half of "Never Say Never: Justin Bieber". And then on Thursday he came up too after work. We had dinner with the kids, watched Ammon's choir concert and then we both headed back to Provo where I was lucky enough to stay the night with Mercedes. We got up the next morning (Friday) and I went with Aaron to "work". They worked until about 10am and then had a party up at the cabin for one of the workers who was leaving. Aaron and I were sent into Heber to get snacks for the party. This is what we got (in the back of the picture), yeah...it was a lot.

We packed up some of the snacks for our long car ride!

We then had lunch with the other workers which consisted of eating LOTS of food that Steve had catered in. We didn't even touch the snacks we had bought. We then had the fun chance of going 4 wheeling with everyone around the mountain.

Yes...the Jacket is big on me...my arms are NOT that big :)

Here we are about to head off on our adventure. We have our helmets, protective glasses and smiles, so we are ready to go.

We went on a trail up the mountain for about 30 minutes and had a fun time going over rocks, up and down hills, through trees and almost into a big mud puddle. I was informed by Aaron afterwards, "I now understand why boys go faster...because the faster I went, the tighter you held on!" Haha, good to know :) We then left the cabin about 3 and headed to Las Vegas for the weekend to be with Aaron's family and so he could see one of his cousins being sealed in the temple. On our way there we saw SO many signs promoting this little treasure:

Woo Hoo! What A Deal!

The PERFECT place for a honeymoon, right? Where else can you have room AND breakfast for only $25...only at the Virgin River Casino. Honeymoon, here we come ;) We stopped in St. George and got us some dinner at Panda Express.

Our "Chinese" Faces

 For those of you who know me, I LOVE fortune cookies and so it was fun to open up my cookie and find this applicable fortune!

We pulled into Las Vegas about 10pm and spent the night at Aaron's family the Green's house. We had a fun time visiting (for me, meeting) with the family until about midnight and then sleepily headed to bed. We slept in the next morning since the sealing wasn't until 3. We woke up to a house full of family. I had a great time meeting everyone, helping get food ready for later and I even had the chance to play "Pokemon Trainer Battle" board game with some of the kids there and I won!!! Haha, quite an accomplishment and now I can officially be apart of the family! We then headed to the Las Vegas Temple for the sealing.

Las Vegas Temple

 I couldn't go in and so I waited in the lobby and read the Ensign. Let me just tell you...being apart, for almost an hour, reading marriage talks, in the temple...is not good. I cried a little and when Aaron came back I ran into his arms and hugged him like it had been years.

We went outside the temple, took some pictures with everyone and let me tell you...I have NEVER experienced a more windy day in my life. My hair was all over the place and the wind even made Aaron's shirt expanded to make him look fat. Haha.

Aaron...in about 20 years :)

Aaron and his cousin Alex then for some reason went into Michael Jackson mode and started singing and dancing "MJ" style. They knew the moves and everything so here is a glimpse of the little show that we witnessed going on outside the temple :)

My Fiance...the MJ Impersonator

We then went to the Great Harvest Bakery where Aaron's cousin Alex works and he gave us a tour around the place, how everything works, the process to make all that they do and we even got a yummy sample at the end of it. Thanks Alex! We headed back to the house, had a delicious dinner and then spent the night talking with the family. Aaron and I ran to the the store and go supplies for lunch the next day (PB&H, of course) and then we headed to bed.
We got up early and left the next morning to drive back up to Salt Lake for me to catch my flight home. We drove to St. George and went to church and then we just kept driving. We made a quick stop in Fillmore, Utah to get gas and this is what happened.

Good Old Fillmore!

We then got back in the car and Aaron said he needed to stretch a little more and so I recomended he run around the car 5 times. He said, "Ok, but don't you dare pull out that camera!" So he got out, I locked the car and he began to  do some weird stretches outside the car. Here they are for you to see:

 

And here he is peering into the window and wanting me to open the locked door for him...don't worry, I eventually did :)

We headed straight to the airport and Aaron waited with me for a little bit until I needed to check in and go through security. During that time we thought it would be fun to compare Driver's Licence's. It was fun!

We are SO young!

 We then said a sad goodbye to each other as we won't be seeing each other for about 3 weeks. So...more long distance for us and though these 3 weeks will probably be longer than the 6 months we "dated" apart, it will be good. We will survive and as the motto for our relationship comes up again, "We Don't Do Easy Things" and I am sure it will just make our relationship that much stronger. So if there are fewer posts these next 3 weeks...you know why.

(Non) Engagements:

So...to get us "warmed-up" for our engagements...that will be taken TOMORROW, Aaron and I had Nicolina Brown take some fun photos of us. They turned out quite cute and will probably be used to decorate the tables at our reception or just to have. So, for your love and enjoyment, here are some of the pictures :)

As Of Late:

So there have been a lot of random little things happening lately and if I don't start posting soon I will forget them all and fall behind and so I am going to quickly summarize some:
-After we came back from Utah we attended the LIGHT concert. It was so fun to see them perform and to be there together, as an engaged couple, and receive everyone's congratulations
-The week we got back we attended a Hale Theater Play called, "Never Too Late". Aaron had to go see a play for one of his classes and so he asked me to attend with him. It was really fun to go to, especially because we were probably half the age of everyone there and we stuck out a little. It was a fun play though and it as good to get a chance to see each other in Aaron's busy week. We even took some pictures so Aaron could get an "A" on his paper :)

-Aaron's ward had a talent show the weekend after we got home and so I went. No one would sit by Aaron and I at our table (probably because we looked "freakishly in love") and so we moved to sit by some of Aaron's friends. Aaron did a wonderful job performing in a Ward Choir number and then with a group of boys in the ward singing "Home" by Michael Buble, where Aaron had the solo! I loved being there to cheer him on!

-We went to church at Aaron's Singles Ward that following Sunday. It was fun to be there, meet everyone, attend "Marriage Prep" together, and be introduced in Relief Society as "Aaron Butler's Fiancée". I then went home and we met up later that night to attend the Young Single Adult Fireside. Which usually I don't love going to, but having a Fiancée there with you, makes it that much better.
-Aaron finished up school last week! Way To Go Hon! And there was a lot to do and many late night and so I drove in to Mesa one night, unexpectedly and surprised him. I told him I would call him at 9:15. I pulled up to his neighbors house and sat outside while I talked to him for a while (I am so sneaky) then while we were talking I walked up to his door and knocked and he opened it, so surprised and that little break he needed. I brought him a little basket full of things to help get him through the last few days of schools such as "smarties" and "take 5's" "energy drinks and bars" and of course "animal crackers". We were able to talk for a minute until he had to get back to studying but it was so fun to see each other and for me to "help" with his studies.

-I have been a "nanny-ing machine" as of late and so Aaron has been so good to come down, once the kids are in bed and come hang out. It has been nice to talk and spend time with someone else for at least a little bit and it was the boost I needed to make it through the next day of nannying. So, thank you Aaron.
-Lastly (and how could I forget)...Aaron came over Monday night and it was just Ethan and I at home and so we all went swimming together, in our NOT so warm pool. Ethan really wanted to though, so we did. With my sunburnt shoulders and many different tan-lines and Aaron's tomato red of a back, we were a sight to see, that is to be sure. We didn't stay in there too long. Then, what happened next, I don't know anyone who knows me will believe what we did. We exercised...together. Yes, that is right. Aaron came up with a workout plan for me to do and so he came over and taught me how to do it. It was 30 minutes of intense, sweaty, hard, muscle burning workout. It was quite an experience but I am happy to say that for the most part I kept up with Aaron. Go Me! We were exhausted by the end of it (especially because that was the 2nd time Aaron had done that workout that day). And believe me, we felt that workout the day afterwards...and I am STILL feeling that workout. Going up and down the stairs is hard, sitting...ok, basically moving hurts. But as Aaron said, "No Pain, No Gain." So I am thinking that is a sign of many future FHE's planned by Aaron to come.