Asia 2014.

I have good news and bad news.

The good news is: I have time to blog!

The bad news is: I have time to blog because our flight to Taipei is delayed. 

But yes, you read that right. Taipei. 

Remember our {exciting announcement} from a couple of months ago? 

Well, it's really happening. I am writing this from the Hong Kong International Airport. 

Eventually, we will make it to Taipei... but our Asia adventure has officially begun! 

Some of the group hanging out at the Hong Kong Airport. 

We are running on minimal sleep, tons of excitement and airport food: and we are so happy about it. 

I will post updates/photos here as often as I can, so check back often! 

PS- Because of my lack of sleep, I am probably not going to be my usual grammar/spelling-Nazi-self, so please excuse any spelling or other mistakes. 

End of Semester

Life has been crazy in the Briggs household the last few weeks, and we've absolutely loved it. Everything started with the end of the semester and finals! 

This round of finals was a little bittersweet for me-- as it was my very last. Ever. 

I don't walk until April, but I finished up all my classes this semester, I can't believe it. 

On Tuesday, my PR capstone group presented our final project, the +SocialGood campaign to the client, The United Nations Foundation. It was a wonderful and exciting experience. The PR program really does a great job at giving students real-world experience. 

The last two years, I have spent almost every day with these beautiful women. I have learned so much from them and I am definitely a better person because of them. It was a weird experience to finish our final presentation and then say goodbye. It's only been a few weeks and we are already spread out across the country, starting our post-college lives. We really went through a lot together and I don't know what I am going to do without their advice, humor and smiles. I have really been so blessed to work with these girls. All of them have such incredible potential and I know that they are all going to go out and change the world for the better. 

After our presentation, I headed to take my last final in the testing center. I got a 95% on my test and I really felt like the "congratulations" next to my number was BYU's way of patting me on the back. Like BYU was saying, "Great job on your undergrad education. You've done well." 

The rest of the week was devoted to studying for my beast of an accounting test. My cousin, Kaylie helped study with me and even though it was hard work, we had so much fun. 

We spent hours and hours in the Tanner Building and library pouring over the practice tests and study guides. We studied almost 30 hours over the course of four days and we were so ready to just get it over with. 

Bryan was such a sweetheart. Even though he had finished all of his finals two days earlier, he came to almost all of our study sessions just in case we got stuck on a problem. 

I finally went and took the test. It took me four hours to take the test-- I was so exhausted by the end. 

But when I walked out from that test, I realized that it was the last time I will ever take a test at BYU. 

I still can't believe it. I have absolutely loved my time here at BYU and I can't believe how many ways studying here has blessed my life. When Bryan and I walk in April, I will write a post about BYU.

Now on to enjoy the holidays! 

BYU Football.

Last Saturday was a little bittersweet for me...

BYU football had their last home game for this season.
It was my {and Bryan's} last BYU home game as BYU students: we graduate soon.
And it was our last BYU game at LaVell Edwards Stadium for probably a few years: we are moving to California in a few months.

Look, I know we have TVs and stuff, but it is still going to be so weird to not have BYU football next fall. Because I grew up here, I have literally been raised with BYU football games. It's just what I do. It's the weekend? We go to BYU football games.

One of my first words was, "touchdown." I mean, come on.

My life has revolved around BYU football and there is definitely going to be a void in my heart next fall.

Now, I know that we will faithfully watch all the games (both UW and BYU) and we will probably go to some Stanford games, but it won't be BYU football at LES.

So, as Bryan and I sat at LES on Saturday in the freezing, sleeting snow, watching BYU play Idaho State, I couldn't help but remember all the wonderful memories I have in that stadium, with my team.
{I didn't care what the weather was like or who we were playing... I was going to that game. And I loved every minute of it.}

I was there when Max Hall connected with Andrew George to beat Utah.
I was there when Jake Heaps was good. I was there when he wasn't.
I was there when Riley Nelson cut his hair.
I was there when Taysom took his first snaps in LES as starting QB.
I was there when senior QB, John Beck threw the miracle pass to Johnny Harline to beat Utah.
(Not technically at LES, but still one of the best moments of my life.)
I was there for LaVell Edwards last game.
I was there for the unfortunate Crowton/Matt Berry years.

I could go on, but I will spare you. I think you get the point.

My family has lived BYU football and I have loved every minute of it.
I may be moving to California, but I will always be a BYU Cougar.

Senior Year. 

Junior Year. 

Sophomore Year. 

Freshman Year. 

BYU - Utah game, freshman year. 

End of Summer.

These last few days of summer have been filled with everything wonderful.

-Football (high school & college)
-Family
-Sleepovers in the trailer
-Manicure/Pedicure
-Weddings
-Food
-Friends
-Back to school shopping

My adorable cousin. 

Abby. Gosh. I love her. 

First day of school! 

Yesterday, Bry and I walked Courtney around campus and I am so excited to have her there.
BYU will always hold a special place in my heart and I love that someone I love so much gets to have wonderful experiences at this extraordinary place.

And perhaps, the biggest news of the month is that I finally, officially changed my name.
When we first got married, I had to keep my maiden name because we were leaving for Brazil a month after the wedding and my visa and passport were both in my maiden name.

We got back from Brazil on a Saturday and school started that next Monday. All the places I needed to go are government offices, so they are only open on weekdays and closed on most holidays. I was working and going to school every day and never had the chance to spend a few hours getting it done.
Then, at the end of last school year, our three days after the semester ended were literally packed.

So... here we are... more than a year later...

and I am officially a Briggs!

{Naturally, we celebrated with cupcakes.}


We were also so blessed to visit my sweet friend Caitlin, her wonderful husband Tom and their new baby boy.

I am so excited for the day when Bryan will be a father. He is already so good at it.
I feel like being excited about a family has become looked down on and it sort of breaks my heart.

I love Bryan so much and my favorite thing about our marriage is our potential to be parents.
It is something we are always working on, to make sure that when it is the right time, we are the best we can be.

We have loved everything about this summer and it's kind of hard to go back to school, but I think we are both motivated to hurry and finish. The end is in sight!

My Favorite Miracle.

My marriage is my favorite miracle.

{My life has seen many...miracles, not marriages.}

It should have never happened. 

But a loving Father in Heaven knew we needed to be together. 

Wheels were set in motion before I was even born. 

Almost three years ago, I talked to him on the phone for the first time. 

He was sweet, charming and funny. I'd like to think I was too. 

He asked for my number. We started talking. Every day. 

{From 1,000 miles away...}

In January, I drove and picked him up in Salt Lake. That smile. His smile. 

I was so nervous, I made Janelle come with me. She sat in the front. 

I looked at him in my rear view mirror probably more than I should have. 

We talked. And laughed. And talked. Then we had to say goodbye.
He had lots of plans for his short weekend in Utah.

It had been only a few hours, and I missed him. 

I bumped into him at church and I was so grateful for that extra moment. 

Then he surprised me and came over. 

There were lots of people at my apartment, but I didn't care. 

We sat on the floor and talked some more. We shared our favorite scriptures. 

There was a light in his eyes I hadn't seen before. 

Then we had to say goodbye again.

I wrote in my journal...

{Which is another miracle, because I am the worst journal writer ever.}

"Bryan is so happy, honest and lifts everyone around him. 

I can see my life with him more than anyone else I've ever met."

We started talking even more-- if that was possible. 

He came for spring break. 

We went to my best friend's wedding. He was outgoing, friendly and handsome. 

I felt so lucky to have him there with me. 

We held hands. 

I fell asleep on his shoulder. 

We went on our first official date. 

We cheered on Jimmer. {And rooted for Arizona in a room full of Duke fans.}

He told me he was coming to Utah for the summer. 

I tried to act cool, but I wanted to scream with excitement. 

We had to say goodbye again. 

The next few months went by slowly, full of anxiety, excitement and anticipation. 

Finally, the day came. He came. 

He was thrown into the mecca that is BYU and I got nervous. 

But he took me out on dates.

Things were going so well. 

He kissed me in the mountains. My mountains. 

The next day, I was his girlfriend. And I knew this was a last first.

A few weeks later, in the mountains...

I told him I loved him.

He loved me too.  

We spent time with my family in Park City. 

We spent time with his family in Oregon. 

We played in the Utah summer sun. 

But he went to UW. And I went to BYU. 

The end of the summer came faster than either of us wanted. 

Neither of us wanted to give up on it.

He was sure, and I was scared.

But love is such a funny thing. 

I think we both already knew.

1,000 miles is far. 

9 months is long. 

We visited as much as we could. 

It was so hard.  

But he was so completely worth it. 

As hard as it was, I loved every minute of it.

It meant that he was in my life. 

We shared New Year's in Utah. 

I completely knew. 

He was the one. 

Again, we had to say goodbye. 

That was probably the hardest goodbye. 

It's hard to say goodbye to the man you know you are going to marry.
(To this day, I still have a love/hate relationship with airports...) 

February. 

Seattle is one of the most romantic cities in the world. 

{In my limited opinion.}

He talked to my dad.
I had no idea.

The rain stopped just in time to make the city misty.

To say he surprised me would be an understatement. 

To say I was in shock would be an understatement. 

At first, I didn't believe him.

Then I wholeheartedly agreed to be his forever. 

We cried.

We laughed.

And I laughed some more. 

We celebrated with wonderful friends and family. 

We planned. 

In separate cities. 

For 6 months. 

He transferred to BYU.

He changed his whole life to be with me. 

But all of this was planned. 

Planned by someone who knew much better than we did. 

Everything was ready. 

We were ready.

On July 19, 2012:

Stewart Bryan Briggs

and

Casey Marie King

were sealed for time and all eternity...

In the Utah Draper LDS Temple. 

It was miraculous. Our whole story is one big miracle. One I am grateful for every single day. 

But the miracle didn't stop on that Thursday morning. 

We honeymooned. 

We explored Bryan's mission in Brazil. 

We got our first apartment. 

We started school.
Together. 

We went to football games.

We made dinner. 

We learned.

We did homework.

We made mistakes.

We did laundry.

We watched movies. 

We laughed.

We cried.

Together. 

We planned for life.

We planned for the summer.

We went on road trips.

He got an internship. 

We moved to San Francisco.

We will move back to Provo.

We will go to Alaska.

I will graduate in December.

He will graduate in April.

We will move again.
Together. 

I cannot believe that I have been married to Bryan for a year now. It is honestly the best thing that has ever happened in my life. Every day {good and bad} I am so grateful that I have Bryan here with me. He is the most incredible person I have ever met in my life. And believe me, I have met some pretty incredible people. He takes care of our little family. He is going to be a great father. I have so many things I could say about my wonderful husband, and I have done a lot of thinking about what I should put on our family blog for our anniversary. I kept coming back to the same idea...

LDS doctrine teaches that we existed before this Earth life, and we will exist after this life. We have a loving Father in Heaven who wants us to be so happy. He knew that I would be a better person with Bryan in my life. He knew that Bryan would make me so happy. I didn't meet Bryan by chance or coincidence. Events were set in motion long before Bry and I were born... events that allowed us to meet, fall in love and get married in the temple. There were people placed in our lives that guided us to make certain decisions at precise moments in our lives, decisions that at the time may have seemed inconsequential, but proved to be pivotal pieces of a grander scheme. I wish I could take credit for our wonderful love story, but I can't. Don't get me wrong, Bry and I chose to be where we are now. We chose each other -- we had to make certain decisions to get here, but our lives were so beautifully guided by someone who knows us better than we could have ever known ourselves. 

The story doesn't stop with getting married. Or an anniversary. The Lord still has things already in motion for our little family. There are trials we are going to experience. Happiness we are going to share. But that's the beautiful thing about it. It didn't start with our marriage, and it won't end when we die. It started many, many years ago and will continue for the rest of eternity.

That's the best miracle of all: I get to be with Bryan literally forever. 

And I thank my Father in Heaven for that limitless blessing. 

Bryan- I love you sweetheart. This year has been the greatest of my life. I am so happy that Maggie handed the phone to you that one day in September. Thank you for being so patient, strong and loving.
I know we have a long way to go, but I am so grateful I get to spend the rest of my life working on it with you.

You are the best. I love you so much.

PS: I have had lots of friends and family ask me about the temple. I love answering questions, I really do. Please feel free to leave comments, email me, caseyking365(at)gmail(dot)com or go to Mormon.org to find out more. There are a lot of misconceptions out there and I know that it can be difficult to simply find out basic information. The LDS church just released this new video that explains why Mormons have temples, what they look like, what we learn and how we worship in the temple. It answers a lot of basic questions and shows what the inside of our temples looks like. I hope that that we all (LDS or otherwise) can have a deeper appreciation for the sanctity of these beautiful, sacred buildings.

Wise Words.

I remember as a high school senior, having a conversation with Maggie and Mindy about this talk in the kitchen. Mindy was preparing to speak with her father to the students at BYU-Hawaii.
We had a wonderful discussion about families, motherhood, The Strength of Youth pamphlet and the Proclamation on the Family.

This discussion was one of my favorite moments from high school and has stuck with me through the years after. I am so grateful for wonderful friends and family that help provide an environment that allows the Holy Ghost to prompt and teach us.

Until today-- I had never watched the talk that prompted that wonderful discussion.
And this, combined with another talk by President Wheelwright (that I found while searching for the first talk...) have been wonderful answers to my prayers.

Below is a link to the talk given by President Wheelwright and his daughter, Mindy.

P.S. What is your dream? Eternal Roles and Responsibilities


This is a wonderful talk given at a BYU devotional about decision-making the Lord's Way.




Both are wonderful, practical and worth the watch.

Happy Monday!

Recover Week.

Just when my Disneyland hangover was clearing up...

this handsome guy had a birthday! 

We were both pretty exhausted from our crazy weeks, so Bry wanted to relax at home as much as possible over the weekend. 

We had breakfast at this cute little brunch place. 

In the afternoon, we headed into the city. 

We ate dinner at this beautiful restaurant on the water, called Waterfront. 

We were going to go to a movie, but the theaters here are ridiculous. Packed is an understatement. Plus, they were all at weird times. We headed to Emeryville and shopped a little around the gorgeous outdoor mall. And we found a Red Mango that had white peach frozen yogurt. Seriously people, it's the best thing I have ever had. Bry and I look for it whenever we see a Red Mango. 

It was such a fun day, and I am so happy that Bryan is in my life. He is such a great guy. 

Then, on Monday-- a huge fire started in a house a block away from us. I found out later that it was the home of one of the local kindergarten teachers. So sad, the whole house is completely destroyed. 

The rest of this week has been pretty mild. It's been rainy, but beautiful. 

{So much better than the 100+ degree weather I'm hearing about in Utah ha}

Speaking of Utah... I've been thinking about Provo a lot this week. I love it here in California, but there are a few things about Cougartown that I miss. 

-BYU. I miss that beautiful, special place. At first, I was bummed that I have an extra semester this fall, but it was a blessing in disguise, because I'm not done there yet. I get to spend another three months on my favorite campus. {With my husband and sister!}

-Trails. I miss having places to go walking, hiking and biking. Provo is so good about having beautiful places to be active.

-Safety. I know that Provo is becoming increasingly more dangerous, especially for women... but I never felt unsafe. I miss feeling that, for the most part, everyone around you is a good person. I think that where we are living has a lot to do with this, and I know that there are parts of the Bay Area that are fantastic... but for the most part, it's not a super great idea for me to be out and about by myself.

-Traffic. I hate California freeways. They are packed. Drivers are crazy. It takes forever to get anywhere. Bart is wonderful, but can only take you so far. The roads closer to our house (like our equivalent of University Ave) tend to be more open, but still.  

That being said, I am so sad that we only have a month left here. I have absolutely loved it so far. The weather is perfect, the people are amazing, there is so much to do and see, I love the food, the wards, the temple and the missionaries. 

But I am so grateful that I get another few months with my sweet Provo. My life feels unfinished there. And I think this next semester will give me closure. :) 

Home Sweet Home.

Sorry it's been a few days...

My body decided to give out on me and I've been pretty sick the last few days.
Luckily enough for me, my fortune from our quick dinner yesterday says I will be better soon.

On to more exciting things! Bryan had his first official day of work yesterday. I am so proud of him. I love that Bryan is the kind of person that makes things happen. He works so hard and I know this summer is going to be so great. 

{Also, this was at like 5 am ... he looks so much better than I do early in the morning haha}

After work, Bry and I packed up our car, said goodbye to Lupe and Frank (Bry's sweet relatives that let us stay with them for a few days, they completely welcomed us and I am so happy that I feel like I have family out here) and drove to our apartment in El Cerrito. 

We are in a little studio apartment on the first floor of a three story house. Our landlord and his wife live with their kids in the rest of the house, they are so wonderful, warm and welcoming. I can already tell that we are going to be happy here. 

When I say we have a little studio apartment, I'm not kidding. It makes our apartment in Provo look like a mansion. But this apartment is so nice, clean and right next to the Bart station-- it's absolutely perfect. 

{You can't really tell from this picture, but the bathroom is all porcelain, white and light blue. It's actually my favorite part-- it's so adorable. Plus, it smells like my Aunt Jenni's house, which is always a wonderful thing. For those who don't know, Jenni has flawless taste in clothes, furniture and food. And her house always smells like heaven. I want my house to smell like Jenni's. When I have a house. Haha}

Our bed and table. Somehow we managed to bring enough books and movies to actually use part of a shelf. 

The sink. And pretty much the whole kitchen. It's so funny because I complained about having no counter space in my apartment in Provo, but boy- I will be so grateful to get back to that. :)

That's pretty much our entire apartment. Even though it's small, I love it. It's such a bright, happy space and I am so grateful we have such a nice place to be for the next two months. 

On a different note, Courtney graduated high school today. 

{Sorry for stealing this picture Ashley.}

Holy cow. I can't believe it. I am so proud. Graduating high school is a big deal. And on top of that, Courtney went through high school so gracefully. She is the kind of person that everyone loves. Courtney makes friends with everyone and always goes out of her way to make sure that everyone is included. I am so sad that I couldn't be there tonight, but I want everyone to know that I love this girl so much and I am so proud of who she is. Gosh. I get to be related to some pretty awesome people. 

The cherry on top is that Courtney will be joining me at BYU this fall! At first, I was kind of bummed that I had an extra semester-- but when Court got in, all I could think about was how fun it is going to be to have a sister with me in school. Courtney and I haven't been in the same school since I was in 6th grade and I am completely looking forward to seeing her beautiful face on campus. BYU is such an amazing place that is so very dear to my heart and I am beyond excited to share that with a sister. 

Anyway, I love my family-- especially my sisters-- so much and I love seeing good things happen to/for them. They deserve it and so much more. I love you guys! 

Cal.

Today, we went to El Cerrito to check out our apartment.

{Our contract with our apartment doesn't start until next week, so we have been staying with Bryan's adorable Guamanian relatives. I will post pictures soon.}

Our neighborhood is nice and safe and we will be across the street from another one of Bryan's relatives.

The apartment is about 10 minutes away from the BART station, which is fantastic. We parked and headed out to Berkeley, which is where I am going to be spending a lot of my time this summer.

Cal-Berkeley is a gorgeous campus.

It was so fun to see all the graduates in their caps and gowns, showing their family around and taking pictures. 

{They have a beautiful library, I love the architecture at college campuses. My heart belongs to BYU, but really-- they could stand to step it up a little...}

After lunch, we took the train back to El Cerrito and figured out where we are going to grocery shop and work out. The area is nice enough, but I don't think I'm going to spend a lot of time outside by myself. We can both already tell that El Cerrito will be a great place for the summer, but we will probably be looking elsewhere if we were going to live here long-term.

On our way back from El Cerrito, we drove through Walnut Creek, and some of those houses are absolutely stunning. I have never really wanted to live in California, but I have to say-- we have seen some wonderful areas with great neighborhoods, and I am really happy we get to spend some time here.