Manti Pageant

Manti was so much fun. Kory tells the story better than I do. But basically the Friday we went, it had been raining all day long. I called the pageant's 800 number and spoke to an elderly man who assured me that "it rarely rains on the Manti Pageant, so we'll see ya tonight!" It was adorable of him to say, but I was skeptical. But we met up with our friends the Palmers from our ward, and my girlfriends Emily and Debra in Provo. All of us rode down to Manti and it was pouring pretty hard before we got to Manti. However, as soon as we hit the Manti city limits it was dry and the sun was shining through the clouds. It was really a miracle. The rest of the night was beautiful and we enjoyed seeing the story of Joseph Smith, and the LDS pioneers played out on the Manti Temple hill.

Fun Activities!

Thursday, June 18th

Kory and Stephen took their last finals for Spring term, yay! By this point Kelli had been in town for a couple of days and we hadn't seen her yet. So in the evening we dropped by to say hello. She had to run some errands so Kory and I went with her. It doesn't really matter what we are doing, I love seeing family. After we ran to the grocery store we had to show Kelli our new favorite Provo treat, Yozone! Yozone is the yogurt place in the retail space at the bottom of Alpine Village. It took me by surprise, I wasn't expecting it to be as great as it is. They have 8 flavors of low-fat frozen yorgurt goodness, plus lots of yummy toppings. My favorite is original and mango flavors with strawberries on top. I went and got Stephen while we were there and he got to meet Kelli. After enjoying our treat, we dropped Kelli off back at home. Kory, Stephen and I went back to our apartment and played our new favorite "group" Wii game, Wario Ware. It's a silly game that makes us laugh a lot so we love it. It was such a good night hanging out with our siblings.

Friday, June 19th

We worked a shorter shift so that I could hang out with Stephen and help him move out. He is really easy to move out compared to either Kory or me, haha. Mom was also able to come for a quick trip to help Stephen and go see my cousin's play. We went and saw Singing in the Rain at the Hale Theater in Orem. My cousin Bre played Lina, and she was hilarious. We really enjoyed watching her. She is a really good singer but for the part she plays she has to pretend she has a really annoying voice and can't sing. Since we know her, it made us laugh harder. It was so fun to have Mom here, I love it when she comes! (even if it is a short stay).

Saturday, June 20th

Kneaders breakfast, yum! It is always a treat to enjoy unlimited, delicious french toast for breakfast. Mom and Stephen left for Boise after breakfast, I was sad to say goodbye! It made me a little homesick.
We had to head to work (because we had to make up the hours that we missed on Friday). After being there just 2 hours I decided to head home because I wasn't feeling very well. Lucky for me, the intranet server wasn't working in the whole office so everyone got sent home and I didn't have to feel guilty. After work we went to Bed Bath and Beyond to get a wedding gift for my cousin Lindsay. I was sick with a cold the rest of the day. It got me on a cleaning kick and I completely cleaned and dusted our apartment like crazy instead of taking a nap like Kory suggested. It felt really good to get things really fresh and clean, our apartment gets dusty so easily. Kory got home from running errands, and while he admired the clean apartment he was disappointed to learn I didn't take a nap haha.
We were able to go to my Aunt Laura's home for my cousin's wedding reception. It had been raining all day so they didn't get to take advantage of all of the beautiful work they had put into their yard for the occasion, so sad! It turned out great though.
By the time we left the reception the weather had cleared up. Kory and I decided we would go see Beauty and the Beast at the outdoor Scera Shell. It was a lot of fun to cuddle up in blankets and enjoy the show. We really enjoyed it.

Sunday, June 21st

Church was wonderful as always. I love our ward, and our callings. Every week just gets better and better :) I was able to go visiting teaching after church. Then Kory and I got our Sunday naps in. After our nap we woke up just in time to make it to Sunday dinner at my Aunt Laura's home. Not only was dinner delicious, we got to enjoy the outside decorations that couldn't be enjoyed the day before. It was beautiful outside.

Monday, June 22nd

We went to work, as usual. But Kory adjusted his schedule so that he could come home early enough to go to Hayden and Roman's birthday party! They are my adorable nephews (Kelli's boys), who turned 5 and 3 this month. It was fun to go to the Scera Park in Orem and visit with family and friends while enjoying a yummy picnic. The boys got some great gifts! We were happy to learn that they have already been enjoying our T-ball set. I hope it is a lot of fun for them over the warm months.
We had to leave a little bit early because Kory and I were one of the couples who organized our very first Ward FHE (Family Home Evening)! Family Home Evening is something that Latter Day Saint Families try to once a week, typically Mondays. It is a time when families and talk about the gospel together, feel the spirit, and bond through a fun family activity. I had been telling people that I thought we should have one in our married couples' ward once a month so we could create more ward unity. Finally last month the Bishop gave us the go-ahead to start implementing it as a month ward activity. Needless to say the Ward FHE event was a total hit! Lots of couples came. We split into two groups so people could get to know each other better. Each group had a lesson prepared for them, and then a game to follow the lesson. Our group played a game where we had to act out adverbs for a person who didn't know the word to guess. It was hilarious, and very funny. Wish you could have been there to witness it!

The Rest of the Week

I don't really remember what has been going on the rest of this week. Just working and getting ready for an exciting weekend! Tonight (Friday) Kory and I are going to go see the Manti Pageant! We are going with another couple in our ward, plus my friends Emily and Debra! I am so excited because Debra is leaving to serve a mission for the LDS church in Kentucky (the same mission Kory served) on July 1st. Emily graduated with me then moved to DC and I haven't seen her since! She came to town to say goodbye to Debra and hear her speak in church on Sunday. I am thrilled to be able to spend time with them tonight. More people were going to go with us but slowly more and more people dropped of the list. Oh well, next time we plan something fun hopefully more people can come.

Tomorrow Kory and I are heading home to Boise to attend my bridemaid Kylee's wedding! I am so excited for her to be getting married. Her fiance helped out at my reception so much, I was really impressed with him. I am happy for them, and cannot wait to attend the reception. We will be in Idaho the rest of the week for the Van Vleet (Mom's side) family reunion! I am SOOOO excited for that! I LOVE my family, and our reunions. It will be fun to camp out in cabins and play lots of games until really late in the night.

I'll update you when we get back!

Last Weekend With My Prince Charming

After the surprise party during the week, last weekend Kory and I had the opportunity to be in a parade! One of our neighbors, Rebecca, was doing an internship for a new spa/oxygen bar that is opening in Orem. They were in the parade to help promote and advertise their opening. She needed volunteers to help her. The theme of the parade was "Tell Your Story," or something like that. The theme of the oxygen bar that we were representing was, "Turn Your Story Into a Fairytale." So Rebecca rented
beautiful costumes from the Hale Center Theater and had 3 princesses and 2 princes. My handsome, charming husband Kory was one of them!




It was crazy because earlier that day we were at work and saw the most insane rain storm. There were DARK clouds, with rain POUNDING from the clouds to the ground. The wind was also BLOWING like crazy! It was an intense rain storm. I was concerned that we might get caught in a storm for the parade just a few hours later.

But when we lined up to get ready for the parade, it was sunny! We had bags full of candy, flyers, and crowns to hand out to children and parents lined up to watch the parade. In front of us in the parade were these cute little karate kids, so I took a picture of them too :) haha. It was fun to do the parade and watch little kids get excited about seeing a prince or princess. At the very end of the parade it started to storm again, but luckily we made it to nearly the end first!

Overview in Depth- Week 1 (June 25-July 1)

WARNING: This blog ended up being extremely long.

Alright! So I've decided that each day I will try to go more in depth about one of the weeks from my "two month overview." Here is the overview list again for the week I'll be talking about.

June
25: Flew to Virginia to be with Kory!
26: I went to the Matt Nathanson concert Oceanside at Virginia Beach while Kory worked.
29: We made Sunday dinner and played games with friends then went to the beach!
30: Kory and I went on a very nice date to PF Changs (one of our favorites).

July
1: I hated saying goodbye to Kory then had to catch my international flight.


June 25th was such a long travel day! Kory and I chose the cheapest flight available, which was also the worst itinerary of course. My flight was at 7am mountain standard time and then I didn't get to Norfolk, VA until 7pm eastern time! I had like a four hour layover in Newark, NJ or something like that. Plus, in addition to having a long travel day I had to wait at the airport while Kory finished working and could pick me up at 9pm. So I spent a lot of time in airports that day! I didn't sleep much the night before because I was packing. Packing was unusually challenging because I had to pack for both a week with Kory (where I cared what I wore etc.) and 5 weeks in Europe (where it just needed to be a light load).

Here is a picture of me waiting in the Norfolk airport for Kory to finish working. I made myself a little bed in the baggage claim, I put my two bags in an L shape, then place my backpack inside the L for a pillow. It was my own little sleeping corner where I slept for like an hour or so, haha.


Eventually I moved to the benches and sat and waited. Kory called to tell me that he had just finished work and would call me when he was on his way to the airport. Maybe 10 minutes later I saw someone creeping up behind the payphones and I thought to myself "I bet that's Kory." Sure enough it was. Kory was already on his way to the airport when he called, he wanted to surprise me by getting there sooner than I expected. Anyone that knows Kory, knows that he LOVES to surprise! haha. The reunion was absolutely wonderful of course. After being apart for several weeks, it was so nice embrace.

We walked out to the car hand in hand, Kory pulling my bags behind him. His roommate Spencer was in the car waiting for us. The three of us went to an Italian restaurant at town center Virginia Beach. It was a great place with very cute decor and authentic feeling ambiance. After that we headed home and watched a movie at Kory's. I can't remember what movie, I'll have to ask him hehe.

Then we went over to Scott and Becky's! They were the wonderful, fun couple that I was so lucky to stay with when I visited Virginia Beach. I am so glad I did because they are great, I enjoy their friendship. Scott worked with Kory.

The next morning, even though we went to bed really late, I woke up early and got ready so that I could go hang out with Kory before he left for work at noon. We had cereal for breakfast then just hung out and talked until he had to leave. Then I went back to Scott and Becky's where Becky and I shared our cute little relationship stories. That afternoon we went to oceanside Virginia Beach for an outdoor concert of some really great musicians. The atmosphere was so fun! It really made me feel like I was on vacation. Too bad the boys couldn't enjoy it too! This is the picture message I sent Kory while he was working and I was enjoying the live music on the beach.


This is a picture of the crowd at the concert.


The next day, Friday, I woke up in the morning to hang out with Kory again before work again. Then that afternoon Becky and I went to The Pie for lunch with another friend. The Pie is a great pizza place close to the beach that has very gourmet combinations. It was so good! We really enjoyed going out to lunch with the girls. This is a picture that I sent to Kory while he was at work that day.


That night Kory and I just relaxed at home and enjoyed each other's company. Here is a picture Kory secretly took of me just laying around on the floor, haha.


A self portrait of Kory being silly :)


Saturday Kory had a long day of work. Becky and I went grocery shopping to get stuff for Sunday dinner and ran some other errands. We were going to go to the pool, but Virginia Beach was really really smoky that day because of wildfires in another state (I don't remember which). It was hot, and very gross outside. I felt bad for Kory having to knock door to door in that! I went and met Kory for lunch, he had already gotten a sale before lunch that day! I was so proud of him. I picked him up from work that night, too. So that he would get home faster.

Sunday we slept in, yay! I love sleeping in :) Then we went to church at the Virginia Beach single's branch in the afternoon. After church we came home and started making Sunday dinner. Kory was making BBQ ribs and veggies, I made the fruit salad, and Becky made banana cream pie! Yummy dinner! Here is a picture of Kory, the chef.


After dinner Scott, Becky, Kory and I played Phase 10 dice while we watched the movie Waterboy. Phase 10 dice was such a fun game! I'm pretty sure I won, but I can't remember. Kory is very competitive. In the beginning Scott was saying that Kory so far had the best score he had ever seen in a game. I was totally losing. Then in a twist of fate I pulled ahead! Go me! I think Kory was ok not winning as long as I was the one that won. He's so good to me :)

When the games were over Kory and I headed to the beach since the sky had finally cleared up. An evening stroll on the beach is one of my favorite things to do. It was so peaceful and romantic. It reminded me of when Kory and I first got to Virginia Beach in May (I helped him drive from Utah to Virginia). It was the first time that either of us had walked the Atlantic coast. I remember we were standing in the sand and I started singing to Kory "I dig my toes into the sand, the ocean looks like a thousand diamonds strewn across a blue blanket. I lean against the wind, pretend that I am weightless. And in this moment I am happy, happy." It's an Incubus song called "Wish You Were Here" that we both know. In fact it might be on my play list at the top of my blog? I'm not sure. Anyway, it was a great moment. One of the ones that stands out the most in my mind when I look back at the last several months. Well, back to the Sunday I was originally talking about. Here are some pics from that night. We were sitting on the lifegaurd tower overlooking the ocean and listening to the waves. The wind was blowing my hair everywhere.






Monday I spent my day repacking for Europe. Then I picked Kory up from work. We were on our way home and took a detour to the mall "really quick." We were walking through when Kory suddenly pulled me into a jewelry store! My heart started beating really fast as he walked me through the store and sat me down in front of the diamond rings. We had been talking about marriage quite a bit over the last several weeks. But this week when we were together we both knew without a doubt that we wanted to be married for eternity! That was the moment that it suddenly became very very real.

After our little detour, Kory and I headed home so we could change clothes before going out to dinner. We wanted to go out on a date our last night together before I left for Europe the next day. We went to PF Changs. We both love PF Changs. The first time Kory had ever been there was when I took him there on a date back in March. We went there again on a date when we were in Virginia Beach together in May. And now again in June because I got Kory a gift card there as a special surprise I sent him in the mail. So it has kind of become "our restaurant." It was a wonderful night. After our date we came home and I changed into comfy clothes. We just hung out and enjoyed each other's company. Here are some pics from after the date. Kory took another secret picture of me laying on the ground, haha.



The next day was the sad day that we had to say goodbye. I hate goodbyes! Kory drove me to the airport and helped me check in. While we were waiting in line I had one of my favorite songs playing over and over in my head so I pulled out my iPhone and shared it with Kory. "Bruised" by Jack's Mannequin. The lyrics go, "I packed my bags I'm good to go. You met me at the terminal. Just one more plane ride and it's done. We stood like statues at the gate. Vacation's come and gone too late... Hours pass and she still counts the minutes that I am not there. I swear I didn't mean for it to feel like this, like every inch of me is bruised." Kory told me he really felt like his "other half" was leaving him, and I couldn't agree more. I'm glad that my plane was delayed and he was able to stay and have lunch with me. Here are some pictures from the airport.




Well, there you have it! Week 1 of my two month overview. I hope you enjoyed the in-depth version. I'm sorry it ended up being so long!

Overview of the Last Two Months!

My goodness, I have had SO much happen in the last two months. It has probably been some of the most exciting two months I have ever had in my entire life. Let me give you an overview of what I have been up to since my last blog. (By the way, I deeply apologize to each of you who have been patiently waiting for it to no longer be "Sunday" ha!).

June
25: Flew to Virginia to be with Kory!
26: I went to the Matt Nathanson concert Oceanside at Virginia Beach while Kory worked.
29: We made Sunday dinner with friends and played games then went to the beach!
30: Kory and I went on a very nice date to PF Changs (one of our favorites).

July
1: I hated saying goodbye to Kory then had to catch my international flight.
2: I arrived to Edinburgh, Scotland.
4: Missed America, and the 4th of July, and Kory... a lot.
5: We did baptisms at the Preston, England temple.
6: Saw Liverpool, England for a few hours.
7: Arrived in London, England.
10: Saw TWO shows for cheap! CHICAGO and Jersey Boys.
11: Day trip to Stone Henge and Bath.
12: Flew to Amsterdam.
13: Held our own testimony meeting then toured Amsterdam.
14: Drove through Belgium, stopped to visit EU Council in Brussels (and eat waffles).
15: First full day in Paris, France.
17: Day trip to Normandy.
19: Toured the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
20: Attended church at Geneva ward where they spoke french, then met ex-patriots.
21: International Business Presentation by Nestle.
22: Full day in Zermatt, Switzerland where we saw the famous Matterhorn.
23: First full day in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland one of the most beautiful places.
25: Travel to Salzburg, Austria.
26: The Sound of Music tour.
27: Matthousen Concentration Camp.
28: Day trip to the BMW factory in Munich, Germany.
29: Tour of the Neuschwanstein Castle (the one Disney's was based off of).
30: First full day in Milan, Italy saw The Last Supper.
31: Venice! We saw a phenomenal Vivaldi concert.

August
1: Spent the day shopping in Venice.
2: Florence, Italy where we saw Michaelangelo's David.
3: Bore my English testimony to the Italians. Then day tripped to Cortona Tuscany.
4: Rome, Italy!
5: Day trip to Pompeii (the preserved city) and the Italian beach.
6: Saw the sites and enjoyed making our last few memories.
7: Put a package together for my cousin Jonathan serving his mission in Rome.
8: A LONG flight back to the USA then a WONDERFUL REUNION with Kory!
9: I knocked door to door with Kory and watched him make a sale, so fun.
10: Kory and I sang as parts of a quartet in his branch sacrament meeting.
11: Kory finished his last day of work! We celebrated with PF Changs.
12: We got in the car and left Virginia Beach and headed for DC.
12: My first time to Washington DC! Played tourist, visited my good friend Kylee.
13: Drove to Cleveland, OH to see Carissa then Toledo, OH to see Kelli and their fams!
14: After checking to make sure the car was ok, Kory and I started driving again.
15: Kory and I made it back to Provo, UT!
16: Kory and I had lunch at my cousins Jon and Gina Cheney's.
18: We jumped back in the car and drove home to Boise, ID!
19: Kory flew home to Washington to chill with his family.
22: I flew up to Seattle to see Kory again! He picked me up with beautiful flowers!
22: Kory and I had a blast spending the day in Seattle and a the Mariner's game!
23: I met Celeste! Then visited my cousins in Puyallup (Don and Jodie Fowles' family).
24: So much fun enjoying the sabbath with Kory and his family.
25: Kory and I flew back to Boise.
29: HAPPY 6 MONTHS to ANA LEE and KORY! We had a cute picnic by the Boise River.
29: Somehow Kory and I squeeze in ANOTHER road trip this summer...Priest River, ID.
30: Kory, Mom and I do yard work at grandma's house and attend graveside service.
31: Attended church in Priest River then went to Lind, WA for Sunday dinner and drove home. Kory got to meet a lot more of the family! We loved seeing the Fowles.

September
1: Kory leaves for Provo after spending the day with me. School starts tomorrow. I will join him next week. But I am missing him loads already!


So as you can see I have a LOT to write about and a lot of pictures to share too. I don't even know where to begin? At least you have the overview now? haha. It is late so I am going to go to bed. But I hope you enjoy my little calendar of events!

Love you all!

The Skinny on the Last Few Weeks

I have not blogged in forever, I'm sorry. Things are going really well for me! I am back home in Boise now. The call center job was fun for the last couple of weeks that I was in Provo. After that I went on a really fun road trip with Kory. Then I moved to Nor Cal for a week to do summer door to door sales with AT&T which was fun, but didn't pay me as well as I needed it to. So then I moved back home! And here I am!

After school got out on a Wednesday, Kory and I both packed up and moved out of our rooms. Lucky for me I had Mom in town to hang out and help me. By Friday afternoon Kory and I had the car packed up and were on the road starting our adventure across the country to Virginia Beach, VA. That is where Kory is now, working for the summer selling security. Our road trip was a blast. We went to Grand Junction, CO, Salina, KS, Grove, OK, Owensboro, KY, Cleveland, OH and then finally back down to Virginia Beach. It was the round-about way to drive across the country but we stopped to visit people along the way. Well I visited one person for 10 minutes everyone else was connected to Kory. I got to see Mari my really good friend from Kauai that I met last summer when I interned there. We saw Kory's grandparents and sister, Carissa, which was really fun. Everyone else was from Kory's mission, he served in Kentucky.

We were grateful to have our phones, because both of them have mapping capabilities which really were a huge blessing on the trip. We were also grateful for our new toys that we had gotten at the beginning of the trip, a cigarette lighter splitter (so we could power more than one thing) and the Harmon|Kardon Drive and Play (which allows you to play your iPod through the FM frequency using a remote to navigate and see the songs playing on a screen sitting on the dashboard, its cool). They really helped us stay entertained! If we weren't listening to music then a couple of times we watched movies on my laptop. We were also extremely grateful for all of the goodies that people sent with us to snack on during the drive. I love road trips, the car actually doesn't bother me that much especially when the drive is beautiful. I loved driving through Oklahoma and Kentucky especially.

Can you believe that after being stuck in the car for 6 days straight Kory and I still weren't sick of each other? haha. I stayed in Virginia Beach to help Kory get settled and enjoy a little vaca for 5 more days before I flew to Nor Cal. It was fun to be able to go for walks on the beach and the boardwalk. It was the first time seeing the Atlantic ocean for both Kory and I (other than from planes). Kory even made me run and jump in the water even though it was freezing! haha. I wish I had pictures of that. Over the weekend we just enjoyed hanging out and relaxing. Virginia Beach is kind of a fun little beach town. There isn't too much to do but the atmosphere is fun.




I flew to Northern California from Virginia Beach. I had never been to Nor Cal before so it was exciting for me. I flew into Oakland and my friend Jared Hess picked me up. We have been friends since our very first semester at BYU. He is from there, so it was really nice to have him help me out. I lived in Vallejo with my best friend Karly but we worked in Santa Rosa for the week. It was exciting, and I loved having the new experience. I loved going to San Francisco for the first time! That was cool! I LOVE cities, they give me energy.



On Mother's Day not only did I get to talk to my brother Stephen (Elder Nelson), I flew back home to Boise. Mom said it was a good Mother's Day gift, hehe. Stephen is doing really well. He is training Elder Gunnel and he is still District leader. I think he is really enjoying it. He is such a hard worker, and everyone tells us he's the most amazing missionary. It was fun to talk to him on the phone just like old times. Our relationships haven't changed at all. I sure love him, he is my best friend. I have really enjoyed being home with Mom and Dad too. It is nice to have our little family together, haha.

My cousin Katie Moser was able to come to Boise to play tennis in the state tournament! She is only a Freshman in High School too so that was really exciting! It was fun to be able to see her. We went and got lunch and just chatted while we ran errands. I love her, she is so cute.



After being home for just a few days I was able to take a road trip down to Arizona for one of my good study abroad friend's wedding! It was at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix and was absolutely beautiful. I drove to Provo then picked up some girlfriends and the four of us drove down to Phoenix from there. Two of them are engaged so all we did the whole time was talk about weddings! It was like an overdose on wedding business, haha. Talking about weddings for 10 hours in the car and then going to two receptions! But it was way fun. You can't blame them for wanting to talk about their plans so much since we were on our way to a wedding.







Well, that is pretty much the update on me for the last few weeks! I'll try to be better about keeping in touch!