A tribute to summer '09

So...... temperatures are starting to drop this week..... and it's starting to feel like fall. We hate to see summer go.....
We love summer!!!!! We especially loved this summer. It was our first summer since we've met and dated (4 years) that we didn't have to say good bye. No tears... no "what happens when....." no "only this many more days until....." no "when's the next time I see you?" We have had some good memories.... but usually plenty of heartache come summer time. Glad that part of the relationship is over!!!!
This summer was amazing! We both took summer classes (HATED them..... 1/2 the amount of time, which means double the homework, double the work, and double the crazy material they try to cram into our heads). We survived, did well... and were very proud of each other. It was hard to hear all of our friends going down to the lake, camping, hanging out, etc. And we simply had to say "doing homework." or "have a test in the morning." But we stuck to it...... and had some good times along the way as well!!! Summer 2009..... you will be deeply missed by us. You have given us some incredible memories and we will never forget you.
Here are a few:
To start it out right...... one of my best friends Sarah came down from Washington to visit. As did Erik's best friend Greg from New York. We road tripped it (6 hours) to the Mariners spring training in beautiful Phoenix, AZ. We spend our days soaking in the sun, laying out by the pool, reading our "Twilight saga," shopping, and watching baseball games. Absolutely perfect!

We had a few car loads of the "Utah gang" (couple families from my mom's side) come visit. I love being around family..... we had a great time. We took a road trip down to the Carlsbad caverns and hiked through a cave 2 miles into the earth. It was very cool!

Before going into the cave.....

Erik and I at the very bottom....

My sister Crystal and her girls came to visit a few times from Utah as well. I love love looooove my nieces. Can't get enough of them.....

We also got to go to Florida with my family for my bro Kade's graduation trip. It was blast! It rained almost every day. That being said.... we didn't have to wait long to get onto the rides! Some of my favorite memories are taking off our shoes and running through the rain to get to our cars or to some sort of shelter during the CRAZY thunder and lightning storms. We had a blast at all the parks.... we love Disney World! Mostly..... I love being with my family! (We missed you Crystal, Scott and the girls).

Another fun memory was going to Jackson Hole, WY. For the past few years, my family has taken on a new hobby..... white river rafting. It gets pretty intense..... we have had many scares. Erik's raft last year was flipped right before one of the biggest rapids. It was scary for me to watch, but glad everyone was okay. This year..... things were a little more mild, thank goodness!! (Except I fell out for my first time..... scary!)

In August...... Erik and I got to spend a few weeks in Washington with his family!!!! We had so much fun. His mom took us and his brothers (Brett and Mark) to Montana. We got to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa Fiksdal, Katy and and Donny and their new addition, Leum (only a few weeks old when we were there!!). Erik's aunt Kathy and little cousin Pate also drove down and we got to spend a few days with them. It was so nice being surrounded by such a loving family. Montana is gorgeous! Erik's grandparents live on a golf course (yes, Erik was in heaven). The boys went golfing. Erik's mom, Katy and I went shopping a few days. We relaxed, played lots of cards, ate and ate and ate (I swear there was always something baking in that oven), enjoyed the baby, and enjoyed being with Erik's family for a change!! We both miss them very much.

After a week in Montana, we headed back to beautiful Seattle.

Then off we went..... Camping at Lake Alta with Erik's dad! Erik's dad and brothers can make me laugh more than anyone! I enjoy being with every one of Erik's family members. Brett and Mark really made me feel part of the "group" and I appreciate them letting me tag along on these trips. And by group.... I mean; Erik, Brett and Mark. The 3 amigos. Those boys are inseparable and I love seeing them together. Camping was beyond fun!!! I can't describe it.... I love the outdoors. We ate lots of food (once again), out by the lake, played for hours and hours on the rafts (who knew they could create so much fun?) swam, went to the water park, played games..... And just hung out. It truly was a few weeks we will never forget. We were very sad to leave!!!

I went back to Washington a few weeks later to see my best friend Whitney and her new hubby Cody get married. It was another great weekend and great way to end the summer.

All in all...... great summer! As you can see..... we were very busy. We were very blessed to have been surrounded by so many wonderful people. We also spent a week in Utah with ALL my family (both mom and dad's side), my little sister Demi gets the spend the summers with us.... I went to Moses for a week to see all my friends, Erik loved taking off work and a break from school to be with his family, and most of all..... we got to spend the summer together! Thanks for everything you have brought to us Summer 2009!!

Balloon Fiesta!!!

Albuquerque is known for their Balloon Fiesta. (If you have never heard of it.... It's okay! I had no clue what it was until I moved here.) Every October, for a week and a half, hundred of people and balloons come to Albuquerque from all around the world. Doesn't sound that excited.... but trust me, it's AWESOME!!!

During this week of festivities...... this is what I see every morning on my way to class! Hundreds of hot air balloons in the sky, equals one big smile on my face, and motivation to actually get up and go to class!

The balloons literally land all over the place. In the middle of street, parking lots.....

Pictures do not to it justice..... It truly is breathtaking.... as odd as this may sound to those who do not live in New Mexico. Anyway..... they could just do this every morning and I think all would be content. But this is just part of "Balloon Fiesta" week. This is just the balloon launch. They do it every morning (if weather permits) at around 6:45-7:45. They have chase crews to follow the balloons, and bring them back to the park. At the park there is tailgating, tons and tons of food, bands, shops and campers everywhere! At night they have "special-shape glowdeos", "night glows"..... different themes every night.... and awesome firework shows to follow.

These cute little bees are my favorite!!! They are considered some of the "special shaped" balloons.

Darth Vader Balloon.... came from China. You know you live in a crazy place when this was the highlight of the news every night for weeks before the fiesta..... "stay tuned to see why Darth Vader may be stuck in China and not make it to Albuquerque this year for balloon fiesta...."

View of the balloon launch from the eye of "balloon fiesta park"

Night Glow

Erik and I last year at the "special-shapes glowdeo." They do a count down, and
at the same time all the cute balloons light up.So this year...... I got to see balloons almost every morning driving to Albuquerque. Erik works in the opposite direction, and doesn't get to see the balloons. We planned a few mornings to get up early and make it to the balloon launch at the park..... never happened. The very last morning of "balloon fiesta" we were determined to make it to the farewell launch!! We got up at 5am, and headed into Albuquerque (20 minute drive). We parked at one of the park and rides (parking at the actual park is ridiculous!) got some hot chocolate and hopped on the bus. We were feeling pretty special because they didn't make us pay to park or ride the bus (normally $25 a person)!

These smiles quickly faded when we heard the reasoning of why we didn't have to pay..... the launch had been postponed due to high winds that made it too dangerous to fly (and by high winds.... and mean I very VERY slight breeze). When we were almost to the park.... over the radio, we heard the the farewell balloon launch had been officially canceled. We were sooooo upset!!!! They told us the park was not charging anyone to go in (normally $20 a person), but everything was still open (shops, food places, etc.) We decided to at least go into the park and have some breakfast, considering we did wake up at 5am! We got to see all the pilots packing up their balloons....
Looked around some of the shops.....
Ate some breakfast..... (please excuse the way we look..... it was 5am!!!) P.s. I know we look freezing cold and all bundled up, and that's because we were!.... but it was probably about 53 degrees at this time..... We really take advantage of this New Mexico weather!
Despite that fact we were extremely disipointed about not seeing the balloon launch and waking up so dang early!!!! All in all, it was still a good morning :). Got to spend some time with the love of my life.... we were on the news..... had lots and lots of laughs..... had some delicious food.... and saved about $100 that we would've had to spend. Look at the positive side, right?! There's always next year! I look forward to you, Balloon Fiesta 2010!!!

(Thanks to Christen and Stephan for the sweet pictures....... we live vicariously through you!!)

Engagement!!!

Alright.... So one of the main reasons we decided to start blogging is because we literally have friends and family everywhere (New Mexico, Utah, Washington, Montana, New York, Guatemala, South Carolina..... you get the idea!) Anyway, we thought this would be a fun and easy way for all those interested, to keep updated on us. And even if no one reads this...... hey, at least we'll have it for ourselves to look back on :).

So.... here's for the story and pictures many have asked about..... the engagement!!! It's always been a joke of mine, that I would never be surprised when I got engaged.... and I would definitely NEVER cry!! (I'm weird about things.... this blog will bring this out)

Erik was aware of this.....A few months ago Erik called to let me know he had plans one of the weekends we were up in Washington. He was taking me to eat dinner at the space needle (very expensive) and to a Seattle, Mariners baseball game. I thought this was very odd considering Erik has NEVER planned a single thing in his life (that may be an exaggeration.... but not by much). I let him know I thought this was weird and in the nicest way possible said, "you better not be proposing!" (I know I'm kind of a brat but I had this fear of getting engaged/married). Anyway.... I prepared myself, and honestly was expecting a proposal that night of the space needle. Erik knew this, and had a smirk at the end of the night when he did NOT propose. He later asked "why I thought I was getting a ring" and informed me it would be a LONG time before that happened. I told him my reasoning (him actually planning the date) and didn't think anything else about.

September 19- It was a Saturday. I worked in the morning, Erik got a hair cut and ran some errands, and we had a typical date night planned for that evening. Erik was slightly off this particular Saturday morning, but again I didn't think anything about it. I planned date night..... We were going to dinner at an Italian restaurant, and then going to see "love happens" (chick flick-that's what he gets for letting me plan things). A few hours before heading out, Erik was very anxious and kept staring at me and smiling. It took me a while to notice, but once I did I didn't let it go. I kept saying "why are you looking at me like that?! You're freaking me out!" "Erik what's going on.... are you proposing to me tonight?!" "Erik! I hate surprises, you better not be keeping anything from me" (Again..... I'm a brat!)

I then analyzed everything I knew..... Erik had not been to Albuquerque at all without me (only real place to shop for wedding rings). He did not know my ring size. He had not talked to my parents (they had not been acting weird). I had planned date night. And (I'm not proud of this), but I had checked his phone and he hadn't talked to his parents, nor was there any messages to or from his friends and family saying he was going to propose. I then knew.... no proposal.

Long story short..... we went to dinner. I think I had a two hour conversation with myself (I find myself pretty entertaining so I hardly noticed..... Kidding!). Erik went to the bathroom multiple times and was sweating and still anxious. He claimed he wasn't feeling well.... and was taking his time ordering everything, which made us miss our planned movie time. I was slightly annoyed and hated that I didn't know what was going on with him...... but again, knew there was no ring coming my way. We finished dinner and had about an hour before our movie started. We weighed our options, and Erik decided it was a nice night and we should go on a walk while waiting for a movie. Again.... I did most of the talking on this walk.

We came to a park.... and all the sudden Erik was on one knee!!! (this is that part where I should have been screaming YES!!!! but that's not really me.) I can't even explain this feeling. I know he was talking, but I honestly could not tell you a single thing he said. I was freaking out! I literally thought it was a dream, or something other than reality. I kept saying "shut up! shut up!!!" "this isn't happening" "what are you doing?!" He tried putting the ring on my finger and I held my hands behind my back (I know.... I'm very romantic). I was trying to bring myself to reality and take it all in. I was definitely surprised!!!

Erik knows me all too well. He saw my reaction and got up (poor guy) and just hugged me and calmed me down. We talked a while.... blah blah. I did not, for one second, doubt my love for Erik. I knew I was 100% in love with him, I knew he was the man for me (again... I'm weird!). I told him my concerns.... finishing school, being so young, our financial situation..... Not feeling like I deserved him. more blah blah blah!!! (Everyone reacts like that, right?)

After I was as calm as I was getting in this situation..... Erik got back on his knee. He told me he knows me.... and if there was anything he had learned in the past 3-4 years of dating..... it's to be persistent. He understands my concerns.... but knows more that I'm the one for him. He told me he loves me more than anything. He does not doubt we will have trials, but knows we'll go through them and work them out together...... knows we have a lot in store for us and wants me part of his future. As his wife.... as the mother of his kids, as his best friend for eternity. At that point.... there was not a doubt or concern in mind.... and there was nothing left for me to say except YES!!!

WE'RE ENGAGED!!!!! BAM! Thanks for being persistent Erik! I love you!


So there it is..... It may not be the "perfect proposal" but it's our proposal. As my aunt Suz said, "It wouldn't have been you if it happened any other way." I was VERY surprised (that's an understatement)..... and I did cry (don't tell anyone)! Two things I secretly wanted for my proposal, but was convinced would never happen. Another thing to add to my list of "reasons why I know Erik's the one."


3 weeks of engaged life..... and I love it!!! I'm in the stage where I keep staring at my ring. I'm started to call Erik "my fiance" and not completely freaking out. And I'm accepting the whole "wedding talk." One step at a time :)

(Sorry these pictures are so bad! My ring has been off to be sized for the next 12 days and we forgot to take pictures of it. These are a few Erik had on his phone. Not sure why my hands look so wrinkly, but at least you get an idea of what the ring looks like!)

I love my ring! Erik had gone with my sisters-Rachelle and Kelsy- and picked out the ring when I was in Washington a few months ago for my friends wedding. He also asked for my parents' blessing that same weekend. He did good, right?!