Boating on the Mississippi

Well I finally felt like it was summer for the first time today.  Although I don't really miss being in school, the one thing that I do miss is summer vacation.  Ben is off of school and enjoying the "I don't have to do anything" life while I am working 40 hours a week.  This just doesn't seem fair somehow! Back to my post however.  We went boating with friends today out on the good ole Mississippi.  And it was awesome! Big shout out to Annalise- the organizer of the event and also provider of the boat :) 

The weather was perfect until it started raining a bit, which means our day was cut slightly short.  But only slightly and we still thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  So it really felt like summer today.  And I got to wear my new swim suit!  That's good news as well.  

In other news: We are moving to our new apartment on Monday!  Well starting to on Monday at least.  and finishing the rest of the week.  And wow can I NOT wait.  I've been living out of a suit case since the week before I got married- for those of you counting (and aren't you all?) that's been over a month- we are about to hit the 6 week mark.  So yeah we are living out of boxes and suitcases, and needless to say, it isn't ideal.  So this move is just what the doctor ordered! I will post pictures when I get a chance. Happy summer everyone!!

New Name, New Life

Oh hey there! I'm married! Yes I have been absolutely horrible about keeping up with this blog for the past year.  More than a year actually! But wow does life change like crazy in a year.  The biggest change would be my marital status :) So now this blog will be one of those boring "look at what married people do" blogs and will eventually turn into a "look at a million pictures of my kids" blog.  So hopefully that's ok with you? Don't get too excited about my mention of kids.  It's just a general statement.

So what have I been up to since I moved back to St. Louis? I mentioned in my last post that I was falling all over with St. Louis again.  And my love affair with my hometown is still going strong.  Let's talk about the new love of my life though, shall we? Ben moved to St. Louis to attend St. Louis University (SLU) med school this past August.  I noticed him in the singles branch- mainly because he has bright red hair, so he is hard to miss ;)

My roommate and her boyfriend were doing that thing that couples always do and were trying to set me up with someone. So they were really pushing me to be friendly and introduce myself to new people, and specifically Ben.  So I finally got the courage to introduce myself to him at the institute opening social on September 6th.  And the conversation was just easy and I left that evening thinking "wow that boy is really cute!"My crush basically started from the get-go.  Very unlike me, by the way.

To make a long story shorter (of course you can always ask me for more details- I love sharing our story) we started seeing each other a lot- at FHE, institute, church, etc.  And occasionally at the same parties that people from the branch would hold.  He FINALLY asked me out for our first date on October 18th to go see a movie.  And although we didn't do anything epic, it was SO fun, and I knew that this was the start of something special.  I knew that Ben was going to be someone very special to me.

I guess you could say that the rest is history, but I guess I'll tell you a little more since this is my blog and all.  We basically couldn't get enough of each other after that and became official 3 days later.  We dated for 2 months and then I went out to Utah to spend New Year's with his family.  And he proposed on January 1st! Yes I know, I'm one of those crazy people that got engaged after only knowing someone for 3 months and dating them for 2.

The stars seriously aligned so perfectly when I met Ben, that it HAD to be the real deal.  God led me to this point in my life and thankfully he led me to Ben because everything has felt so right and I know this has been the right path for my life.  I'm excited to start down this journey as a married couple :)

We were engaged for 5 months and then just got married on May 31.  And it was the most perfect of perfect days a girl could ask for.  Seriously.  I will do a separate blog post for my wedding once I get the wedding pictures back, but just know that it was spectacular.  I am very blessed.

I have now been married for 3 weeks.  I keep thinking that this is just a fun vacation and we will go back to normal life eventually- but that's the best part! This is my new life!  We are currently in transition mode because we are moving into our new apartment in about a week. So life is a little crazy.  But it's a good life and I can't help but remember a song that I learned in Jerusalem.  "Our God is an awesome God!" He is.  And I am overwhelmed with His goodness.  Married life is starting off well- it can only get better from here, right?

Until next time- I will leave you with one pic from the wedding that I do have.  Enjoy!