Snowboarding Lessons

Blake has a natural talent when it comes to boards. He can longboard, skateboard, wakeboard and snowboard like nobody's business. That is not the case, however, for his future wife. So this past weekend, I wanted him to help me learn how to snowboard like him. Apparently, I've been doing the wrong technique my whole life. Instead of enjoying his snowboarding experience and getting down the mountain at his own pace, he patiently taught me the skills of proper snowboarding. 

I can't say that I enjoyed every second of it, because the next morning I would wake up feeling like I got hit by a train. I can honestly say though, that in spite of all the falls and the fact that snow got down my pants every five seconds, I have the most patient, loving man I could ever ask for. He was so kind and understanding when it took a million years to get down the mountain. He had every reason to leave me behind, and yet he stood by my side the entire time, boarding at my pace and being there for me when I took a tumble. (Which was literally every 2 minutes). 

Despite the fact that I'm pretty sure I have internal bleeding and maybe a chipped bone, I am so grateful we went on that trip. Thank you, my love, for your never ending patience. I can't wait for you to be able to teach our children how to board!


The best part of the trip though was him holding my hand in the car the whole way home while we sang our hearts out to old school 90's punk. It doesn't get much more fun than that!

PS I have to say, I finally got the hang of how to snowboard. I'm not good at it by any means, but now I can at least work on improving that skill rather than still trying to figure it out. It's definitely a lot easier than my way :)

Another Rejection...

We've gotten a couple responses from grad schools, some requesting more information and others telling me that I didn't get in. The list was updated:

1) University of Hawaii, Manoa

2) Texas Tech University

3) University of Arkansas

4) Florida International University

5) Weber State University

6) University of Nebraska, Omaha

7) University of Tennessee, Chattanooga

8) Montana State University, Billings

9) Long Island University, Brooklyn

10) Oklahoma State University

I guess I only have to get into one to keep the dream alive. Crossing my fingers and praying everyday!

Timing is Everything

We had girl's night last night. We went to watch the newly released movie, "The Vow", with sexy man, Channing Tatum and the gorgeous Rachael McAdams. It was a fantastic movie and definitely a tear jerker. My little sister was sitting next to me and we had giant alligator tears rolling down our faces the entire time. I didn't feel like such a pansy with her sitting next to me. It was so touching. 

The movie was entertaining and the story was refreshingly new, but that wasn't why I enjoyed it so much. There was a line in the movie that I needed to hear at that moment in time that gave me some insight for my own life. 

Spoiler Alert:

McAdams' character finds out that her dad cheated on her mom. She is furious about the whole thing and demands answers from her mom. She says "why didn't you leave? After all he did and you let him get away with it?" Her mom replies, with tears in her eyes, "I was ready to leave. I was about to. And then one day I was looking through pictures of you and your sister and realized that family is the most important thing to me in the world. So I chose to stay. I didn't let him 'get away' with anything. I chose to forgive."

Wow, what a powerful statement. It really put some things into perspective for me. One of my weaker areas is learning how to forgive people. I've been wronged several times; we all have. But when we decide what means the most to us, what else really matters? No one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes. The sooner we realize that, the easier forgiveness is. This is my new goal. Thank you, to the cheesy writers in the movie that helped me fix some things in my life. Timing is everything. 

- Megan

Marriage Tip

These last couple weeks have been interesting, to say the least. With the addition of the wedding plans and grad school apps to our already busy life, it's been harder than usual to stay focused on our relationship and what really matters. We went to visit my grandparents last week to make dinner; she's trying desperately to teach me to cook. After dinner and cleaning the dishes, we started playing cards. My grandma said something very interesting that I never thought of. She gave us this advice: no matter what happens throughout the day, make sure you play a game at the end of every day. 

We've been given a lot of advice from several different people but this has been my favorite so far. Blake and I have since then, made an effort to play a game with each other every night. Family Feud on the iPad is currently our favorite game. It's perfect for us because we are both competitive (understatement) and this way we are playing together against other people. 

This game playing habit has helped us in more ways than one. No matter what kind of issues we are having, whenever we play, we forget about it. Not only has this lessened any tension we have in our relationship, but it's caused us to have more fun with each other. It also helps us wind down at the end of the day because we get to snuggle up on the couch with no distractions. I love tips like that. Real, doable, simple suggestions. Thanks, grandma and grandpa! I'm excited to keep the tradition going!

Engagement Pictures

We got our pictures back! 

I think the most important parts of the wedding planning are finding a stunning dress and a killer photographer. These were the only two areas where I wouldn't compromise. While both took a while to pin down, the photography was WELL worth it. The dress...that has yet to be seen at this time. These were a few of our favorite shots from the session:

- Megan