The Wedding Day Breakdown

Austin & I got married on December, 28th 2013. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day as it was in the mid 70's (at the end of December!) Oh, and speaking of that, we got married in the gorgeous San Diego Temple. (ALL of these wonderful images were captured by the forever awesome www.paigeandblakegreen.com)

Unreal, right?

We were so blessed to have amazing family and friends travel from very far to come be with us on our special day. Here are some pictures of the family.

Our temple posse.

The Fransens!



Studly studs.



The Huycks (minus one) + a Fransen!



They love him already.

We had some pretty awesome friends as our bridesmaids and groomsmen...

My ladies.

 

Silly boys.

...and we think they all had a little too much fun in California that weekend.

Immediately after we left our reception.

Austin and I kind of like each other...which is why everyone was there in the first place. Here are some of those pictures!

Freshly married.

So much love.

We also got to be models for a day... so that was pretty fun.

Cutie pants.

All in all, it was pretty much the funnest, best, and most memorable day E-V-E-R. More so than I could have pictured or planned.

Then you have some pictures that really need no explanation. 

Guys, my mom MADE this...I know, right??

My mom's face...priceless.

And as little R says...

...don't stay up too late.

Well, there you have it. There are many more pictures but I thought these ones best showed our day. 9 months married now and even more in love!

Adventuring Time

• Well, hey there! Long time no see. Honestly, since the last post not much has really happened. We are not very exciting. We've both turned 23, so...there's that. I mean, Rexburg is dry now (mostly) and things are going well. Austin began school a week ago and boy is he loving it.....just kidding. But, he likes it well enough. He is still working on the days that he doesn't go to class. I am still working at my Father-in-Law's insurance agency in Idaho Falls. A group of us post-grad-stuck-in-Rexburg dancers started a contemporary/modern dance class for adults (ages 18+) to fill the dance void that comes with graduating. There aren't very many opportunities to dance if you're either not of high school age or not currently attending BYU-I. The class is mostly just for fun and, on the nights I teach, I make money to put in my ice cream fund. :) It's been really fun so far! In other news, PiYo. That's all I have to say. If you don't know what that is, here you go: 

http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/piyo-workout.do

You're welcome. It's totally not as girly as it seems...it's made my nose sweat. Literally. I haven't been completely diligent in doing it mostly because one of the discs wasn't working when I got it. I eventually just contacted them and they sent me that disc again for free. But, that's my excuse. 

• I have been on a huge organizing kick for the past few months. Ever since I stumbled upon this blog...

http://iheartorganizing.blogspot.com/

...my life has never been the same. It's like she can read my organizing-obsessed mind. I'm having a great time, but I'm not sure Austin is having quite as much fun. It seems like at least once a day he has to ask me where his stuff is. It's almost funny now, like playing hide and seek except I always win. :) There was also an "incident" where I may have tried to throw away a Star Fox Encyclopedia-type book. I got in trouble. I am this:

Austin is this:

Not all the things...just most.

• In other news, we finally got internet in our apartment. I know, I know...(insert joke about living in the 21st century here). Besides Austin now being able to complete assignments at home, it has an even better and higher purpose...

Or as my family affectionately calls it: The Nertflerx. This is the origin of such language:

Word of caution, talking in this dialect can become both highly addicting and extremely entertaining...but mostly highly addicting.

Anyway, Austin and I have been watching lots of Netflix in our free time. Our favorite things to watch are the following:

1. Doctor Who
2. Cosmos documentaries
3. Adventure Time
4. Courage the Cowardly Dog. 

Another activity we've taken a liking to is going to The Craze in Rexburg and spending about $5 in tokens playing Deal or No Deal in the arcade. We win hundreds of tickets, and then buy king-size candy bars at the ticket booth. At this point I know what you're thinking and, yes, that really is all there is to do in Rexburg.

• October is almost here! It is probably my favorite month. I LOVE Halloween. Love it, love it, love it. How much, you ask? 

This much.

We went to the Dollar Tree this past Saturday and Austin almost had to drag me out of that place because of all the $1 Halloween decorations and goodies. I lost count of how many times I said, "Oh my gosh, do you know all the things you could do with THIS?!" So. Many. Possibilities. Luckily he is a good husband and did very well at pretending to care. I don't know why I love this holiday so much. I grew up with my mom sort of hating everything about it except for the little kids in cute costumes (which is a bonus). I just love that entire season: watching scary movies, going to haunted houses and straw mazes, making caramel apples and other delicious treats, eating candy corn pumpkins until I throw up, it's the most wonderful time of the year.

• Austin has been having tons of fun watching Dragon Ball Z episodes on Youtube. Yeah, you heard that right. We are grownups for sure. I, however, can't quite get into it despite his attempts of showing me how cool it is when the characters go "Super Saiyan". But, he gets so excited about it that I will watch it with him sometimes because he patiently lets me drool over bargain Halloween decorations. That's just how marriage works.

• "Austin" (it's mostly me) has been trying to find an internship for his upcoming off-track which is in the Winter. Let me tell you, January-April is not the most abundant internship season. He is a business major with an emphasis in marketing so we've been looking at those mostly. I have been searching and searching for a Cailfornia internship because, warm. But really we'll take what we can get. (With this being said, anyone heard of any marketing internships in Southern California--or really anywhere--lately?) :)

• Overall things have been going well. We always wish we had more time to be adventurous or hang out with friends or not sit on our bums and watch Netflix because we're so exhausted we don't want to do anything else. But who doesn't? We're just chugging along.

-Mary

The Flood from #5

*Here's the scoop on the news: http://www.localnews8.com/news/rexburg-deals-with-flash-flooding/26973468
As I'm sure most of you have heard, Rexburg flooded yesterday. WHAT?! No one heard? :) As crazy and surreal as it seemed at the time, a lot of people were left with LOTS of damage today. A friend in my ward posted this picture this morning:

That's an apartment under there. It seemed sort of off to me that so many people were wearing booty shorts and taking selfies in the poo water while this was going on, but whatever floats their couch. I've never been involved in something quite like it before, and I hope I never am again! I do have to say that it was amazing to see people so willing to help each other. So many were wandering around asking everyone if they needed anything. It was nice that it brought people together. We had so many friends and people from our ward call and text us to see if we were okay. Everyone was keeping tabs on each other. And I really think that a lot of people yesterday who weren't too badly affected by it didn't quite understand how much of a disaster it was in some areas of town.

Austin and I were nervous, but we were blessed. We live in the basement of our apartment complex which is located down in what I now call the "Rexburg Lowlands" haha here is a view from our kitchen window:

The beginnings. At this point we were like, "Oh cool! That's a lot of rain and hail!"

But it quickly turned to...

"Oh crap! It's all up on our apartment!"

Again, we were lucky. I sent this picture to my brother, Stephen, and he replied, "Beachfront property!"...not quite. We were worried since we live in an older building that there might be a crack in the foundation and it would leak through. However, Austin does cleaning and restoration for his job so he knows how to watch for the signs. So he kept checking inside, and outside, and inside again. And again, and again. We ended up being okay. Especially after I remembered to close our bedroom window (!) So we went outside to take a look at the damage and see if we could do anything. That's when we found that Lexington Apartments (RIGHT next to ours) looked like this:

This one was pretty sad because we saw a couple coming home from being on campus to find their bottom-floor apartment flooded and their car under water. It was pretty heartbreaking. It was just a matter of them being a little bit lower than us.

There was a whole mix of different things going on. It was almost funny just that it happened so fast, but not so funny at the same time. Coming into work in Idaho Falls this morning, almost NO ONE knew it had happened at all! Austin had called his dad last night to tell him about it and at the end of the conversation he said, "Well, be safe. I'm gonna go mow the lawn."

Overall, it was a very interesting experience that I hope to never experience again!
Oh, and let's not forget the quarter-sized hail because that's always an added bonus.

(After it melted down a little)