that time my best friend got married... in pictures

my best friend got married last month. i already pretty much summarized the whole day over here, but i wanted to share with you a few of my favorite pictures from the day! 

basically, i love my best friend

and they lived happily ever after

(p.s. all photos courtesy of angela mccallister)

mawwaige is what bwings up togeva today

the day started early. i was up at 7 to do my makeup and pack up my suitcase and bags. i headed to amara day spa, as recommended by my friend chantelle, to get my hair done. this girl alex came in extra early (8:30) before the salon opened just for me! we talked weddings, hideous bridesmaids' dresses of her past, and of how many friends we had getting married.

at 9:15 i was off to the mount timpanogos temple to watch my best friend and her jason walk out as husband and wife. the morning was cold and windy. family and friends were huddled in the waiting area just inside the temple. at 10:00 the mother of the bride announced that amy and jason were about to walk out! i got chills as they pushed through the doors, smiles and loving glances across their faces. amy looked stunning. i had forgotten what her dress looked like until then. but it was utterly beautiful. she was the most beautiful bride i had ever seen. and jason looked so dapper in his suit. they looked incredible.

after hugs and kisses were exchanged between the bride and groom and their families, we were directed to positions for photographs. after 30 minutes of picture taking we were "dismissed" and i met up with my friend (and one of amy's previous roommates) megan and [their other roommate] chelsea. literally all the three of us talked about for the rest of the day was how much we loved amy and how gorgeous of a bride she was. 

we headed to a little victorian house in provo for a luncheon for the wedding party, family, and close friends. after a fantastic salad and yummy chicken with mashed potatoes and veggies, amy and jason's dads offered words of advice, encouragement, and keys to a successful and happy marriage. i may or may not have teared up. it was pretty special. 

after the luncheon, we made our way back up to lehi for the reception. the room was beautifully decorated in blue and yellow, with the center pieces, food table, and flower arrangements set perfectly in place. there was music, dancing, mini cheesecakes, pictures, receiving lines, and unexpected guests! apparently one of jason's uncles and his wife were my primary teachers 15 or so years ago! the lds community is such a small, small world. it was great seeing them. amy and i got a moment alone when i helped her change her clothes in the dressing room. it was the only time i'd really seen her all day and it was nice to be able to congratulate her on my own.

it was finally time to let mr. and mrs. demke go. the reception guests each took blue and gray balloons to release as amy and jason left. it was such a happy day. by the afternoon/evening the sun had come out, the air had warmed up, and the wind had died down. the balloons left our hands as quickly as the happy couple sped off. 

it was such a good day. i am so sooo excited for amy and jason. i've never seen her this genuinely happy in the three years i've known her. they are truly a perfect match and i wish them all the luck in the world as they embark on their marital adventures. i love them both and i'm thrilled i got to be there on their special day!

this week!

it's here, boys and girls. the week my amy is getting maaaaarried! i have tomorrow and wednesday of work, and then thursday afternoon i'm headed out to utah! friday will be a day of who knows what and then saturday is the big day! my girl emily who i went to ecuador is picking me up from the airport (i haven't seen her since march of last year!) and then my friend logan is going to the wedding with me as my date (i haven't seen him since october of 2009 because he's been on his mission). it's going to be a weekend of smiling and pictures and pretty dresses and yummy food and lots of love. basically i am SO happy for my best friend and i'm thrilled she's asked me to be a part of her special day.

a night with parachute

1. let's be honest... editing pictures takes time. and sometimes i just don't feel like doing it. so tonight you get a collage. and that is all. forgive me.

2. i like cristian's hat. i want one.

3. will anderson, be mine. he is the lead singer of parachute and as dreamy as can be. some girl reached up and ran her fingers through his hair. i was pissed. mostly because i wished it was me.

4. local bands need more recognition. meet tessa barton and her band (her two brothers, luke and chas). they're from holladay and their music is perfect. we met them after the show and got them to sign a single for us. they're seriously incredible and i hope they play again soon!

5. a thirteen hour, one day trip to salt lake and back isn't really the smartest. it's exhausting and expensive. so why are juelaine and i considering doing it again next monday for mat kearney? because the music is worth it.

6. there is nothing in the world like being front row at a sold out concert. music is everything.

my second family

okay people

a) i have decided the only real reason i want an iphone is for instagram and screen shot abilities

b) i need new books to read, so please send me some recommendations if you would

c) i seriously love more than anything that i'm not in school right now

d) my baby sister turned 17 yesterday

e) my girl calaigh's baby shower is tonight!

jessie and i went to my cousin ben's jr. jazz basketball game the other night. they lost (badly) but it was still fun. ben scored a 3!

my best friend on the entire planet got engaged today! she even asked me to be a bridesmaid and everything. i think i just might be more excited than she is for may 5th. and yesterday i went with jessie to do something a little bit rebellious, but i won't tell you what.

and last night i watched hours of one tree hill in ben's soccer sweatshirt like it was normal. i'm going to vegas tonight to pick up amalia and say hi to my grandma. then it's back to the grind tomorrow. ew.

lately

i can't believe i'm going to say this, but... i'm liking winter in idaho. it hasn't been bad at all. i work a lot. like, a lot. but i'm not even really that mad about it because i finally have money in the bank. i'm so glad i got to go down to provo to spend time with my cousins for christmas. we had lots of christmas pj days, fondue, movies, and shopping. and we made a trip to temple square to see the christmas lights. it was magical.

brent is here and i'm so very glad. i hadn't seen that boy in four months. we're going to jackson hole on sunday and i've got other things to show him around rexburg. it's been so nice not being entirely alone during winter break. unfortunately he's going home on tuesday :(

and can i just say that the weather has been fantastic? it hasn't snowed once and it's been in the 50's all week. gimme more of that. i guess what i'm trying to say is that being stuck in the iceburg won't be so bad this semester. i'm going to concentrate on work, my friends, and being the best version of myself. maybe i'll have enough to find a new hobby. basketweaving anyone?

a different kind of christmas

this is the first year i haven't been at home for christmas. it was the first christmas eve in over 10 years that i haven't spent at my grandparents house, with all the family (four brothers, one sister, their kids, spouses, and grandkids), enjoying a turkey feast and counting down to the grand opening of presents. it was the first christmas eve i wasn't cuddled with my sister in bed, forcing ourselves to fall asleep. it's the first christmas morning that i didn't send "merry christmas" texts from my new phone, today i'm not going to see a christmas movie with my family.

it's okay though. this christmas i am with the barrows in provo. all i was expecting was a place to go so that i wouldn't have to spend christmas entirely alone. but i've enjoyed so much more. i spent christmas eve at my great uncle and aunt's house with my mom's cousin and all of is kids. we had wasal (some fantastic orange/cinnamon drink), homemade bacon, cheese, potato soup, and homemade treats. there was a visit from santa and a story about ladius, a shepherd boy. there were christmas pajamas (for me too!) and wallets and slippers. there were card games and christmas trivia and lots of family time.

i'm getting to enjoy different family traditions, including homemade cheese balls, waffle breakfasts, and the classic mr. kruger's christmas. it's strange not being home in kansas city with my mom and everyone, and part of me wishes so badly that i was there with them. but part of me is really loving this christmas. a different kind of christmas.

one night in orem

well. i'm in utah. it just kind of...happened. i drove down yesterday and i'm leaving in about an hour. shortest weekend of my life? yesssssssss. but i'm staying with my cassie and i just love her. when i got here she fed me crackers and a granola bar because i was starved. then we sat and talked and laughed and were just our silly stupid selves. after canceling some other plans i had last night we brought cafe rio home and ate while we watched desperate housewives, i didn't know i was pregnant and the bad girls club. quality evening. she is my heart.

highlights

i left for vegas yesterday. i had planned on going sunday morning with juelaine, but i decided i wanted to stay an extra day in provo, and also get up to rexburg earlier than she did as to find a job before all the good ones are gone. this week has gone by so fast though. i kind of woud rather it didn't end. because no offense idaho, i like utah better than you. this is what i've loved from this week.

1. the death cab for cutie and frightened rabbit concert

amber loves death cab. in fact, i'm quite confident she told me they were in her top 5 favorite bands of all time and forever. i enjoy death cab as well. especially this song. so i forked over the $44 and went with her. she wanted to be there eeeeearly so we could be in the front row. well, when we showed up at freaking 2 in the afternoon (the doors didn't open until 6:30) there were only 10 people in line in front of us. so, after i made her shirt...

...we left to go get drinks from the gas station. when we came back, and were getting out of my car, a man asked if we'd like to meet death cab. amber and i looked to each other, and after 30 seconds of trying to figure out whether or not he was for real, we followed him inside where we, along with about 15 other people, waited to meet the band. we got to watch a sound check, shake their hands, and take a picture with them. i'm still waiting on that picture, cause the guy hasn't emailed it to us yet (not happy about that).  but when he does, you better believe it'll be up here.

frightened rabbit opened for them. they're from scotland. and incredible. they kind of sound like mumford & sons. here's pictures from the show, and a video i took of "soul meets body":

2. craft time/story time/dinner time/sleepy time/all my time with amy lou

she helped me make the most fantastic craft for my apartment, of which i will post a tutorial probably tomorrow. my favorite was probably our drive home from slc saturday where we discussed the men in our life and i accidentally missed our exit and made us go through the rain and lots of detours. oops.

3. the pie in salt lake city with ihop boy

after death cab on monday night amber and i went to ihop for some breakfast and to further discuss the magic that we had just previously experienced. we had a waiter. his name was daniel. he was south american. he spoke spanish. yum. he wrote his number on my receipt and then we made plans to go to the pie. please, i beg of you, if you're ever in the salt lake area, make it a point to go to the pie. it's like a party/heaven/magic in your mouth. 

3. my reunion with cassie rae 

she had just moved into her new apartment, so we didn't do a whole lot. and by that, i mean we sat around, reminisced about ecuador, went to target, and slept together one night when i called and woke her brother up at 3am asking him to let me in. oops again.

4. squaw peak with baird

elder baird served in my ward in kansas. i blogged about him for about half a second on my mother's day post cause we had them over to eat. i said this... "we also had the missionaries over for lunch. i looooooooove missionaries. especially the ones serving in our ward. they're so cute. they both go home in a couple months. one's from washington and one is from orem. i plan on loving/dating/marrying the one from orem."  haaaaaa that's awkward. 

but anyways. amy and aubrey and chris and i went to hear his homecoming talk in orem the day after i got to utah. and then he and i decided we should probably hang out. so we did. we went to some mexican restaurant and squaw peak. i had never before in my whole life been to squaw peak but it has the cooooolest view of provo/orem/spanish fork and i like it a lot. if i lived in provo/orem i'd probably go every single day for the rest of my life.


5. losing a red box movie that i didn't even watch
k obviously this wasn't a highlight. but it happened. and i'm mad about it. COME BACK TO ME.


now i'm sitting at my grandma's in vegas whilst i wait for my laundry to be done. i love vegas. last summer i lived here for 6 weeks and now i'm back for about one, before i head to school. tonight i'm going swimming at juelaine's and then a bunch of are gonna hike lone mountain. tomorrow my car's getting serviced, and then thursday morning we head to californiaaaaa!


cheers to that.

la la la best utah trip ever

soo our weekend didn't start at all as planned. i didn't go to a single class i had on friday (i had 4) so we could leave earlier, buuuuut that didn't happen. and when we were pulling out of the la jolla parking lot juelaine spilled her 44oz. dr. pepper all over her side of the car. so that was awesome. and then we went to pick up cutie (married) boy cameron and we ended up leaving at like 2:20, half an hour later than we wanted to.

but, we made impressively good time and it only took us 3 hours to get to salt lake. so we dropped off cameron at temple square and headed down state street to try to find the avalon theater. OH! and betsy forgot to print off her ticket. so on our way down state street we saw a mac store and we ran in and adam roth helped us print off her ticket. i even gave him my pink silly band to thank him for saving our night.

uhm, avalon theater ended up being a lot smaller than we thought it'd be. sketchiest venue EVER. and i swear we were the oldest people there. besides this old man and his little child.

we ended up being right down in front. there were seriously only three people in front of me. so awesome. hero's hero played first. they were a lame local band. they only played two of their own songs and then covered a senses fail song. however, their bassist jumped down in the crowd and he high-fived me. and their cutie guitarist that looks like david archuleta (not that one down there) threw out his pick and guess who got it... hi, me :)

windsor drive played second. i hadn't heard of them until two weeks ago when i found out they were gonna be there and researched up. they're actually pretty bomb. someone in their drummer's family died so he wasn't there, but they had some other guy and i didn't even know the difference. but i'm pretty in love with these guys. they played 2 of my 3 favorite songs and i just fell in love all over again.

terrible things wins the award for the drummer with the weirdest facial expressions. i don't even know how to describe what was going on with his face while he was playing. they were pretty great though. and their guitarist goes "thank you salt lake city, you guys are the fuckin' best. can i say that?" haha so awesome. we even got a pic with them after the show (which is down there...)

so, to add to the sketchiness of the avalon theater, they had these benches throughout the whole place and i was standing right in front of one the whole night. so i had to hold on to betsy to prevent from falling back. it was a rough night. so sorry my hands are in her pockets and sorry we got closer than we probably should have. but it was necessary.

hi dave :)

hi zach, nice shirt

and we ran into betsy's friend ali from dance and some boys she brought from rexburg

yeah, so dave goes "can we crowd surf in this place?" and then adjusted his pants and there he went. soo perfect. i touched him :)

rob came back! he left for a few years, but joined them on the farewell tour. and i was oh so happy he did.

best encore ever. dave came back out first and goes "this moment, tonight, is one of the best we've had in our 8 years" and i believed him. dave slays me.

perfect show. despite the fact that i lost a shoe, got pushed around buy some big massive tools and ended up with a few bruises, had to practically molest betsy and juelaine so i didn't fall, and i lost hearing in my right ear for the next several hours. but hey, im not complaining. at all.

unfortunately things didn't work out with staying at calaigh's. sooo we slept in the car. no big deal. we got ihop at 3:30 and changed in the bathroom there. we drove around for about 20 minutes finding a spot that we deemed suitable for sleep, and fell comfortably (not really) into dreaming in a hotel parking lot at 4 in the morning.

not gonna lie. friday night was... rough. but saturday morning we woke up, went to kailey's grandma's house in bountiful, showered and got ready, and decided to spend the rest of the day downtown. i'm not exactly sure what was going on. but hey, we were still on our mae high, and pretty much ridiculously exhausted out of our minds.

happy weekend all, mine was fantastic :)