Playing catch up....

I know, I know I said I was going to be more faithful about posting updates but I haven't been. I could give a bunch of excuses but I won't waste everyone's time doing so. :)
The plants I planted have died...ooops? I took them to Tyler's (and soon to be mine too) apartment, which probably wasn't the best of ideas since I am not always there to water them. So due to lack of water and the rambunctious neighbor kids they just didn't survive. Hopefully next summer I will have better luck!
As for what is new in our neck of the woods, the big day is only 12 days away!!!! :D I am getting very excited, I think Tyler is too. We met with the bishop who will be conducting the ceremony today, it made everything seem much more real. Both Tyler and I are much more excited to be going to Seattle,WA for our honeymoon than for the actual wedding lol. And of course we will take tons of pictures to share on both our honeymoon and the big day.
Nothing else is really new with us, just lots of last minute wedding things and spending lots and lots of time with our families.

Tyler and I at the Zoo!

Lego Pirates...We spent our Saturday night putting this beast together!

April showers bring May flowers!

Okay, okay I know I have been slacking on keeping my blog updated...Ooops? I could make a hundred excuses as to why I haven't posted since January but I won't. Things have been busy but good! Tyler moved into our apartment at the beginning of May and he loves it! I have gotten almost all of the wedding things taken care of. Tyler and I had our engagements taken and we have picked out invitations, I was going to post them but I decided that I will make everyone wait to see the invitations :)
I am getting my bridals taken in June, and of course I can't post those because Tyler would see them...and I won't let him see my dress until I am walking down the isle. Sorry folks.

In other news, I have decided that the our porch of the apartment is a little blah so I have planted some forget-me-not's, geraniums, gerbera daisy's and pansy's in some cute little pots to put out on the porch and I am going to try my hardest keep them all alive. This could be an adventure! I thought it would be fun to post monthly pictures of my plants as encouragement to keep them alive. hahaha!

 These are the daisy's geranium's and pansy's

This pot is the forget-me-not's. I hope the seeds grow!

In family news...

My dad just turned the big 50! We celebrated with a family BBQ. It was alot of fun. My parents are also in the process of selling their house and buying a new one. I am excited for them minus the whole packing and moving part. It sure has been an experience for us all!

Tyler's family is doing great! We got to Skye with Justin (Tyler's little brother) on mother's day. Justin is serving his mission in Georgia! It was fun to see him. Tyler's parents are doing well, we are getting ready to go camping with them this weekend up at Wasatch state park.

I will have to post pics from our trip!

 Cupcake pull-a-part cake I made for the BBQ

My dad opening presents...we made him wear the hat and the pin...He was a good sport about it :)

Better late than never. . .

Now that the Holiday rush is over with I finally have found time to update my blog! :]
The holiday's just weren't the same this year but I went into them with this in mind. Ryan was defiantly in all of our minds more these days than before. At least for me that is how it was.
Tyler and I kept were kept very busy between our two families get togethers, we had a blast though.
Just before Christmas we went to a sing a long at the energy solutions arena and saw the lights at temple square with Tyler's family. At the sing a long I discovered the wonders of Mr. Alex Boye's music ( I am now in love with his music and soo badly want one of his C.D's).

Tyler and I at temple square

Our next family gathering was my mom's family Christmas party. There was tons of fun, food and of course Santa came! Santa brought all the little ones treats and movies. Santa also said that he heard that Braylynn's daddy was in heaven so on his way to see us he stopped in heaven and visited Ryan. Santa said that Ryan told him misses his baby girl and he sent some presents from  heaven for her to open. This of course had everyone teary eyed.  It was great to see how happy Braylynn was to get some presents from her daddy.

Santa and they boys also had another trick up their sleeves. Aj and Jason both proposed to their girlfriends! So it looks like there will be a summer full of weddings this year! I am so excited for Aj, Alyssa, Jason and Shatrina.

 Braylynn and Santa

Kyle, Mikayla and Santa

Last but not least we had Christmas eve and Christmas day to celebrate. Tyler and I split Christmas day between our two families. We spent the morning with Tyler's family, while with his family we were able to speak with Justin (Tyler's brother) who is on a mission in Atlanta Georgia. It was awesome to see how excited all of the Phillip's were to speak with Justin, of course I was excited too. Both Tyler and I got fabulous gifts from his parents, but mostly I was just grateful to spend quality time with his family. I love all of them so much. I really couldn't ask for better in laws!

In the afternoon we left Tyler's and headed back to my house to spend time with my family and open gifts. It was of course complete chaos but who could ask for anything different! I loved watching how excited the kids were for their presents. I think that was probably my favorite part of the whole day. I was so shocked to see that my parents gave me a set of red Rachel Ray pans, I was on cloud nine!  All in all it was a great Christmas.

Merry Christmas Ryan

I love you big brother...Keep watching over us.











In Loving Memory. . .

On October 5 my big brother Ryan passed away. Although Ryan and I had our differences it broke my heart into a million pieces. I am still having a hard time wrapping my head around the whole situation but with time its getting better. Ryan was such a loving person, he was always willing to help anyone out who needed it. At times Ryan and I didn't see eye to eye but we were always there for each other. I remember when we were younger (like in grade school!) how it was okay for Ryan to pick on me until I screamed, but if anyone else tried to pick on me Ryan was right there to put them in their place. I always knew that Ryan would be there to protect me if need be. I have so so so many memories of Ryan that I will always hold close to my heart.
I really miss my big brother, and I hope that he now knows how many people loved him and cared about him. I am grateful that he is now with Heavenly Father and our Grandma Jo. I know they will take care of him and that he is perfect now. I am also comforted with the thought that now he is watching over us, especially his baby girl Braylynn.
I want to thank everyone that has helped our family during this hard time in our life.  I am so very thankful for my family and friends. I wouldn't know what to do with out them. I just hope that they know that if they EVER need anything that they can call on me and I will do my best to try and help. I know Ryan touched many peoples lives, and that he had a ton of friends. I was shocked with the line at the viewing that went on for what seemed to be forever.

Like my mom said in her talk at the funeral, we shouldn't judge and I hope everyone takes that to heart. Also tell your loved ones everyday that you love them, even if you are mad at them. You never know when your last day with them will be.

Rest In Peace Big Brother

I will always and forever love you <3

Hefty Hefty Hefty!!!

So...I know I haven't been the best about keeping my blog up to date but things have been nuts with midterms coming up next week, wedding plans, engagement photos and learning to balance two families! I am hoping that Tyler and I are doing better at keeping things even between our families, we love them all so much and are so greatful for each and everyone of them! :]

My mom was so kind to take time out of her busy schedule to take Tyler's and mine engagement photos on Sunday (and yes I will post some previews photos for your enjoyment haha). We went to Sundance Resort to take them, my dad tagged along for moral support...when I say that I mean my mom suckered him into coming LOL. We had alot of fun and got a lot of stares as we climbed on the rocks and trees to pose for photos. We also want to take some more engagement photos in old Magna so we have a variety to choose from.

As for me I have been busy busy busy but I am loving it so much. I have noticed though that with being so busy I have put on a weee :( bit of weight. So in order to get back to where I want to be I started weight watchers and so far I LOVE it! I have decided that in order to give my self a bit more ambition I am going to share my progress here on my blog (YIKES!). I started out at 175 and as of now 3.5 weeks in I am a whole 4 pounds lighter. :] If  you ask Tyler he will tell you that this is something I am very proud of. That is because I have been constantly reminding him about my 4 pound loss lol...I am so grateful that he so supporitve and is such a good sport!

As for Tyler he recently was given a "promotion" at work, I am not sure if that is an appropriate term but oh well! With this "promotion" he was switched to days YAY! So far he likes it. Right now he is in St. Lewis for work and a few weeks ago he was in Orlando working too. It seems like they trust him enough to send him to there other offices to set up and take down. He is such a good worker!


Now that I am done with my spill here is what you all have been waiting for engagement photos....
                                               These are just a few of the many photos we took

  I had to add one of us being silly :]

We saw two baby moose there on our way to the car!

Oh Vacation...

 Tyler and I boating with his family at Utah Lake

 Tyler and I at Red Caynon Lodge (flaming gorge over look)

 Tyler and I river rafting on the Green River

 Lisa (Tyler's mom) and Sherri (my mom)

Tyler and I on our last day at Flaming Gorge

Tyler and I have had a busy week! We spent Saturday the 20th boating with Tyler's family at Utah Lake, we got to try out the "hot dog" which is a water toy similar to a water weenie. It was a blast! After boating on Saturday we traveled to Rock Springs WY to meet my family. From Rock Springs we drove into Flaming Gorge where we spent the rest of the week camping. We had a lot of fun boating, river rafting, swimming, visiting historic sites and visiting with family and friends. The river rafting trip down the Green River was great fun, and a first for Tyler :]
My Grandpa Marv's cousin Greg came up from Katie Texas and spent time with us at Flaming Gorge, I was very happy that Tyler got the chance to meet him and the majority of my extended family. On Saturday the 27th Tyler's parents drove up to Flaming Gorge and spent the day with Tyler, myself and my family. We took them on a boat ride around part of the lake and stopped for a picnic lunch. I was so very happy that Lisa and Micheal (Tyler's mom and dad) were able to come and spend some time with us at Flaming Gorge.
Tyler and I weren't exactly ready to come home on Sunday, we were having way to much fun :] Although we were glad to come home to real showers and AC lol!
Fall semester starts this week for me, and Tyler is still taking a break from his studies right now. I am sure we will get back into the swing of things very quickly!

Summer's coming to an end...

As the summer comes to a close things are getting much more busy and crazy yet again! Tyler and I are getting ready to go to Flaming Gorge with my family for a week. We both are very excited to be getting a week off of work, to enjoy the lake, the boat and family. I am excited for Tyler to have a chance to get to know my family better.  I will post pictures when we get back :]
As soon as we get back from our vacation I will start fall semester at school, I am taking Anatomy and English. Tyler recently recieved his associates degree (YAY!!) so he is taking some semesters off. I recently found out that I will be able to apply for the nursing program in January of 2012 and if all goes well I will start the program the summer or fall of 2012, I am so excited to be this close to starting the program.

As for an update on the wedding, Tyler and I chose a wonderful reception hall called Aspen Landing my parents put a deposit on it so the date of August 4th, 2012 is offical now! Woohooo :] I also have picked out bridesmaids dresses for the girls, I hope they like them as much as I do. As always as we get more wedding things planned, I will keep the blog updated.