12.14.12

Best day of my life.

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pumpkins

School and work are getting a little stressful around these parts so Drew asked me to accompany him to the pumpkin patch for a date night out. Date nights are my absolute favorite! A quick hay ride to the patch and we found our perfect pumpkins. And to top off the night, we stopped for some hot chocolate on the way home. Who knows if we'll have time to carve them, but it was nice to just spend the evening talking about things other than school and work.

Chicago {The End}

The rest of our time in Chicago was spent exploring downtown. Complete with visits to Portillo's, Cloud Gate, Buckingham Fountain, and Navy Pier. Chicago is such a beautiful city! Drew and I both hope to return someday!

all because he borrowed a pen

My family and I returned to Chicago from our mini vacation to Nauvoo. We were all exhausted from the long car ride and the baby was put right to bed. I was adamant about ordering Chicago deep dish pizza for dinner and lounging around in my pajamas while we waited for the delivery boy. And by adamant, I mean extremely grumpy. My sister suggested we take a walk to the pier to see the Chicago city lights. I all too willingly offered to stay behind and watch the baby while the rest of my family went for a walk. My brother-in-law received a phone call (from Drew) and announced that he had a work emergency and needed to spend some time on his computer. My excuse to stay home had vanished. I gave in and changed out of the comfort of my pajamas if only to get them to stop bugging me. We walked in the cold along the beach to the pier.

We approached the pier where a tall, good looking boy with a suitcase was standing. I turned to my dad and asked why in the world someone would be standing there with a suitcase. I believe the words creepy and weird entered my mind. I'm not really sure why I didn't recognize him at that point. I think it was a mix between the lack of light and the fact that he wasn't supposed to be there. (A few days prior, I was talking with my sister while washing dishes and expressed my desire for Drew to surprise me in Chicago and propose. I knew it was impossible though. He was in Denver running a marathon that weekend and the ring was two or three weeks away from being finished. She just smiled.) 

The creepy boy smiled and I turned away, embarrassed that he was looking at me. Only after he began walking towards me and came within 10 feet did I finally recognize him. (He had run his marathon that morning and boarded a plane to Chicago immediately following.) He led me to the end of the pier and in the light of the city, got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife.

Drew and I met the second week of church. He asked to borrow a pen and I said a silent prayer, grateful that I even had a pen for him to borrow. Our relationship began and ended with a single first date that fall of 2011. We rekindled our relationship the next May of 2012. And here we are almost exactly one year after our first date. Who would have thought?

Chicago {Nauvoo}

After the John Deere excursion, we continued on our way to Nauvoo. The Nauvoo temple is absolutely gorgeous! While the couples went to the temple, I watched the little one. We journeyed to the park, walked around the town, and watched the sunset. The following day was occupied by a wagon ride through old Nauvoo, the Smith cemetery, Carthage jail, and a long car ride back to Chicago. Little did I know, there would be a certain someone waiting for me there...