Yes...

WE'RE BACK! Back to blogging, back to taking pictures, and back to a somewhat stress-free life. I cannot even begin to explain how busy Austin and I have been this entire semester [therefore, little blogging entries]. I am not saying that our winter break will be completely full of relaxation, but it will be composed of a bit more than what we have had these last few months.

SEALED!

We should probably begin with the most wonderful experience of our entire lives. We were sealed for time and all eternity in the Mesa, Arizona Temple. There is no better place on Earth than being in the Temple with the one that you love so dearly. We do not have all of our pictures back quite yet, but once we do, be sure to check for the post!

However, we do have the pictures from our Honeymoon!

Where do we begin...?

• Hawaii Temple
• Pearl Harbor
• A private tour of newly-found jets and helicopters from past wars!
• Snorkeling at Hanauma Bay
• Dole Pineapple Plantation (Largest in the world!)
• North Shore
• Surfing competition
• BYU Hawaii
• Waikiki Beach
• International Market Place
• Mustang Convertible
• Relaxing on the beach
• Authentic Asian food
• And best of all... being with each other!!!!!
  

Our absolute favorite part of the trip was just relaxing together. Of course, we came back to loads and loads of homework, but we did not even care one bit. We had a blast!

Are you ready for this?

WELCOME TO HAWAI'I! We had so much fun together on the six-hour plane ride! We were also able to catch up on some sleep, that we had not been able to get, from the past few months!
And look at Oahu through the window [bottom right]! Amazing!

The International Market Place was wonderful! It is full of gifts from all over the world; and you can definitely talk them down on the prices! :]

HANAUMA BAY! It is so beautiful there! We swam right through hundreds of coral reefs and were able to see so many colorful fish! We definitely recommend going snorkeling there.

I have always dreamed of going to Pearl Harbor. It sure was everything that we thought it would be!

Our first stop was the USS Bowfin. We were given headsets; which took us through a tour of the very long submarine. We also had fun on the big toys outside! :]

This is us in the bottom of the Bowfin! It was so small. We kept saying that we could not believe that men actually lived under there for months! Talk about claustrophobia!

Look at the size of that torpedo! That was a one-man suicide bomber!

One site that we could not miss was the USS Arizona Memorial. It was so beautiful.

We were lucky that it was such a gorgeous day.

Can you believe that the USS Arizona is a burial ground for so many men?

The picture on the bottom left is the actual ship's smokestack from the Arizona. You can see right down into it. AND look at all those wires!

Part of the Pearl Harbor attractions is a tour of refurbished planes from WWII. These planes were found in the jungle, the ocean, and in many other places!

So, there were many times that Austin and I were given great opportunities on our honeymoon; and this one was definitely one of them. Just a few days before we got there, a great number of newly-discovered jets, airplanes, cars, etc. were transported into a hanger on Ford Island. We just went to go and see some refurbished planes [like the ones above] and the lady at the front desk asked us if we wanted a private tour in viewing these new imports before refurbishment! Of course we jumped on the opportunity and were able to see amazing vehicles that were used in past wars!

After we saw the planes in the private hanger, we walked back to where the bus was going to pick us up. On our way there, we spotted the place where they filmed the movie, Pearl Harbor!

The last few days in Hawaii we rented a car so we could explore the island! Again, we had such amazing luck... The car rental manager found out that it was our honeymoon, so she up-sized our regular economy car to any convertible in the lot!!! It was so fun driving with the top down!

When we drove to the North Shore, we just had to stop and look at the huge waves. These pictures do not do them justice! There were "no swimming" signs up and down the beach.

We made it a priority to go and see the Hawaii Temple! It sure is beautiful; as well as its surrounding land. We really wanted to do a session, but the temple is closed until next summer for some remodeling.

Austin and I had heard that Hawaii is the home to the world's largest Dole Pineapple Plantation...
So of course we had to check it out!

We took the Pineapple Express and were taken through all of the pineapple fields. It sure did go on forever!

We got some delicious pineapple cheesecake in the gift shop! Boy, did Austin scarf it down!

Austin was in heaven with all of the authentic Asian food that Hawaii has to offer.
Pretty much everywhere we went in Honolulu had Asian food.

I LOVE Austin with all my heart! We have so much fun together!

Our plane got delayed on the way home. We didn't mind. We got to spend more time in Hawaii! :] So Austin and I both got something to read and to munch on!

My goodness, that was long! We hope you all enjoyed our presentation! Anyways, we look forward to being back in the blogging world.

Kaitie ♥ Austin

Birthday Surprises

Last weekend was my 20^th birthday... and little did I know, my sweet fiancé was planning a super special birthday week for me!

He secretly dropped goodies off at my work!

He told me we were going somewhere... and we ended up at the Arizona State Fair!!!

He took me to the Lady Antebellum Concert! I didn’t even know who it was until they came out on stage [yes, he is that good].

We went out to eat at all of my favorite restaurants!

He took me to a huge corn maze, [we got lost!] and to a cute pumpkin patch!

Thank you, Sweetheart, for making this the best birthday I have ever had! It was perfect!

UTAH

Austin and I were fortunate enough to take a weekend off [sort of] and drive to UTAH! 
It was so much fun driving with my Sweetheart! 
We talked, laughed, sang to our favorite songs, talked some more, stopped at the Grand Canyon, and even worked on some homework.

Life with Austin is always so exciting!

He is constantly making me laugh with his jokes! I love being with him!

We arrived early Friday morning… 3:00 am to be exact, and stayed at my Grandparent’s home in Bountiful! Later that morning we headed down to Provo to visit my old stompin’ grounds at BYU!! I showed Austin all around campus and we met up with some of my friends and old roommates.It was great to be back there again for a visit!

That night was Austin’s mission reunion at the beautiful Little America Hotel in Salt Lake City. Austin served in the Singapore Mission and loved every second of it. There he learned Malai; and also picked up on bits of Chinese, Mandarin, Iban, Tagalog! That night was so fun and I was excited to meet his mission president and all of his old companions. They all had such wonderful and interesting stories to tell!

The rest of the weekend was so amazing and uplifting. It was General Conference and we were fortunate enough to watch the sessions with part of my dad’s family, my parents, and my sister and her husband! General Conference is always so inspiring and Austin and I really enjoyed watching it together for the first time!

My LOVE!

[Please ignore my tired look... but do look at how HANDSOME Austin is!]

Loving Our Busy Lives!

Hello, and YAY for entry number two! These last few weeks have been crazy due to the fact that…

*We are planning a wedding!

*We are trying to spend as much time together before summer is gone!

*Austin is working in the wee hours of the morning at UPS.

*Austin is starting a new season of coaching club volleyball for Molten.

*Austin is beginning a new job as a runner at a law firm.

*& I’m working my last days at In-N-Out in addition to starting my new job at True Imaging!

The Wedding!

We have decided a few things for our special day! First and foremost, our colors come from nothing but a...

PILLOW that my mom found at Target! I LOVE these colors! We are going to add black to this of course and put a touch of silver here and there in picture frames and such! Luckily we are almost set on our photographer, invitations, decorators, and my dress! Also, our address list is coming along great! My amazing AUSTIN spends hours upon hours typing up addresses! He is so wonderful! If you don't think we have your address, leave it for us and we will send you an invitation!

Summer days are almost over!

Here are some of the things that we have been up to...!

We attended one of Austin's family friend's wedding reception!

We went out to dinner with my sister and brother-in-law at Buca di Beppo!

My sweet Austin took me ice skating! We had a blast!

Our FAVORITE place to eat is the Thai House. We are weekly visitors!

We attended Katrina and Devin Cammack’s open house here in Phoenix!

We love being together!! :-)

[[By the way, Austin wanted me to point out that it is MY hand under his chin in this picture!]]

Austin’s Busy Work Life

So yes, Austin will be working three jobs now and will have a beyond crazy schedule! He works the EARLY morning shift at UPS and just added two more jobs; plus he is going to school full-time! He is kicking off the club volleyball season coaching the 18 year olds. I got the privilege of going and watching him pick his team at tryouts! I also snapped a few pictures of my man… :-)

His other new job will be as a runner at Maxwell and Morgan Law Firm! He will be assisting the lawyers in anything that they need him to do! I am so proud of Austin! He is such a hard worker!

Bye Bye In-N-Out Burger

So yes... to all my fellow In-N-Out workers out there, this is my last week at store 218! I am now working full-time at an imaging center where they do CT scans, ultrasounds, MRIs, mammograms, xrays etc. I do the paperwork. I love my new job, but will definitely miss working at my favorite fast food restaurant! I will definitely come back to visit!

So here is our life in a nutshell! We hope you all enjoy our blog! :-)

New Bloggers!

Well hello to all those fellow bloggers out there! You have officially entered the blog of Austin and Kaitie! We have decided to start a blog to let all of our family members, friends, and loved ones know what an exciting life we lead! I, Kaitie, will be doing most of the blogging, but Austin will be sitting by my side supporting me the entire time! :-) 
To start off, Austin and I will be getting married on November 21, 2009 in the Mesa, Arizona Temple! We are happily in love and very much excited to start our lives together! Because Austin and I knew we were meant for each other right away, there are many family members and friends asking us how we met, how long we dated, and how Austin proposed! Well everyone, this is the place for all of your answers!

Our Story!
Austin and I have a great story about how we met! It all started when I was up at BYU Provo this last year. I was talking to my mom on the phone one day and she started telling me about this handsome returned missionary that she saw at a stake activity! He was with his little sister, Jessie, so after asking around a bit, my family was able to figure out that he was her older brother!

So what does any typical girl do when they hear about a handsome boy?! She tries to find him on Facebook! I was his sister’s “friend” and so I looked up her family on her profile. When I found a guy that looked like the description my mom had given me, I added him as a “friend” right away! :-) Once we became Facebook friends, Austin started leaving comments on my page soon after! He also instant messaged me every time I came online! At that point, we had decided that we better get together sometime over the summer when I came back to Arizona.

The next thing I knew, I deactivated my Facebook account so I wouldn’t get distracted from schoolwork while on the computer…! I lost contact with Austin then for a few months. When I came home from BYU in April, I decided to start a new Facebook. One of the first people that I added was none other than Austin himself! Of course he emailed me on there right away! ;-) We quickly exchanged phone numbers and about a week later, I called him to ask if he wanted to go out with me and some of my friends! So, the first official day we met was May 28, 2009!!! That night we went with some people to Tempe Town Marketplace. For those of you who don’t live in Arizona, it is a huge outdoor mall that has a live band playing every Thursday night; and of course we went on a Thursday! Afterwards, we walked around a bit and went to Red Robin for some dinner... and guess who came and sat right by me?! Austin!!! :-) He and I both agree that on the first day we met, we instantly felt like we were best friends! We both felt so comfortable around each other!

Not even a week later, Austin asked me out on a date! With going out of town and conflicts in our busy schedules, the date didn’t happen for a few weeks. BUT we were both determined to make it happen. So finally on June 19, 2009, we went out on our first official date!!!!! From that day on, Austin and I have spent every moment we have together. There has not been ONE day that has gone by that we haven’t been together! We are so happy! We have come to the conclusion that we are PERFECT in every way for each other! I know that I personally could not have found anyone that fits me more wonderfully than Austin does! So within less than a week of dating, we already knew that we wanted to be married! People may say that it is quick, but there are times that you just KNOW. That definitely happened to us.

.:OUR DATING DAYS:.

So less than a month later, on July 15, 2009, Austin proposed!!!! That day was an exceptionally long day at work, but when I got home at 5:00, Austin was standing in my kitchen with a big bouquet of red roses! It was adorable! He was also very handsome and all dressed up for a night out! I quickly got ready and we headed out to see the new Harry Potter movie! He knew that I had been waiting so long to see it! Afterwards, we went to one of my favorite places [even though I work there] and we took the In-N-Out to go! I had no idea where we were going to eat it, so I just sat in the car next to my love while he drove us to our mysterious destination. We ended up at one of his best friend’s house; where his quad was sitting outside the garage. This is a point, I will have to include a small flashback… At the end of our first date, Austin took me quading up the mountains that are near the big PHOENIX sign in North Mesa! We sat on the top of the mountain and overlooked the WHOLE valley! It is gorgeous up there! So on the proposal night, he took me up there again! So cute! This time, we put the In-N-Out in his backpack while we made the fun trip to the top of the mountain! When we got there, Austin laid out a blanket and played some soft music while we ate our mighty delicious food! I couldn’t have asked for a more romantic night with my amazing man! There was a lightning show off in the distance, some monsoon wind, and the lights of the big city going on for miles and miles. I won’t go into too many details, but that is when he got down on one knee and sweetly asked me to marry him!!! After my response, much loves, and Austin dropping the ring and losing it for a short while, I was finally engaged to my wonderful Sweetheart.

So there is our story, with many small details left out of course ;-) ...Because that is all you get for now! I hope to be updating this blog regularly with new information and fun activities that our lives bring! Thanks for stopping by. We hope to see you again real soon! 


Much loves, Austin and Kaitie