The Real Mrs. Incredible

We're in the home stretch for planning this wedding! (3 Weeks Away! AH!) My mom is jumping through hoops, moving the earth, and scheduling so many different things i can't believe she hasn't driven herself completely insane. She's incredible. :) This post is a shout out to her I suppose. She probably won't have time to read this, though, because she's sewing 5 bridesmaids dresses, planning the menus, scheduling temple sessions, photographers, cakes, flowers, reception halls, etc. She's stuffing announcements and tracking down addresses and on top of it all making me feel like such a beautiful bride. I couldn't ask for a better mom. :) I love you!


(PS- The announcement up there ^^ is supposed to be brown...I don't know what made it change to blue, but it's still pretty :) )

Oh Lola!

I've got a lot to catch up on!
1. Cameron surprised me with tickets to the vocal point concert a couple weeks ago. (Vocal Point is BYU's national champion a cappella group. They're fantastic and I've been a big fan ever since my EFY counselor was part of it back when I was 16.) The concert was funny and really impressive. I highly recommend their next concert in March. :)


They sang songs like Grace Kelly, No Not Much, and an awesome Christmas Medley based around the 12 days of Christmas. Way WAY fun. i LOVE going to shows with Cam. :)

2. We headed home for Thanksgiving and a much needed break. We spent the day before cleaning and vacuuming the cars, buying water and snacks for the road, and getting ready for a stress free weekend.


By the way-Christmas Popcorn Tins are the #1 roadtrip food ever found. You get the sweet, salty, crunchy, and satisfying all in one festive container. :) mmm.


On the way down, we decided to change the wedding to a day earlier. This caused all sorts of emotional trauma and various freak outs mainly from yours truly. (I think my New Year's Resolution is to achieve emotional stability). FYI-The Wedding is Friday, January 2nd 2009 at 9:45 am in Mesa.

We made it to Flagstaff Tuesday night and slept in the next day. We got our wedding announcements printed and ready to send out (it was much more stressful than I make that sound, but if you look at the big picture, now it doesn't seem so bad...) We spent Thanksgiving with my family. My mom's birthday is on Thanksgiving so we stayed up late making a sign for her and getting the kitchen ready for a great day. It was really fun to see Cameron around my siblings helping them color and write notes to my mom. He's such a crack up!


Thanksgiving had some awesome food. :) a turkey from Jessica complete with maple butter and some awesome stuffing. Homemade gravy, pistachio salad-my favorite! and new birthday dishes that made a beautiful dinner. :)


I made an apple pie for my mom's birthday. Count your blessings Call family. :) No pie has ever turned out like the one I made for you a couple months ago! (remember...the one that caught on fire??)
Sidenote: At one of my bridal showers Sister Kitterman gave me this apple corer/slicer/peeler. It seriously cuts the time it takes to make a pie in half! Maybe I'll be able to perfect the whole pie thing now... :)

Dad & Alyssa
JT and Rick

My gorgeous Mom :)

The Chef herself-Jessica

Me and Cam

3. We discovered JT inherited my dad's hair.

4. Here's where things get interesting. I think I've been subconsciously avoiding blogging for a while because I didn't know if my emotional state could take remembering this...here goes! Me and Cameron left for Phoenix to go see his family Thursday night. We got a flat tire after about an hour of driving. I didn't have a wrench to get the lug nuts off so we spent an hour and a half flagging cars down to try and get some help. After one intense phone call with 911-a nice man and his daughter stopped to help us. And the cops showed up right on time-when everything had settled down and we were almost on our way. :)
(Cameron does know how to change a tire and was all ready to do so. I just didn't have the right tools to accomplish the job. I'm sure there's a Seminary object lesson in that sentence somewhere!)

5. We drove for about 40 more minutes when Lola (the car) decided she didn't want to drive anymore. Seriously. She just stopped. We made it to the side of the highway in Scottsdale, Cameron pushed us to the closest gas station and a variety of interesting people helped us. One guy helped us push the car the last 100 yards. I think the conversation went about like this.
Guy-(breathing hard) I'm out of shape!
Cam-Yeah?
Guy-Yeah! Pot does crazy things to you man...
Cam-I can only imagine...

6. The tow truck (graciously paid for by Wayne-Cam's dad) showed up and we had a great conversation with the driver about tattoos and prison (no, seriously-we did). We got to the mechanics at about 1am. It took us 7 hours to get from Flagstaff to Phoenix!

7. We woke up at 6:30 to be at the mechanics when they opened so we could get our car worked on as soon as possible. They said they'd take a look at it and give us a call with the details. About an hour and a half later they called with the damages...to the tune of $1200. My clutch had completely gone out. I'll spare you the details, but it was followed up with a phone call telling us the car wouldn't be ready for us to take back to UT by Sunday and Cameron's anatomy lab final was Monday morning at 9. YIKES! A few prayers and frantic plans later and the mechanics pulled a miracle for us. :) Meanwhile, me and Cameron developed an intense love affair with Lost. :)

8. All was well and Lola returned healthy and happy. :)

I'm just grateful we were able to keep laughing through all of it! (We also needed 2 new tires and a new headlight) it got to the point where I said, "Put it on my tab..." and Cameron just shrugged his shoulders and said, "Of course it does. Why wouldn't that need to be replaced too?" Keeping things positive, Cameron's still really REALLY cute and we got to make out while waiting for the tow truck :) we also got to eat some pretty awesome mexican food from El Rico's because our car wasn't quite ready yet. The ride back to UT was really quick compared to the Flag to Phoenix trip though. Lola drives great now!

We've decided we're buying a beta fish. Her name is going to be Lola.

In Idaho...

Anyone who knows me even a little bit knows that me and nature don’t get along too well. I went to a family reunion in Idaho this summer, where there was no cell phone service for an hour’s radius and I about died. The highlight of the trip was while we were on a hike on top of this mountain my cell phone went off. For me it was heaven. Looking back on that, I realize how pathetic it was. I was in possibly the most beautiful place I had ever been in, with tons of people that I love, and all I could think about was how lame it was that I didn’t have access to the outside world. I regret now the time I wasted there. I recently read a blog post on my boss’s blog, actually, entitled “Solitude, Silence, and Darkness.” It completely changed the way I see things! (If you’d like to read it, check it out here. àhttp://rsc.byu.edu/blog/?p=52) 

My mom calls it being “plugged in” with ipods and cell phones and laptops, technology has become a staple in our everyday lives. It’s good when used, like everything else, in moderation. But when you can no longer take time to appreciate the gorgeous world we live in, it becomes a problem. I think I’ve become slightly addicted to technology and it’s going to stop today. There’s no reason to get online as often as we do.  My addiction to technology kept me from enjoying what could have been an awesome opportunity to build better relationships with my family and, more importantly, my Heavenly Father. I don’t ever want to let a chance like that pass me by again.

And to Cameron's delight, I think I want to go camping. :) 

i love this face <3

Top 10 Reasons I Love Cameron Call Today
(I had to tack the "today" on there cause more reasons keep coming out of the woodwork. :) He's pretty incredible.)

1. Cam loves to surprise me. Last week was super tough with midterms, meetings, work, and class projects. Cameron Call was pretty darn stressed out too-but he woke me up with breakfast burritos, orange juice, and orange rolls. :) mmm

2. Cameron Call is 6'5". Since we started dating, I have bought 4 new pairs of heels. :) I've never been able to do that before! I wear 4" heels and I still only come up to his nose. :) Shoe shopping is a whole new world for me.

3. Cameron always wants to go do something. He's definitely not one to just sit around. After school and work he always asks me to go with him to play duets on the piano or go on a walk. We rarely watch TV.

4. Cameron Call plans dates. He actually plans them! He's already put a ring on my finger. He doesn't have to impress me any more. I'm already sold. But he loves planning dates and going out. This week, we're going to a piano quartet, the vocal point concert, and gardner village with 4 other couples. :) A couple weekends ago, we bought the polar express in 3-D and watched it with Lindsay and Mackay, complete with 3-D glasses.

5. Cam has the best facial expressions I have ever seen. It's hilarious to watch him eat "good" food. a sound of "oof" generally accompanies the good food. :) His silent laugh is hilarious. He gets a huge grin on his face, he can't breath, but no sound comes out at all. :)

6. Every now and again Cameron throws me into a dip while we're kissing. :)

7. Cameron constantly thinks about what will make me happy. He knows what makes me tick. And because he is so aware of what I need, I trust him to take care of me, and I can completely focus on what will make him happy. It's the most selfless relationship I've ever known and I love it.

8. Cameron Call is smart. He knows how to balance his time and money. He is self-motivated. He works really really hard. He knows what he wants, and he understands what it takes to get there. He is focused. and he knows how to motivate me and help me be successful in everything I do.

9. Cameron encourages me to do everything I've ever wanted to do. When I asked him about taking an extra semester to graduate so I could take some elective courses I was interested in, he just said, "absolutely. Do it." When I asked him about applying for an internship back in Virginia, he said, "o you should absolutely do it. Go for it! We'll figure out the details later." He isn't controlling. He never tries to hold me back. He supports me and I love him for it.

10. Cameron is good at planning. He has been planning his entire life. He is family-oriented (you should see him around my family), kind, and gospel-centered (he's studying the pearl of great price manual with me every night so I can better understand the temple before I go). It shows in everything he says and does. He stands by his word and treats those around him with love and respect. He's had his priorities straight for so long they have become second nature. I love him like crazy. :)

I don't know what I did to deserve such an awesome blessing, but I'm so grateful for him! :)

For the non-believers!

I realize that my original post: The top 5 true stories of Kristin's awkward dating life might have come across as too awkward to believe. I would like to display proof that the stories are, in fact, true. (These pictures were posted about an hour ago on facebook, the dress exists!)

Man vs. Wild

It snowed yesterday. :) Cameron and I also bought a bed yesterday. It was all very exciting. We found a king bed, headboard, frame and footboard, box spring and a super nice Serta mattress all for $300. We borrowed Cam's roommate's truck and headed up to Salt Lake after class to have a look at this awesome deal. The bed was beautiful and we bought it. The guys loaded it up in the back of the truck and we stopped for dinner at KFC. We had covered the bed with blankets to keep the moisture off of it and started driving back to my aunt's house in Spanish Fork, who's keeping it for us until Dec. 1st when we can start moving stuff into our new apartment. Cameron doesn't drive big cars very often and the snow was getting really bad. There was also some pretty bad construction going on on the I-80 which didn't help my nerves at all. All of a sudden some cones appeared on the road and forced us to exit. I was making fun of Cameron again because the on ramp was also closed to get back on the freeway and there was no detour in sight when Cameron says, "Kristin, where's the mattress?" The entire bed was pretty snug in the back of that truck and it was ridiculously heavy so we didn't bother tying it down. (yes, we now realize that was possibly the most idiotic thing we could have ever thought). So-now our mattress is off causing mayhem on the I-80 somewhere. We are now bedless, and the snow is as bad as ever. We turned around and headed on side streets back to where we began. Cameron's sense of direction honestly impressed me. I was so turned around, but he navigated those neighborhoods and speed bumps like nobody's business. :) (my sense of direction has never been good though...my dad calls me a goose who wakes up in a new world every day...if the Y wasn't on the mountain I'd get lost going to class...) We checked the gas station, the on ramp, the shoulder of the freeway, said a prayer and an hour and ten minutes later found the mattress on the shoulder of I-80 with only a few bumps and bruises. It was sopping wet and looked incredibly dejected out there on the shoulder, but did we press on and get it back in the truck? yes we did! We were laughing SO hard. We pulled off at the next exit so Cameron could be an eagle scout and tie it down. :) In Cameron's defense, he wanted to buy a couple straps to make sure nothing fell out but I was stubborn and said they were a waste of money.

Here's Cameron tying the bed back into the truck. :) in the snow. and cold. :)

Thus began the 40mph trek to Spanish Fork. We could FEEL the judgmental thoughts from the cars around us. We're in this huge truck in a snowstorm with an uncovered bed in the back (the blanket was lost in the previous mishap) going 40 mph (sometimes slower depending on the incline) on the freeway. And here is why I love Cameron Call. Out of nowhere he starts singing: "Don't cry for me, little mattress! The truth is we never left you!" :) LOL.

We unloaded the whole thing at my aunt Carrie's house. (bless her a million times over). And the sopping wet mattress wouldn't fit down her stairs, so it's now drying out in my living room, behind my tv. We went to exchange cars with Cam's roommate Alan and told him the whole story. He laughs and says, guys-there were straps in the back seat. :) Awesome.

We're never getting rid of that mattress.

help out a friend :)

so...click on the little green check mark right over there -->
and give an artist credit where credit's due! :)

Episode 2: The Marriage of the Jedi

http://io9.com/5053986/how-i-met-your-mother-asks-the-eternal-scifi-love-question
Watch it. Cry cause you're laughing so hard. Eat. Drink. and Be Married dang it. :)
lol

de·li·cious

de·li·cious
adj.
1. highly pleasing or agreeable to the senses, especially of taste or smell.
2. very pleasant; delightful


My sister explained it to me this way-
Sometimes there are just moments where no other word can describe it but delicious. You don't tell your friends about it, because that would take away from it. You don't tell him about it, because that would take away from it. You don't write it down because that would take away from it. You just keep it.

Tonight was delicious.

I'm marrying a Jedi-

Last night me and Cam went for a walk after homework. We stopped and he just held me for a bit. We were both just happy to not be around people anymore. I looked up at him and told him to make a fishface, just because I know he can't do it. :) He tried though. It looked hilarious. I told him he looked like Jar Jar Binx...or Sebulba. When he heard me say "Sebulba" this incomprehensible joy spread across his face and he just said, "oh!" and kissed me. lol I was laughing so hard, I couldn't even kiss him back.

Cam's a bit of a Star Wars fanatic...I've only seen episode 1 once or twice. He was so thrilled that I even knew who Sebulba was. It absolutely made his night. He was GIDDY! "Kristin! I never thought I'd hear that come out of your mouth!"

yep-sign me up for the fiancee of the year award. :)

And for those of you who have little faith in me-I do too know who Sebulba is. He's the guy that Anakin pod races against.

GNO Call Style :)

Once upon a time I got engaged to a great family. :)
Cameron's family came up this week for conference. We had a birthday party for Elisha, his (my?) niece. Ate awesome food. Went to a mission reunion. (where I found out just how grateful I am for Cameron going to an English speaking mission...) Conference was incredible. I love listening to the Prophet & Apostles & the Relief Society General Presidency. I'm really excited for the conference issue to come out. :)
Saturday night, Cameron's dad got tickets for the guys to go to the priesthood session of conference, so they left the ladies clad in white shirts and ties and the ladies got a babysitter. :)
Emilee, Adrienne, Kiara, Amberlee, & I went to Bajio grill for dinner. I love good Mexican food. They have this green salsa that's to die for. Afterward we decided to go to the Melting Pot for some dessert. We figured it wouldn't be busy cause of the conference...wrong. We waltz in there and ask for a table for 5 and the hostess just looks at us like we're stupid. It's a Saturday night at a super nice restaurant. Do we have a reservation? not a chance. We put our names on the list and set out to kill 2 hours of wait time. We're on Main st. in SLC and decide to walk to the Gateway Mall just because. We grossly underestimated the distance from the Melting Pot to the Gateway. Ha. It was over a mile...which in tennis shoes wasn't really a big deal, but Emilee was wearing 4 inch heel boots, Kiara was in flip-flops (and it was cold and rainy), and Amber had just gotten 3 stitches in her ankle. We were collectively a mess. We arrived at the Gateway and found a bathroom and some fantastic leather couches with suede pillows. The conversation was great and it was nice to sit down in the quiet for a bit. (I still don't know what building we were in...the doors into it were locked. Some random guy with a keycard let us in...VIP status, what can we say?) It was getting close to when the guys' meeting let out, so we decided to call the Melting Pot and change our reservation to 9 people instead of 5, and just see how much longer that made our wait...The hostess shocked us when she said she could get us in in 10 minutes. Emilee zipped her shoes back on in a flurry and we set off back to the restaurant. Actually...we set off to chase down the Trax train, which we missed by about a minute. So we first ran AWAY from the restaurant, before giving up the chase and just booking it to the restaurant. It's cold and wet remember, and we're running like mad. Amber's stitches are itching. Kiara has taken her shoes off and is now running barefoot through cold, muddy puddles. Emilee is a total babe acting like her 4 inch heels are cross trainers. And me...I just laugh. :) It was hilarious. About halfway there, Adrienne pulls a "just go! Leave me!" lol. I love the drama of it all. These women are quickly becoming my good friends. It's amazing to feel so accepted by a family you hardly knew a few short months ago.
The Calls get it done though. We made it to the Melting Pot in about 14 minutes. Not too shabby. We didn't look too worse for the wear either. :) We took our table and decided to wait for the guys, who, upon finding out where we were and what we were doing promptly informed us that they were "going to Tucanos for some meat." awesome. As women, we all figured they would jump at the chance for some ridiculously indulgent chocolate. guess they've got some priority issues to figure out. :) We decided to eat for 9 anyway and ordered 3 pots of chocolate and all the dippings. :)

Strawberries, bananas, brownies, cheesecake :) mmm. There wasn't a drop left. It was purely GNO.

Pictionary!

So , I stole this idea from Mrs. Erin Mecklenburg. She made up some new categories...but I have no way of figuring out what the original ones are, so looks like this version is the new original.

1. Use Google images to answer each question.

2. Choose your favorite picture from ONLY the first page.

3. Remember to explain all the pics.

(Credit for the Mosaic situation goes to Erin....or rather Erin's friend Maggie...according to Erin's blog, Maggie is worth being like, so I figured I'd join the masses of Maggie-ites...tho I've never met her.)

(Top row, left to right--you'll figure it out)

1. First name? Kristin...be careful when typing in your first name ladies...apparently I have a pretty scandalous alter ego.

2. Middle name? McGuire-soon to be!! :)

3. Last name? Call-soon to be!! :)

4. What are you doing right now? Working

5. Favorite color? Red (that's actually algae...but I thought it was pretty! :))

6. Best friend's nickname? Ness.

7. Screen name? ssstoked34... this is actually a desktop I made forever ago...looks like it's still circulating the web.

8. Age? 20 (ahhh-mac. :) )

9. Favorite place? Italy-have I ever been there? no...would I sell my soul to go? probably.

10. Celebrity crush? Benny the Jet Rodriguez. :) mmm. Don't judge me-I developed the crush when I was like 7. and yes...that says "My pants are tight, and that's ok!" awesome. :)

11. What do you want to be when you grow up? A mom

12. Past love? Boy Meets World!!!

13. Where were you born? American Fork, Utah. :) yay

14. College degree? Advertising

15. Place you've visited? Edmonton, Alberta. Biggest Mall in the World-a.k.a. Celestial Glory

16. One word to describe you? Blessed

down in flames....

My mother and sisters refer to going "down in flames" as when you've found someone you want to be with for the rest of your life and you don't care or think about much else. This may be true...but I had a bit of a rough morning this morning and it wasn't directly related to the love of Cameron. (though now that I think about it....it was kind of the motivation for this whole mess)

So...Cameron told his Mission President that I make a pretty good apple pie, (this is true...tho I've only ever made it like twice...under complete supervision of my mother, and never during school/midterms/work/planning a wedding.) Well, it's conference weekend and there are mission reunions in abundance. It's time for me to earn my stripes. Thus, Cam and I went to the Sunflower Market last night (which, by the way, is amazing and inexpensive. If you haven't been there yet, stop reading and go....now.) to get apples for the pie. We also spent the rest of the night hanging out with his family so I didn't have time to prep the apples at all. (not a huge problem, i didn't really want them to turn brown overnight anyway...but we were up late nonetheless.) I decided to wake up at 7 to make the pie, cause we're leaving for the reunion right after work today...I also had a class meeting at 9 to get to and it's kind of important that I don't look like a frump today.

The alarm went off at 7...and 7:20...and I got up at 7:45. :) awesome. I lept into the kitchen and started peeling, coring, and slicing the apples. I made the crust, the filling and the topping and realized I could not find the pie pan ANYWHERE. Cam saved the day and brought one over after I had absolutely torn apart the kitchen...twice. The topping is this happy streusel crumble cinnamon goodness that you can toast beforehand to give it a nice golden color on top of your pie...I spread the topping on a cookie sheet and put it in the oven to toast while I cut the crust and shaped the edges... I kind of forgot about it, and you're really supposed to watch it or it burns...

I remembered quite suddenly, flung the oven door open and FLAMES CAME OUT. oh my heck. I was flipping out. Not only was I still wet haired and non-makeupped with a meeting starting in 10 minutes, but there were flames licking my oven. I was stuck in that "my-feet-won't-even-move-I-have-no-idea-what-to-do." Cameron just sat there kind of in shock and secretly I think he enjoyed seeing all this... I grabbed an oven mit and ran outside waving this charred, molten sugared cookie sheet around. I think I shocked the neighbors some... lol...poor girl. The flames went out pretty quick, but I think the cookie sheet is beyond repair...

Either way, I made a new batch of the topping and didn't toast it...I let the pie bake while I went to my meeting and left a touch early to get it out in time. I made it home with 17 seconds left on the timer. :) and on top of that I was on time for class. The pie is pretty good looking if I might say so myself...though the topping isn't as dark as it probably should be... I'm just grateful it's not on fire. :)

Bring on the Mission President. Bring on the old companions.
I can handle a flaming kitchen. I can handle just about anything.
And I might even eat a slice of pie.

Engagement Pictures! :)

so...Jennifer Fauset is amazing. Me and Cam went to get our Engagements done last Saturday and had a blast at the shoot. We went to Wheeler Farms up in Murray. There are a few up on Jen's blog about 2 or 3 posts down...(or you can click on engagements on the side and it'll come up) Let me know what you think! :) www.fausetphotography.blogspot.com

Random...

I woke up on the couch this morning...
I have every recollection of waking up in my bed, grabbing a blanket off the foot of my bed, making sure I had my phone so I would be woken up on time for work, walking downstairs, clearing off the couch, finding a pillow near the tv, and checking my phone to see what time it was. (3:50) It also crossed my mind that Cameron was going to have to wake up in just under an hour. I remember being a little ticked that I HAD to sleep on the couch, and now for the life of me I can't remember why I HAD to be on the couch last night...
O well-at least the couch is comfortable.

I've got news... :)

There is a lovely ring on this finger from a gorgeous young man named Cameron Call. :)

For those of you who don't know the story.... :)

Cameron started bombarding me with questions on Monday. He asked me about the details of my schedule for the rest of the week. He asked me who worked with me when. He asked if I needed to take a break from work could I and when. etc. So when I got a text from him that said I should hurry home from class on Wednesday, I started to think something was up. When I got home, he was all dressed up and had a beautiful dinner ready for me in my kitchen. We ate and went to this dance performance on campus. Then he said goodnight and went home. I was a little confused. ha. :) Thursday morning at around 7 am, my roommate Heather tells me to wake up and that she has to give me something. She hands me an envelope and the pig from the feltboard story me and Cam made together at EFY. Inside is a 4 stanza poem from Cameron telling me to go up to the Y. He also said that I had until 7:30...right. When I got there I couldn't see anyone. I started to think he was going to make me hike it, but his sister drove up and had a gerber daisy and my next clue. This clue said I had to wait until 2pm for the next one! I had a solid 6 hour wait until I knew where I was going next. :( at 2, i met up with my roommate from over the summer, Ashley. (Her daisy fell out of the bag while she was biking to the country dancing place, and was run over by a car...she picked a rose off a nearby bush to get the same effect. lol) She gave me another poem from Cam that told me to wait until 6:30 to go see Lindsay at Gurus. (by the way if you haven't had their breakfasts....go tomorrow. not kidding. :) it's on Center.) When I walked into the restaurant, I told Lindsay I wasn't this patient of a person and that he was making me wait at least 4 hours in between clues. It was killing me! She laughed and just said, gear up babe. You'd better find some more patience somewhere. Awesome. Her clue told me I had to wait until 8:30 THE NEXT MORNING! I went home and paced around my apartment for an hour before I had to go to a volleyball game. :) hahaha. We won. :) I couldn't really think about anything else, so I watched CSI for a couple hours and just went to bed. Friday morning, I woke up and got all ready to go get my next clue, which said he'd come pick me up at 4:30 and that I needed to dress nice. :) yay. Work about killed me. I got off at 3:30 and raced home to look normal. :) at 4:30 my roommate called me downstairs. I thought, "no way. he's not coming to get me. what the heck?!" but she just blindfolded me and I heard Cam come through the front door. He led me to his car and we drove for about an hour. He had me get out of the car and take off my shoes. We walked (still blindfolded) across this field. He stopped me and turned me around. gave me a hug. and took off the blindfold. I was standing next to a picnic with candles, roses, music, chinese food, wine glasses, and the most handsome young man I have ever seen. :) He gave me my last poem/clue, recited it to me and got down on one knee. :) We celebrated with dinner, and the mormon tabernacle choir concert which featured a 30s and 40s love song medley. :) all jazzed out. it was classy. :) After walking around temple square for a bit, we stopped at a grocery store and bought and ate an entire carton of chocolate peanut butter cup ice cream right out of the container and set off to tell everybody. :) He's amazing. :) I am so blessed! The date is January 3rd in the Mesa Temple.

a little bit of catching up to do...

so...my brilliant sister figured out how to get all these pictures back from my "corrupted" memory card. Welcome to the most incredible birthday weekend I've ever experienced. (psyche up...this is going to be a long one :))

I surprised Cam for his birthday by coming down to phoenix to see him a day early. I sent him on a scavenger hunt that led him through some personally significant places. :) The last clue led him to his car and there it just said, "call me." At this point, I had changed my voicemail message to say... "Hey Cam! I can't come to the phone right now cause I'm on a plane....on my way to Phoenix...My flight comes in at 8:53. Hope you can come get me."

Personally, I think that's pretty clear as to what's happening. However, the scavenger hunt didn't really go as smoothly as I planned cause Cam's so dang trusting. :)

Me and his younger sister Amber have the same birthday, so when I called him to start off the scavenger hunt they were having a little family party for her. His whole family was in on what was happening, but when I called him to start the scavenger hunt he said, "Kristin-I can't do it right now. My parents are going to be upset." In my head it's more of a "O MY GOSH CAM OPEN THE ENVELOPE I'M ALMOST TO THE AIRPORT!" ha. So I convince him to open the first envelope and I find out later that his parents had to force him to do the scavenger hunt right then. He was going to wait until after the party...at which point I'd be waiting at the airport for....a long time. :) Also, when he got to the last clue-he didn't put it together that I was coming right then. I had told him so many times I was going to be there on Thursday that he just assumed I was confused or something. Nope-definitely not confused. worried maybe, but not confused. :) Either way, his family came through for me and I wasn't stranded at the airport. :) The previous post has pictures from the airport. :)

We got in the car to go to his house, but instead he drives to my friend Vanessa's. He tells me to wait outside, and Vanessa comes out to talk to me. I walk in and this is what I see. :)


Cameron had re-written the words to the song "fall for you" and arranged a new version of it on the piano. He played and sang it to me. As if that wasn't enough... he handed me a package. Inside-he had written out the words and the sheet music for it and put pictures of us/me all over it. :) when I opened it up, a parking pass for "Wicked" fell out. We were going to see Wicked Friday night in LA! The man blew me away. :) We finished the night with birthday cake and some time with his fam. :)

The next day, Cameron picked me up from Vanessa's to go to the lake with his dad and the older kids. It was so fun to be able to stay out there as long as we wanted without worrying about babies getting sunburned or hungry or tired. :) It was great to be around his dad. We had a good time talking, eating, and wakeboarding.



The next day we woke up at 4:30 to head to CA. :) The drive was hilarious. We stopped at a grocery store near the border to grab breakfast stuff. Bagels and strawberry cream cheese.


I don't think I've ever laughed so hard as when I saw Cam get all excited over the windmills about an hour outside of LA. He was so happy to see them all.



When we arrived in CA, we headed straight for the beach. Spent some time on the pier, went body boarding, ate ice cream, & played in the sand. It was great! (For those of you who don't know, my family has a hard time with the beach. My mother always wants to go, but whenever we go it's freezing or windy or that stretch of water has been closed due to toxic wastes...or any combination of the 3. I've never really thought fondly of the beach. :) I do now!)


Erik came down from Fresno to spend some time with Vanessa this weekend too. It was so fun to have good friends to hang out with. They make a cute couple huh? :)

After the beach we headed back to the hotel to get ready for Wicked. :) He took me to this beautiful italian restaurant beforehand where we had some amazing lasagna and ravioli. :) mmm.


The theatre was beautiful and the show seriously blew my mind. Glinda was hilarious and the music was absolutely amazing. (I feel like I'm using way too many superlatives...o well. It was intense)


After the show we went back down to the Santa Monica pier and rode the ferris wheel. It was beautiful-right over the ocean. Cam was stressed out of his mind because the ride was about to close. ha. We made it. :)

We walked down the beach for a while afterward and had some fun at Beach House no. 18. :) He's quite the romantic. I love that I'm the only one that sees it most of the time though. :) It was a beautiful night and the best part was- that was only the first night of the vacation! :)


The next day we went to Denny's for the traditional pre-6FM2 breakfast and took off for the park. The day was long but so much fun. :) I love screaming my head off. Goliath freaks me out in such a major way...I think it's the lift hill. Once you clear the first level of clouds though, it's hard to see the ground... yeah. whatever. Cam decided he was going to hold my hand up in the air on the way down. Brilliant. It's a good thing he's so dang attractive, otherwise I'd be a bit miffed. :) jk


That night we went to stay at a mutual friend's house, Kathryn. She's quite possibly the most beautiful girl I know. It was so nice to have a nice bed to sleep in and a real church building to go to in the morning.

When we got back to Phoenix, Cam was really excited to see his family. His family is really affectionate. They kiss each other on the cheek all the time still. He kisses his mom on the lips before leaving for bed. I adore it. However, when we got back from CA, Cameron had forgotten how to kiss his mom...he walked right up to her and REALLY KISSED HER! :) hahahaha. She was a bit shocked to say the least and kind of pushed him away with a, "had a good weekend?"

We left early the next morning for Utah.

Honestly-I'm crazy about him. I'm definitely spoiled. It was incredible. :)

Whatever

It's such a hassle to approve everyone to have access to this, so I'm not going to deal with it. :) happy reading.
xoxo
(and the pictures will be here Friday!!!)

YAY

MY GENIUS OF A SISTER FIGURED OUT HOW TO GET ALL THE PICTURES OFF THE CAMERA!!!!
(needless to say I'm pleased. :) )
Stay tuned for an awesome update of the Birthday weekend. :) woot!

waiting...

I am being stubborn. I don't want to post anything out of order (call me OCD or something) but half the pictures from my birthday weekend were on a memory card that got corrupted. My genius of a sister Jessica is working on recovering all of them. I'd love to tell you ALL about it. Cause it was AMAZING! but I can't. It's just not as good without the pictures. So I'll just keep waiting...and being stubborn.

Worth the Wait <3

(thanks to the lovely young lady who sat next to me on the plane for taking these)