Things To Do In The Newport Beach Area

As we continue to make wedding plans I am excited that we are going to be able to get married in Newport Beach and that our family members are making the extra effort to travel across the country to be there. Previously I had written up a short list of things that individuals might consider doing while they are in the Newport Beach area. Here are some of those ideas:

• Amusement Parks: Disney, Knott's Berry, Lego Land
• Downtown Disney: Shops and restaurants plus an amazing fireworks display every night
• Crystal Cove State Park: A short drive to the South. A beautiful hike near the ocean
• Orange County Great Park: Urban park twice the size of Central Park. Used to be El Toro Marine Base. Great Orange Balloon ride is FREE and takes you 400 feet into the sky
• Shopping: Irvine Spectrum and Fashion Island have every store you could want
• Beach Bonfire: We would have to reserve a fire pit but I am sure all of the young pyromaniacs would enjoy it
  

Law School - An Update

The first few weeks of my second year of law school have been busy! I'm taking a few more credits than last year so keeping up with classes requires constant effort. Add in a part-time job clerking for a local attorney plus helping with the Board of Advocates and it makes a busy semester. One of the nice parts of this semester though is participating in on-campus interviews. While the interviews add stress about getting call backs and job offers, I like it because if helps me see the light at the end of the tunnel. That someday if all goes as planned I'll have an interesting job that pays good money. At least that is the hope to which I cling.

Falling Into Place...

The events of yesterday deserve a post. Our conversations over the past few nights have been discussing different options and deciding on which one would be best and then yesterday was the day of action. We finalized our travel dates, our engagement photographer, when Daniela is going through the temple, and the time of our wedding. Here's a summary:
October: I'm headed to Utah. We'll have our engagement pictures taken on the 30th by Heather Bliss. We're open to suggestions as to locations for pictures. Let's hope for nice weather.

November: Daniela will be in Missouri for Thanksgiving. We plan to be sending out invitations over the break and so expect to see us on the living room floor stuffing envelopes. Of course, anyone who wants to help is welcome to join in the fun.

December: As of yesterday, Daniela is schedule to go through the Mount Timpanogos temple on the 30th. So I will be out there for that and then Daniela and I will make the drive to Missouri together. Twenty hours in the car together should serve as a final warning to Daniela of what she is getting into with marrying me.

January: The most exciting part of yesterday was finalizing the scheduling for the Newport Beach temple. The marriage is set for January 6th at 12:00pm. What a good feeling it is to be excited about the future!

THE Dress

So I've been getting a lot of questions as to what 'the dress' looks like. And at first, the reason I hadn't posted it was because I wasn't sure myself - I had fallen in love with 2 dresses but they were both out of my budget, so I thought that I'd have to keep looking for something else. Well, the wait is over...as of last week, the dress has been purchased and I couldn't be happier!

FRONT

BACK

So I know I will have to add sleeves to make it kosher, but I loved how the dress felt and looked on me and so far everyone that has seen me in it, has approved of it as well. This was the first dress I tried on and I'm glad that the consultant showed it to me because it wasn't even among 'my picks.'

The dress is from David's Bridal (T9579) and totally over my budget, but thanks to lots and lots of googling, I found it for a price I could afford - it is a little bit of a risky proposition - I mean, I'm putting a lot of trust that a Chinese seamstress named Fiona, will make a dress that looks as good as it does in real life, but I'm crossing my fingers and staying optimistic. Everyone that has used them in the past has been very pleased by the work they do. I'll let you know how it turns out. :)

Too Many Ideas!!!

This picture makes me happy inside. Why, you may ask? Because for the first time in the last couple of weeks, I'm seeing what I've been picturing in my head outside of my head.

So I'll be the first to admit that this whole wedding planning bit isn't my thing. I like helping people that organize the events, but I struggle with being THE person in charge. There are just too many cool/cute/unique/[insert adjective here] things you could potentially do that it's very easy to get overwhelmed. VERY easy.

I've been looking at some books and magazines to try and narrow down things a bit and to be honest, it only sort of worked. There are so many ideas floating around in my head that I've been dreaming about wedding details for the past 3 nights. Not the most restful sleep I've ever had.

So thank you to my friend's friend's picture for giving me some hope that the ideas in my head might turn out better than ok when actually executed... Maybe tonight I'll even dream about running away from aliens who are trying to take over the world!

P.S. Guys in the families get ties. Girls get ______ ??? This is what I'm thinking for the girls... Emily, Julia, Sarah, Tara - What do you guys think?

Wedding Plans

When?
Thursday, January 6th, 2011

Where?
Wedding
Newport Beach, CA
Receptions
1. January 8th, Provo City Library at Academy Square
2. January 15th, Cape Girardeau, MO

An Ode to My Car

Often at the end of the day I try to think about three good things that happened that day. After completing the 1,230 mile trek from Provo, Utah to Columbia Missouri in a 17 hour driving marathon yesterday, the performance of my car was on my list of three good things.

After thinking about it a little more I realized that my 2002 Honda Accord has had quite the year. Last August it carried me (and everything I owed packed into the back) from California to Missouri (1,749 miles). In December it transported Daniela and I to Washington D.C. and back (1,702 miles). In May it made the trip back out to Utah (1,200 miles). Over the summer it spent lots of time on I-15 cruising from Provo past Las Vegas to Newport Beach, CA and back (1,288 miles). And then yesterday it carried me from Provo back to Columbia. By my count, it has been on roadways in 16 different states in the last year.

So kudos to my car. It has been a great car to drive the last five years. And because of its dependability, the biggest question when planning a road trip is whether I can find a good audiobook to which to listen.