Our Wedding Reception

Yes, I KNOW we got married in June and now it's almost September, but I just got the pictures from our reception and wanted to post them. We had our reception the day after we got married in our hometown at the LDS church. Our Church is HUGE and it takes A LOT to fill the Cultural Hall (where we always have big events), but we were able to fill the entire room. Check it out...

My mom and I planned the layout of the Reception and she ALWAYS has such creative ideas that it turned out EXACTLY how we'd planned. I couldn't have done ANY of this without her.
We planned to have a "Fountain Table" in the middle of the room. This was an idea that hadn't been explored in little Lovell before. It was so AMAZING! The only request I had was having paper lanterns hanging above this table.

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My Aunt Donna who also helped a lot with our reception, had a great idea for the Gift Area. We wrapped GIANT boxes (washer and dryer sized) with wrapping paper and cute bows and ribbon. What a great idea and it turned out SO CUTE!! Jack Brinkerhoff always makes "Wedding DVD's" for those who ask. He records an interview of "our story" and also comes to the Temple to record us coming out of the temple and getting our pictures taken etc. We had this playing on a TV on your way towards the Receiving Line.
Our center pieces for the tables were also SO CUTE. Mom ordered the "love" words off the internet and then we spray painted them black. We added gold, black, and white ribbon to them. We also had a camera and a rose laying with it on each table.

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The funnest and MOST creative idea my mom had was a "Candy Buffet Table." I don't know how many of you have seen this done... but what a GREAT IDEA!! Not only do the kids love it, but so do the adults. It was a HIT!! We also had a Bulletin board behind it with some of our wedding pictures and the saying "Love Is Sweet!" We had little treat baggies and candy scoops that were used to fill the bags with candy. This was our "thank you" to those who came and celebrated with us at our reception.

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My friend Maggie Scott was the Reception Photographer. She also made the Cake. I drew up a design for how I wanted the cake to look and then she took it from there. It looked EXACTLY how I had planned. We also ordered napkins with the Billings Montana Temple, the date we were married, and our names. They were AWESOME... in fact we are still using them today because we had so many left over! :)

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This last one is just an overall view of the room and little things between.

Make a Smilebox postcard

There are over 400 pictures and I don't want this to be a BORING post for you, so I've created a slideshow with SOME of the pictures. We had such a GREAT turn out and how fun it was to have so many people celebrate our day with us. Even though we've only been married for 2 1/2 months, it's fun to see all these pictures again and remember how cool the whole thing was and how much fun we had. I want to Thank my parents for making this event possible and being so patient with all the little things. :) I also want to thank Terri, my mother-in-law, for making our luncheon after the temple such a wonderful experience for us too. It was also very nice and a great turn out. Our Wedding Day and Reception would not have been the same without all of you who helped up so much. Thank You!

LAST Second Camping Trip

First off, I have to say that my husband is always surprising me with the sweetest things. I was taking a nap the other day and then the next time I checked our blog, I found his surprise. Isn't he a sweetheart? I love him! k, I just had to explain....

Monday night Nick and I were doing things around the house and he's like, "We should go camping." I told him it would take us some time to get things together and we weren't prepared at all. He ALMOST agreed until I reminded him that this was the last day we would have because he had to work the next day and school starts for us on 25th. At that moment NOTHING mattered: not what time it was, not how long it would take us to get up there, not how long it would take to get all the camping supplies ready... NOTHING!! And he had already made our minds up, we were going camping. Ok... just to set the scene for you so you know how crazy this idea was. It was 6 PM when we decided to go camping and I KNEW that we'd be setting up camp in the DARK. We knew it would take us at least 30 mins. to get to the mountain, and we knew we had to be back the next day before 4 pm. Nick got all the sleeping bags, the tent, and the supplies to start a fire. I got all the food ready for the next days breakfast. And that was that... we headed up the mountain. We found some camping grounds and pulled in to go find our spot (using two flashlights). Once we pulled in, this lady jumped out of her camper and asked us what we were doing. We told her we were just going to camp there. She looked at us like we were retarded and said "At this time of night?" Well, this lady worked there and we found out that we had to PAY to camp there for the night. AND on top of paying for a campsite, we had to pay for the firewood. WEIRD huh?!? After we filled out an envelope with our information and paid the ridiculous sum, the lady showed us where we'd be camping for the night. It was like checking into a hotel... so strange. That part is NOT like camping in Wyoming at all. Anyhow... the lady let us be and we began to set up our tent. The tent that we used was NOT ours and so we were NOT familiar with it at all. Nick was SURE that he could do it with no problem though in the dark. Well you know what they say... the third time is a charm. ;) It was VERY interesting setting up a tent by using a flashlight. After we got the tent up and got all settled in, we built a fire and had our FHE. Then we headed for bed. I didn't sleep at all and so it was a VERY long night. I can't complain though, because the moon was shinning SO bright right above our tent all night, it was beautiful! When 7 am rolled around Nick started our fire and we began to make breakfast. Well, with how much TIME I had to get things packed we're lucky we even ate breakfast. LOL!! We had sausage, eggs, and hashbrowns and it was SOO GOOD!! However, I forgot plates and enough sliverware for the two of us. SO we ate out of the pan with one fork and one spoon. It was very interesting, but pretty fun! ;) After breakfast we hung out for a bit, cleaned up camp (taking down a tent is SOO much easier), and drove back down to Las Vegas. It was very short, but we're glad we did it. :)

(The pictures on the slide show go in order of the events explained.)

i love lindi

i never thought i'd ever get on this thing and write something, but i had some things on my mind i wanted to let everyone know. this is going to be hard because i have to try and explain some things that words just can't describe. i'm not sure if every guy feels this way, but i believe that i'm the luckiest, most blessed man out there to have the amazing wife that i do. i wish there was a way that i could let lindi know how much i love, appreciate, care, and admire her, but once again, just the words make it seem so hollow. i could tell lindi that i love her over and over again, and i know that she knows that i love her, and i know that actions speak louder than words, but i also know that there's always more that i could do to show my love for her, and this blog is one of the ways i wanted to express that love to her.
there has been one word that has been going through my mind over and over again when it comes to describing lindi. the word is "thoughtful". simple, but it means so much. the definition for thoughtful is, "taking thought for the comfort and the good of others. thoughtful implies providing little attentions, offering services, or in some way looking out for the comfort or welfare of others."
every time she goes out of her way to provide one of those "little attentions", or acts of service, i am often the beneficiary of the act, in which often times leaves me so grateful and so desirous to follow her example of love and charity. those acts of service are given everyday!
everyday i come home from work, she's up making breakfast for us. she's so kind and so warm and so patient with me. i often come home tired and grouchy because i've been up all night, but she still is kind and considerate and always asks how i'm feeling, and she always does all that she can to make me feel better. i'm not sure if she knows but just seeing her and being around her makes all the stress and garbage of that night at work, fade away and all i feel is love for her.
i couldn't have asked for a better eternal companion. just when i think that i can't possibly love her anymore, she does something, or i hear her laugh, or i see her smile, and feel her touch, and she makes me fall in love with her a little bit more.
i'm so grateful for a wife that loves other people so much. it seems like i kidnapped her from her family and friends back home and brought her to an enormous city where she knows no one! and she just got thrown right in the thick of things. but she is so strong, faithful, and friendly, and took the challenge head on. she's made friends in the ward, and has reached out and has felt love and compassion for the members of our ward here in las vegas, and she barely knows them. she's felt connections with certain people and has shown her charity to them in, once again, doing those little acts of service and has given little attentions, and has made an amazing impact already on the members of our little ward. it seems like i'm just along for the ride, and am always trying to keep up with her when it comes to doing good. it can easily be said of lindi that she follows the example of our Saviour in that she "goes about doing good."
i'm so grateful to her family in allowing me to have their precious daughter as my wife and eternal companion. i know that i have such a long way to go to become the man who is worthy of being with her, but i'm sure that they have all the confidence in the world about the beautiful, talented, faithful young lady that they raised to help me become that man. nobody else on this earth gives me more of a desire to become my best self than lindi. i want to become that man.
now i know that this isn't even a little bit of the things that i could say about her, and that it doesn't do justice the way that i feel about her, but i'm grateful for the opportunity to express my love and appreciation for my wife of almost 2 months.

Take a Moment To Reflect...

Back at home, in Lovell, our little community has been hit by tragedy. I know a lot of you know about this but I just feel the need to post about it. I was talking to my Dad on the phone last night and he said he felt like he was in a movie because he had two funerals and two weddings to go to. The happiest and saddest day for someone is all happening at the same time. Since our community is so small, everyone knows each other so well and it seems like everyone is effected by these events. Of course it's a joyous event for the two weddings that occurred this weekend. However, the two members of our community that have passed were not joyous events. One of our neighbors, Marilyn Tippetts, passed away from cancer. She lived a good and happy life and what a sweet lady she was. She battled with the cancer for years and was doing great, but sometimes our Father in Heaven has a different plan for us. The other member who passed was a boy of 19 years old. He was killed by a shooting accident on the mountain last weekend. His name is Brad Mickelson. Brad was a pretty fun kid with such a cute personality. My younger sister knew him very well and what a loss for all his friends and espically his family. Our Heavenly Father also had a different plan for him. It's the accidents like these that take us humans off guard. These are the ones that make us stop and think about our life's. It makes you more grateful for the blessing you have in life. It makes your heart ache for the family that has to go through it all. But there's the one thing that brings us peace and brings just that little ounce of hope that keeps us strong enough to hold on to life and to make it through our trials. The Atonement. I believe that Christ made it possible for us to be able to see our loved ones again in the life after this. It is more than hard to watch these families go through all the pain and heart ache, but knowing that little bit of information can pull people through the hardest of things. Christ knows what each and every one of us is going through and He is there to help us. The First Presidency message, "May We So Live," in the Ensign this month really hit home for Nick and I this week. For those who haven't, you should read it. It's almost like it was meant for our little community to have as a reminder for this month. Like I said, this event has made me SO grateful for the blessings in my life. I'm so grateful for such a wonderful husband who loves me and also for such an amazing family. I hope that each of you can take a moment today to reflect upon your life and the blessings you have in your life and be SOO grateful for them.

Love and Trust

Nick and I received an email from Grandpa and Grandma Garrick today about 'Christian the Lion.' I'm sure some of you know of Christian, but for those who don't... get the box of Kleenex and watch this clip. What a sweet, sweet story. :)

Job Search: COMPLETE!!

Las Vegas has soo many different options available when it comes to 'a job'. I had a number of different ideas about what I could do when I moved here. I thought about working full-time for Las Vegas Parking with Nick, maybe a scrapbook store, and then a job offer came for the Forum Shops inside Caesar's Palace. I ended up working a two week event for Las Vegas Parking, but now that it's over I was still job hunting until YESTERDAY!!

A few weeks ago a flyer came in the mail. It was about the Preschool on the UNLV campus. It was informing students that a work study position was available. After further reading I found that it was a teacher assistant job that was being offered. I was SO EXCITED!! I got onto the internet and downloaded the application right away. I had an interview with them yesterday and I GOT THE JOB!! :) She continued to show me around the preschool and I was so impressed with how fun and creative the different classrooms and the playground was. :)

Mission Statement:

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) / Consolidated Students University of Nevada (CSUN) Preschool is a division of the Department of Special Education. The preschool is housed in the Lynn Bennett Early Childhood Education Center on the UNLV Campus. The mission of the UNLV/CSUN Preschool is to provide a model inclusive early childhood program that serves children (6 weeks to 5 years of age) of students, faculty, staff and the surrounding campus community.
I'm so excited to begin working with the children as well as the teachers. I'm sure I will keep you updated about this experience throughout the semester! :)

Our Saturday of Service

Last Sunday in Sunday school the teacher, Brother Wagner, began the lesson by bearing his testimony. He told us that his 12 year old daughter Lauren, was in ICU from having back surgery. :( Yes, 12 years old. My heart ached for this little girl while her father talked about it. She has Scoliosis and it was so bad that they put two rods along each side of her spine to straighten her spine out. The surgery went well, but the pain she was in put her in ICU. With tears in my eyes I told Nick that even though we didn't know this little girl, we HAD to so something to help. Brother Wagner didn't agree to us bringing dinner due to their unknown schedule. So, we simply got a GREAT card for her as well as homemade chocolate cookies. However, this was not the only delivery we made today. :( Steph Combado (the family that did our Vegas Reception for us) also had back surgery. I know... what's up with this crazy back surgery talk? It must be the thing to do. ;) I'm not quite sure what kind of surgery she has to have but we wanted their family to know that we love and care about them. It was fun to make the cookies and pick out the cute 'singing' cards. :) I hope that it lifted both of their spirits. :)

Our New Name

Nick and I have been thinking about a new name for our blog. Everybody has these cute and creative titles for their blogs and we have "Nick and Lindi"... Wow, very creative! ;) So we've been running different ideas past one another and finally came up with one. We originally tried to come up with something that 'Anderson' could go with, but we finally turned a different direction: It's a Wonderful Life! What do you think?