Happy Day!

April 20, 2013 - Happy Day!!!

Everyone says that your wedding day should be the happiest day of your life. And they are right. April 20, 2013 was PERFECT! Nothing could keep my spirits down that day, not even unusually cold spring temperatures, rain and clouds. It was the best day of my life!

The wedding festivities started Friday night with a wedding dinner. We kept it really low key and just wanted a chance for families and wedding party to mix and mingle. Mike created a slideshow highlighting our dating story that we previewed for everyone. It was really sweet and I think we even saw some happy tears from Mike.  The evening turned out great! Thanks Kurt and Alisa for hosting!

Saturday started off with pancakes and bacon! Who says you can't eat on your wedding day! The morning flew by as my talented friend, Michelle did my hair and make-up and before I knew it, it was time to head to the temple!!

It was cloudy and rainy when arriving at the Draper Temple, but in all honesty, I didn't care. I was so excited to go inside and see Mike. I love being inside the temple as I always immediately feel peaceful and at home. I found Mike right away and I knew everything was perfect. The sealing was just right and all I really remember is smiling the entire time. I loved looking around and seeing all the people I love the most in the same room supporting me, it truly was a very special and tender moment.

I guess the rains came down hard while everyone was waiting for us to come out of the temple, but they stopped moments after exiting the temple. MIRACLE!!!

The rest of the day is a blur. The reception turned out beautifully. Thank you to everyone who helped plan, decorate, paint, and prepare!!!! I know that I might be biased, but my reception was the most fun wedding reception I've ever attended. Even Mike, who wasn't so sure about all the wedding festivities,  admitted he enjoyed every minute of the day! I only wish I could have spent more personal time with everyone.

Now some pictures to introduce Mr. & Mrs. Squires!!!!

               

      

Hola Nicaragua

Now that the BIG announcement has been made, I can go back and keep my promises. Life's just been so full and busy that blogging has definitely taken a back seat.

Nicaragua!! I spent almost 3 weeks in Nicaragua helping out at the USAID mission. The work itself was pretty boring, so I'll just skip to the weekend trips and sight seeing. While I was there, I was fortunate to be introduced to a few Americans also temporarily stationed in Managua for a few weeks. Because of their short time, they planned touristy adventures each weekend, so I joined the group as they were happy to share the transportation costs (and I was happy to have Spanish speakers around to help me out).

Nicaragua is known for lakes and volcanoes, leaving the rain forests to its southern neighbors of Costa Rica. There are quite a few volcanoes in this small country and many boast the typical cone like shape, pretty impressive geography!

LEON

My first trip was to Leon, a colonial city north of Managua. We decided to hire a guide (thanks trip advsior) to give us a tour of the city. Nicaragua was quite the political history filled with colonialism, guerilla war, civil war, dictators, and revolution. The guide had fought in the recent civil war (1979-1990) and definitely had his opinions on Nicaragua and American politics.

OMETEPE

The second trip was to an island, Ometepe, within Lake Nicaragua. We had to get up super early to drive to the dock to catch a ferry that would take us to the island. We again hired a guide and began our "jungle cruise". Ometepe is a pretty interesting place where many of its people never leave the island. The island is hour glass shaped and boasts two volcanoes, the word actually means two mountains in the Native language. Here we drove around ond half of the island, exploring and hiking, trying out a natural freshwater spring, and eating fresh fish off the side of the lake. I really wanted to hike a volcano, but as it was the rainy season and we didn't have 6-7 hours to hike, I was vetoed. But even though we didn't hike volcanoes, we did see petroglyphs and pre-Columbian stone idols, which have been discovered by archeologists in the last 50 years or so.

MOMBACHO

At the end of the second week, Mike came to join me and I had my own personal translator!! (don't worry Mike, I think of you as more than just a translator.) We planned a day trip to Mombacho, a volcano surrounded with a cloud forest. (which is really cool to feel like you are walking through clouds and randomly feel the steam and smell the sulfur pots coming from the mountain). Here we hiked, did zipling, and rode in another vehicle that felt pretty close to the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland.

PLAYA MADERA

The next day, we headed down south to the surfing beaches, just north of the Costa Rican border. The weekend before, the World Masters Surfing Championships had taken place in this same location. I was bummed I couldn't get a ride down to watch. However, Mike and I took the opportunity to take surfing lessons of our own!!! That's better than watching professionals, right? We stayed down at the beach at this little resort owned by an expatriate. We surfed, hung out at the beach, and just enjoyed the super relaxed atmosphere of the non touristy Nicaraguan beaches.

As I mentioned, the work I did was of little note, but exploring Nicaragua was a blast! Food was great, people were nice, and the Spanish the easiest to understand of all the Latin American accents I've heard. Don't know if I'll ever come back, but I had a great time while I was there!!! ADIOS!

New Year, New Adventures

Hey Readers!

So I promised a post about Nicaragua, But we have to interrupt this post for a special announcement:

MIKE AND I ARE ENGAGED!!!

Yup, you read that correctly!! Mike and I flew to Spokane for Christmas and on Christmas Eve at my house (after my parents went to bed), Mike got down on one knee in front of the Christmas tree to propose. I said, YES!!! Of course.

Engagement Story: Mike and I talked about each writing down our side of the story and having a "his and her" version, then trying to combine them for a complete story, but as we've both been very busy, I'm just going to put my side down here for all to read. I'm sure I'll miss something.

WARNING: If you're not into details, stop reading here and just look at the final pictures. This is my detailed version of the entire story.

Not sure how far back the engagement story begins, but I'll start with some serious ring shopping on December 1. We had gone a few times, but I never knew if he was completely serious, so I never decided on the one ring I wanted. At the December visit, we were told that any customizing would take at least 4 weeks, so I had it in my mind that any proposal would occur after the New Year (or on New Year's). About a week before Christmas, Mike accepted my invitation to come home with me for Christmas to Spokane. He hadn't been before and I really wanted to share Christmas at home with him. We had some struggles getting there (major flight delays), but we finally made it after extra lay overs and lost bags. 

While at home, my dad kept asking me if Mike needed to talk to him. I rolled my eyes and answered every time, "Dad, I don't know!" I really wanted Mike to ask my dad for permission, but since I just didn't know, I wasn't about to ask Mike about it. At one point, I came downstairs and both were talking and sort of stopped when I came into the room. I thought maybe they had just had "the conversation." A few hours later, my dad again asked me if Mike was going to talk to him. Now since my dad isn't one to purposely lead me astray, I figured Mike really hadn't asked. Well that was Christmas Eve and the day was winding down. We enjoyed a nice dinner and then watched a movie about the birth of the Savior with my parents. I wanted to go change into sweats, but Mike insisted I stay put and when I started to fall asleep during the movie, (remember, it's 3 hours earlier in Washington and I had just been flying for 9+ hours) Mike kept nudging me and telling me to stay awake. Finally, the movie ended and my parents headed to bed. It was shortly before midnight. 

After Mom and Dad went to bed, Mike said he had a surprise for me and told me to wait on the couch and close my eyes. Of course, immediately my thoughts turned to a potential proposal and in the same moment, I began talking myself out of it; saying things like, "he hasn't had time to get a ring." "he hasn't talked to my dad yet." "he only decided to come to Spokane this week, there's no way he planned a proposal." Needless to say, I talked myself out of it and was NOT expecting it.

Eventually, Mike let me open my eyes and come into the living room with the Christmas Tree. He explained that there was an ornament hidden in the tree and he wanted me to find it. Once I found it, he had a surprise for me. I excitedly looked and looked, but wasn't having much luck. Mike gave me a hint and told me to look for "O Holy Night." After a few more minutes, I found a beautiful wood carved St. Nicholas ornament, with "O Holy Night" carved underneath a manager scene at the base of the ornament. Funny thing, my mom decorated the tree all in white, crystal, and glass ornaments, and the Santa ornament was red. Must have been really excited to miss that. We oohed and ahhed at the ornament for a few minutes and as Mike was explaining why he had chosen that particular ornament (we both love and collect nativity scenes), he said, "I think this should be one of our traditions." Our, I thought...my ears totally perked up. (Mike will say he saw the expression change in my face after he said that, though he didn't plan out the words before hand).

After we looked at the ornament, Mike handed me a present as promised and told me to open it. The gift was a beautiful wooden jewelry box. The box was a Willow Tree design that included a picture of a husband and wife on the front and inside the words, "In love's Embrace." At that moment, I knew what Mike was doing. He then said to me, "Brea, you can't have a jewelry box without some jewelry to go with it." The next thing I know, Mike reaches behind him and gets down on one knee. As he gets down, I keep repeating, "Are you serious? Are you serious?" Yes, even though I realized what was happening, I still didn't quite believe it. I had wondered how I would react, and I guess now I know. As he's kneeling down, he simply states my full name and asks me to marry him. Immediately, I say, YES, of course I will marry you!" Then I grab his shoulders and tell him to stand up because I can't hug him kneeling down. After a few minutes of shock, disbelief, and complete joy, I stop suddenly and say, "wait, I didn't even look at the ring, I want to see it!" He had it in the box, open the whole time, but I got so caught up in the moment, I barely looked. So let it be known that I was way more excited about Mike than the ring. And I love the ring!

It was the most perfect and best Christmas of my life. Completely magical. I am beyond excited to marry Michael B. Squires and it has all been worth the wait. We are both so happy and excited. 

Wedding details are still being worked out, but we're planning for April 20, 2013 in Utah.

30 Before 30

Turning 30 is a BIG deal. And not one that I was even remotely looking forward to. In the spirit of embracing the next decade in my life, I decided to spend the 30 days before my birthday accomplishing 30 goals (some significant, some not). Originally, I planned on doing 30 major things in the one year before turning 30, but time slipped away and I modified my goals. So here's a list of what I accomplished leading up to my 30th Birthday.

30 before 30 in 30 days....

(in no particular order)

#1 Make a calendar to accomplish all my goals
 
#2 Read my scriptures every day

#3 Eat a vegetable every day

#4 Print out Okcanna's baptism picture and write her a letter to go with it

#5 Do a long run every Saturday

#6 Download my Oma interviews from last summer
Last summer, I spent a few days with my Oma in Germany. I brought along a digital voice recorder and was able to capture a few hours of stories from Oma. Now, as she has passed on, those recordings are even more meaningful.

#7 Organize and clean my desk

#8 Purge 10 items of clothing
 

#9 Style my hair differently

I know it may not look different, but my hair is stick straight, so these curls and waves took time and effort!

#10 Get a pedicure
 

#11 Get a manicure (yep, split those up)
 

#12 Visit the Dairy Godmother (a raved about custard place not far from my house)
 

#13 Visit my sisters in Washington and Oregon
 

#14 Create a surprise for Mike
Dinner and a movie...can't go wrong. I made the dinner below and presented him with Rudy as a prep for our trip to Notre Dame for the BYU-Notre Dame football game.

#15 Try a new recipe

I went to the trusty source of pinterest to try this dish out!  http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2009/09/crispy-southwest-chicken-wraps.html

#16 Buy a new piece of jewelry
 

#17 Read a book
 
My friend Liz gave me this book to read, Stargirl. She told me it was a quick, but a good read. And she was right!

#18 Memorize a scripture
Ether 12:27 "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

#19 Take a yoga class
Lucky for me, my roommate Ally is a master yoga instructor. She was kind enough to host a free yoga night for me and a few others the night before my birthday. 

#20 Try a new restaurant


#21 Make a new dessert

Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles anyone?? So good!

#22 Visit a new monument/memorial

Einstein Memorial in DC, off the beaten path. Mike took me here on a Sunday evening so I could check off one of my goals. Unique and interesting memorial, definitely worth a stop, especially if you are a scientist.

#23 Attend the Temple

#24 Reach my financial savings goal
I did it!!! I am debt free and reached my savings goal. 

#25 Write in Journal
 I managed to get at least one entry in...October 17, 2012, the last day of my youth....

#26 Print some digital pictures

#27 Do something from my youth
Not sure if others would count this, but I sure do! I stayed up until 2am a few nights in a row!! For those that live with me, they know I'm not much of a late nighter, 12am comes and I turn into a pumpkin, so this was a big deal. All my late nights happened while I was in Washington/Oregon with my sisters. Sisters can talk!!!

#28 Do something crafty
Crafts do not come easily to me. In addition to lacking all creative skills, I also have very little artistic vision. For my first "craft experience" (since high school YW projects), I ventured into JoAnn Fabrics and purchased some fabric to recover a travel pillow I have. I haven't sewn anything yet, but going into the fabric store and successfully coming out with fabric and thread is a big step!

#29 Finish summer blogs
See previous blog post

#30 Set Goals for Year 30
I'll make some more goals as the new year approaches (in a few weeks), but I did write down a few for my 30th year.

Giving Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving!

Early morning Thanksgiving and I have much to be thankful for: peace of mind, health, family, friends, trust in my Savior, living Prophet, sunrises and sunsets, beautiful views, music, comforts, modern technology, scriptures, old cards and notes from friends, pumpkin pie, hot rolls, testimony of the plan of happiness, job, hooded sweatshirts, ocean trips, indian summers and long falls...the list could go on.

I wish everyone a wonderful and happy Thanksgiving! Thank you for all who have blessed my life!

Summer Fun

We are well into fall and I've finally accepted that summer has come to an end. To celebrate the end of summer, I'm creating a mega blog post. A chance for me to sift through pictures, stories, and remember all the summer fun.

DUCK BEACH
To me summer is all things good. I love everything about summer: weather, food, trips, freedom. This summer was filled with fun and adventure. I kicked off the summer season with a trip to Duck Beach in North Carolina's Outer Banks. Duck Beach is the annual trip for DC area (and everywhere else) LDS singles. There was volleyball, dance parties, food, movies, and lots of beach playing time. All in all it was a great weekend, even while suffering a little dehydration and heat exhaustion (played a little too hard during the volleyball tournament).

4th of July
4th of July in DC is always a treat! A perfect Independence Day includes pool, BBQ, and fireworks and this year it delivered. Success!!! For the fireworks show, we decided we didn't care to fight the downtown crowds and instead stayed in Arlington, VA and watched a local fireworks show at the Arlington Country Club. While downtown is fun, I sure didn't miss the crowds and travel time. I think we decided that next year we'll play it low key, and maybe even add some sparklers of our own.

The downtown pictures were actually from July 3.

Summer Storms
This summer DC had some crazy summer storms. The week before the 4th we had a Derecho...a storm that comes from intense heat. I think we had a week or more of continuous 100+ degree days! Add DC humidity and that 's a recipe for disaster!! The storm ripped though Friday night and caused power outages from Ohio to Virginia. Mike's house lost power for about 24 hours and a bunch of trees fell down in his backyard crashing on his shed, but his house was intact. Many of his neighbors weren't so lucky. The power outage and fallen trees were a bummer, but I think Mike was even more sad about Tiger Woods' AT&T National Golf Tournament. The Saturday event was cancelled for spectators because of fallen trees and debris. Lucky for us the tournament is returning to DC next summer!

 
















BASEBALL
In addition to lots of pool time, BBQ's, and golf, summer wouldn't be complete without America's Favorite Pass time--Baseball!! Mike surprised me with a spontaneous trip to Philadelphia in June! We ran the Rocky steps, ate Philly cheese steaks, and then went to see the Phillies! I have a goal of visiting all the MLB Ballparks on the east coast and I'm one stadium closer! Philly fans are intense, but what a fun ball game! Mike and I also went to a few Nationals games and the annual Baltimore vs Seattle game at Camden Yards. I love watching my Mariners, and I got bonus innings this go around. At inning 11, I asked Mike if we needed to go home (it was a Tuesday night), but he responded that we were committed to the end (game lasted until after midnight and we had an hour drive home). Did you know there is a 14th inning stretch? Sadly, we lost the heart breaker in the bottom of the 14th inning. Maybe next year....

The Lake
As I've gotten older travel and beaches have become more available, but boating has become a rarity. Lucky for me I got one waterski trip in. Mike and I headed to Deep Creek, MD to deliver a few ping pong tables. After delivering the tables, one of the families invited us out on the lake. It's been a few years since I've been waterskiing, but it seemed to come back with ease. Even with less experience on the water, Mike also proved his skills. I also discovered the goodness of Amish bakeries and delis. Oh my goodness....bread, cheese, and meat to die for...so good! Oh and we got to do some hiking after boating. I will admit that parts of Maryland and Virginia are beautiful!

I know this isn't a picture of the lake, didn't get any there, but the hike to the waterfall after was just as pretty!

International Travel

Every year I have a goal of getting another stamp in my passport. Last year work sent me to Switzerland and this summer I spent three weeks in....NICARAGUA! I'll give you just a taste but save the details for another blog post.

Annapolis
Something I've wanted to do since moving here is to have Maryland Crab in Maryland. I convinced Mike to go to Annapolis on a Saturday. We really wanted crab, but in the end settled for crab cakes as I got stage fright of learning to crack a crab with no experience or no help from a seasoned crab eater. Taking a hike through the Naval Academy was pretty cool and the views from the harbor were gorgeous. A good first time to Annapolis and maybe next year I'll be brave enough to try the crab.

LABOR DAY
Summer came full circle as we ended summer with Labor Day weekend at Virginia Beach. Steffany came into town to celebrate her 30th birthday and six of us went down south to get one more trip to the beach. The weather didn't cooperate too well, but we did get a few hours of beach play time. The best part of the weekend was spending time with Steffers who moved back to Utah last spring.

There you have it...Summer 2012. It came and went. Ciao.

Ms. Didenhover Comes to Washington

You know it's a great weekend, when your sister is able to fly across the country to visit you!! Over Mother's Day weekend, Jaime came out to D.C. to spend an entire weekend with ME!!!!! We put on our tourist shoes and raced to see and do everything this city has to offer. We gave it a good go and while we saw and walked a lot, Jaime will just have to come back for more.

In just three short days we crammed in: Capital Hill, Library of Congress, tour of the Capital Building (including a walk on John Boehner's balcony), Good Stuff Eatery, Museum of Art (modern and not so modern), Natural History Museum, American History Museum, dinner at Matchbox, FDR Memorial, Eastern Market, Vietnam & Korean War Memorials, Lincoln Memorial, White House, milkshakes, mother's day breakfast, Mt. Vernon, Arlington Cemetery, BBQ at Mike's, and lots and lots of girl chat!

I only have a few of the pictures we took, but enjoy the sampling!!!

I love sister's weekend!!!! Thanks Heimme Ann for visiting! Please come back soon!!!