The Wedding

On August 29, 1997, Brent and I were married for time and all eternity in the Jordan River Temple in South Jordan, Utah. Brent's Grandpa Behling was our sealer, which was awesome.

Brent had my car in Tooele so he could get to the Temple, so I rode with my parents. My family's friend Becky came over in the morning to do my hair. Once I decided that Brent was the one for me, I started growing my hair out. Then, I find this really great veil that is suppose to go around a bun, so I end up having my hair up. It still looked great though! I must say, I clean up good! My mom's friend Kayleen made my wedding dress. I'm so amazed that she would take that on and so thankful because it turned out PERFECT!

Just as we were going to leave, my dad got in the shower. My dad is like this. I should be used to it, but that day, I was a little nervous, so I freaked out. I feel badly that I yelled at my dad on my wedding day. Sorry Dad. You know I love you. But at least is got them out the door! I remember my mom saying, "It's not like they're going to start without you." Funny now, I must say, annoying then.

We get to the temple and I find Brent. He says to me, "I thought you were never going to get here." Cutie! What, did you think I changed my mind?

We had a wonderful sealing ceremony that I really don't remember much of. I do remember that there was a story about bears, but I have no idea why. As I said, Brent's Grandpa was the Sealer, and they would go backpacking all the time, so I'm sure the bears had something to do with that. Weird what sticks in your head.

Here are some pictures from that great day!

After the ceremony, the wedding luncheon was in Tooele, but we had a little bit of time before we had to be there - we weren't going to help set up or anything. :) So, we went to Wendy's and got a frosty. I sat there thinking, "Hey, all you people, can't you see that we just got married." I was just amazed that no one knew.

The luncheon was wonderful. We had it outside near Brent's parent's house. Good food, good people, fun time. It was under some trees so it wasn't even hot. Very nice!

Our reception was in the garden of the Lion House in Salt Lake City. The flowers were amazing and it was a perfect place! The refreshments were a cake buffet - tons and tons of cakes you could choose from. Unfortunately, we didn't get any, but we didn't notice that at the time. A harpist was playing in the background. A perfect night!

The farther I am from the actual wedding day, the less most of that stuff matters. What really matters is that we knelt across from each other at the alter in a Holy Temple and were made an eternal family. I tell the Young Women all the time that I got to marry my prince charming in the right place. I will never forget that feeling even if I can't remember all the words.

We have a GLORIOUS life. True, things have not gone exactly to plan, but that doesn't make the journey any less sweet. Brent is my best friend, my greatest love, and some days the biggest pain. :) (Couldn't be totally mushy.) I couldn't imagine my life without him. Heavenly Father has blessed us so much and I am so thankful.

I think it's the best when you can look back on your life with someone and see that though there were some bad times, the good times totally eclipse them. I know that we've had bad times. I know what they were like when we were in them, but I would go through them again because they've brought us closer. I'm sure there's going to be more ups and downs, but I know we can do it.

I love you Brent! I couldn't imagine being without you. Thank you for everything!

The Engagement

One day, and I seriously can't remember the exact date, Brent asked me out on a date. We went to Ogden and had dinner at Training Table - which is by the way the best place to eat!!! I paid for dinner - later that bugged me - and we went on a drive. We ended up in Logan Canyon and Brent kept stopping at weird places all the way up. I had no idea where we were because it was really dark, but he'd drive for a little bit, stop, then drive for a little bit, stop... It went on like that until we got to the top of the Canyon and came back down. (I later found out that he was looking for the place we had been for the bonfire on our first date, but couldn't find it.) Then we got to First Dam at the base of the Canyon. We got out and were talking and Brent was acting kind of weird. All of a sudden, this cop comes up and tells us we have to leave because the park is closed. I say ok and head for the car, but Brent says, "No wait a minute."

Then he gets out this box and says, "Will you marry me?"

To which I enthusiastically replied, "Of course."

And then he said, "Are you going to cry now?"

And I even more enthusiastically said, "No" through tears.

We, of course, hugged for a minute, then went back to my apartment where ALL my roommates were waiting. They "had a feeling" that something special was going to happen. So we all giggled and laughed, as girls do, and Brent felt out of place. Court wanted to take a picture of us, but Brent was in no mood, so this is what we got...

That's my Brent - to a tee!!

I've often thought about our engagement after that. One time Brent joked that he was going to say something like, "Is that a hot air balloon?" and when I looked, he would slip the ring on my finger. I think the way he did it was perfect for him. He's not one for pomp and circumstance. He loves surprising me and he surely did that night. I wouldn't change it for the world!

Next time ... the wedding!

The Dating Years

Brent and I dated for 1 year and 9 months. I knew from pretty early on that Brent was the one for me. I think he knew that I was the one for him too, but it took him longer to get brave enough to "settle down." He also wanted to finish his associates degree from Utah State. So, I was patient .... and we had some fun times together.

After our first date, Brent and I flirted a little bit on the internet. (This was quite a few years ago - nothing like the internet now.) I remember being at our friend Roy's place using his computer to email-ish Brent. Brent had sent me an email with a lot of weird questions, and one that I really liked. I remember one of the questions was, "Why do octopus need 8 legs? I only have 2." Stuff like that that I thought was so cute! Then, hidden in the weird questions was, "When are you going out with me again?" Roy had seen that question and said, "He must really like you, he doesn't go out on a lot of second dates." I was very happy!

Our second date turned out to be riding my horses. Being the dorky animal person I am, I wanted to introduce him to my horse Sar as soon as possible. Sar never liked Brent. If we were ever in the paddock and Brent hugged me or something, Sar would push his way in between us. Who says animals don't feel emotions - Sar seemed a little jealous to me.

Here are a few snipits from our dating years.

This is fairly early on in our courtship. Brent wasn't really into showing that he liked me around other people yet, but if you look hard, he's holding my hand. :)I was working at Fred Meyer while I was in school. One day at work, I was lifting a big old bag of dog food so I could scan it and I hurt my back. The only thing I could do for a couple of days was lay on our couch. So, Brent says he'll come over and keep me company. He brings his Calvin and Hobbes books so he can read to me. The problem was, he laughed so hard while he was reading it that I couldn't really understand what he was saying. Truthfully, I thought it was the cutest thing I had ever seen or heard. It is one of the reasons that I fell in love with him.

One weekend, Court and I went down to Salt Lake for the weekend - I can't remember why - and Brent didn't come with us. When we got back, our room was FULL of balloons and streamers. After the initial surprise wore off, we thought it was pretty funny. Then Brent shows up and starts playing around. He puts a couple of balloons up his shirt and does a fun dance to "Queen of the Night" from Whitney Houston. What a crazy guy!

I put this picture in just because my hair is straight in it. It took forever and I don't really like it, but it was fun for that night. Doesn't Brent look cute in a suit? I wish he would wear them more now. (Hint hint Brent)

As you may or may not have figured out, we went to Utah State University in Logan, UT. (Go Aggies.) There is a tradition at USU where you kiss on the A (above) and become "True Aggies." This is what the plaque says, just so you understand what it's all about.

"The 'A' ... where a kiss is more than just a kiss ... here it is a rite of passage.

"The 'A' was built in 1916 by a group of enterprising young men known as the 'Be-Nos'. It's purpose was to serve as the site of a initiation ritual wherein each young man had to kiss a willing young lady atop the 'A' under a full moon at midnight.

"This ritual spread across the entire campus and became known as the method by which one could attain True Aggiehood.

"One can still become a True Aggie with a kiss on the 'A' under a full moon at midnight by one who is a True Aggie or on Homecoming night by one who is not."

When you became a True Aggie, they give you this great card...

And now, to the last story. My roommate Heather was the first one to get married out of my friends. She got married in the Salt Lake Temple. So, all us roommates went down to Salt Lake to spend a rainy wedding day with her. Brent said that he had to work so he wouldn't be able to come down for the reception. I was sad, but I understood. Then....
he surprised me by showing up. He had on an ugly tie, but I was really glad to see him and have a date! It was a great surprise!

We had a great time while we were dating. It was really fun!

Our First Date

So, here I am, finding times to talk to this fun guy I just met. Wishing that he would ask me out. Then one night, there is a knock at the door. When we open it, there are flowers and a note. Each of the flowers had one of my roommates names on it, including one for me. Surprisingly enough, I don't remember what kind of flower I got. At the time, I thought I was going to be a vet, but that's a different story.

Anyway, the note said that we should all be ready for our dates on Homecoming night. I believe Homecoming was the next weekend, but I don't remember for sure.

The night of homecoming comes and my little apartment is a buzz with excitement. Finally the boys get there and they each have a flower that matches their date's flower. I must say, I was hoping that Brent was my date, but I didn't know for sure. He walks in and sure enough, his flower was the same as mine. Yipee!

Here's a really yucky picture of our first date. It's the only one I can find right now. We are in the midst of construction downstairs so I can't get to the other pictures.

We went to the dance and had a wonderful time. I remember at one point holding hands because we were in a big crowd. It was like sparks flying everywhere. At least to me. I was hooked!

Later on that evening, the group went up Logan Canyon and built a fire. We had a wonderful date! And, we've pretty much been together ever since. That was 12 years ago on October 13th. Oh, and I forgot, the date was Friday the 13th. I guess sometimes good things happen on Friday the 13th.

Stay tuned...for the dating years!

The Day We Met

A little while ago, my friend Laura blogged about how she and her husband met and fell in love. I thought this would be an awesome thing to do for our anniversary month. So, since our 10 year anniversary falls on the 29th of this month, the next few blogs are going to be about us. I know Brent's going to love this!

Brent and I met in a cave in Logan, Utah. Here's the whole story. At the beginning of my sophomore year at USU, all the boys we had known were on missions, except one. So, we said to Ty that he needed to bring by some of his roommates so we could meet more boys. One day, Ty comes over with this kind of dorky looking guy. (Don't worry, not Brent.) This new guy's name was Roy. He had just BARELY gotten home from his mission, so he was still a little weird. (I really like Roy now, but that was my first impression.) Anyway, Roy meets my roommate Heather and thinks she's rather cool. So, he asks her out. And it order to impress her, he decides that on this date, he's going to take her through Logan Cave. Heather didn't really like Roy and definitely didn't want to be all alone with him, so she started inviting people. Eventually, she invited about 15 girls to go along - me included. Roy didn't feel like he could get all these weird girls through a slightly dangerous cave all alone, so he invited two of his friends from high school to come with us. There was a kind of gruffly looking guy who didn't talk much named Glen and this quiet blond guy that was really nice. (Guess who the blond guy is.)

We are lucky - we have a picture from the day we met. How many people can say that?

Brent's even kind of behind me. Since this picture if from 12 years ago, I'll describe where we are. Brent's on the top row, second from the right. I'm on the front row, three from the right.

After we all go through the cave safely, everyone came over to our apartment. Brent and I talked a little more. He was funny and easy to talk to. I kind of liked this boy.

Next time ... our first date!!

Ashley's Critic Corner

****WARNING: If you have not read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, do not continue reading.******

As most of the world knows, the last installment of the Harry Potter series was released on July 21st. We are not hard core enough fans to stay up late and get the book at midnight, but Brent did go out at about 8a the next morning and brought it home. We argue about who is going to read the books first, so a few books ago, we started reading them out loud so we find out what happens at the same time. It's a fun way to spend some time together - and not argue! I, however, do not do the different voices. I'm not that awesome.

I really liked this book. I really love the series and was worried that the last book would let me down. It didn't. It was exciting. I loved how she ended it. I was so glad to see their lives 19 years later. What a great idea! I'm also excited to go back and re-read the series to pick up on the things that I now know were important.

I have to say, there were quite a few times where I couldn't read because I was crying. I loved Dobby! I'm so sad he died. It took me quite a while to be able to read out loud what he wrote on the headstone.

Brent loved the Weasley twins, so needless to say, Fred's death was very disappointing. I would have loved to see what happened to George after it was all said and done.

I was sure - twice - that Hagrid was dead. I was so saddened by that. I'm glad he's still around. He must be pretty old by the end though. I mean, he was in Hogwarts with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

I really didn't like that she killed Lupin and Tonks off. That's apart of my "happy ending" problem. I know Teddy ended up ok, but it was just yucky that he had to. Haven't enough parents died in the books?

Well, that's pretty much all I have to say. What do you think?

Catch Up #2

I know that it's August, but I'm still trying to catch up on some awesome stuff that happened in July.

On July 22nd, we welcomed our first nephew to the family. Brent's sister Jessica and her husband, Sean, had a little boy named Jayson. We are going to be going to Utah for his blessing and just can't wait until we can meet him. (Well, I can't wait - Brent doesn't really like them until they can play. That's ok - more time for me to hold them.) Here are some cute pictures from his first day here...

That's Jayson and his biggest big sister, Tayler. She sure seems like she knows what she's doing when she's holding a baby.This picture just cracks me up! This is Jayson's littler big sister Rylee. She's showing him all her faces, just so he knows. :)

Welcome to the world, Jayson!

Also, on July 28th, our oldest niece, Emmy, turned 10 years old. It was so awesome talking to her on the phone. I'm amazed at the young lady she's turning into. I can't wait to see her in about a month!

I think that's about it. As I've said before, I'm not very good at remembering birthdays on the blog. If I've missed your birthday, please forgive me. I usually send cards! :)

Catch Up #1

Well, here I am, catching up again. Where does time go?

On July 21st, Reyes, our little niece, turned 1. Ryan and Marcela had a great party at Silverdale Waterfront Park. Unfortunately, the weather didn't remember it was July and was cold and rainy. Luckily, we're tough Washingtonians and had fun anyway. Here are some pictures.

I like to call this picture "Mom, I don't like the Hat." Such a cute little crown, but Reyes was having none of it.

I love her wrinkley forehead in this one. I still don't think she likes the hat.

As I was taking this picture, Reyes reaches over and tries to grab the cake...

She really didn't like what she grabbed though. Doesn't she know, she's suppose to like that as a 1 year old!

Then there was the great pinjata. (I'm not 100% sure that's how you spell that, but...you get the idea.) Unfortunately, the pinjata was made of some previously unknown kind of cardboard and it bent the broom handle they were using to break it. Finally, Brent and Ryan had to have a tug-of-war to get the candy out. Ahh, there's the candy. Good job guys!

Reyes thought stepping on the candy was a bit more fun that eating it. She just doesn't know yet!

What a fun gift! I espeically love that beautiful blanket that's just right for a little Reyes. :)

I just can't seem to get everyone looking at me at the same time. Does it still seem as if Reyes is saying, "Mom, seriously, I hate this hat!" ?

Here's some more pictures of Reyes.

Court and her family were at the party too. It took us 3 tries to get this picture where both of use have our eyes open. What a fun picture!

Chloe thought she looked like Dory from Finding Nemo. What do you think?

It was a super fun day! We had a great time! Happy Birthday Reyes!