Mona Rope Swing

A few weeks ago, we drove down to Mona with Kori and Rhen to check out this rope swing. It's pretty awesome. They've got this rope tied to the top of a tree and a few platforms you can climb up to and jump from. It was insanely crowded when we go there. I was worried that everyone was going to be watching me as I attempted to jump. The crowd died down though, and honestly, it wasn't as intimidating as I thought. The crowd, anyway. The swing itself scared me to death! I stood there for about 10 minutes contemplating if I was actually going to take that jump. Lendrum was up there with me trying to help encourage me. He must have counted to three about eight times haha. Finally, I jumped off the platform and when the time was right, I let go of the rope and fell into the water. Once I had taken that first jump, I was fine (but it sure took a lot for me to make that jump). I was so proud of myself! We had a blast with Kori and Rhen and Rhen's sisters as well. We ate at this little burger shack called Big Burger on the way back. I definitely didn't expect to see a little Indian man inside taking orders haha.

4th of July

Growing up in California, where fireworks are illegal and the only professional show is two cities away, the 4th of July has never really been that big of a deal for me. So when I came home one day and found my apartment decorated in red white and blue, I wondered why in the world the 4th was my roommate Emileigh's favorite holiday. I found out no sooner than July 3rd. Something happens in Provo that transforms University Avenue from an annoying, traffic-infested street, into miles of tents, BBQ's, TV's and, perhaps the most noticeable element: noise. Lendrum and I decided that this was strange, so naturally we wanted to be a part of it before we turned into a boring married couple in a few weeks. We grabbed our pillows, blankets, and bikes and rode over to University Ave, prepared to camp out on the street along with the rest of the city. The energy there was insane. Apparently, everyone was camping out for the parade the following morning, which was said to be the best in the state. After riding our bikes up and down the scene, we finally found an open spot we could claim. By this time it was around 1am, and we thought it would be in our best interest to grab a burger at Wendy's. We put down our blankets and then rode our bikes through the drive through line. After about 10 mins of waiting in line, we were informed that our efforts to eat we in vain. Bikes are not allowed in the drive through. Lame. Luckily, we found a friendly car to order for us. Thank goodness. By the time we tried to get to sleep, the noise had died down about zero percent, so we barely got any sleep that night. We woke up around 5am to horns honking, radios, and police sirens. But hey, the experience of everything was definitely worth the lack of sleep.

After grabbing some bagels, we watched the parade, which was actually quite fun. I'm not the biggest fan of parades, but this one was bearable. That afternoon, we had burgers with some of Lendrum's friends. Then we headed over to Center Street to check out the Freedom Festival. It was your typical fair: a few bad rides and a lot of overpriced food booths. We did get free ice cream and five dollar sunglasses though! Worth it. The bummer of this day was that Lendrum had to work at night, and by work I mean get paid time and a half to watch the Stadium of Fire show. Meanwhile, I chilled with some friends in the ward and watched the fireworks from below the Y on the mountain and listened to our own "America" playlist. It was sweet; we could see all the fireworks in Utah Valley. And the Stadium of Fire fireworks did not disappoint. By the end of the night, I was exhausted! I was so taken aback by how crazy Utah (and specifically Provo) gets for the 4th! I'm definitely going to do this holiday right from now on. God bless America.

Happy 4th of July! Love, Provo. 

Waving the red and blue

Back at the Ranch

I love this place. It's great just to get away and spend time with good friends. We had a blast this trip! Some highlights:

The newest additions to the ranch: two fainting goats! Gus and Gil.

Chef Mike 

Our new favorite game: Bang!

Lendrum and Mckay eating way too much bread

Four wheeling ride up to the top of a mountain

Four adorable little bunnies

Skeet shooting

Rock chuck hunting for the boys

Hopeful slip n slide excursion that failed because of the extremely cold water

Baby pheasants

Funny running lambs 

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Making moneys and memories

Ahh...summer is almost here. Time to drink lemonade, lay out by the pool, and read lots of books. Well, unless you're working two jobs and planning a wedding. But hey, I certainly can't complain. In the mornings, I work as a sanitation engineer (ok...custodian) at Heritage Halls and in the afternoons I head up to the McKay Building to work as an Arts Implementation Specialist for the Elementary Education department. I was really lucky to land both of these jobs because they are both super flexible. And the latter is great for my resume! I basically work on projects that promote the arts to Elementary Education majors at BYU. Right now we are preparing for a conference that will have lots of different classes on how to integrate arts into the classroom. I'm loving it. They also gave me a Macbook to use as long as I'm working for the department! Score. Lendrum is also working taking care of mentally handicapped people. It's a good job, but the hours are long and don't really line up with my schedule. He works till midnight three days out of the week, and by that time we are both usually dead tired. He also works a graveyard shift one night a week, which is awful. But we are both working hard to make money for our future life together, so it's all going to be worth it.

Wedding planning is definitely overwhelming, but I have an awesome mom who is doing so much. AND she is keeping her cell phone with her more often, which is a miracle in itself. It's kind of fun planning for the best day of my life. Lendrum and I are getting pretty excited about our Hawaii honeymoon as well. We have hotels and flights booked! On weekends, we usually have more time to do fun things and I try to manage my time so that I'm not caught up in wedding planning when we have time to spend together. Details that I've ironed out so far: wedding dress is bought, reception location is planned, sealing time is reserved, photographer is booked, colors are picked out, and announcements are coming along. We've still got a long way to go, but at least it's a start.

South Carolina. Day 6. I'M ENGAGED!!!

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

I've thought long and hard about how I would start this post. How do you introduce the best day of your life? I really could not have asked for a better day, a better proposal, or a better man to spend the rest of my life and beyond with. Lendrum Morrow is the man of my dreams. I am so incredibly lucky to call him mine. Here's our story...

I really was hoping that he'd do it in South Carolina. What a perfect place to get engaged! I even mentioned this to him one evening, and he shut down my hopes by telling me that he wanted to wait until I had met his family first. I was still secretly hoping he'd propose in South Carolina though. Every time we went out, I'd quickly look down at his pockets just to check if there was a ring box. So when Lendrum told me he wanted to take me out to RB's, I did my usual routine. No ring box in site. Dang it. Well we went to the restaurant, which was stunning, and ate a nice seafood meal as we watched the boats come in to Shim Creek from the Ocean. Then Lendrum said he wanted to walk along the beach on Sullivan's Island. This particular part of the beach faces west, so you can see the sunset over the ocean and the city of Charleston in the background. When we arrived at the beach, there was nobody there except for a little old lady with her dog. But don't worry, by the time the sun started going down, she was gone. We walked along the beach for a while and took a few pictures. And then it happened. Lendrum looked at me and started saying a bunch of nice things. At first, I just thought he was being his normal sweet self, but then he got down on one knee and pulled out the prettiest ring I've ever seen. He said, "Christine, I can't imagine going another day without you in my life. I want to spend the rest of eternity with you. Will you marry me?" It all happened so fast, yet I remember this moment so clearly. I never thought I could feel so happy in my life. I was just overcome with emotion and so incredibly excited to have Lendrum forever. Nothing could have wiped that smile off my face. He stood up and slipped the beautiful ring on my finger. We stayed on the beach for a little while; I just didn't want that moment to end. We finally made our way back to the truck and to my surprise, there was a bouquet of roses on my seat! I actually didn't see them at first, I was too busy looking at my ring. Lendrum had to point them out haha. But they were just so beautiful! Everything was just perfect. We got back to his house (his mom and all his brothers knew he was proposing that night) and everyone was so excited! So many hugs haha. His mom gave me a South Carolina blanket and Quinn gave me a sweet grass rose and necklace. We took some more pictures, had scripture study and prayer (honestly, all I could think about was the fact that I was actually engaged!), and then it was time for the phone calls. Lendrum and I probably spent a good two hours just calling our friends and family to spread the good news. By the time we were done with the phone calls, we were exhausted. I went to bed that night knowing that I was the happiest girl in the world, and that feeling hasn't gone away since. And I don't plan on it ever going away. I am so in love with Lendrum and I can't wait until August 4th when we will be married!

Picture taken by the nice old lady

Beautiful sunset on Sullivan's Island.

I'M ENGAGED!

I couldn't be happier

My beautiful ring

South Carolina. Day 5.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

I've decided that Cypress Gardens is the prettiest place I've ever been to. Look familiar? That's because this is where The Notebook was filmed. I wanted to see some gators while I was in South Carolina, so Lendrum suggested Cypress Gardens. There were these huge, beautiful cypress trees growing in a marshy creek. We rowed through the water in little rowboats. Quinn was our tour guide, and we definitely wouldn't have spotted all the gators that we did without him. It was just so beautiful; I could have spent all week at Cypress Gardens. Funny story: when we first arrived, we hadn't eaten lunch and were starving! We saw a sign that said "refreshments" and followed it to find a couple vending machines. Fail. We were expecting a restaurant..haha. Later that night, we had a bonfire on the beach with some family and friends. Then, the moment I had been waiting for: Waffle House! I had to do it. My bacon wrap was super greasy and the guy who made it didn't wear gloves. It was all part of the experience!

Quinn, me, and Lendrum in our boat

Gator watchin

Spotted: big gator!

Beautiful Cypress Gardens

Yep.

Swamp People

Waffle House baby!

South Carolina. Day 4.

Monday, April 23, 2012

Downtown time! Lendrum and I met up with Quinn and a few other friends in Charleston and took a bus tour of the historic city. Charleston was actually a lot different than I imagined. There were no skyscrapers, no city skyline, and lots and lots of churches. We got to see lots of famous sites on our tour, including Rainbow Row, The Battery, Calhoun Mansion, The Citadel, The College of Charleston, Riverdogs stadium, the slave market, and some pretty awesome famous houses. After our tour, we explored Waterfront Park and got some dang good gelato! That night, Stephanie, Kim, Lendrum, and I went to Chase's baseball game. Lendrum and I went to the beach later.

Fort Sumter Monument

Famous Mansion

East Coast!

Charleston crew

So cute and Southern

Waterfront Park swings

Pineapple fountain..and Sperry's

South Carolina. Day 3.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Sunday was the day of meeting more people than I can remember, smiling a lot, and hoping that everyone liked me. Quinn gave his farewell talk, which was excellent. Stephanie's two other sisters, Stacy and Faith, are also in their ward so there was a lot of family there. It was fun to see everyone all together. That night we had a big family dinner. The food was absolutely delicious. Ham, cheese potatoes, rolls, pretzel salad, lots of other salads, cupcakes, and eclair cake. Everything was so good! The Morrow house was full of family and friends. We were all eating, laughing, telling stories, and playing games the whole night.

I seriously love them

Morrow boys! Minus Mckay.

South Carolina. Day 2.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

My first real day in South Carolina proved to be quite the adventure. First on the list: wakeboarding! For those of you who don't know, one of my life goals has been to get up on a wakeboard. Now granted I've only tried one other time, this goal remained unaccomplished until this day. Lendrum, Quinn, and I were fortunate enough to go out on Dr. Merrill's boat on the Stono River. I remember being blown away by all the trees along the river, not to mention all the docks! Every house along the river had a dock. It was beautiful! Lendrum and Quinn busted out some moves on the wakeboard, and then it was my turn. Everyone was very patient with me. But alas, I finally got up! I can check that one off the list now. I'd really like to get better at wakeboarding and go more in the future.

On Saturday night, we went to North Charleston to see Wicked! Such a good show. We got third row seats too! We went to dinner at Longpoint Grill  before the show, which was deliciously Southern. We thought the show started at 7pm, but it really started at 8pm so we were a little early. We took some pictures and chatted for a while before it was time to go in the theater. It was a great way to spend my first day in the South!

Out on the river

Air

Woo! Outside the wake baby.

Love this boy

Goofing off before Wicked

Stephanie, Kim, me, Lendrum, and Quinn at the show

South Carolina. Day 1.

I just had the trip of a lifetime! Because I did so much during my time in South Carolina, I've decided to break these entries down into days. So here we go...Day 1. 

Friday, April 20, 2012

I had waited all semester for this day to come! I was finally going to go to the South! And I was finally going to meet Lendrum's wonderful family. Lendrum and I planned to wake up around 6:45am so that we would have plenty of time to drive down to the SLC airport. So you can imagine our panic when we both didn't wake up till 7:30 that morning! I guess finals had really drained us, to say the least. The panic continued when we missed the exit for the airport. We ended up making it in time, but we were some of the last people to check in and because we flew Southwest, this meant we would be the last people to board the plane. We were starving by the time we got to the airport, and I insisted that we get nice breakfast sandwiches at a little nice restaurant called Boar's Head. After ordering two sandwiches, Lendrum and I watched as they slapped some egg (which resembled yellow foam) on an english muffin and nuked it in the microwave with some fake cheese and rubbery bacon. Keep in mind that these little microwaved sandwiches cost us over $5 each. Microwave. Wow, really? We had a good laugh about that. When it was time to board the plane, we didn't get to sit next to each other at first because we were last to choose our seating. The man next to me agreed to switch seats with Lendrum, but insisted that they do it "in the air" and "after he had his drink." I guess we couldn't complain. We had a layover in Baltimore where I realized that the East Coast was not at all desperate for trees. We had lunch at a place called California Tortilla, which was delicious! Well, either that or we were just impressed that it was better than microwaved sandwiches. The flight from Baltimore to Charleston was pretty quick. We landed in South Carolina soon enough after stepping outside for five seconds I realized one thing: this place was humid! We met up with Stephanie, Miss Kim, Kevin, and Devin outside the airport. I'll admit I was a little nervous to meet everyone. I had already met Kim, so it was nice to see a familiar face at the airport. She is so sweet. We all went out to eat at Moe's that night and then went back to Lendrum's beautiful house! The best thing about his house: the front porch. It's just so Southern! Love it. I didn't get to meet Chase till the next morning because he was at a basketball tournament, but I did get to see Quinn late that night when he came home from Mormon Prom. I was exhausted by the time I went to bed that night. The Morrow's were kind enough to let me have Chase's room all to myself, which meant I had my own bathroom attached to my room too. I think it took me all of ten seconds to fall asleep that night. 

Roommates? Who would've thought...

If you knew us back when we were 12, you know that this picture pretty much describes our childhood. Crazy, wild, loud, and always laughing. What you might not have known back then is that my best friend would eventually become my college roommate, despite moving away to Georgia for a few years in the middle of high school. The memories we've shared together are literally countless. Car pool rides, inside jokes, Smallville, Girls Camps, home videos, high school dances, sleepovers, burning popcorn, boy drama, phone calls. More recently, California trips, movie premiers, sharing clothes, pillow talk, dance parties, concerts, approving (or not approving) guys, pranks, dinners, and lots of laughing, crying, and living.  Today it really hit me that this picture was taken almost ten years ago. If I had known then that I would still have Morgan Renae Kennedy as my best friend ten years later, I think I might have spent a few extra moments smiling every day. I continue to be amazed with life and the places God takes us. As summer creeps closer and closer, I am starting to realize that these are my last few months with this amazing girl. I've always known that she has wanted to serve a mission, but today she told me that she will be starting her papers next week. And what an incredible missionary she will be! Our lives will  both be taking great changes in direction  in the next several months, but I know that we will always be there for each other. I know this because we've done it before. We've been doing it for over ten years. And friendship like that never ends. Never.

Eighth grade promotion dance. Such a big deal. 

Paradise Point 

We still love the beach!

Rockin the Hepburn shades

Seaport Village

Visit to California! After a year in Georgia, CFA was a must

Reunited at college! Going out for the night.

Holi Holi!

Vegas Baby! 30 Seconds to Mars concert

Park City weekend

More 30STM. We're kind of obsessed...

Gaga cowgirl duo

Always my stylist

Hollywood music video shoot

LA skyline from Dodgers Stadium

Enjoying the sunshine out on the lake

Riverwoods. Tucanos. Mama K.