LauraMichele & Aaron

Our First Apartment

2011-10-01T13:35:00.000-07:00

In continuation of the age old tradition of married couples fulfilling the rite of passage known as "tiny and or crummy first apartment" we made our first home as a family in South Salt Lake. Now the connotation that holds depends greatly on your point of reference. To illustrate this point I share the difference in the reaction between two friends.

I had searched high and low all over the Salt Lake Valley in search of an apartment that would be our first place to live together. I discovered in short order that Salt Lake was vastly different from Cache Valley where an average price for a 2 bedroom apartment was $400 often including utilities. In Salt Lake the most frightening 1 bedroom apartments in halfway decent neighborhoods were $700 not including utilities. So I was thrilled when I found a ok sized (600 sqft) 1 bedroom apt with newer carpets, a fireplace, and access to a pool for $450. Sounds ok right....

Well, proud of my accomplishment I invited my some friends from Lindon to come up and have a picnic on the floor of my new apartment. No sooner had they left the car than I began to see from the look on their faces that they did not share my elation. Over the course of the evening I was instructed on the nessecity of locking doors and windows, made to promise not to walk the neighborhood alone, and the need to insert wooden dowls in window tracks for added security. My dear friend left, I am sure, shaking her head and wondering if she would see me safely again. In contrast when other friends, these from West Valley City, first visited our new home they exclaimed "This is nice!" :) :) :)

The Wedding

2011-01-11T17:08:00.000-08:00

And then the Wedding! I can honestly say my wedding day was Perfect!

Since a picture is worth a thousand words I think I'll just share pictures lots and lots of pictures!

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We were married June 2009 in the Mount Timpanogos LDS Temple

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To honor my scottish ancestry and my late grandmother we incorportated as much of the Menzies clan and Scottish traditions as we could. Our rings (somehow I don't have a picture) have the trinity knot symbolizing the godhead as well as the unending relationship between Aaron, Me and the Lord that will make our marriage work.

Luckily Aaron loves wearing a kilt! :)

Aaron wore my a kilt made by a generous friend Amy Raun in my clan's plaid. We had to have the fabric flown over from Scotland.
I wore a tartan sash and our kilt pins boasted the Scottish Thistle and the Menzies crest and moto "With God I Shall"

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Aaron's Boutinier was a simple Scottish Thistle. I had Thistle tucked into my bouquet as well.

Amy made a kilt for Xander and this gorgeous flower girl dress for Aaliyah. Aren't they Adorable!

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Verity is darling too!

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I just love this photo!

Isn't he Handsome!
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We had a ring ceremony to include our family and friends unable to attend the temple ceremony

Both the ring ceremony and the reception were held at my parents house. Anyone who knows her knows my mother has an incredibly gorgeous yard. So picture this....... the ring ceremony took place on the side yard surrounded by flowers and apple trees from there you wander past her beautiful vegetable garden bordered in white lattice down a pathway bordered on one side by a pasture with Topaz lazily grazing and the side other maple and lilac trees. Then you walk beneath a wooden arbor bordered with deep red geraniums to enter a circular yard completely enclosed with trees and bushes a veritable green paradise whose only entrance and exits are the arbor you just passed through and a winding stone staircase on the opposite side.

Okay I'll let the pictures talk now :)

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Xander sneaking more Brownie Bites :)

I might be biased but isn't my cake gorgeous?

Bouquet Toss

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Lucky Winner!

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Stick Jump. There is an old tradition of hand in hand jumping a stick as a symbol of leaving your old life and jumping into your new life together.

It was a little hard in a corset :)

Ahh the idea was that Aaron would lead me off into the sunset.......

Topaz took exception to the idea (and maybe the buttons on my dress ...sorry Topaz) Aaron caught me when she shivered and I bailed.

So we walked into the sunset instead :)

To live happily ever after!

The Proposal well..... Proposals

2010-12-15T14:55:00.000-08:00

The natural start point seems to be the proposal, the official beginning to our family. However, to be honest we had two and in order to give Aaron full credit due for cuteness and creativity (I'm sorry Aaron I mean manly romantic planning) we'll share both.

The first was December 15th 2007. He planned a very sneaky picnic on a beautiful if frigid cache valley winter day, with the assistance of my best friend Robyn and her now husband Mike.

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I was told we were going for a drive up the canyon, part way up he said "I want to see what is up this little road" thinking he was weird but too nice to say anything I said "Sure" Of course I caught on that something was up when part way up the little road I saw Robyn and Mike scurrying for cover :) Around the bend we came upon a picnic all laid out with a basket and blanket next to the river
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I started getting really suspicious when Aaron wouldn't let me touch the basket :) and as he pulled things out it was pear sparkling cider (my favorite) mint truffles (my favorite) and then he asked me to get something out of the basket..... very suspicious at this point i lifted the lid of the basket to find...

.... a KITTEN! A tiny black adorable kitten with as it turned out a ring tied to a red ribbon around her neck!

He then proposed though it was hard with a tiny frozen kitty squirming while he took off the ring and proposed as I stuffed her in my coat to keep her warm. :)

Of course I said YES!

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Alright you say so if he did such a good job and of course you said yes.... why are there two proposals?

Well that would be my fault. In January I moved to the Washington DC area to take a temporary position with the FBI. While working out there I just felt like the timing was off after a long discussion Aaron and I (lets be honest I) decided it was too soon and that we agreed we would go back to dating for a while. :) Patient boy isn't he great!

So after another year+ of dating it brings us to proposal #2

The Second and final proposal :) was March 13th 2009. We had tickets to go through the Draper Temple Open House. So Aaron decided to make the proposal all about the temple. Which was a beautiful way to do it considering our beliefs. So he took me to a surprise dinner at the Roof Resturaunt in SLC.

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We then drove down to Draper and attending the open house of this beautiful new LDS Temple. It was really nice to just wander through such a beautiful quiet sacred place.

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After the open house we drove back to Downtown SLC ( I had him all figured out by now :) ) To City Creek Park. There it was FREEZING, but as I had him figured I went along to the middle of the frozen park.

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We could see the city lights and the Salt Lake Temple.

We came up to a bench where his cute sisters had planted a bouquet of flowers and cheesecake.

They were worried about the flowers in the frosty air so they waited until they could see us and then army crawled away under the pine trees :).

Then he knelt down on one knee and asked me to be his wife for eternity

Of course I said YES...... but this time I meant it :)

Long Time

2010-12-15T12:54:00.000-08:00

Well it appears my attempt to join the 21st century has simply made my failings as a journal keeper public knowledge instead of a private embarrassment between me, my journal, and the posterity I'll have who I'm sure want nothing more than to read the same entry every time mixed in with what I had for breakfast in highschool. :) So in keeping with my journal (every other entry is years apart and begins "I know I haven't written like I should but I am resolving today to be better, I promise I'll write every _______") I know I haven't posted or updated like I should but I have decided on the eve of a new year to reinvigorate my resolve and actually post regularly. :) hehe if a year and a half from now my next post says the same thing I give blanket permission to boycott our blog and mock me publicly. But until then I will fill you in on our last year+.......

Welcome

2009-04-20T09:07:00.000-07:00

It seems that I am far behind the times. So much so that my parents have outdistanced me. I now find my father laying on the couch listening to his mp3 player (my most recent music device was a CD walkman I bought 6 years ago) and my mother is constantly on her laptop checking email, webcams of the Ukraine, and now has a cell phone that makes mine look like the five pound mobile version seen in early 90's movies. Since I have never used a personal internet site and just recently heard about FaceBook (I've never seen a page), never used an ATM and have no idea what Twitter is, I have decided that Aaron's and my first step as a family will be to join the 21st century and chronicle our life. Thus, welcome to our Blog!