Idea for Celebration

I was really sick yesterday and the night before with a 102 degree fever and weird muscle aches and dizziness. The good news is that I stayed home from work and Aaron stayed with me, so we talked about the ceremony options more. We are thinking that the Secret Garden at ASU will be best. We went here a lot when we were friends in Architecture 5 years ago. Once, we walked to the garden after a party and layed down in the grass below one of the trees and were so comfortable (and drunk and happy) that we stayed there until the sun came up. It was the most beautiful thing I think I've ever watched because our eyes were looking up nearly the entire time. And, of course, we were secretly in love with eachother so that also made it magical. I read online last night that the space can be reserved for weddings. Also, it has a fireplace, which will make the space even more fanciful and intimate. We'll most likely just have the celebration (other words: reception) here, and the vows at the courthouse. There's something old timey and cute about the courthouse. We've decided that we're old people at heart because we want to get married in the courthouse, have an evening garden party, and then take the train to the Grand Canyon for a two day honeymoon in a cabin. That's all old fashioned isn't it? Sounds perfect. December 12 in the evening is what we are thinking at the moment. Below are images I captured from a 360 degree video of the Secret Garden.

We're Engaged!

Aaron and I were lying in bed with Ilo Dog last night, talking about preparing for the Peace Corps, our excitement to do so much together in the future, and our perfect happiness of being in love, when he asked me to be his wife. I said yes, of course! I never thought I would feel so confident or be able to outwardly express so much excitement about marriage until it happened. All I could do was smile and hug him and then secretively roll it around and play with it in my head for a second, hear him say how he happy he was, and then smile again. There is no ring because he was going to wait until he found one but couldn't contain it anymore and I had told him that I don't care about formalities and things being 'just right' - all I do is love him. And so he asked right then. He still wants to find a ring, which is fun but certainly not necessary, so it will be something different but special.

And the date? We don't know yet. A while but not too far off. We'll get married in a court house and then have a celebration with family and friends. We were thinking Mardi Gras would be loads of fun and less planning (on our parts) but it would also be more expensive for some and my nephews wouldn't be able to go. So, most likely it will take place here in Arizona. If you have any suggestions please write something. We would love to have a trunk of ideas to pull from. Maybe an outdoor brunch and then dancing and drinking at the funk club Chez Nous on Grand Ave? No clue really. We just want everyone to have a good time.

Just Stuff

So, my brother Doug's wedding was fun. Weddings are basically family reunions, which is nice since I don't see my family often. Plus, everyone looks pretty so it's a nice photo op. Rachel, Laine, Aaron and I went on two small adventures beyond the walnut grove: onto an air landing strip and then later to a blackberry patch. Aaron and I had a serious conversation to attend with eachother while Rachel ate blackberries from a box that a farmer had set aside for the night. Tisk tisk... very smart, though. Aaron did a marvelous job mingling with family and friends. I didn't realize that all the while I was elsewhere either for pictures or finding people to lead to their assigned tables or answering a question of a passer-by or getting a drink at the bar, that Aaron was on his own to answer dodding questions of my aunts and family friends. So, by the end of the night it seemed as though I had abandoned Aaron for lengthy periods of time and left him to his devices in a somewhat formal and alien environment (b/c this was mainly family that he hadn't met or only met once before). Rachel and Laine helped us get to the bottom of that frustration and I think we both learned a lot about eachother just from that one experience. Douglas's bride Rachel was beautiful and the weather was absolutely perfect. So, I think he's a pretty happy dude.


Aaron and I talking to people


Aaron, stealing hearts...


To steal a deal.


The sister dance. He got 40 bucks for this.


Eat cake.

Aaron and I have a few art projects we want to do - one or two together. The alley thing won't get started until winter, after I quit working full time and go down to fifteen hours a week max here at the office. We'll do that and then apply for the Peace Corps a little while after starting the alley project. We were able to talk about all of this on our drive home together, due in part to Rachel and Laine helping us understand how the other one feels and communicates. We both had similar plans but different time frames so I was afraid to say what I wanted and that made it seem to him that I thought our plans conflicted and scared him too. But, we are able to talk about all of this now without feeling like we're going to hurt or be hurt by the other person. Thanks, Rach.