Best Weekend Ever

Russell and I had the best weekend ever. Here are the highlights:

• Seeing Spencer Orton and Sara Salmon get married in the Salt Lake Temple, then going to their luncheon and reception.
• Having a giant Lee sleepover in our tiny apartment with lots of cream soda and laughing.
• Eating strawberry and banana french toast at Village Inn.
• Shopping.
• Driving to Logan at 2 a.m. Saturday night and eating Del Taco on the way.
• Caroling to neighbors and handing out Santa Pants filled with candy.
• Skiing (First time! Loved it!).
• Snuggling on the couch under a huge blanket while drinking hot chocolate and watching "Home Alone" with a blizzard outside.
• Playing the chimes.
• Eating cheese balls, candy, pineapple slush, pumpkin spice dessert, clam chowder, and homemade toffee like it was going out of style.

I don't know how we fit all that goodness into one weekend, but we did. And it was fantastic.

Christmas Party!

Last weekend we went to the Men's Wearhouse Christmas Party. It was at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Salt Lake. There was a great buffet with endless food and I met some of Russell's coworkers. Then there was a dance which was also great fun! Who knew Russell could do the windmill? Not me....





We had so much fun and Russell looked really nice in his free tux! Too bad I forgot to take off that glow-in-the-dark necklace they handed out for free.

Giving thanks, late

Even though Thanksgiving is over, I want to make a list of some things I am grateful for:
1. Russell
2. family
3. Melissa
4. being at BYU
5. a car that works
6. my job
7. Russell's job
8. wedding giftcards
9. Tiffani
10. living so close to my family

Russell is grateful for:
1. Me
2. family
3. his job
4. health
5. a car that works
6. nice weather for longboarding
7. Deseret Book giftcards to buy cheesecake and pulled pork sandwiches
8. ESPN
9. Provo cops
10. living so close to my family (haha.)

Honeymoon

Russell and I spent a week in Cancun, Mexico after we got married. It's one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen! We had a great time. We loved the all-you-can-eat buffets and Russ was especially excited to discover that we could get free pina coladas every day, all day. We enjoyed just laying around on the beach every day doing nothing. What a perfect way to end the summer.

We found a hammock

Snorkeling

No one can tell we are Americans if we wear
these brighter-than-life solid T-shirts

Beach!

Chichen itza

Some cool jungle

Looks like that thing at the Mayan
restaurant...except this one is real

That's Russell doing a front flip off the cliff

after I told him not to do anything too crazy

Cancun = b e a u t i f u l

My new favorite things

These are my favorite things as of late:

Wall-E
Have you seen this movie? Probably, because it's been out for quite a while. Russ and I just went to see it at the dollar theater last night and it was fabulous. So much better than I could have ever imagined. That little robot is absolutely adorable and it was a heart-warming story. The best movie I've seen in a really long time.

My red KitchenAid mixer
It looks beautiful on my kitchen counter and is really fun to use. One time I dropped my mom's, so I am really careful now not to pick mine up and try to move it anywhere.

The Office Season 4 on DVD


We just bought it last week with some of our wedding giftcard money. When it was airing last fall, we were in France, so it's been fun catching up. We watched all 24 episodes in maybe 3 days. It's absolutely hysterical and we love it.

F A L L

I wish my trusty Mac laptop hadn't died last month, so I could post some pictures. I think pictures make blogs more interesting. But as I have no way of uploading and sharing them, a boring post with nothing but my words will have to do for now.

Russ and I have been married for two months tomorrow. It's crazy how time flies. We are still very much obsessed with each other and it works out perfectly.
My brother Daniel turned fifteen last Friday. I can't believe he will be driving next year. We gave him a tie and my favorite book for his birthday, "Le Petit Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. He is learning French in school and is almost as good as I am which is embarrassing. I am so proud of him.

We drove to Logan yesterday with Russ' aunt and uncle (naturally we couldn't turn down a free trip to see his family). It was a beautiful drive through Sardine Canyon. We watched our cousin Chandra play in Utah State's last soccer game of the season. They dominated and it was a fun game to watch.

We had a great dinner and then enjoyed the day in each other's company. All the Lee girls sang a song and it was beautiful. Russ and I went through his old mission box which was chuck full of two years' worth of memories. I loved seeing his old pamphlets and books and planners and pictures. He loved his mission to Prague and we hope to go back soon. I am dying to see the places he lived and walked and visited.

Last night our power went out at about 10:30 right when we came home. It destroyed any hope I had of studying for my French oral exam this morning. I spent a few minutes trying to read by candlelight before realizing I was probably worsening my vision and gave up. But I think I did okay on the exam anyway. I have midterms all this week.

This weekend has been the most perfect, golden fall weather. Leaves are all over the ground. I wish it was like this for two months straight, with no weird cold spells or rain storms.

My favorite fall snack is taking a bite of apple and a bite of caramel at the same time. What a wonderful flavorful combination. I would strongly recommend it. It just tastes like fall. If that's possible.

Russell is enjoying Men's Wearhouse and is always coming home with swanky new shirts. He loves his discount and sharing style tips with customers. One of the reasons I fell in love with him was because he dressed so well.

Hilarious moment: Craig, my 56 year old coworker, turned to my boss Joanne and me and said: "This is going to sound embarrassing but I saw a UFO."

I guess that's it for now. Please bless that everyone has a happy autumn.

08.21.08

September

Well, Russell and I are finally newlyweds. For real. We have been married for two and a half weeks now and we're loving it!

Our wedding day was absolutely perfect. I will post pictures as soon as we get them.

We went to Cancun for our honeymoon and it was wonderful. Russ got a little sunburned, but we had a good time soaking up the last rays of summer.

It's nice to be back in Provo. The mountains are beautiful and this is such a great place to be.

We are all settled into our apartment and it is starting to look homey and we love it.

I am back at BYU and getting used to being in school again. I am taking two French and two English classes and D&C. I love school and I'm happy to be back. Mostly.

Russell started work at Men's Wearhouse today. He will be working there as a salesman full time this fall.

We make meals together, which is so much fun. I am learning how to cook, since my previous college dinners have consisted of nothing more than macaroni and cheese and fettucine alfredo. Last week I made almond dijon chicken that was pretty good and I was proud of myself.

That said, if anyone has any good recipes, I would love to have them!

Last Saturday was my Grandpa Frayne's 80th birthday. We had a family party for him at my uncle's house in Midway. It was fun to see my extended family and chat with them. It was weird because my sister Katie wasn't there. She headed up to Rexburg and will be going to BYU-Idaho this fall. We all miss her but are so excited for her to have a fantastic freshman year.

I guess that's it for now. Happy September.

08*08*08

I don't really have much to say today. I am just really excited that it's 08-08-08.
The Olympics start today in Beijing! I love the opening ceremonies and I can't wait to watch some of it this year.
I am still knee-deep in wedding planning, but I can breathe a little easier because most of it is done. Thanks to my mom. She has been a gem throughout this whole process and I'm so grateful for her.
This is the last weekend I'll ever have to spend without Russell. Ever. Again. I am going home to American Fork to be with my family. Tomorrow morning we are going fishing and we'll roast tin foil dinners over a fire. I can't wait.
I had two bridal showers and they were both wonderful. It's fun to open gifts because I can actually see them being useful in our future house. It makes me excited to live with Russell, to play games with him and cook for him and use all my new treasures.
We're getting married in thirteen days.
Happy 08-08-08 everybody. Over and out.

When Russell met Aubrey

As most of you probably know, Russell and I met in September in Paris, France, both students in the BYU fall study abroad program. Initially, neither of us planned on loving each other. Russ was determined to ignore the teasing from his family that he would find his future wife among the 20 girls on the study abroad. As for me, I was juggling all sorts of long-distance half-relationships back in the States.
But all is fair in love and war.

Russ and I got to be very good friends right from the very first week. We shared the same sense of humor and found each other hilarious. I enjoyed the time I spent with him and the conversations we had while strolling down the Champs-Élysées or climbing to the top of the Arc de Triomphe to get a view of the city at night.

It's interesting that we both fell in love with each other around the same time. On November 7, 2007, right before I was about to leave for Florence, Italy for the weekend, my life changed. Russ cornered me in the Louvre Museum, told me he had feelings for me, kissed me, and the rest is history.

We secretly dated each other for the last month in Paris, and then somehow I convinced him to move to Provo in January, where I attended winter semester and he stocked bananas full time at Maceys.

We got engaged on April 9 at the Roof Restaurant in Salt Lake City. We ate a lovely dinner with a great view of the temple. He danced with me and gave me the most gorgeous ring I had ever seen. I was dazed and confused and I tripped down the stairs at the restaurant. He helped me up and kissed me and tried not to laugh at me. It was a beautiful night.

I have found the most wonderful boy in the world and I can't wait to marry him. We have a really great story, and now we're in love.

And we'll always have Paris.

40 days and 40 nights

Hello world.
Well this is my first post as a blogger. And although Russell and I aren't actually newlyweds yet, I really liked that play on words with his last name. Soon to be my last name too.
We are getting hitched in 40 days. And 40 nights. Like how long Noah and his family were stuck in that boat.
Russ is currently in Corona, California selling Moxie Pest Control for the summer. I am here in Provo and American Fork planning our wedding and working for Human Resources at BYU.
I just paid the security deposit on our married housing for September. It's a cute little duplex and I couldn't be happier about it.
Russ will finish his selling and drive home on August 14th. He will be here a week, and then we're getting married on the 21st in the Salt Lake Temple.
After our honeymoon, we will settle down in Provo. I will continue my education at BYU, where I am studying to become a French teacher at a secondary level. Russell is headed to UVU to study business and political science.
I'm not sure if anyone will ever read this, but it's kind of fun to just type things about our life.
Bye for now.