Blogs are Public!

Okay, so I can't sleep. I'm excited about wedding stuff and so I decide to hop on the Mac to do some surfing and check my email and Facebook. One of my friends sent me a message on Facebook containing a blog that I should check out from another acquaintance. Without disclosing too much information, the blog was a journal entry that contained some feelings about a recent pageant that I was in (aka Miss U) that probably should have been kept to herself. I know it was a taxing year preparing for the pageant and all and we all need some time to vent, but a public blog that can be read by ANYONE including your competitors is probably not the most appropriate place to let those feelings out.

I know anyone who is reading this is smarter than that but just in case--BLOGS ARE PUBLIC! (Unless of course you make your blog private and if you're not sure how to do this, I will gladly show you how.)

The Sexy Six!!!

Here's a picture of the Sexy Six from Miss Utah. We were the last six in the entire competition and we were a group to watch out for. We had so much fun together from staying up late to waking up early. Plus, we had the best hostesses in the world!!!!! The Sexy Six consisted of Whitney (Miss Pleasant Grove), Arial (Miss Sandy), Jami (Miss Lehi), McKenna (Miss Uintah County), me (Miss Orem), & Elizabeth (Miss Provo).

Bridal Shower with gals from the Sugar House!

Yesterday Kim threw me a shower with the girls from when I lived in Sugar House. We had a lot of fun going to the Old Spaghetti Factory. Here's a pic to show us (Kim, Amy, me, Colee, and Sadie) having fun!

15 days and counting!!!

I have some pics to add to the blog and that is my main reason for blogging today. We've been too busy doing wedding invites to think about too much else.

This first picture is from the Show Me Your Shoes parade for Miss Utah '08. It was a fun night filled with family, friends, and of course some line dancing in stilettos (not the smartest thing that I've ever done in my life).

This picture is posted for Kim because she keeps bugging me about putting my Miss U pictures online. I'm still working on getting them from others who always had their cameras on hand during the week so be patient. Hopefully this will satisfy you for now.

The Monday after Miss Utah I had my bridals (or now called "groomals" since Jared was involved). I'll post a link when my photographer puts the pictures online. Then on Wednesday, we headed to Dallas for the Mary Kay seminar. Jared was a good sport and came along. He did get to go on a special spouse activity day so he was happy. This picture is from the awards night where they honor all those who have done well this past year. It was fun because we got to dress up...doesn't Jared look hot in his suit!?! I definitely think so. The picture probably would have looked a little more glamorous had we taken the picture somewhere besides the parking garage at the end of the night.

I love all that sparkles!!!!

I will now take you through a pageant.

First off: TALENT



Next: ON-STAGE QUESTION



Followed by: EVENING WEAR


Finally: JUST FOR KICKS

Okay, so my week at Miss Utah is done. I feel really good about all my competitions and I have no regrets. I didn't make the top ten--although I had a lot of people come up and let me know that they had me picked in their top ten (this was besides Jared). I made a lot of great friends there and I'm so excited that I will continue to have lasting friendships because of this week.

The most exciting news though is that Jared and I can finally come out and say that we're engaged! We have been secretly or not-so-secretly been planning our wedding for the past few months. A couple weeks ago while we were taking our engagements (I know, it's a little backwards) Jared popped the question while our wonderful photographer documented it all. He conveniently gave me the ring before we went to Ohio for a week so that I could wear it one week before I had to take it off for a week for Miss Utah. I told my roommate at Miss Utah on Thursday night and then she asked Jared to bring up the ring to the competition on Saturday night.

I am glad the way things turned out because I wanted to marry Jared and I think it's going to be the best decision that I've ever made. Love you babe!

Ohio: Brendon & Jena's Wedding

We just returned home from a week in Ohio. The primary reason for going was to attend the wedding of Brendon and Jena Crabtree. Our trip started with a lovely delay in Chicago (seems like this happens every time that we go through Chicago on our way to Ohio). We then went to Kirtland to visit the Kirtland Temple and the other Church sites.A few days later is when Brendon and Jena got married. Jared was one of the groomsman and he was looking pretty good in his tux. The ceremony was really nice and the reception was filled with good food, gourmet cupcakes, and dancing.
Now we're home from Ohio and getting ready for the Miss Utah competition. More photos from Ohio and the pageant to come.