engaged! {07.14.10}

picture taken five mintues after mckay proposed.

sharing the happy news with my family.

what i did today.

1. spent all the money in my checking account on new bras.
2. ate an entire pint of this:

*i didn't really mean to eat the whole thing, i just kept digging for those dark chocolate covered almonds, and by the time i'd found them all, i'd also consumed all the ice cream in the carton.  don't worry that there is 1,050 calories worth of ice cream sitting in my gut.  an awful stomach ache is fast approaching, bleck.

hopefully tomorrow will be an all around better day; more productive, and less gluttonous.

happy 234th birthday, america!

i know this is the most of a picture, but i couldn't help myself. i just love the 4th, a lot.

it was a great holiday, chucked full of food & fun & friends.

we ate hamburgers all weekend long, swam a bunch, got sun-kissed, saw movies {the killers & grown ups, they both made me laugh}, did a little shopping, sang patriotic songs at church, played with friends, drove fast cars, learned to play pool {me}, got eaten alive by mosquitoes {me}, played soccer {him}, and watched new canaan's amazing firework show at waveny park.

it was practically perfect in every way.

sweet land of liberty-
i am so very grateful for this country and the men that founded, protected and governed it & for those who continue to do so.

the best part of the trip.

surprising regan on her 19th birthday!

holy cow was it hard to keep that secret. multiple times she called me & begged me to just "fly out for the weekend" to celebrate but i kept telling her it just wasn't plausible. so many times i almost [or did] let slip our plans. it was mckay's idea to have kenna take her to the bathroom and then have the two of us sneak in to surprise her. we had trouble with the parking stuff so they were already back from the bathroom when we walked in. mom, thinking fast [teehee], grabbed regan's arm and said, "i'm going to vomit!" and hauled her off to the bathroom. when she came out and saw me she just froze in her tracks and burst into tears. it was the sweetest.

dad bought us all dinner at p.f. chang's and after we finished stuffing ourselves [chocolate cake anyone? seriously, so delicious.] mckay left to meet up with his friends for a movie and i stayed with my family for some craven family quality time. we went to temple square and then down to orem to stay the night with my dad's parents. we laughed the entire night, it was so wonderful to be with my family again. when i went to bed that night, with kenna in bed next to me, regan on the floor, and trevor on the couch, i was overwhelmed with tender, intense feelings of gratitude and love for my family.

a little sunday afternoon ping-pong in the basement. my grandpa frank craven is the most sweet-tempered, gentle man alive. 

{see, he's the most adorable thing- love his mickey mouse tie! don't worry that he has a mickey mouse phone in his office to match.}

the lovely birthday girl.

we had some unexpected family members drop in as well, my uncle frank and his wife and some of his kids. my uncle phillip and his wife and daughter also stopped by. the hoards of people over whelmed me, but mckay seemed to handle it well.

late afternoon we said good-bye to my family, amazingly [i'm still confused as to how this happened] i had dry eyes! okay... they were a little misty when regan started to cry, but no actual tears. i was proud, because normally it doesn't go like that. anyways, said goodbye to my family and went to visit mckay's grandmother delma who also lives in orem. she was probably the sweetest lady i've ever met. we visited with her, and one of his cousins for a few hours, and then went home to pack and head to the airport. his gma is cooler than us both and has an iphone and showed us every single picture she has on that thing. it was funny & cute.

home safe in new york now.

kind of wishing it could have been a longer visit.

excited to see them again in september.

the wedding {marriage is like golf}.

one of mckay's best friends, andy, got married on friday june 25th, 2010.  the wedding was what brought us to utah for the weekend. we left new york on wednesday night, the flight was scheduled to leave at 7:15pm.  luckily we weren't airborne until 9:15pm... the more time i get in those super roomy, comfy delta chairs, the happier i am. 

thursday we relaxed, did a little shopping at gateway, mckay got a haircut, we bought 4 bags of groceries for $24.00 {might have been the most exciting part of the trip, love utah!}, met up with the other two of the four best friends, and went to a pre-wedding bbq.

friday was the big day. the boys went golfing. andy opted out of the rehearsal because it interfered with his man outing. i was more than amused and had to wonder how my mother would handle such a groom. while the boys golfed i met up with one of my best friends from high school and spent the afternoon with her. then it was off to the wedding that evening.

here is one of the few pictures taken on my camera this weekend. think, "here comes the bride..."

kevin is wearing the sunglasses and joe is on his right. they were both super fun and nice and hilarious. i really enjoyed meeting them and spending a few days with mckay's friends. the wedding was at 5pm and it was a million degrees outside. everyone was dripping. sick.

a nice dinner reception followed-i was {practically} forced to go stand with the "single ladies" to try and catch the coveted bouquet and secure a future of wedded bliss {i really hate this tradition}. sadly, the bride threw it just out of my reach and some sweet 18 year old caught it. she's thrilled and mulling over color schemes, flowers & venues...

saturday i watched lots of soccer. ate pizza. and bread sticks. played othello with mckay {and i won... he let/helped me}... it was a lazy saturday.

the highlight of the weekend comes next, once i get some pics from my mama.

i saw them this weekend.

take 1

take 2

take 3

we laugh a lot. sometimes it makes it hard to get a cute picture, but we manage.

i had the best week/weekend. i'll share later, when i have more than two hours of sleep on my side.

saturday was regan's 19th birthday & today is my mom's 29th birthday.

happy birthday to two of the sassiest/prettiest/wittiest ladies i know.

i love my sisters & mama.

friday i'm in love.

DO YOU SUPPOSE IT'S SINFUL FOR US TO THINK SO MUCH ABOUT OUR CLOTHES? MARILLA SAYS

IT IS VERY SINFUL. BUT IT IS SUCH AN INTERESTING SUBJECT, ISN'T IT?

anne shirley

frills, florals and ruffles.
it's what my dreams are made of.
{anthropologie}.

yay for friday!
it was a ssslllooowww week.

We're so that 70's show!

One day I threw a birthday party for Mckay {28!}.  It was a 70's Soul Train theme & I'd say it was a success.

Here's a quick recap:

What I did: 1. Ran around like a mad woman trying to get everything taken care of. The party was kind of last minute [invites on Thursday, party on Saturday night], and unfortunately I did not have a disco ball, helium tank, funny pants, disco music, or ugly colored balloons on hand. 2. Baked a cake & bought a purse, the purse was to offset the stress of baking/planning/executing/cleaning and all that. 3. Partied until 1am with awesome friends. 4. Left a really big mess at Mckay's house.

What I learned: 1. Don't inhale helium on an empty stomach. Or ever probably. It might cause you to get tinglies all over your body and fall to the floor/faint when you were trying to be funny and talk to boyfriend [over the phone] in helium induced squeaky voice. 2. The Hustle!!! Alli taught us, it's super easy and cool. Except when she tries to make Mckay and I do it together and I have to go opposite him and get so confused. 3. Party planning is kind of crazy but mostly the best.

Who I loved: 1. The birthday boy. 2. Alli and April who helped me so much in preparation. They were lifesavers and made party prep so fun and entertaining. 3. All the awesome guests who came dressed up in their 70's best. 4. All the guests who came dressed in their regular clothes. 5. My parents when they didn't get mad at an accidental phone call at 3am.

What we ate: 1. Carrot cake with dulce de leche frosting, thank you Joy the Baker. {He barely got all 28 candles blown out, it was a big job}. 2. April's yummy coconut bunt cake. 3. Trader Joe's ginger snaps & chocolate chip cookies, they were a disappointment.

What we watched: 1. 45 seconds of Saturday Night Fever. I thought it would be a great idea to rent it and watch the disco scenes and copy their sweet dance moves. So Mckay puts the DVD in, John Travolta is cruisin' down the street enters the dance club, all is well, we're eager to learn, and then... a lovely lady is dancing TOPLESS & a room full of party go-ers see it all. It was embarrassing/hilarious. We laughed. And then decided to forgo my great plan. 2. Random Soul Train clips on YouTube.

What I wore: 1. Ridiculous/wonderful/apple-heart "lounge pants" I found at my favorite antique store. Did people really dress like that? I will say, they were super comfy. 2. hoochie hoops so big I could wear them as bangles {not pictures because I felt like they were ripping my ears off}. 3. Themed parties are no small deal, we had awesome outfits all around. Josh's outfit {he's wearing the snug women's polka dot shirt} might have have been my favorite, and he had serious dance moves to boot.