I'm starting a brand-new-super-exciting phase of life and have decided to start a new blog to celebrate!  Afloridianinutah has been around since 2008 when I wanted a  way to share my trip to Europe and has seen me through some amazing times, scary times, happy times, tragic times and everything in between!

If you would like to join me in my new life on the Harvie Ranch (Mike's dream is to own a ranch with horses), please add http://harvieranch.blogspot.com/ to your blog list.



One request, however-- if you add me to your blog list, please do not use my full name!

thank you, TSA

I recently learned that the "best" way to find your lost pair of scissors is to take your laptop bag through TSA security at the airport while you're just beginning your honeymoon.

No joke. 

They found my scissors hidden inside of a red file folder buried in the depths of my laptop bag! Thank you, TSA!

The best part of this story is that they let me keep them in my carry-on because the edges were dull.

(side note, they did take my Victoria's Secret lotion I forgot to take out of my purse. Scissors vs Lotion... which would you expect to be confiscated first?)

bad news, but mostly good news

Backstory:
I found the perfect dress at the store, The Perfect Dress, but it was only 45 days or something until my wedding and the warehouse couldn't ship one soon enough and the store wouldn't sell me their floor copy (weird, huh?). I was really bummed. Really, really bummed. Thank heavens for the internet where I found the exact same dress (after doing some research to find the right dress number) for $300 less than it was at the store. I ordered it for less than $300 and paid for it to be shipped in about 15 days.

Bad News: It arrived late.

Good News: this arrived today

it doesn't look like much, but it's my wedding dress!!!

When I saw the delivery guy from the shipping company at my door holding a puffy envelope, I knew what it was but I didn't believe it until I opened it and found

You just get to see the top part...
you'll have to wait three weeks to see the rest!

So exciting!!

Bad News: it wouldn't zip up. I swear I didn't gain any weight but the size I gave them did. not. fit.
ARGH!!! I cried. I changed the bra. I changed the bra again. I sucked it all in. As a last resort, I called the fiancee. He came over during his lunch break to console me and reassure me it could be fixed, somehow. I couldn't even think about how to fix this. It took them about 25 days to ship the dress (from China) and it's only 19 days until the wedding (I know, crazy soon, right?!). I couldn't order a dress from a warehouse with 45 days to go; there's no way I could get one with less than 3 weeks to go. And I don't really have time to go find one I can buy off the rack. ARGH!!

Good News: One of my dearest, long time friends (we met in kindergarten in Tucson) happens to be in town and she called me as I was being consoled (her timing is amazing) and volunteered herself and her sister-in-law to work on it. She reassured me it was probably fixable and told me to come right over!

Even Better News: They can fix it! I had to bite my tongue watching them take the sides out, but they discovered about 4 inches of perfectly ready to use fabric inside the lining of the dress, waiting to be used! Yeah! Thank you, Lorana and Wendy for saving the day and the wedding!

still engaged in doing stuff

With 20 days to go until we get married, I'm sort of wishing I would have had the guts to just elope! But, I wanted the experience of being engaged and planning and finally having the liberty to think about a wedding with it actually being real.

Invitations are out. (If you didn't get on and would like one, please send me  your address: vankomena@gmail.com)
The dress is bought and should be here by Tuesday. (I found the perfect dress in a store but the warehouse couldn't send it in time and the store wouldn't sell me their floor copy, so I found the exact dress on-line for more that 50% less)
Moving is starting in slow doses-- as in, every time I go to M's house, I take a backseat or trunk full of stuff-- but I will be officially moved in two weeks.
Plates, cups, napkins, etc are all stored in the pantry or laundry room waiting for use.
H's dress is here and is really pretty.

Still to do: get suits for M and B. plan out food for the open house and make/buy it. plant flowers in the backyard where we're doing the open house. finish the refinance on my mortgage. move. finish up decor for open house. get marriage license. get temple recommends for living ordinances. meet with our sealer (he's my home teacher and wants to have a little sit down to talk before the big day. I've told him his best home teaching visit will be when he gets to seal me to M on August 4).

What surprises me the most is how we're choosing to spend less time together, on purpose. We now say things at 8:30pm like, "I love you so I'm going to leave/kick you out now." I am also surprised at how even after 20 months of being together, he still surprises me and I find something new to love about him. For example, yesterday, my contact started bothering me really bad and so we left Ikea midshopping, and he had me pull out my contact (he was driving) and then when that didn't help, he pulled over into a deserted parking lot and looked at it. He ended up getting me outside of the car so he could wash it out with purified water. I couldn't keep my eye open since it hurt and then looking at him standing there, bemused, with a bottle of water in his hand, made me laugh and I couldn't follow directions. Eventually, we got some water in my eye (it was bottled water, don't worry) and it started to feel better, but we had a good laugh. He teased me about how I can run a marathon, get poked and prodded and pricked and not cry, get the bottom of my foot scraped off (that's another story for another day) multiple times and not let it bother me, but I couldn't let him help my eye... we just laughed and laughed.

What is the most annoying (even more annoying than when we were "just dating") is that stuff is at both houses and never where we actually need it! I think it's more annoying because now I know it should all be together, but it's not. For example, Friday, I was watching H and we wanted to make a cake Amelia Bedelia makes in the book. We started the day off at my house where I grabbed the vinegar and cocoa since it's not at M's house. We got to M's house and he didn't have a cake pan or powdered sugar so we had to borrow a pan from a neighbor and forgo making frosting. Argh! I have both items at my house but forgot they weren't at his. One day, we will always have all the stuff in one place! Also annoying is how I'm starting to pick up "the mom chores" over at their house while leaving the same ones for myself... I ran out of clothes this week because I was watching the kids all week and never at my house... but all of their clothes were done. I'm really excited for when I can do my clothes and their clothes all at the same time!


I think the worse part about this whole being engaged, planning a wedding thing, is that I think about my mom almost constantly. My craving for her was starting to subside ever so slightly but now I think about her and wish I could just call her and get advice and encouragement pretty much all the time. I need advice on how to be a mom to a moody 9 year old boy and a precocious 5 year old girl; how to set up a laundry schedule for 4 people; how to spend money wisely at Costco/Sam's... I get that I can find all this advice from Pinterest or the internet, but sometimes, getting motherly advice is so much more personal and nice. I've also realized in the last month or so that I've been engaged and getting volunteers to help me with stuff, that no one actually cares about as much as your own mom. I feel bad taking the volunteers because everyone I know has really busy lives and their own kids and problems and I'm just some half-orphan that should be a grown-up and be able to plan a party on her own! Poor M. I've cried more in the last little bit than I have for a few months and the only thing he can really do is let me soak his shirt one more time and reassure me that he loves me. I was gathering photos for the traditional wedding video and found a bunch of my parents when they were engaged and on their wedding day. Totally made me cry. I keep telling M that if I cry on our wedding day, it won't be because I won't be happy, because I will be, it's just because for the rest of my life, every happy moment will be slightly bittersweet because my mom won't be here to share it. I know, I know, she'll be there in spirit. I know. But, as nice as everyone feels to remind me of that, I'd prefer if she were here in person.

engaged... in doing stuff

Mike had been planning on proposing in San Diego... in two weeks... during his family reunion week. Sometime in May, when he let it slip that's when he was planning on actually proposing, I sort of had to (ahem) gently remind him that I needed at least two months to plan a wedding and I'd appreciate it if he'd move that up. Hence, the offhanded suggestion to go to San Diego for Memorial Day! I'd hoped he'd take the opportunity to propose, but I went into the weekend just enjoying being with my best friend and the man I love. Thankfully, he didn't disappoint!

Flashforward to last night after we toured the location for the open house..
M: Wow. Planning a wedding takes a long time.
Me: mmmhmmm
M: There are so many things we have to think about and arrange.
Me: mmmhmmmm. Thank you for proposing last month instead of in two weeks.
M: We wouldn't be getting married in August if I'd waited.
Me: mmmhmmmm. We've gotten a lot done since we've been engaged.
M: But there's still do much we have to do. Good thing I didn't wait!

Men! There's a stereotype about them and weddings for a reason! I'm helping him have an opinion on all the stuff that's going on and I think he's more involved with our wedding than he was with the first one. He's really, really excited to get married and it's so cute!

We've been engaged now for almost three weeks and in that time we have:
~ scheduled the temple
~ registered at Target
~ taken engagement pictures
~ had one bridal shower
 ~ designed wedding invitations
~ arranged the open house venue
~ done the first walk through of the venue
 ~ sent the invites off to the printer
~ scheduled three more bridal showers (ward, my family in SLC, his family in SD)
~ cleaned camping gear out of his closet so my side is ready to go!

We've done a lot but I still feel like there's a ton more to do. We have 50 days until the wedding and it's going by pretty fast but at the same time dragging by as slow as can be.

Engagement pictures

Our good friend, Michelle Baker, wanted to do our pictures for us, so last Saturday she took us to the community of Day Break in Salt Lake for some shots...

Our Engagement Story

For Memorial Day weekend, Mike and I drove for 11 hours and 45 minutes to get to San Diego to spend the weekend with his parents. We decided that it would be better for me to get to know his mom (whom I hadn't met yet) without the kids, even if it was just for a couple of days.

We left Salt Lake around 2:30 pm and drove and drove and drove, only stopping three times (twice for gas and once more for a potty break). We traded off driving and had a great time just talking and listening to music all the way down. We're big into politics and current events, so we traded the news stories we'd been reading and discussed the future of America!

We arrived in Lakeside (just outside of SD) around 1:15am and to our surprise, Mike's sister and mom were still up and as soon as we got in the door, Dad popped out. I was exhausted so they set me up in the guest room and sent me off to bed.

In the morning, Mike, his parents, and I had a great breakfast at a  little diner in the town and then got the grand tour of Lakeside (which mostly consisted of seeing horse ranches and the main street of the town). After that, we hung out at the house for a while, until Mike decided that we were going out for the rest of the day.

We drove to Old Town, San Diego where we toured the Mormon Battalion historical site (we got to pan for gold!)

the really awful mariachi band

We wandered around Old Town for a while and then had dinner at the Fiesta de Reyes (or something) outdoor restaurant. Funny story about being here-- I hate birds. Seriously, hate birds. So, we're sitting at our table, and birds are walking around, flying here and there, not bothering anyone, and suddenly, I'm hit on the shoulder by a bird flying by. Mike started laughing and I almost freaked out! AGH! I hate being touched by birds and yet they always find me!

After dinner, we drove over to Coronado Island to walk on the beach. It was perfect weather-- sunny, slightly breezy--  and dare I say it, very romantic! We walked along the shore for awhile and then we sat on the blanket I keep in my car trunk and watched the water and sea gulls. As we sat there, all I could think about was what an awesome day it was and how lucky I was to be sitting next to my best friend on such a beautiful day.

 When we noticed the sun was starting to set, Mike announced that we'd watch it set in La Jolla-- just a few miles north of Coronado Island.

getting off the freeway and heading to the beach

 We got to La Jolla and all the parking along the beach was taken. We found a family that was leaving so we waited, blinker on, for the spot. Just as they pulled out enough for us to pull in,  a little red sports car with two college age guys swooped around and stole it. Then, the driver had the nerve to stick his tongue out at us. The sun was getting really close to the water by this point so we kept driving and miraculously found a spot and pulled in, practically jumped out and ran across the street to see this:

sunset on La Jolla Beach -- near seal cove

 After the sun disappeared over the horizon, Mike decided we should walk down the cliffs to get closer to the water. The sea gulls were loving the breeze.

 A little bit away from us, a seal came on shore. The wind was pretty chilly, so Mike pulled me into him and kept me warm. After a few minutes, he started telling me how grateful he is to have me in his life and how great he thinks I am, etc, etc (it was really beautiful, actually, but I'll keep his exact words to myself!). He paused and I thought he was done-- it's not uncommon for him to tell me how awesome he thinks I am-- so I started to pull away to walk towards the shore. I mentioned that his sister was going to make s'mores and they would be fun to eat. He pulled back and looked at me funny, grabbed me closer and said, "We're not done yet, Adrienne." Oh, ok, I let him pull me back into his shoulder, when suddenly, he took a deep breath and dropped to one knee, as he pulled a ring out of his pocket.

He held the ring out in his fingers and asked me the most important question anyone has ever asked me, "Adrienne, will you marry me?"

It only took me a split second to register what was actually happening and I said, "Yes! Yes! I will marry you."

He stood up, put the ring on my finger and pulled me in for a kiss!

Suddenly, I wan't quite so cold nor as quite ready to go get s'mores!  We hugged there on the cliffs for a while, took the obligatory pictures and walked back up to the sidewalk-- grinning and holding hands all the way!

That's where the story technically ends. But, we needed to tell my dad, right? We're driving through Saturday evening traffic in La Jolla and have my dad on speaker phone, I'm literally beginning the sentence, "Mike and I just... " when BAM! someone hits us from behind. Mike yells "D****" and gets out of the car. Some girls was talking on her cell phone and wasn't paying attention that we'd stopped at a red light.

We took care of that situation, now in some weird emotional state, and call my dad back. As I'm telling him we got engaged and that I feel like this is the right thing to do and that getting married in the Draper Temple is something I've known would happen since I went to the open house, I start crying. Thankfully, we ended the conversation, because I just start bawling. I realized that the only person in the world I really wanted to know about me getting married wasn't sitting next to my dad to hear the wonderful news. Mike notices that I'm now a sobbing, mascara running mess, and gets really concerned. He pats my knee and asks, "Are you having a mom moment, or should I be worried?"

Once reassured this was just a "mom moment" he keeps his hand on my knee as I cry it all out. Then, I realize I'm also crying because all the waiting for this moment is finally over and we're actually going to get married! What a relief! When we pulled into the driveway of his parent's house, I'm barely getting my crying to stop but the idea of walking in to his family (including another sister and her kids) is a bit more than I could handle, so he pulls out of the driveway again and we drove around for another few minutes until I'm calm.

We walked in the house and decided that we'd wait to see how long it took for anyone to notice the ring (little did we know they'd been waiting all day for us to come home because the knew this was going to happen!). Mike's dad came into the living room behind us from the hall, noticed the ring first thing and did a little hop as he yelled, "Yahoo!!" Then, his mom literally pushed her grown daughters out of the way to get to us and give us big hugs! There was lots of hugging and pushing and laughing for quite a while!

For the rest of the weekend, we were just blissfully happy. We drove home Monday and talked the whole time, frequently grinning and saying "We're getting married!!!" The long drive home gave us plenty of time to talk and plan and make our to-do lists and think about how fun it will be to be married to each other!!

I've always wanted to say this....

I'M GETTING MARRIED!!!!!!!!!

Mike proposed last Saturday when we were visiting his family in San Diego. We are getting married August 4th in the Draper Temple (I called and set it all up today!)!!

she makes me smile!

This little girl always makes me smile! For her birthday, my dad gave her two Disney Princess dolls... she calls them "cesa"-- because in Spanish the word for princess is princessa. She pulled them out of the bag and then showed her dad the "dress", "arm", "shoe", "eye", and "hair". The, she walked around with them holding them like little babies.

She loves all her aunts! And she's finally learned our names-- up until now she's only known Will or Wheel, as she calls him!

new Mother's Day tradition

a trek up to the Salt Lake Cemetery to visit this: 

a quite disturbing part was this (having your name in granite seems so final):

 the West view is pretty nice-- downtown SLC

 the South view-- the SLC Valley

at least we have something to see when we go up there instead of just a rectangle of dirt

her plot is on Olive Street and around 425 N but don't quote me on that.. I just know how to get up there.