Falling for Phoenix

We have had such a fun fall so far! This weather has been absolutely incredible here in Phoenix and we are most definitely used to it. Especially when I look at the weather in Rexburg and Massachusetts. What's snow again? Haha sorry for those of you suffering in freezing towns. Anyway... we have had a blast carving pumpkins, going to Halloween parties, and making memories with new friends. I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked but oh well.

A friend from PT school had a birthday so of course we had to celebrate! Her boyfriend reserved a room in the Wrigley Mansion in Phoenix which was gorgeous. We enjoyed a dinner there with a stunning view of the city. 

For Halloween we went to a fabulous party hosted by my old roommate and her husband. It was so great to catch up with old friends, and the party was a blast. Can you guess who we were?! (see picture below and pardon my iPhone photos) We are very excited for the upcoming movie. We didn't want Lily to miss out on the Halloween fun, so we put a costume on her just long enough to snap a picture.

As many of you know, I absolutely love weddings. They are so special and I basically cry at every one I attend. I have a friend who was asked to be fake married for a wedding venue that is making a video to advertise all they have to offer. The wedding was breathtaking, as were the vows that were shared. It was a very romantic evening and the company was outstanding. It was one of my favorite things we have done since we moved here.

Kali and I with the birthday girl!

The crew enjoying the view.

My dear friend Kali!

 And here we are in our Halloween glory!

This was my favorite picture of the night, I love this girl!

 Our little turtle.

The flowers on the aisle were so beautiful, not to mention the chandelier.

Such cute decorations.

The lighting on this picture isn't the best, but the cake was definitely Pintrest worthy.

Loved loved loved the centerpieces! 

I am SO bummed that there are shadows on their faces but these ladies are too beautiful not to share ;)

I love these women!

My favorite part of the evening was being whisked away on the dance floor by my very attractive date. I am one lucky girl.

A Spring Wedding

This post is actually from an event dear to my heart that happened in May! One of my very best friends was married in Arizona. I was living in Atlanta at the time, so I flew out for the wedding. Unfortunately, Erik couldn't come due to work. I had an awesome few days with the Christopherson family. We had lots of wedding preparation, late nights, delicious dinners, and a bachelorette party. None of which I got pictures of unfortunately. 

Jessica Lynn Christopherson Bowles is one of the nicest, sweetest, funniest, talented, wonderful girls I know.  I was SO thrilled to be a bridesmaid and share this special day with her. Corwin, her new husband, is one lucky guy! Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day:

The perfect place for a perfect day.

So tender!

Isn't she gorgeous?!

 I love her so much!

All of the bridesmaids. The groom's sister, the bride's sisters, and the bride's adopted sister :)

 Goofing around

 This was the most amazing cake. It was SO beautiful.

 Their story.

They had cupcakes for days. And I ate frosting for days.

 Her bouquet was stunning, just like all of the wedding flowers.

 Their first dance as husband and wife.

 This was such a precious moment. I may or may not have been bawling my eyes out at this point.

Corwin has some sweet moves! 

As you can see, it was a perfect day for the perfect couple. I am so happy for them and can't wait to join them in future adventures. I love you Jess and Corwin!

And so it begins...

Things are ridiculously busy here in Arizona! The last couple weeks have been particularly busy because I have just finished my first 2 tests in PT school. I am still waiting to hear how I did, and it is killing me. Anyway. The week before my tests, Erik and I were able to have date night at a temple for our church. It was SO nice to take a break from studying and escape to a peaceful place. The following week I was in class and studying for about 14 hours per day. Needless to say, when the week was over I was ready to play! I haven't had any time to enjoy the wonderful Arizonan sun, so we decided to do something fun outside. We went to a place called Saguaro Lake and it was gorgeous. Lily loved swimming almost as much as I did. We noticed some horses across the lake, and later found out they were wild horses! 
Later that day we went to one of my new friend's wedding! She was absolutely stunning. The venue was so beautiful. It is called the Boojum Tree and was very unique. It was all outdoor, with fountains and trees everywhere. The dance floor was a gazebo, and we had a blast. We are enjoying our time here, although wishing we had more time together. 

Here is the Mesa, Arizona Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

And here it is at night.

 Lily would swim back and forth between Erik and I, it was pretty cute. 

The water was SO warm and felt SO good!!

 We were in awe at this desert beauty!

I could have stayed there all day, who knew you could find this in Arizona?!

 Lily also figured out how to swim without slapping her paws on the water. I was very proud. By the time this pic was taken, she was wiped out.

Okay so I am definitely not usually a horse person, but I thought it was SO great to see these beauties roaming free in the wild. Hence all the pics.

And this was on our way back from the lake. We will definitely be going back soon.

Here I am with my handsome date.

 So I may look part Asian in this picture but look how gorgeous Rysse (the bride) is!!

 I am SO excited for Rysse and Tyler to start this new adventure, marriage is the best.

This melted my heart.

This picture isn't the best but I just have to say that I love these girls so much after just a month together in school. I cannot wait for the next 3 years :)

Our Big Move!

It has been a VERY eventful last few weeks. We packed up and drove from Atlanta to Phoenix! We broke up the drive to 3 days, and stopped in Azle, Texas and Tucson. Luckily we have friends in both of those places, so we didn't have to worry about icky motels off the freeway. (Thank you to the Smith and Stears families!!). All of our things were in a storage unit in Rexburg, so I stayed with family friends in Mesa (Thank you Christopherson family!!) while Erik flew to Idaho, packed up a Uhaul, and drove back to Phoenix (my husband is amazing). He got back the during my orientation for PT school and we hastily moved in. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures because I was so busy with all the chaos.

With all that said, we are very excited to be here. We live about 10 minutes from downtown Phoenix and can't wait to explore the area. Fortunately, almost everyone in my PT class grew up around Phoenix so they have been sharing some awesome tips with us. We went on a triple date with some of our new friends to an ice cream place called Churn. It was so cute and very yummy!

You can't tell from the picture, but there was a super long line to get in.

 This place was seriously SO cute. The staff was ridiculously nice as well.

 Churn is attached to a restaurant called The Windsor, which looked really cool. It is on our list of places to eat. This wall attaches the two.

Seeing this wall made me SO happy. We hardly know anyone in Phoenix and have already felt very welcome. We are looking forward to the friends we will make, places we will see, and the things we will learn.

Summer Fun

We have had a blast in Atlanta this summer! Most of Erik's time off was spent going out to dinner. Almost every place we have tried has been amazing. I have not done the best job of documenting our travels, but here's a little peek into our summer.

Outside of Flip Burger. 

Flip Burger was amazing! They had tons of unique and delicious burgers. My favorite part was probably the ambiance. It was very chic and modern, I loved it. 

A beyond delicious nutella milkshake. I could have had 3!

This is at the Tijuana Garage (obviously).

It looks a bit more ghetto than it actually is. Tijuana Garage is a hidden gem right outside of the city. It felt like we took a little trip to Mexico. There were lots of pretty fountains and cool trees. We waited extra long to sit outside, and it was totally worth it. 

The photobomber in the background made it his mission to make an appearance in every photo I took! I was getting so annoyed with him but I have to laugh at this picture. 

They also had a live band playing, and they did some awesome covers.

Aside from touring the city and trying new places, the best part of the summer was the people we shared it with! It was so fun making new friends and bonding with old ones. I am really going to miss everyone that we have spent time with in Atlanta.