One Year Anniversary

Hey Yall! Sorry our blog posts are so sporadic! Ok so Wednesday May 27th was our 1 year anniversary! It was one year ago that day that I couldn't let my man get on a plane and go find another girl in Kentucky. (He had already pitched the dating idea to me about a week before). It's crazy to think how far we've come since then. Never would I have imagined that a year from that day we would be planning and counting down the days until our wedding. So what did we do you might ask? Well...we decided to schedule our engagement pictures that day. And because of work and wedding planning, we spent a lot of the day getting ready for pictures that night. However, I surprised him and took him to the Real Salt Lake store and bought him their new jacket. And Zane then surprised me and took me over to his house. He told me I had to close my eyes and he led me through the house then out the back door. When I opened my eyes, there was a porch swing! You see, our favorite activity last summer was to sit on the porch swing, watch the stars and chat. He can be very creative at times. Then we were off to pictures! We met our photographer in Payson and we went up the Utah County canyon, it was Mt Nebo for anyone familiar. And believe it or not, Zane and I just had so much fun taking pictures. Here are a couple previews. :)

As far as wedding planning goes...we found bridesmaids dresses! And now we're trying to tackle the tuxes which is a little challenging for me since I've never had to pick out a tux before. Although Zane has a lot of family coming in town this weekend for his little brothers graduation and his grandpa's wedding. Zane is going to be performing the ceremony so I will try and post a few pictures from that. :)

It's Been a While....

So with Jas and I both in school, our blog has taken a back seat for a while. I thought I'd put a quick post up to update on some things that have been going on. First of all, we have officially set the wedding date for August 7th! We are shooting for an outdoor wedding and reception (weather permitting) and are really excited to see the wedding site when it is in full bloom and everything has had the summer to grow. Jas also got her wedding dress which she will be more than happy to tell you about because all I know about it is that she has one (not for lack of wanting to know...she just won't tell me). We were also able to find a photographer at one of the wedding shows. Oh...and I guess another small detail is that we finally got her ring. She likes to show it off so I'm sure you will see it soon....ha ha! I'm sure Jas will get on here and provide a lot more details as soon as school gets out so until then thanks for the support!

A Groom's Eye View

This is Zane (this time)...no matter what Jasa wrote about the proposal, I am always going to believe with all of my heart that she never saw it coming because somehow that is easier to bear than the realization that my soon-to-be-wife is capable of unraveling the most complex of surprises like a modern-day Sherlock Holmes. Having said all of that, I can't tell y'all how excited I am, beginning with the fact that she said yes and then with the renewed understanding with every passing day that I am going to marry this woman.

What you might not have heard through the grape vine is how this whole relationship thing got started. There are times in life when you look back and wonder why God didn't allow you to have all of the information all at once. That's kind of how I feel when I think back about 8 years ago when I met Jasa for the first time. In all fairness, she was 13 and I was 16 so neither of us were interested in each other in any kind of romantic way. But as you read in her account of the proposal (which was all true, despite my claims that she didn't see it coming) I distinctly remember her smile and the amount of joy that she had. It was clear that she was going to do some incredible things and it was always interesting to see what she was up to and what God was doing in her life.

Fast forward about 7 years and you end up looking at January 2008. Jasa and I kind of helped to set up our younger siblings (her sister and my brother) and they started to date. Somewhere in the process, Jasa and I began talking and then talking more frequently. Even though we had "known" of each other for several years we finally got to become friends and to get to know one another. I was in Kentucky and she was in Utah so we were able to develop a pretty good friendship through phone calls and emails and such. I came back for several weeks at the beginning of the summer to watch Kendall play in his state baseball tournament and after nearly blowing any chance of spending more time with Jasa (a story that is way too complicated and far too embarrassing to put on a blog!!!!) we got to spend some time together and after a couple of weeks I found the boldness to ask her to think about a relationship. About a week later, I still hadn't heard anything from her but she took me to the airport so I could go back to Kentucky. We talked a little bit about expectations and such as that on the way but it wasn't until I was getting my bags out of the back of her car that she finally said, "let's give it a shot and see what happens".

1o months and a ring on her finger later, I'm pretty excited that she decided to give us a shot!

The Proposal......

On March 12, 2009 Zaner took me out for a carriage ride. He had asked a few days in advance if he could take me out that night. Now that was rare for Zaner unless he was planning something special. So I kind of had an idea what was going on that night. :) So Zane, me, the carriage driver and Cledus (the horse) set out for a ride downtown. The carriage stopped in Memory Grove Park at which point we got out to walk around for a few minutes. Zane led me over to a little cobblestone bridge over the stream. Zane said, "From the first time I met you, I remembered your smile. I remember thinking you were one of the most joyous people I had ever met. I also remember watching the guys that you dated and thinking man, you could do better than that. I knew God had as awesome plan for your life. And now I'm dating you. I am so happy to be the man in your life but I still think...you could do better than that! (At this point he got down on one knee and said...) would you grow old with me? Would you marry me?" And of course I said Yes! :) We got back in the carriage and started out again and Zane said, "I have one more surprise for you!...."

Meanwhile....
The carriage pulls into the park and I notice this camera set up on a tripod across the way, in the alley of the memory grove house with a cord that goes behind the wall and the top of a mans head adjusting something. I look and its pointed directly at this bridge but the only people I see around are joggers and their dogs. The carriage then stops in the park and there is an awkward moment between the driver and Zane. At this point, I now know Zane is doing something. Then we head over to the bridge and the first thing he says is..."Lets stop and look at the water for a minute." Now he's hosed, I really know! :) Then after he proposes a man walks over with his two dogs, a big cigar in his mouth and the dog pees on the bridge. So as you can see...it was really romantic but really funny and memorable as well! Then we get back in the carriage and start to drive off and Zane says, "I have one more surprise for you...." I said, "Does it have anything to do with that camera that was back in the alley way?" Zane says, "You saw that? How did you see that? Yeah, your parents were behind the wall taking pictures of it all!" The two of us then went to Flemmings, a very nice restaurant for dinner. And that, was the proposal! :)