29 things I hope I never forget about my wedding day

I can't even count how many people told us that our wedding day was going to fly by and that we wouldn't remember half of it. I remember trying to solidify every little moment in my brain so I would be able to constantly return to that feeling of delirious happiness. Inspired by this post and in honor of Valentines Day, I thought I'd share some things I hope that I never forget about my wedding day.

1. Seeing Ali for the first time in 2 months and getting the most excited, sincere, best friend hug you could ever imagine. She had just gotten married only 2 months before and was living in Georgia at the time. She had flew out of for back to back weddings that weekend, mine first, and her sisters the next day. It meant to world to me to have her there to celebrate such an important day.

2. Having some of my moms closest friends, and my old young women leaders completely take over a cake disaster. They took it to the kitchen, worked their magic (both in the catering business) and wouldn't let me see it until all was back in tact. I didn't even have a chance to panic about it. It was just one of those moments when you realize your mom friends are now your friends, too, and I'm not the obnoxious teenager we know caused them too many headaches once upon a time

3. Seeing Becky at our luncheon and being welcomed with the biggest hug and greeting, "my new sister!!!!"

4. My brother Mike, sharing at our luncheon the connection we've had as siblings ever since high school, and how I've always been one of his best friends. I still tear up thinking about it.

5. Scott's oldest brother Jason tearing up as he imagined his own daughter one day getting married, and then expressing that he thought Scott had finally found "the one"

6. My Dad, sharing how loyal and tenacious he thinks I am, and how those qualities will serve me well in marriage. He reflected back on the highlights of my swimming years, where those qualities really became ingrained in me. I remember how much his support meant to me during that time, and then seeing it transfer into the more important things in life (college, work, dating) has been one of the most meaningful things.

7. Scott's grandma coming up after seeing our wedding formals in a slideshow and asking if they were pictures from a ball we had attended, we really threw her for a loop with our non-traditional ways!

8. Accidentally blasting the speakers with our slide show and sending our little niece Rachel into hysterics.

9. Sitting with Scott right beforehand holding hands, both of us itching with anticipation and excitement

10. Walking into the sealing room and making eye contact with Ali, who immediately started crying tears of joy.

11. Staring at Scott  from across the alter and and feeling like I was going to burst with laughter from happiness and excitement. I remember thinking "this is the coolest thing ever!". I couldn't wipe the smile off my face.

12. Afterward, getting a hug from Jayme, the only kind of hug someone who has been your friend for 13+ years can give. Who has been through every awkward phase and teenage drama with you and loved you though it all. There were instant tears at that point as well.

13. Taking a final moment alone with my mom in the Brides room before leaving the temple. It was like everything was in slow motion as I let her tie my sash, and make sure everything was straightened and in perfect order. I remember wanting to savour every tiny detail of that moment.

14. Sitting at the vanity in the Brides room at the temple putting final touches on my makeup, it's easily one of the most feminine memories I have of myself.

15. Being able to take the traditional picture with my closest high school girlfriends. Each of us has this picture of all of us together on each of our wedding days. It's still one of my favorite photos from that day.

16. After pictures at the temple, driving away in Scotts truck and saying to each other over and over "we're married!!"

17. Stopping at the gas station, him in his suit and me in my dress, just so Scott could get a coke.

18. Sitting at our reception center before everyone else arrived. My family had run to grab some peaches, Scotts family had run home to relax, and my friends had ran to grab lunch. I so cherish those moments I was able to share alone with Scott on our wedding day. It really set the tone for the rest of the evening and let us relax and be happy. I know so many people don't get that time with their spouse on their wedding day and we both knew how lucky we were to get it.

19. About halfway through our first dance, Scott and I saying to each other, "I never thought this song was so long!"

20. Having Matt there to support Scott as his best man, and being grateful for good friends for both of us.

21. Watching Scotts mom dance with my new nieces and nephews around the dance floor

22. After nobody catching my bouquet, watching Korry's daughter Brooklyn slowly creep up and claim it as hers.

23. Being showered with confetti as we left for the night, and trying hard as I could to capture the joy and love I felt in that final moment with the people I most loved on the happiest day of my life.

24. Stopping at Scotts parents house before getting on the road to clean our car off all the unmentionables that our dear friends had gifted us with.

25. Jamming to Ke$ha, per Scott's request (obviously) the whole ride to our hotel. There was probably some Beyoncè thrown in there somewhere as well.

26. Getting the most sincere and kind text from Karlie, congratulating us on our wedding, expressing how beautiful our day was, and how she hoped to find love like ours one day. It was one of the nicest things anyone ever said about my wedding.

27. Opening our "honeymoon basket" from Jayme, full of inside jokes from high school

28. Checking into our hotel only to find they had upgraded us to a private suite, as a special wedding gift

29. And then, checking into our room and running around like kids in a candy store, counting fireplaces and TVs, inspecting every cool feature just because that's what poor college newlyweds are entitled to do, right?

the very first formal picture we ever took together

Happy Valentines Day Scott! I'm sure glad I married you.

what i've learned from Minnesota so far...10 things

Before my parents moved to Minnesota a couple years ago, the midwest was not even on my radar. Besides a brief two years in Virginia when I was really young, and my Freshman year of college at Missouri State, I have been a west coast dweller for most of my life. I had come out here a couple times before to visit my parents with my family, but it wasn't until Scott and I moved here last June that we really began to get a feel for midwest living in all of its glory (and it is glorious!) I have seriously loved being out here, despite some bone chilling days, and much more humidity than I am used to. But being out here has also exposed me to a thing or two you just don't really get until you live here. This is my list of things that I've learned since moving to Minnesota (with a few random photos placed throughout because what is a blog post without photos.)

1. The accents are no joke- I first noticed this when I was setting up my internship and would get phone calls asking for AY-lee instead of aaaaa-llie (short A). It is hilarious! All the ya, you betchas, dotcha knows, it is real folks, it is so real. Also, totally acceptable to pronounce bagel (BAY-gull) like BAG-ull or BAY-jel. I still laugh at it.

2. Cold takes on a whole new meaning here- Being an Alaska girl and going to college in Utah, I'm not a stranger to snow and ice and long winters, but you get to -20 out here and people don't even bat an eye. Just make sure you're armed with gobs of heavy duty lotion, and invest in a good pair of boots and winter coat (preferably knee length) and you can take on the world. Fashion goes out the window come January and all the matters is staying warm by whatever means possible. Try dressing for church when it's -30 out without looking amish. It isn't possible.

3. That being said, when we get a 20 or 30 degree front (which has been going on the last couple of weeks) it feels like paradise!!- Everyone talks about how warm it is, and you think that if it felt this way all year you would be totally okay with it.  It's funny how your body gets used to different climates.

4. St. Paul and Minneapolis are NOT. THE. SAME. THING.- I remember before moving out here just grouping the twin cities into one city. Like, yeah they're St. Paul and Minneapolis "technically" but really they're just the twin cities. Mistake. I quickly learned that people here have very strong preferences toward one city or the other, and they definitely have their own unique vibe. In case you're wondering, Minneapolis is more metro, fast paced, city vibe, and St. Paul is the low key, trendy, slightly high maintenence vibe. Jury is still out on which one I prefer.

5. Car washes are everything- When I told my preceptor about 3 weeks ago that (confession) I didn't think I had washed my car since before we moved out here (it hides dirt well...!) she was in literal shock. I have washed it since then, okay. But her disbelief was reasonably founded. When they salt here in the winter time they mean business. And it is totally normal to have to wait 20 minutes to get a car wash. You should see the lines on the weekends, like 10 cars lined up. And I timed it, a car wash takes 7 minutes. You do the math.

6. Casseroles aren't casseroles, they're "hot dish"- and they are the life blood of people here, the foundation of their food pyramid, if you will. (i'll have to share the recipe for the "hot dish" pictured above, it passes my health test and husbands taste test)

7. Dinner and supper are not interchangeable- You learn this one quick when you're a dietetic intern and your first rotation is in a weight loss clinic. And for all my west coast friends, our dinner is their supper. People would get confused when I asked what they had for dinner..."don't you mean supper?"...uhh yep, supper. I still haven't gotten used to this one.

8. It doesn't matter where you live in the metro area, you can get to where you need to be in 35 minutes or less- The only caveat to this is during rush hour, of course. This strange phenomenon is both a blessing and a curse. It has become a fun game for me and Scott every time we go somewhere new, we guess how long it is going to take us to get there. It doesn't matter if its in the center of St. Paul or the far west end of Minneapolis, it is between the 25-35 minute window 95% of the time.

9. Confrontation doesn't happen- If you watched How I Met Your Mother you know that Marshall joked about this a few times, and yeah, it's true. People hate and will avoid having a confrontation even if it means going home from work early to do so. But this is probably only because of number 10...

10. People here are really really super nice- I noticed it my first time ever visiting, and especially now living out here. People are friendly, inviting, and so geniune. Midwest hospitality is not a joke.

We have loved learning the culture of this new city and feel like we fit in well with everyone, even if we don't talk like them (yet!). I totally get it when people say that this place sucks you in because it is definitely doing it to me. I'm so glad this unexpected place popped up on our radar.

Christmas in Utah!

A couple weeks ago I took a break from my internship and Scott was lucky enough to get time off of his work during the holidays and we made it back to Utah for Christmas!

We were only in Utah for 9 days including travel days so everything was a whirlwhind from touch down to take off. There was more than one quick 10 minute stop to say hi on our way from one place to another, sometimes that was the best we could do! We had such a great time seeing everyone though. It was really good to spend time with our families again and see all of our nieces and nephews who (i'm going to be a super clichè aunt right now) have grown SO much in so little time! We love having so many nieces and nephews and being the cool aunt and uncle right now.

We arrived on Saturday and had a big family party with the Henrie family that night. After all the kidlets exchanged gifts all us siblings got together and played cards, which is one of my favorite Henrie traditions. We play cards and bet with nickels, so we all have our little (okay, maybe they aren't that little...) jars of nickels that we bring and bet with. It's fun and a guilt free way to "gamble". We had a couple really excellent card game sessions over the week, and I have to say thanks to my mother-in-law for providing our nickel bowl because forgot to bring ours out!

We celebrated Christmas with my family on the 23rd since my brother and his wife were spending Christmas up in Rexburg. This year, my family decided to take on a project to bring the focus of the season back toward Christ and service. On Monday night, we all went to Old Navy and bought a bunch of warm clothes & coats and then on Tuesday we went to a women's shelter to make the delivery. It was so rewarding to know that we were helping people who really needed it, that is what the holidays are truly about! While we were dropping off clothes at the shelter, there was a homeless man outside who was asking people for money. Scott offered to buy the guy a meal at a bakery next door, and the guy just had a heyday, he was so excited! Scott told him he could get whatever he wanted, and he was a little timid at first, but ended up getting a sandwich fully loaded with all the toppings, a cinnamon roll, and a drink. The owners of the bakery saw what Scott did and gave both Scott and the homeless man a bag of rolls for free. I just know Scott must have made that guys day #proudwife. It's times like those where you realize you definitely married the right man (insert heart eye emoji here.)

We also went to temple square with my family, always a "must do" if you're in Utah.

^^^ The nativities are my favorite part of the lights on Temple Square! They are so cool to look at & it's WAY less crowded over there. They are a hidden gem :)^^^

Christmas this year was honestly the most perfect you could imagine. We went to bed on Christmas eve with not a flake of snow on the ground, and while we were sleeping, Utah pulled out all the stops and we woke up to this (see below)

hello white Christmas! It was perfect.

I surprised Scott (major) by getting him a fly rod he has been DYING for, and he surprised me with an absolutely killer new running jacket that has already made my winter runs so much more enjoyable. I love seeing the look on his face opening up surprises, it'll never get old. Later that morning my sister-in-law and I went on a run. One of my favorite things about my sisters-in-law is that they love to work out as much as I do! It's so nice when we go on family trips together to have workout/running buddies, they keep me in line and I love them for it ;)

The rest of the break we spent connecting with friends. I was able to see my bff Ali and we sat in Kneaders for something like 3 hours talking about life and planning for her future bebe (!!!!!!) and we were able to get together with my old study buddies and their husbands for a night of Contention (seriously most entertaining card game ever, no gambling involved ;).

We were so grateful that we were able to make it out for the holiday and connect with so many people that we haven't seen in a while. It was nice to have time with each other as well without the distraction of work & my internship. Now we're back in this icebox that is Minnesota right now and dreaming of our next vacation. Hawaii?! Belize?! Brazil?! Take me somewhere exotic and warm...

2014 was such an amazing year for us. I graduated college, we were able to travel to Vegas, California, and Jackson, WY. We moved to Minnesota, I started my internship, Scott was able to take a fishing trip with his brothers and Dad, we celebrated our first anniversary, went to our first NFL game together and were treated like kings at a Twins game. We have been so lucky and so spoiled this year and we try not to forget it! We are so excited for what 2015 has in store, cheers to a new year!

Anniversary Photo Shoot

Forewarning: It's posts like these that make me realize how completely self-indulgent blogging can be at times. You've just got to embrace this, though.

A couple months ago Scott and I had pictures done for our anniversary/Christmas cards. One of the things I always wished was that my parents had more picture from before they had kids. So, I have made a point to document mine and Scott's lives right now. If ever Scott gets sick of all the photo shoots and pictures I make him endure, I just assure him that it is all in the name of posterity :)

Amanda Nippoldt did our photos this year and I could not be happier with how they turned out. She shot exclusively with film, and the images turned out so beautifully. The girl is pure magic because I am not photogenic in the least bit and somehow she made me look good without shooting trillions of pictures. I especially enjoyed the evening with Amanda, because she gave us her own little mini-tour of St. Paul, and as a fellow foodie, let us in on all the best restaurants we needed to try. It was nice to see the city from the perspective of someone else who is in the same stage of life as me and Scott. SO, here are a few of my favorites from our shoot with Amanda. If you're ever looking for a photographer in the Twin Cities, go to her!!

the light in this one seriously gets me

the more I look at this one the more I love it

Thanks again Amanda for being so boss at photography. And thank you Scott for being so attractive. 

happy holidays!

You can't send a Christmas card to the whole world, unfortunately, but you can post it on the internet. Which, lets be honest, is basically the same thing. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!

**We did our photos this year with Amanda Nippoldt who I cannot speak highly enough about (she shot film, drooool, I will have to share some of my favorites at another time), and we did our cards through Minted this year and they did a fabulous job! The printed addresses on our envelopes was the icing on the cake!**

thanksgiving & the holiday market & advent calendars

Here is what our holiday season has looked like thus far, starting with Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving has slowly been earning more and more stock on my list of favorite holidays over the past few years, it's biting at the heels of Christmas. It's like Christmas, without all the pressure of Christmas, ya catch my drift? Thanksgiving is totally chill and that's how it is supposed to be and I dig it. Plus, I've never been a huge turkey fan, but can you REALLY dislike a holiday dedicated to lavish meals and naps? That on top of all the warm fuzzies from friends and family and recognizing how much you have. I mean really.

Around here we're putting our best foot forward to make this the cheeriest of Christmases. As the only woman in the house I have taken it as my sacred duty to bring the festivity in full force for the men who never realize how wonderfully necessary it is until it has all been done (am i right, ladies?? lets be honest, these things would rarely get accomplished without us). The halls have been decked, the wreaths are out, and the advent house is stuffed with candy.

Side story about advent calendars. Growing up in the Burnham household, we had one sole advent calendar. I had a friend whose Mom got an advent calendar for each kid in the family, and she had the idea right because the advent calendar was a source of much strife for the Burnham children each December. The calendar was this Christmas tree with a golden string that ran from one side of the tree to the other, and on the string were 25 beads. Each day of December you would turn the bead to countdown until Christmas. I don't know what it was about that countdown but it was a family favorite. I'm sure that the star on top of the tree had to be hot glued back on more than once, and as it got old we had to fit the beads over the knots that held the string together, but we held onto that countdown for a long while and I'm not entirely sure when my Mom decided to retire it to its final resting place. You can imagine though, how well it works sharing one thing between five children. No matter the age, every single one of us really just got a thrill from turning that bead each day. I'm fairly certain that Steve would wake up just to turn the bead and then go back to bed (even on weekends!). If you woke up later than everyone else, you were at a HUGE disadvantage because odds are there was at least one person who woke up before you that remembered. It was pretty regularly a conversation of "You turned the bead yesterday!" or, "I haven't turned the bead all month!" You'd think we'd establish some sort of system, but my mom was one who liked to let us figure things out amongst ourselves, and in this case that meant we whined about it for a month and accepted that he who wakes first gets the honor of the ceremonial bead turning. Isn't it funny how some of our memories of what seemed to be terrible at the time (okay, terrible might be an overexaggeration here) turn out to be some of our favorites? One of these days I'm going to have to write about our Lake Powell house boat vacation.

So AAANYWAY for Thanksgiving this year Scott and I were on our own. My Dad flew to Utah to be with the family and all of Scott's family is in Utah as well and since we're flying out for Christmas we decided to stay here for Thanksgiving. We figured, who knows how many Thanksgivings are we going to ever have again where we can just do our own thing? So we embraced it full force and did a non-traditional meal at a Brazilian steakhouse called Fogo de Chao in Minneapolis. Scott was, naturally, in heaven. It was worth it for me just to see him so excited about it, but it was also sooo good. We always have a good time going to fun places like that.

The next day, we went to the Holidazzle Village and Holiday Market in the cities. I will say, we came for the fireworks, but we stayed for the hot fresh apple cider, brats, and European danishes. Holy food coma. There were so many amazing goodies too at the Holiday Market; beautiful hand painted dishware, hand made nativities and ornaments, it was amazing. I really hope we have an opportunity to go back before it closes because it was so cool!

Now we're down to almost a week (whaaat!) until we leave for Utah and I'm trying to decide, do I pack all Scott's presents, open them before we leave, or save them until after?? Important decisions here in my future.

1 year + a novel

For our 1 year anniversary Scott and I wanted to get to know our new home a little bit better. The drive along Highway 61 hugs the North Shoreline of Lake Superior and is supposed to be one of the most beautiful drives in the country (although, I think the Al-Can beats it). My older brother had taken a day trip up there earlier in the summer with his family, and the whole highway is dotted with charming resorts and restaurants, we thought it would be the perfect place for an intimate little getaway for the weekend that wasn't too far from home.

We stayed in a condo at the Lutsen Resort about 2 hours north of Duluth that was absolutely perfect. We could see the lake from our balcony! I was especially pleased because when I called to book a room, they asked us if we were visiting for any special occasion. When I told them it was for our anniversary they offered to have champagne waiting for us in our room when we arrived. When I said no thank you, they offered for sparkling cider! I was so pleased. I didn't even have to ask for a non-alcoholic option (I didn't even know that was an option.) So, when we arrived on Friday night they had left us 2 champagne glasses and sparkling cider. I was so pleased to have a nice little souvenier to bring home from our first anniversary.

On Saturday morning I slept in while Scott fished, then when he got back we had a late breakfast, then went kayaking with a group from the resort. I was really looking forward to this but I sat in the back and was in charge of steering and I am TERRIBLE at it. I am still convinced there was something else wrong because I swear I was doing everything I was supposed to! But I was just doing an awful job and I got so frustrated! There was nothing poor Scott could do but deal with grumpy little me sitting in the back of the kayak totally failing at life. Oh man. I am terrible. The lake was really beautiful though! It is HUUUGE. It does not look like a lake, it looks like an ocean, which I loved. Our guide told us that one guy got lost kayaking because he got too far from the shoreline and accidentally kayaked across the whole lake. Can you imagine?! There aren't mountains in Minnesota, it is so easy to get turned around and disoriented, to be lost in a kayak on a giant lake...no thanks!

After our kayaking adventure was over we spent the rest of the afternoon playing horseshoes and exploring shops along the highway. Scott even spent some time fishing in a little fishing hole right by the main lodge catching one fish after another. We went out to eat at a restaurant about 20 miles north called the Angry Trout. We went because severeal people had written in the guest journal in our room that this place was good, and they were right! We waited almost an hour for a table but it was definitely worth it. All of the ingredients were fresh and in season, locally grown, and the fish had been caught fresh from the lake. It was an awesome anniversary dinner.

I am all about traditions so I decided to save the top tier of our wedding cake to have on our 1 year anniversary. I had heard from multiple people that saving it was a waste and that it would taste weird or gross, but I really wanted to keep the tradition, and I'm so glad I did! I lugged that baby in an iced cooler from Utah to Minnesota, and then up to the resort for the weekend, complete with our own cutlery, plates, and napkins (because we didn't have any in the hotel). After our dinner on Saturday we came back to our hotel and had our cake and our sparkling cider on a little table I pulled up by the fireplace. It is one of my favorite memories from our anniversary. We sat and reminisced about our wedding day and our past year together and how much we have learned, how quickly the time goes, all of the fun things we want to do together, and our cake was still good (yay for good cakemakers!).

We checked out of the resort on Sunday morning and slowly made our way back home. We drove down highway 61, enjoying the view that we didn't get when we drove up since we drove up at night. We stopped at the Split Rock Light House and were too cheap to pay to get in, so we stopped at a pull off further down the road to take pictures. We also stopped at Gooseberry Falls and spent some time walking around, and taking pictures. We found this awesome flea market on the side of the road, and of course we stopped and grabbed a pie from the famous Betty's Pies (soooo gooood *droooool*). When we made it to Duluth we grabbed lunch, and went to see Bob Dylan's childhood home (guess whose request that was). THEN, we finally made the drive back home. It was a perfect, relaxing, and long (I have a feeling I'm doing to like having our anniversary fall close to labor day) weekend.

I remember before Scott and I got married I couldn't even imagine fighting with each other, I didn't even know what we would fight about. But, I learned very quickly that there are plenty of things to fight about, even when you're super compatible. I also learned that even though Scott and I are super compatible, we are also very, very different from each other (it is possible!) A large part of our first year was hard! I learned a lot about myself and discovered parts of my personality I didn't realize were a part of my personality. It was tough to face that, and figure out how to make things work. The best thing about marriage, though, is that even when things are really frustrating, you know that neither one of you is ever going to give up on the other. Yeah, our personalities clash occasionally, but we figure it out when that happens. Maybe it happened more at first than it does now, but only because we never gave up on one another. I have learned more about relationships and what love really means in this first year of marriage than I ever learned when I was single, and I am so grateful for that! Marriage is tough, but so much fun. It is worth every frustrating argument or uncomfortable conversation we have to have with one another. For everyone one of those, there are a hundred positive memories. I will never get tired of having someone to come home to every day, or taking a free Saturday morning (rare as they may be) to wake up slow and make breakfast together. I love little texts in the middle of the day just to see how the day is going. I love having a human furnace to curl up next to when I'm freezing at night (which is most nights). I love having someone who will laugh with me when I feel like being silly, and laugh at me when I'm being ridiculous. I love having someone to celebrate my pointless victories with, and comfort me when I'm disappointed in myself. Scott gives me perspective and reminds me constantly of what is really important. There is nothing more comforting than knowing you have someone who is always going to be cheering for you in your corner of the ring (like that boxing reference, Scotty?). I am so happy that I have someone who keeps choosing to love me despite all of my flaws. Marriage is tough, but marriage is the best, you guys. The absolute best.

this bridge took us from our condo to the main lodge and over the little fishing hole that Scott spent a couple hours in

the view from our balcony

i am totally pretending to have fun here, convincing, yes?!

the trail leading to the main lodge was full of raspberry bushes!

pre-anniversary dinner selfie

oh my gosh, we didn't even have plates! keeping it suuuuper classy with our paper towels. ah! let this be a lesson that the greatest memories do NOT have to be picture perfect ;)

and so.

Here's to an eternity of anniversaries with my favorite human, love you Scotty!