First Guest Post Ever: Kaycie

I am in Lake Powell. Just waking up to a beautiful sunrise or something cool at the moment. Headed off to get our jet ski and tube for the day and then have some fun and SUPER sunscreen all day so I don't burn. But, you all get to hear from the lovely Kaycie! She is visiting from {Redhead} Memories where she blogs about newlywed life, delicious recipes she makes for her husband, and proclaims herself as a lover of  soft and mushy bananas. She is the cutest, funnest {is that a word} redhead that I have met in blogland and I am so excited to have her taking over my blog for the day.  

Hey friends of Race and Emma! I’m Kaycie and I blog over at Redhead Memories.

Since Emma and Race are out celebrating their anniversary, I thought I should talk about marriage. And then I realized, I haven’t ever shared my proposal story on my blog before! So I’m going to take this opportunity to do so!

Scott and I were traveling down to Las Vegas, where his family lives, for the summer break. Because we’d be passing by the Grand Canyon and neither of us had been since we were really young, we thought we would stop by!

You would think that going to the Grand Canyon when we had been talking about getting married would ring a bell. I thought about it, but didn’t think it was going to happen. Scott still had to talk to my dad and said he wouldn’t get the ring before then.

Yeah. Boys lie when they’re about to propose to girls.

Scott and my naïve self traveled to the canyon anyway. When we got there, it was pouring rain. I thought it was fun! I guess I hadn’t seen rain in a while. Scott was way upset, but didn’t show it. We pulled into a parking stall and right then, it stopped raining. Scott likes to say, “the heavens parted”.

He walked me to the edge, (also, he is terrified of heights) found a spot that was semi-secluded, and took advantage of that perfect moment. It totally caught me by surprise and of course, I said yes!

Of COURSE I wore old pants and a t-shirt. I thought I was getting comfy for the road trip. Ha! At least I work makeup, ha ha.

I guess he really loves me. :)

I hope you all enjoyed Kaycie's adorable engagement story {I sure did}! And now head on over to her blog and learn more about her and her exciting life in Vegas as a newlywed! 

Me & My Husband {Fifth Edition.Part 1}

Filling out the Questionnaire from this post.

Question 5:

Engagement/Bridal pictures: Let's see em! {I'm going to split this into two posts so that I can share even more pictures}

Race and I took our pictures in Flagstaff, AZ on July 3, 2010 exactly two months before our wedding. The weather was perfect, the lighting was gorgeous and I loved our locations. We took some pictures in downtown Flagstaff and then we headed out to Lake Marshall to take some more pictures. We brought along the cute tandem bike and loved having that as part of our engagement photos. Our photographer did a really good job of catching us being us and being totally in love. It was perfect! :]

{Photos done by Jessica Downey of Sierra Studios Photography}

Me & My Husband {Fourth Edition}

Continuing from this post

Question 4: The ring--Tell us about it! Did you pick it out? Did he? Pictures! Tell us about his ring too!

Race and I went ring shopping pretty early on in our relationship. {Someone saw us ring shopping and spread the word around the institute--that was a fun one to try and explain away. Haha.} I knew pretty much what style I wanted and we found it right away. It just happened to be on sale! The ring and the band were on sale for the price of just the ring. The sale ended before we were planning on getting engaged so I told Race that I was totally fine with just the ring. I had never really thought about getting a band and didn't care either way. I came to find out later that Race bought the ring and band while they were on sale and had been showing them off to his family for a while before he actually proposed to me! {Sidenote: We just recently got the my rings soldered together and I LOVE having my wedding band as well as my pretty engagement ring}

Here are some pictures of my gorgeous ring: 

 Kay Jewelers

 This is from the first day I ever wore the gorgeous ring! I was in awe and I still can't stop staring at it.

We found Race's ring online for a really good deal. Race loved the simple, sleek look of this ring and we both loved the color. I was so glad that Race loved the smooth look rather than the new, edgy looks of men's wedding bands. He loves his ring to this day but his fingers have been losing some weight so we'll be buying him a smaller ring pretty soon.

Titanium Kay 

 

Me & My Husband {Third Edition}

Continuing from this post .

Question 3:

Proposal: How it happened, how long were you engaged for? Was it a total surprise? Pictures of that... etc. 

The day before the proposal:

On May 26th, 2010 Race and I spent a wonderful day at the Grand Canyon. It was the second time I had ever gone to the Grand Canyon. It was a gorgeous day and I loved spending the time with Race in the car talking on the way there and the way back. While we were there we took lots of cute pictures and enjoyed the gorgeous nature. On the way home from the Grand Canyon I put my hand on Race's leg. I felt something in his pocket...the exact size of a ring box! I asked him what it was. He said it was his camera battery. This was funny because we had talked about how his camera took double A batteries on our way to the Grand Canyon. I pointed that out and then he said it was his wallet. Of course this was silly because no one's wallets are that size...that I know of. I ended up dropping it because I didn't want to ruin anything but I called my mom right when I got home and told her all about it. I could not believe that he had the ring with him and DIDN'T PROPOSE!!! The next day was our official three month dating anniversary and I was going to be shocked if he didn't propose then either. I was pretty sure that he was going to propose because he kept telling me that he was taking me on a date the next day and that I should "dress cute". Also that night my best friend told me that Race had asked her for my home phone number. With all these clues and the fact that I now knew he had a ring for me I was pretty sure the next day was going to be it. 

 Race and I at the Grand Canyon the day before we got engaged--if you look closely at his right pocket you can kind of see the outline of the ring box.

The Day of the Proposal: 
 

Race picked me up at noon the next day and we headed out to the mall. We ate a delicious lunch at Ruby Tuesday's and Race's hands were shaking the entire time {this is only somewhat noteworthy because Race's hands almost always shake}. After lunch we headed into the mall and right towards the photo booth {we had gone to this photo booth on one of our very first dates}. We went in and Race pulled out a HUGE wad of dollar bills. I would say there were between 30 and 50 dollars {FYI: we did not use nearly that much money}. We got into the photo booth and took our first set of photos. Race says that he was fully planning on proposing during the first set of photos but he was just so nervous that he couldn't get the ring out of his pocket and get down on his knee before the fourth picture was taken. Race said that he wanted to take some more pictures and made up some silly reason like there was a face he really wanted to do still or something like that. We had to get out of the photo booth because there were some girls in line waiting to take pictures. We sat nearby and waited for them to finish and then headed back into the photo booth. This time Race got the ring out and was down on his knee in the first picture. He asked me to marry him and I said yes! It was the perfect proposal and I am so glad that we have it captured in these photo booth photos! :] 

Pictures from left to right:

1. One of our first dates. In the same photo booth Race proposed in. 

2. While Race was getting up the guts to propose and figuring out the logistics of proposing in a little tiny photo booth. 

3. Race proposing to me, me saying yes, and us showing off the gorgeous ring. 

4. More of us showing off the ring and being oh so happy to be engaged!!!

We were engaged on May 27th, 2010 and were married on September 3rd, 2010. We had a short engagement and that is just the way we wanted it! :]

{Kinda Crafty} Part Four

Click here to view this photo book larger




I had a gift-card to Shutterfly.com so I made this cute little photo book to have on our coffee table. I don't really know if this counts as being crafty since I left it pretty plain. But I love looking at it and I love showing it off to people. My mom even borrowed it for a couple of weeks to take to some of our family reunions to show off to people. :] It was so fun and easy to make and now I am working on one for my Grandma and Grandpa Olmstead's 50th Wedding Anniversary. I can't wait to show that one off too!

All Things Pertaining to Me & My Husband

I am just now realizing that I have very few posts with my wedding/engagement photos in them so for a little while I'm going to fill out this questionnaire and put in lots of pictures from my wedding. :] {Looking at all these cute pictures of us makes me really want to get professional photos taken again--too bad they're so dang expensive!} I will start answering all these questions soon so get excited! As you can see, Race is already excited!

1. How it all began: How you met, first date, first kiss, how long did you date? First picture together...etc.

2. When you knew he was the one: Self explanatory.. but how and when did you know? 
3. Proposal: How it happened, how long were you engaged for? Was it a total surprise? Pictures of that... etc. 
4. The ring: Tell us about it! Did you pick it out? Did he? Pictures! Tell us about his ring too! 
5. Engagement/Bridal pictures: Let's see em! 
6. The colors: Show some of the flower and colors you used.
7. The dress: Was it what you always imagined? Did you have it made for you? White or ivory?  
8. The little accessories: You know, veil? Shoes? Jewelry? What did your bridesmaids wear? 
9. The reception: Where was it at? Show us some pictures! What day did you get married? 
10. The cake/food: I love food. So tell me about what you had at your wedding!
11. Your song and/or the first song you danced to at your wedding: share a music video or lyrics if you can!
12. Favorite part of the day and least favorite part of the day: can be anything. 
13. Honeymoon: Where did you go? Was it good? ;)
14. Thoughts on marriage: What is the easiest/hardest part? If you could change anything, what would it be?
15. First place that you lived together: Pics if you have them! 
16. Kids: Do you have any yet? If not, when do you plan on it? How many do you want? Any tips on good/bad birth control?
17. Most recent picture of you and your significant other and what you love most about them :) And any other thoughts.

P.S. I know that "Me and my husband" is grammatically incorrect but I like the way it sounds anyway...sorry if it really bugs anyone! Thanks to Autumn I now know that it's not grammatically incorrect. I'm glad I can accidentally have good grammar. :]