"Wake Me Up When September Ends"

First of all, I can't believe how fast the month of September went by!! It's crazy how time never slows down. So much has happened this month for the Wheeler household. I got a job working as a para educator at a preschool in Provo called Sunrise Preschool. I was so excited when I got the job. I knew I could use my child development degree for something!! So far, it's been great! I can even walk to my work, that's how close it is! :) Collin is still working for BYU's OIT and just started classes at BYU for his junior year. 

 This is me just playing around with my new phone. :)

 Collin is always diligently studying.

We are both very busy bees this semester, but we find times to socialize as well. My sister Kelsey and her husband Jordan moved back to Provo, and to top it off, they live in the same apartment complex as us! It's awesome that we can go and see them anytime we want. :) I love having them here. We also love getting to know people in our ward in church activities.

Earlier this month, we got to have dinner with a missionary couple that I knew back home in California. It was Elder and Sister Rounds!! I was so happy to hear that they now live in Utah. We got to talk, eat delicious food, and watch the movie "The Little Women." It was so wonderful to see them again. They are the sweetest couple you will ever meet. They made us feel right at home. It's always great to see old friends and remember the good times.

Speaking of good times, I got the opportunity to see my best friend Stephanie who happens to be serving her mission here in Utah. She was in Provo to wait for her companion as she took her ACT test. Stephanie (Sister Wood) got a hold of me on facebook and asked if I could be her temporary companion for a few hours. I agreed and called her the next morning. We met each other at a local high school and ran up and hugged each other instantly. Tears of joy filled my eyes as I saw her. I hadn't seen her in over a year and have really missed her. We had a great time talking and sharing spiritual messages with each other. It's tender mercies like that which make us want to do mission work and serve others.

Collin and I like to take time out of our busy lives and go on a date. We always have fun eating out or just talking on dates. 

              Eating dinner at Applebee's        Collin loves french fries. :)

It's true what they say, "it's always better when we're together." Everything is always better with Collin. We always are there to back each other up.

I'm so excited for more fall adventures! Fall is most definitely my favorite season. Colorful leaves, warm jackets, the smell of cinnamon and apples, I LOVE it! We will see what this season has in store for us...

Tis the season to get married, fa la la la la...la la la la!!!

Collin and I apparently started a new trend, because there was a huge number of people who got married after us. Summertime is always a busy time for weddings, especially in the Mormon world. During August, we were each in a wedding, one in Utah and one in California!! He got the opportunity to be a groomsman for our friend Kevin's wedding. We saw Kevin and his wife get sealed in the Manti Temple. This was the first sealing that I witnessed, so it was really special for me. :) The Manti Temple is so gorgeous and I love the view you can see from the temple. While we were waiting outside for the happy couple, we took a few pictures around the temple.

We were told to be funny...

 

When Kevin and Natalia came out of the temple, you can see that they were so happy. They are such a nice couple. :)

 

 

 

Pictures were being taken as Collin and I had fun taking our own. :)

 



 

I loved the mint green dresses. :)

 

We went to their reception where everyone was playing games and winning prizes. Collin hosted a game of family feud. Overall, it was a beautiful wedding. Collin and I really enjoyed ourselves that day.

 

 

 

 

 

A week later, I took a train down to California for my best friend April's wedding. Ironically enough, April was one of my bridesmaids for my wedding and I was a bridesmaid for her wedding. We both got married a month apart from each other! Collin couldn't make it down because of work, but we still Skyped with each other like old times. :)

 

I was so excited to be a part of her big day and was looking forward to wearing my bridesmaid dress.

 

 

I remember how beautiful she looked as she walked down the isle to marry her prince charming. Tears filled my eyes knowing that April was married to a great guy who would support her no matter what. The scenery was beautiful in the Newcastle Wedding Gardens. It was a perfect day to get married.

 

I got to Rocklin for the wedding reception in the afternoon. The decorations were so amazing with a Midnight in Paris theme.

 

I LOVED the incredible center pieces!

 

During the reception, each member of the bridal party got announced individually along with a song of their choice. When they called my name, they played "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper. I made my entrance and began dancing as I walked in. It was fun! :)

 

 

Later on, there was food, a lot of dancing, bouquet/garter toss, and cake. :) I was glad when I had time during the reception to get a picture with my girl. :)

 

 



 

It was such a creative, fun, and beautiful wedding. Jordan and April make a gorgeous couple. I am so happy that my best friend is now happy with the perfect guy for her. It is a good feeling when you find someone who is your true soul mate.

 

 

 

The following day, I packed my things and took the train back to my new home in Utah where I knew my husband was waiting for me there. :)

 



 

 



Getting Started...

We moved into our new apartment in Provo, UT in the beginning of August. I was instantly excited about seeing our new place and knowing that we are starting a life together. It looked really nice with everything furnished and a nice entertainment system. :) We had wedding presents that were already in the apartment, thanks to our family members who helped transport them. :) After our honeymoon, we carried in the rest of the presents in the apartment and immediately began opening them! (We love presents. :) ) We had boxes, wrapping paper, and suitcases everywhere shortly after moving in. It was a long process to clean the apartment, but eventually came together nicely.

 Before

 

 

After
 

 Decorating is still a working progress, but it's coming along. All I can say is I'm really excited about making our apartment look cute and charming (hopefully. :) ). I love how I can now be creative and think of ways of decorating the apartment. I think it is a good way to prepare for how we will decorate our home for our future families.

 

From this time on, Collin spent the whole month of August working full time, as I worked full time to find jobs. :) It was definitely a good time to adjust to married life. We go to church every Sunday and love our new ward. We absolutely love spending time together. I can't think of anything better than that.



Dreams Come True in Disneyland!

No surprise here, but we went to Disneyland for our honeymoon. After planning a wedding, it was great to just relax and take a vacation, plus, it was a great way to celebrate being married!! :) We headed down to Anaheim, CA AKA Disneyland the day after our wedding. We stayed at a hotel just across the street from Disneyland!

The following day, we spent the WHOLE day in Disneyland and California Adventure with nonstop rides, laughs and fun.

 

 

Collin and I love posing on the rides for pictures. :) One of the most memorable moments at Disneyland was eating at the Blue Bayou. I remember seeing a restaurant every time I went on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. I always wanted to know what it would be like to eat there. We both thought that it was really special that we got to eat there. Below is a picture of me drinking lemonade with light up ice cube. It was cool!

Another highlight from our honeymoon was eating a guarrideli chocolate ice cream sundae. Collin and I absolutely LOVE ice cream so we couldn't resist getting a sundae, especially if it was made with real guarrideli chocolate. :)

Collin and I went to a show in California Adventure called The World of Color. It's a water/light show that they display in front of the Mickey Mouse ferris wheel. It was so spectacular!!! It reminded me of Fantasmic where there were scenes from the Disney movies. Plus water splashing in the air! We literally were soaking wet right after words, but it was so worth it! It was my favorite part and a great way to end the day.
 

The next day we relaxed for the most part. Later, we did some window shopping and looked at the firework show in Disneyland. It was so romantic, especially to have my prince charming by my side. Sparks literally were flying. :)





Our honeymoon was already almost over. We spent our last day of vacation at Newport Beach where we relaxed and listened to the sound of the waves and had fun in the sun.



After a couple of blissful hours on the beach, we head down to St. George, UT where we stayed at an amazing honeymoon hotel suite!! It even included a hot tub! The room looked beautiful too.

The following day, we drove up to Provo where we would officially start our life together. It was a very memorable and amazing honeymoon. I did not want it to end, but sometimes, you just have to get back to reality. In this case, my reality is with Collin which feels like a dream come true. :)





Happily Ever After Has Just Begun...

I became a Wheeler on warm summer's day on July 27th, 2013. My now husband Collin and I were sealed in the Sacramento temple for time and all eternity. It was a beautiful day filled with joy and laughter. We were beaming with happiness as we came out of the temple, seeing our family and friends who came to celebrate with us.

 

I will never forget the feeling of excitement that came over me after being sealed to Collin. I was so happy knowing that eternity had just begun with him.

 

We went around to take pictures which were done by Susanne Ashby. I love how all of the pictures turned out!

 

 

 

 

 





 

After temple pictures, we went to a wonderful luncheon in which Collin's parents had planned out. Everything was delicious! I want to say that I love my new in-laws! They are amazing and instantly welcomed me into the family with open arms. It made me proud that I married their son. They indeed raised a wonderful young man whom I love so much!! :)

 

We had our ring ceremony and reception in Rocklin, CA. I had tears of joy fill my eyes as I walked down with my dad.

 

 



 

 

 

Steve Schmidt, a really good friend of ours, conducted the ring ceremony. I will never forget the words that he spoke: "Always hold hands." It is true what he says. A husband and wife should always cling onto each other and never let go. They need to be there to support one another and love each other deeply.

 

We began our reception shortly after. My girls below made a special introduction for me. :)

 

 

We greeted so many people who came to celebrate our big day with us. It was a good feeling knowing that we were loved and supported by so many people. After the greeting line, Susanne wanted to go outside and take some sunset pictures. They turned out so gorgeous!

 

 

 

 

After taking portraits outside, we cut our wedding cake, did the bouquet/garter toss, and had dancing. They were all so much fun. I remember having such a great time with my family and friends towards the end of the reception. Good feeling. :)

 

We knew that it would be time to head out soon, so we got ready to leave on our honeymoon. We ran down with everyone blowing bubbles at us.

 

 

Before we got in our car, our family members said goodbye to us and we departed for Disneyland for our honeymoon.

 

My wedding day was full of happiness, love, and more. We knew that this was just the beginning of our lives together. I love my Collin so much! He is the best thing that has ever happened to me. :)