The Search is OVER!!!

After many days of searching numerous venues including; The Marriott Mountainside Resort in Park City, Pierpont Place, The Salt Lake City Library and The Salt Lake Hardware building in Salt Lake City, Noah’s in South Jordan, Talon’s Cove and Uncle Harry’s Ranch in Utah County we have found and booked the place to have the wedding. The search is FINALLY over! Market Street Grill in Cottonwood Heights is the place that won my heart. If I couldn’t have my first choice on top a building in New York City I found this to be the second best choice. There is a beautiful modern high-rise building shadowing the courtyard where the ceremony and dinner will be held. I will just pretend that it is a large building in Manhattan! At 6:30 pm on June 25th I will walk down the aisle of their beautiful stone patio and marry Mike in front of a few select family and friends.

Save the Date

Well, it is official. Mike and I have decided on a day to start our marital bliss! We will be getting married on Saturday, June 25, 2010.

Advice Please...

I have reached the "cold feet" stage of the engagement and I would love some advice from my wise and knowledgeable friends and family! Please be candid and honest!

Thanks Mike

A few months ago I decided to pursue the idea of having LASEK before I got married and became "poor". I had the consultation and it was determined if I wanted a procedure to have my vision corrected, I was going to have to have PRK which is a more evasive surgery that requires more recovery time. I decided to go ahead with the surgery and asked Mike to get the day off to escort me there and home. Mike gladly accepted and picked me up at 1:15 sharp on Thursday. While at the doctor's office Mike was very attentive and curious, he helped me with everything, took pictures, comforted me when I needed it and made me laugh to keep my mind off the inevitable.

While in surgery Dr. Hoopes asked me who the guy was with me and I told him it was my fiance. He laughed and said "I thought he was a reporter with all the pictures he was taking. He is acting like this is the first PRK ever done in Utah" We laughed and went on with the surgery. As we finished, Dr. Hoopes told me "You are lucky he is still only a fiance, all the "husbands" head down to the bowling alley and come back when the surgery is over" I guess I am glad we haven't had the wedding yet or I would have been on my own!

We left the doctor's office with many instructions and items to buy to help me recover. Mike has been a great nurse. He has picked up my prescriptions, bought me cold packs for my eyes and kept me on schedule with all my drops. I just want to thank him for all his support and love throughout this recovery. It has not been easy and I have not been pleasant! I love you very much!

PS. I wrote this post blind, so if there are mistakes I will correct at a later date when I can see!

Virginia Beach

On Christmas morning I was pleasantly surprised with 2 airline tickets to Virginia Beach, Virginia from Jessica. Jessica had secretly arranged with my best friend, James to fly to Virginia to visit him. Jessica and I flew into Virginia Beach, Virginia on May 12, 2010. James met us in the airport. After not seeing James for so long, my first comment to him was about how he had joined the "fat boy club." It was great seeing him and introducing him to Jessica. We talked about life and other small talk while we waited to get our rental car. While following James to his place Jessica and I admired the beautiful countryside. What a gorgeous place.

When we got to James' house we introduced Jessica to Wendy, James' wife, and his kids, Jeremy, and Kendel. We all hung out and talked for a few hours. James told too many stories about our high school days. We all finally went to bed about 1:00ish.




The next morning we woke up about 9:00 and made plans to go see the lighthouse at Cape Henry. We climbed to the top. What a spectacular view. We played around at the top for a while and took some great pictures. After seeing the lighthouse we spent a few hours walking on the beach. It was great just the two of us walking down the beach hand in hand. The beach by the lighthouse was incredible.

When we returned back to James' place we got ready to go to dinner with the family. We went to a seafood place and it was awesome. James, Wendy, Jessica and I stayed at the restaurant for a couple hours talking, of course, more of the high school stories. When we got back to James' place we told way too many stories and talked until about 2:00 before heading up to bed.

Friday morning we woke up and Jessica and I decided to go to the beach. We spent the whole day there. It was a blast. We took a few dips in the water until something bit Jessica and then we were a little nervous to get back in. We both got a little bit sun burnt. We also enjoyed the great activity of people watching! After trying to get a tan and lying on the beach for a few hours we decided to rent some bikes and ride up and down the boardwalk. It was really fun getting on the bike and riding beside Jessica. I thoroughly enjoyed spending a carefree day on the beach! Which I hear is what I will be doing on my honeymoon so I should get used to it!

After we decided we were done with the bike ride we went back to James' place and got ready for dinner. James had been talking up a sushi place for months. Although I am not much into sushi, Jessica is so we headed out to give it a try. I ventured out and tried some but I am still not a fan. Jessica loved it and I like some of it. We lounged at the restaurant for sometime and enjoyed the company. It was great spending time with James again.

When we got back to James' place we decided to take a dip in the hot tub. The sunburn made it a little uncomfortable for me. We stayed in the hot tub talking for about an hour and then played around in the pool for a while. When we got tired of the getting wet we went back inside and talked some more. I really did do some stupid things when I was younger. No details available.

Saturday we talked James and Wendy into to going to Jamestown with us. It was about an hour drive and we got to sit back and take in the beautiful countryside. It was an awesome drive. When we arrived we found out that we only had a couple hours to see the sites before it closed so we kind of had to rush. It was really cool seeing the historic Jamestown settlement. A learning moment for sure. We enjoyed spending the day with James and Wendy.

When we returned to James' place we made dinner. Actually Wendy did most of the work, I sat and talked to James and kind of watched. Dinner was very tasty. After dinner we sat and chatted. It was really fun talking and catching up with James and Wendy.

Sunday was James' Birthday and Jessica and I made breakfast. I actually did help. I stirred the syrup.

Breakfast was great, buttermilk pancakes and syrup. We sat around for a little while and then went to a BBQ at some friends of James and Wendy's. It was fun. After the BBQ we headed to ice cream to finish off the celebrating of James' birthday. It was a long day and we returned tired but finally got a chance to take a few pictures of the four of us.
We woke up on Monday to the last day in Virginia. We had to get our stuff packed and get ready to go. I was hoping to say our goodbyes to Wendy, Jeremy, and Kendel but they were gone before we awoke. James was nice enough to escort us to the airport because without the GPs we borrowed from James we would have been lost. We followed James to the Harley shop to exchange his birthday gift. We had given him that was disappointingly too big. The Harley shop unfortunately would not exchange the gift so off to the airport we went.

When we got to the airport and turned in the rental car, we met James on our way into the terminal. We talked about how much fun we had over the last 5 days and how we definitely needed to do it again. Next time James and Wendy need to come to Salt Lake.

Overall, our trip was really fantastic. I have to say a great big THANK YOU to Jessica for the tickets. And another great big THANK YOU to James and Wendy for their hospitality. Virginia is one of the most enjoyable trips Jessica and I have taken together. We always manage to have a great time on our little vacations.

To all who are reading this, Jessica gave me one tip about writing this post…

DONT FORGET THE FLUFF!!!!!!

I hope the fluff entertained and pleased!

Wedding Date Update

NO WEDDING DATE YET!!! Please stay tuned!

Valentine's Day Weekend

It was Valentine's Day weekend I knew I had to do something great. I had been planning what we would do for about 2 weeks. I knew I wanted to start the evening with dinner at Red Lobster. From there I thought we would go see the movie “Valentine’s Day”.

The weekend started off with me picking Jessica up while she was visiting Cari at the hospital. I decided I would get kind of dressed up and put on a sport coat and boots. I wanted to look good. I packed up the small gifts I bought and went to pick up Jessica.

I stopped at Red Lobster to put my name on the list and picked up the pager. I arrived at the hospital and everyone there was very shocked that I had worn the sport coat. I was happy that I wore the coat because Jessica looked beautiful. We said our goodbyes and went to my car. I asked Jessica if she wanted her gifts now or later. She was surprised and reminded me that we were not supposed to get any gifts. I got her the biggest card I could find and it said how I really felt, “I loved her yesterday, I love her today, and I will love her always“. I also bought two CD’s, the first was the best country love songs and the second was classical love songs. I wanted something simple yet special for Jessica. She loved the them.

When we got to the restaurant, they had not called us so I went up and told the hostess and she put us to the beginning of the line. We sat and talked while we waited for our dinner. Our dinner was fantastic.

We saw the movie “Valentine’s Day”. It was a good movie, kind of predictable but being with Jessica and being able to talk to her after the movie made it better.

Saturday night we went to Utah County to play the “Newlywed Game” at her aunt’s house. The cast of players were Bonnie and Dick, Paul and Carrie, Phil and Heather, Willie and Candace, and Jessica and I. Charlene played the part of our hostess. We missed some questions that we should have gotten right, although we were together on most of our answers. We tied for first place and we aren’t even married yet! After the game we all sat around and talked as everyone left one couple at a time. I drove Jessica and Charlene home and had not planned on seeing Jessica until after the Nascar Race on Sunday afternoon. I called Jessica when I got home and thanked her for a wonderful evening.

Sunday, Valentine’s day, I wasn’t going to see Jessica until later but she surprised me by bringing me a small bag of gifts. I called her right after she left the gifts at my door and rang the bell. She answered and came back but could only stay for a while. Later that evening I went to have dinner with Jessica and her family at the hospital. We stayed for a little while and then decided to go back to my apartment and watch the movie “An Affair To Remember”. It was a good movie. We both enjoyed it. Jessica had not seen it and it explained why I chose to ask her to marry me on top of the Empire State Building.

This weekend was my attempt at being romantic, probably need to work on the romance but I really tried. I think Jessica enjoyed the weekend as much as I did. And I am sure we will have many, many more Valentine’s together.

Weddings 101

Are you looking for a photographer? Do you want to sign up for our drawing? Can I show you our brochure? When is the big day? All questions I heard when I went to my first bridal show. It was the Wedding Festival Show at The South Towne Expo Center.

I started the day having a tasty lunch with my mom, Lindsay, Tara, and her adorable kids at Joy Luck. After lunch, Lindsay, my mom, Kennedy and I headed over to the show. I stood in one line so I could get my lovely "Bride-to-be" lanyard while the others waited patiently in the "all others" line. Then it was time to head in for the main attraction! WOW! I had no idea what a wedding entailed, or maybe I just didn't want to. It was intense! So many different people trying to sell photography, invitations, cakes, honeymoons, reception centers etc.

We wandered up and down each aisle. Of course, my mom stopped and talked to everybody! Kennedy tried EVERY food sample there and Lindsay and I just sort of sat in the background and took in all the vendors. Overall, when the day was done I think we all had a great time. My mom said she had more fun than she ever expected and is excited to plan a wedding. I think Kennedy went home with a stomachache and I am still as overwhelmed as ever but have learned a few things.

I learned that I still want calla lilies at my wedding which is something I have always wanted since I was a little girl. I also DO NOT want roses at my wedding! Always hated them, always will! I learned that there are many, many, many photographers in Utah and most of them take pictures in front of trees or in the mountains! Ugh!! Hate that! Can't they come up with something more contemporary and fun! So I am still on the lookout for a photographer! I also learned that I want a simple cake that everyone can eat! What is the point of spending tons of money on a cake that you have to take the frosting off of? And the biggest thing I learned at my first bridal show is… there is no such thing as a $1000 wedding??? Oh well, Let the planning begin…

Got Mail?

Mike and Jessica Kraus! That is what the envelope said. I was surprised to see my name with a new last name behind it but it came attached to a very nice gesture. Mike's adorable sister sent us an engagement card to congratulate us on our engagement. It is really nice to know that his family is happy and supportive of our decision to marry! I can't wait to be part of the family!!

Mr. and Mrs.

I must admit, when I first realized I was going to have to change my name it brought tears to my eyes. I've had my last name for a LONG time.

Now most women take their husbands last name and it doesn't really affect their life all that much. They may hear it once or twice a week..maybe, but in the case of a teacher it is a daily occurrence. I will be going from nice Miss Duncan to crotchety Mrs. Kraus. Will my students still love me?

So when I realized this I began to think I just wouldn't take his last name. Does it really matter in this day and age? It will save me a lot of hassle of having to change my driver's license, social security card, etc. right?

I brought this subject up to Mike several times over the course of a few days after we got engaged and always being the nice guy he is he didn't say much. He would say "Oh Gosh" and that was about it. So I thought it was a done deal. We would get married and I would keep my last name.

A couple of days later we were at a friend's house at a party with my many other teacher friends and I brought the subject up again. I asked their opinion and we joked about it. At that moment I looked over and saw the hurt in Mike's eyes. Always trying to keep the peace he really didn't tell me how he felt but I could tell he was hurt. It was then and there I realized I should be proud to take his last name because he loves me enough to marry me and share it with me. So now I am going to be Mrs. Kraus! I can't wait! I love you Mike! And your last name!!!