10.31.2011

cross-country honeymoon :)

{Palmyra, NY}

DAY 1: The real first day of our honeymoon was spent driving to New York BUT let's not think about that. We started the day in Palmyra, NY visiting all the different church history sites. We went to the Joseph Smith Farm, the Sacred Grove, Palmyra Temple, Hill Cumorah, the Grandin Print Shop {where the Book of Mormon was first published} AND we even got some ice cream. It was a really awesome experience to be in the actual spots where some major events happened for the church. The next stop for the day was CANADA. We went to see Niagara Falls. Paul had already been to the falls but I had never been and they were amazing!!! I've never seen so much gushing water in my life.

{Niagara Falls, Canada}

DAY 2: Chicago was the next place we visited on the map. First, we went to the Shedd Aquarium. Oh how I love aquariums :) I love seeing all the fish and penguins and dolphins and turtles. Just in case you were wondering, YES I did wear my fish shirt that day because we were going to the aquarium. You can all make fun of me now...Paul did.

{Chicago, IL}

After the aquarium we went to Millennium Park to see "The Cloud Bean". It is this huge awesome bean shaped structure with mirror-like surfaces. It was really cool!!! After that we just had to have famous Chicago deep dish pizza for dinner. We didn't tell the waiter that we were on our honeymoon BUT he overheard us talking to the people at the next table so he gave us free dessert and a bottle of their really delicious salad dressing. It was great. Note to unmarrieds: When you are on your honeymoon tell people you are on your honeymoon and you will get free things. After dinner we went to the Navy Pier. It's kind of like a boardwalk with attractions and rides. Paul and I were excited to go because of the rides but we got there and there was really just a ferris wheel and merry-go-round and other things more geared towards little kids BUT we enjoyed it anyway and had a lot of fun {acting like children}. 

{Chicago, IL}

DAY 3: On day three we were still in Chicago for the morning. We knew that we couldn't leave the city until we went to the Willis Tower {Sears Tower} which is the tallest building in the United States. We took an elevator all the way up to the skydeck on the 103rd floor of the building. For someone that is a little LOT scared of heights, let's just say we were really, really high. There are glass skyboxes that you can walk out on and basically feel like you are standing on nothing. You can look down under your feet and see the street below. I stepped out and I was so scared. As you can see in the picture I was very uneasy and you can also notice the kids behind me thinking that it was the best thing ever. Blah, I hate my fear of heights.

{Chicago, IL}

Moving on, we left Chicago and drove to Nauvoo. That evening Paul and I were able to go to the temple. I was so grateful to be able to be in the temple with Paul just days after being sealed to him for eternity :) It was also very neat to go to a temple that neither one of us had been to. As we left the temple, the sun was setting over the Mississippi River and it was a beautiful sunset.

{Nauvoo, IL}

{Carthage, IL}

DAY 4: In the morning, we visited a few more historic sites in Nauvoo and also traveled down the road a little to Carthage Jail. Our trip cross-country was as much of a church history tour as it was a sightseeing of America tour. We planned it that way because there was so much rich church history in the states we were driving through. It was a very special experience to be where the Prophet Joseph Smith was martyred. After leaving Carthage we drove across the whole state of Iowa. It was a lot of driving and there was not much to look at...

DAY 5: Today was another day for driving. We started in western Iowa and drove across most of the South Dakota. After driving for basically the whole day, we arrived at the Badlands. Badlands National Park is so cool. There are these geological formations shaped like sharp pointed hills. The areas that we visited were AMAZING! That night we got to sleep under the stars in our cute two-person tent. 

{Badlands National Park, SD}

DAY 6: The next morning we got to explore the Badlands a little more. There was just so much to look at. Next we went to the famous town of Wall, South Dakota. I had never ever heard of it in my life, but apparently it is "America's Favorite Roadside Attraction". Anyways Paul's family had to come to Wall before so it was fun for Paul to show me around. All you have to do is just start walking around this town and you will find so many things to do and to look at.

{Wall, SD}

We took a break in Rapid City, SD to stretch our legs, get some lunch and play mini golf. Because that's what all people do when they need a potty break. After a very short drive {compared to the miles we'd been covering for the last few days} we arrived at Mount Rushmore. Ever since I had seen the Mount Rushmore monument in pictures I had wanted to visit and see Mount Rushmore in person. I was so excited!!!  Mount Rushmore was awesome. If you have never been, you should plan a road trip ASAP.


{Rapid City, SD}

{Mount Rushmore, SD}

DAY 7: The last day of our honeymoon was spent driving back to Rexburg, ID. On the way home we stopped in Jackson, WY. Neither of us had ever been to Jackson, so it was really fun to just walk around this cute little touristy town. We made sure to see the large arches made of elk antlers. After Jackson, I was so happy to see the 'Welcome to Idaho' sign. Don't get me wrong, our honeymoon was awesome and I loved traveling cross-country with Paul, BUT I was very ready to not be in a car :)

{Jackson, WY}

{HOME}

10.27.2011

i'll let the pictures do the talking...

AUGUST 7TH, 2010




I am in LOVE with this picture and the man in it.







The BEST day of my life :) 

10.25.2011

he liked it so he put a ring on it.


To start off, I will give a little background information that will make the proposal story a little easier to understand. Hopefully I don't make it even more confusing...it was all I could ask for and more of a proposal :)

Paul went home at the beginning of the summer {2009} and I thought that I wouldn’t be seeing him until September. I was really bummed but I knew we would stay in contact with each other and hopefully pick things up in the fall. To my SURPRISE, Paul came to visit me for the weekend in May. I was very very very VERY excited when this happened. He drove all the way from Oregon just to visit me!!! We had only started to be really good friends during the last three weeks of winter semester but when he came back and surprised me in Rexburg, I knew that he must have really cared about me. {You don’t drive all the way across two states just to visit a “really good friend”}. We had agreed to just be really good friends over the summer and then we would see what happens to our friendship later. I could tell Paul was okay with this because he didn't want to rush things. I, on the other hand, was not okay with it. I did not just want to be his friend...I wanted him to be my boyfriend!! Once I realized this, I knew that I had to be the one to initiate the conversation about determining our relationship. On Sunday May 3, 2009 before church we went to the Nature Park to feed the ducks. I knew I had to ask him to be my boyfriend while we were there because he was leaving that day to go home. We were sitting on a bench just talking and then I finally got up the nerve to ask him. He agreed and that was that. He was my boyfriend :)

{Paul and I found after about 8 months of dating that we were perfect for each other. We discussed marriage and we both knew it was the right thing for both of us. So the next thing that needed to happen in our relationship was for Paul to propose. Paul knew that he wanted to propose to me at the Nature Park at the very same bench that I asked him to be my boyfriend. He also knew that I wanted to be surprised when he proposed so he didn’t want me to think twice if he suggested going to the Nature Park. So this is where my best friend and past roommate Jeanette Travis comes in. She was involved in the whole thing.}

On March 19, 2010 I received a phone call from Jeanette informing me that she was making a photo wall of all the places she has ever lived. And one of these places, OF COURSE, was Rexburg. At the time she was living in Tennessee so she couldn't take any pictures in Rexburg. She asked me to take some pictures for her. She named some places she wanted pictures of and she, OF COURSE, included the Nature Park . This was all a set up, but I was clueless to what Paul and Jeanette were planning.


March 21, 2010. After church, Paul and I had planned on going around Rexburg and taking pictures for Jeanette. She had told me on the phone that she needed them immediately. So we started off at porter park. We also went to the Rexburg sign and took a few other pictures around town. {Paul was playing along the whole time with Jeanette’s idea}. We finally got to the Nature Park. We walked around and took pictures. As we passed *our* bench, I mentioned the bench with a smile and then Paul smiled. We finished walking around the whole park and I thought we were leaving to go to the next picture spot, but Paul suggested that we continue to walk around just a little more. I kind of didn’t want to because I was anxious to get all the pictures for Jeanette and it was cold. This time around we stopped at the bench and sat down. The thought came to my head that he was maybe going to propose but I knew that we were at the Nature Park for Jeanette. He also had told me that he didn't have the ring yet. We just sat there talking about us. It came up in conversation that it had been almost 11 months since we became boyfriend and girlfriend at that very spot on the bench. After a little while, I got really cold and I stood up to leave and go to the car. Paul insisted that I take his coat so I would stay there. {Looking back everything makes sense, BUT I really was clueless at that moment}. We continued to talk and then Paul started to move off the bench and reach into his pocket. He started to kneel and I honestly didn't know what was going on. All of a sudden, he put the ring on my finger and said “The past few days have been great and the past 11 months have been so good and I promise the days and months and years will continue to be good. Emily Louise Morris, will you marry me?” I said YES of course. It was perfect and I was surprised and I was so grateful that he had chosen me to spend forever with.


“This is the place where you asked me to be your boyfriend.
This is the place where I’m going to ask you to be my wife.”

10.20.2011

how it all got started...

These first few posts are going to be "catch-up" posts. I have been wanting to start a blog for quite awhile and NOW I am finally finding the time to do it. I thought it would good for the readers to know how this whole thing got started. 

Paul and I met at the start of winter semester in 2009 however we didn't start dating until five months later. Paul tells me that he liked me right away and for me it was about halfway through the semester when I found out I was developing a little BIG crush on Paul :)

Instead of boring you with our how-we-fell-in-love story, I will share a poem that I wrote for Paul while we were dating/almost engaged. I had a lot of fun thinking of good rhyming words when I was writing it. ENJOY!


OUR STORY:
You started out as just my tutor.
Teaching me things about the computer.
Every tuesday in the linux lab we would meet.
Assignments and projects we had to complete.

You always gave me perfect instruction.
About the rules of computer program construction.
You taught me about arrays and pseudocode.
All the new information made my head want to explode.

I asked you to devotional, you said yes.
By that time I knew I liked you…but I didn’t confess.
That was the day my wish came true.
And I loved every minute I spent with you.

You walked me home that night.
Being a gentleman and it was OH SO polite.
You let me wear your jacket because the weather was yucky.
All I could think was “How did I get so lucky!”.

The racquetball date was loads of fun.
Even though you beat me when it was all said and done.
I’m so very happy I accepted your date request.
And I’m even more happy everything turned out for the best.

Conference weekend always brings joyful thoughts to my mind.
Even though by that time our relationship wasn’t defined.
I’m pretty sure we spent a majority of that weekend together.
We even went to the park because of the very nice weather.

April 9th was a special day.
AND AFTER MUCH DELAY…
You asked if you could give me a kiss.
It’s a good thing you didn’t miss ;)

Then you left for the summer.
And that was a HUGE bummer.
I didn't think i was going to see you for awhile.
Your surprise visit sure made me smile.
After three days you left again.
Only this time you had a girlfriend.
I knew a long distance relationship would be difficult.
But overall I wanted the end result.

Your next visit was so much fun.
We spent lots of time together in the sun.
I hope you enjoyed what I cooked.
And it gave you one more reason to be hooked.

Seeing you at the airport was really grand.
I was very excited to hold your hand.
I was happy I got to spend more time with you.
This time I speak of was LONG overdue.
The month of August brought lots of adventures outside.
Looking back I can think of many bike rides.
Another memory is going to monkey rock.
You convinced me to jump of the bridge, now that was a shock.

The seasons changed to fall and school had to start.
We both had hard classes that required us to be really smart.
In the beginning it was hard because I didn’t see you at all.
But then we both figured out we could surprise each other in the hall.

We've had happy times and rough times, the highs and the lows.
There were nights that I didn’t receive a kiss on my nose.
But through the trials we finally figured things out.
100% Paul, I don’t have ANY doubt! 


10.15.2011

Blog Post #1.

Hello blogging world :)

Yes, I have decided to start a blog and I am so stinkin' excited about it. This blog will mainly help me keep a better record of my life {and Paul's} BUT it will also keep our family and friends informed about what crazy things we are up to.