Finally a Waller!

Hi long lost blogging friends!

Guess what? We are finally married!! Thank goodness. Wedding planning/wedding related events are all fun but I am so thankful for the marriage to finally start! Matt and I are back in Seattle after a blissful honeymoon in beautiful Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and couldn't be more grateful to be here. Matt is back at work and I am just getting us settled into our cute little apartment. Pray for me as I begin the job search for this fall until I begin student teaching in January. For now although, I'm enjoying the "stay-at-home wife" job role. It's a fulltime job trying to unpack and set up a new home!

We are getting excited for our dear friends, Erik and Brianne Haagenson, to come visit us for Labor Day weekend. We are planning on many fun things and cannot wait to spend time with them doing something that does not involve a wedding!! We wish they could bring their doggie, Ralph, but unfortunately, they do not allow 130 lb. dogs on airplanes :(.

I can't wait to keep you all updated on what life has in store for us! I'll get up some pictures of our home as soon as it comes together.

Thank you all for making our wedding so special and memorable...we are looking forward to the many wonderful years to come!

1 Month!

Can you believe the "month" countdown comes to an end today and now the "day" countdown finally begins?! Let me tell you what, it has been a long 9 months leading up to this time! Tomorrow is the last day of summer school for me and then I can spend the next 4 weeks focusing on the wedding, nesting into our new apartment, and absolutely nothing else. I am so blessed to be able to have this free time ahead of me to make a few more memories with family and friends here in MT. And also to prepare the last of the wedding in a stress-free (fingers crossed!) manner. One of my friends once told me that being engaged was so fun for her and that she could've been engaged forever...but let's be honest, I am just ready to be married!!

My sister and I will head out early Saturday morning to make the long, 12 hour trek to Seattle with load #1 of gifts. We will have one packed car with just presents from my bridal shower! The question remains as to how in the world we will get our wedding presents from Billings to Seattle. Time will tell I guess ;) On Sunday morning, we'll pick up the Uhaul at 10a.m. to unload my storage unit! Yay, I'll have my life back! Thank goodness for Matt's brother and amazing friends because we couldn't move all our stuff without them. I will then spend about a week unpacking and setting up our home the best that I can in such a short time...I'll then come back to Montana for the wedding. Matt will move in when I leave and we'll wait to stay in the apartment together until we are HUSBAND & WIFE! Bout time.

Now that school is finally ending tomorrow, I can finally start blogging regularly and in one month, I promise I'll have more to talk about besides the wedding ;)

Sorry.

Wow, I stink at blogging apparently! I promise that once Matt and I are married, I'll keep anyone who is following us way more up to date but for now, my days are swamped! This is the scoop...

-6 weeks of school done tomorrow, 1 more to go after that!
-approximately 5.5 weeks until our wedding ;)
-we found an apartment in Seattle in the Fremont neighborhood! If anyone wants to come visit, we have an extra bathroom and bedroom waiting for you so just let us know.
-Matt's brother, Jeff, moved in next door to Matt and is working at Boeing so they've been having brother bonding time.
-And...well...that pretty much sums up our life at this point...more to come later, promise (again)!

Week 2

1 week of school down, 5 to go. Time is actually flying by already. I left Seattle on the 26th and will be back before I know it! I am so grateful to have this time with my family and friends that are here in Billings. I have a lot of homework so it's hard to get together with friends in the evening but the weekends are great.

Here are some pictures from Brianne & Erik's wedding over Memorial Day weekend in Denver...we had such a great time!

Greetings from Montana

Well, I'm here! My first day of school was today and I am anxiously awaiting July 16 as I realized today how much I hate having homework hanging over my head. It is such a blessing to be able to spend this time with my family though. I know that these next six weeks may be a little challenging from time to time as I have been living on my own for the last year but I need to take each moment in and count my blessings. I am able to be at home to watch my little brother walk through the last few weeks of his 7th grade year and my darling sister is now 21 and this will be the last time that we ever get to live in the same household.

I left Seattle early on Wednesday morning after many hours and days of cleaning, packing, and packing my stuff away into storage. On Friday morning, however, I drove to Denver only to meet Matt for one of the most precious weddings ever. Erik & Brianne finally tied the knot and they are now Erik & Brianne Haagenson! I couldn't be more happy for them and we couldn't ask for a better couple to lead the way in this path that we walk as we prepare our hearts for marriage. It was the most beautiful, sentimental, wedding that I've ever attended and I do not doubt for one second that the Lord has a perfect plan for their lives together. They have been so faithful throughout their relationship, constantly seeking guidance and setting aside their own wills for their lives. What an amazing couple! Love them so much...

As I write from 800 miles away, I am missing Matt with all my heart but could not be more excited to marry the man of my dreams. I know our time apart will make the wedding that much more special...starting our forever and knowing that we will never have to be apart again (well, maybe not NEVER but ya know ;)).

a chapter coming to an end

Sorry for the 2 week time lapse!! There has just been so much going on and I keep avoiding writing because I want to download all our pictures we have taken to accompany this but I have yet to do that....so sorry, no pictures yet!

Let's see...last weekend, we went to Bozeman to watch Maria and Jeff graduate! It was so good being back in the Big Sky country and seeing many of our friends and Matt's family. It was no surprise that it was a chilly 40 degrees but I still loved the wide open sky! I sometimes feel very claustrophobic here in WA because of all of the trees. I guess that's why they call it the Evergreen State right? We spent our weekend getting very little sleep so last week drug on just a bit. Matt gets up for work at about 3:45 a.m. these days so he is used to going to bed really early...with me not too far behind him. It's funny how 10:00 feels so late now when you wouldn't even think about going to bed prior to 11:30 in college. We're getting old already!

We spent this past weekend enjoying the beautiful Seattle weather. Matt's grandma, Maemae, and his aunt and cousin (Lora & Cassie) were here Friday night and Saturday morning as they prepared to jump on a cruise ship to Alaska! We were just slightly jealous but excited for them and their vacation. We spent time with them on Friday night and met them for breakfast Saturday morning. On Saturday afternoon, we enjoyed one last :( bbq on my rooftop of my apartment building. I have definitely taken my rooftop deck for granted and can't believe I'm moving out of our wonderful apartment in just one week. I would maybe consider renting it if they weren't advertising it for 500.00 MORE than what Lindsay and I pay now. Isn't that crazy?! Anyways, Sunday was spent at Barnes & Noble, Iron Man 2, and Golden Gardens (a beach where you can have bonfires). All-in-all, it was a great last fun-filled weekend as we will this coming weekend packing and moving.

We have so much coming up to look forward to! I leave Wednesday but am meeting Matt in Denver Friday morning for BRIANNE & ERIK's wedding!!! We often make visits to Denver to hang with our besties there but I can't believe we are visiting to attend their wedding this time. We are so blessed to be walking this road with such amazing friends right by our side in this season of life. They are such an encouragement and I can't wait to be there to celebrate this special time.

In other news, Matt's brother, Jeff, will be joining us in Seattle!!! He was recently hired at Boeing and will most likely settle in sometime this summer. I was just telling Matt last night that although, I've grown to love Seattle, I feel as though we don't have any "real" connection to the city. I think that will change when Jeff gets out here. It will be such a blessing to have a family member here with us. It gets a little lonely from time to time!

Well this is my last week of work :( I finish Thursday and will pack all of my stuff this weekend and head back to Billings next Wednesday, the 26th. Pray for us as we continue to search for a place to call home and as Matt and I spend these next few months apart.

I promise to post pictures soon!

Great Weekend

Matt and I had so much fun this weekend! I am constantly being reminded to treasure our time in Seattle for we don't know how long we'll live here but know that it won't be forever. I oftentimes miss Montana because of our friends and family...and for the fact that it is the greatest state ever! But, I'm learning that Seattle is just one big fun adventure and I'm loving it here as well.

Friday night consisted of absolutely nothing. I babysat princess Caroline and Matt went to bed at 8:30. Wow, aren't we cool?

Saturday morning, we caught up with some friends in Montana, made a little breakfast, and just enjoyed the morning sun. That afternoon, we met up with our friends, Amy & Paul, to tour the Red Hook brewery in Woodinville. Woodinville is just east of Seattle and it is often referred to as "wine country". We skipped the wine and went for the beer though! We bought our tickets for the 5:00 tour and then went to the driving range to hit some balls until it was time for our tour. Matt and I have been spending a lot of time on the driving range but we need to get out and actually play! Anyways, this tour was $1.00 per person and we figured out that you end up drinking about 2 beers. Not too shabby...

After that, we drove to downtown Seattle to attend a Seattle Sounders (soccer) game. We sat dead center of the field, 12 rows up! Thanks Luke and Lindsay!! The game ended in a tie which I have yet to understand how that is possible. After the game, we went to Belltown for dancing and drinks with our "wolfpack". Don't ask questions...just a bunch of great people that we have so much fun with!

Sunday, we were pretty exhausted but kept on truckin' on to enjoy yet another beautiful day. We went BACK to Woodinville to spend more time with Paul & Amy (we just can't get enough of them...not to mention they are "puppy raisers" to a golden retriever/yellow lab mix that they get to bring everywhere with them! His name is Norbert ;)). We started with lunch at the Barking Frog (amazing lodge-like restaurant), crept next door to the Columbia Winery for a tasting, then across the street to the Chateau Ste. Michelle for another tasting! Then, we sped back to the west side for our LAST pre-marriage counseling appointment, stayed for church at the 5:00 service, grocery shopped, and went home to make chile dogs and watch a movie.

This makes me exhausted just writing about it but needless to say, it was a great way to celebrate the end of the semester!

This week is short because we leave Thursday to drive to BOZEMAN!! Yippee!!! We are going to the MSU graduation to watch Jeff become an Industrial Engineer and Maria become a nurse. So proud of them both! We are so excited to be able to sneak back for a few days to enjoy the little town we miss so much. Even though it may be rainy, windy, and cold there...I still love it and can't wait to be back.