Disneyland Vacation

Ben and I took our first vacation together as a couple. To me, the honeymoon didn't count as a vacation. We were expected to do some sort of traveling immediately following the wedding in order to get away and celebrate our first few days of marriage. But even after being married for three months (today!), it's easy to forget that we're "allowed" to do things now that we couldn't before. As we packed up the car on Friday, it was like, "Oh yeah, we're married. It's okay for us to go to California by ourselves!" Ergo, our first vacation.

The ride Star Tours at Disneyland is closing on July 27. This news upset me, since our next Disneyland trip wasn't scheduled until November (with the Moores!). However, we each had a free one-day pass to any Disney park for volunteering earlier this year, and decided to use them this weekend.

Ben accompanied my family to Disneyland last year, so it was fun to go again - just the two of us. We rode Star Tours one last time, which was a bittersweet experience for me. You have to understand that a large portion of my childhood was spent at Disneyland. I LOVE Disneyland, and grew up riding Star Tours, with the predictable script and sequence of events. At least I didn't cry or anything dramatic. Actually, I was grinning like a fool the entire ride. I just love going on those rides that have been there ever since I can remember.

The park was not busy at all, which was really unexpected. It was a Saturday in June; of course it was going to be busy. However, I started getting suspicious when the line for the Finding Nemo ride was only ten minutes long. Ten minutes??? It's usually at least 45 minutes long by the time the park has been open for ten minutes! The longest we waited for anything was 40 minutes for Toy Story Mania in California Adventure, which a) doesn't have a FastPass line, and b) is completely worth the wait. Second to that was Soarin' Over California (20 minutes), which is also worth waiting for.

Speaking of Soarin' Over California, we have the best story to tell. On that ride, each "vehicle" (if you can even call it that) has three rows that each hold ten people. Ben and I got stuck in front of a large group of loud junior high aged kids. Eventually, you get put in line according to what section you will be sitting in. We were the first two to get seated in Row 1, with all the annoying kids right next to us - yay. The other two rows were queued behind us... all twenty of them were Asian and barely spoke a hint of English. As we waited in our strange group of thirty, we watched a short video that discussed safety precautions regarding the ride. It also showed what the ride vehicles look like. As soon as they showed the first image, all of the Asians gasped and said "Woah!" Apparently they had no idea what they were getting into until that moment.

The girls in the junior high group were really anxious to get on the ride, and I anticipated that they would try to cut in front of us, which would put me and Ben in the middle of the group. Sure enough, we start walking in and one of the girls runs in front of me and Ben. I put my hand out and told her to hang on and let me and Ben sit on the end so they can all sit together. Ben told me later that I used my "d-group voice" to redirect her. It's good to know that my d-group experience is good for something.

Soarin' Over California is a simulation of hang-gliding over various areas of California. You're suspended over a concaved screen and it feels like you're "soaring over California"! The scenes change to show Napa Valley, the mountains, the ocean, etc. Every time the screen changed, everyone - EVERYONE - either gasped or clapped or cheered or something that involved excited noises. There are three "vehicles" riding over the screen at once - a total of 90 people. The entire theater was making noise the entire ride. Ben and I just laughed. It was hysterical.

Anyway... now we're home, and I have a blister. But we had a great time.

A good taste of married life

Today was a good day - a good taste of married life (minus working and school, which will be returning far sooner than I want them to). Ben and I met our good friends Zach and Caitlin at Olive Garden for lunch, and treated them with the gift cards we were given (thanks Melissa!). We also went grocery shopping and picked up a wireless router so my laptop can connect to the internet. Ben got that all set up when we got home, and I continued to put things away. Our home is slowly becoming less and less cluttered, although I know we'll start the whole process over again this weekend after we open the rest of our wedding gifts.

I cooked a new recipe tonight, for the first time in our kitchen - chicken tostadas. I was nervous at first, because I wanted everything to be perfect. It took me a while, but it ended up being good, and Ben agreed. I told him not to be the husband who lies and says every meal I cook is fantastic; I'd hate to find out that he hates a certain food after being married for twenty years or something.

We still have to get my car washed... All of the typical "just married" stuff is still all over my windows.

Husband and wife

Well, I don't even know where to start. I'm amazed that the wedding is finally over, that Ben and I are finally husband and wife. Here we are now, in our little apartment that has been taken over by gift bags and boxes full of the generous gifts people have given us. And we haven't even opened all of the gifts! Half of them are still at my parents', where we will open them after they've returned from California.

The wedding was beautiful, and everyone I talked to seemed to agree. Judging by the comments of countless friends and family members, I really do think that the Holy Spirit was fully present at our wedding. The weather was perfect, the flowers were beautiful, the cake was delicious, everything ran on time, and Ben and I were clearly loved by everyone there. I cried quite a bit, and I think Ben cried even more, especially when he saw me for the first time at 11 am, at our special bridal presentation. It was just the two of us in the worship center, with J.J. Heller's "Tonight" setting the mood. Ben saw me for the first time that day, in my dress, and he about lost it. I married a man with an admirably tender heart.

Ben's brother, Dan, performed the ceremony, and it couldn't have been more perfect. So many people came up to Ben and me at the reception and said what a great job he did - what a great testimony he shared, and how God-honoring his words were. I'm proud to have him as a brother-in-law, and having him officiate our ceremony was totally special.

On Sunday, Ben and I set off to Pine, where we stayed in a friend's cabin. It was beautiful - the perfect place to spend the first few days of our marriage. Hopefully I'll be able to post pictures soon.

Please pray that Ben and I will be productive the next few days. We have a lot to do, between putting me on the apartment lease, putting away our gifts, and getting me generally settled in. It will be a good time though :)

I could not be more ready

I'm sorry that neither of us have updated for so long. Obviously life has been very, very busy for us. The wedding is one week from today, and I could not be more ready for it to finally be here. I cannot explain how much I am looking forward to having no obligations for those several days following the wedding - no phone calls to answer, emails to reply to, decisions to make, or homework to do. It will just be me and my husband :)

Please pray that this week will go by quickly and smoothly. Pray that I will not get stressed out and be able to accomplish all the tasks that still need to be taken care of (including the two midterms I have on Monday). Pray for patience for both of us.

Engagement photos

Our good friend Marco is taking our wedding photos (in less than four months!). Last month the three of us took a day trip up to Flagstaff to get our engagement photos taken. It was a lot of fun, and the day resulted in some great photos. Here is a handful of my favorites. (Note: click on the photos to bring them up in a new window so they're larger.)

Moving

Tomorrow I move into the apartment and start an entirely new lifestyle and chapter in my life. I will be fending entirely for myself for the first time. It has been a few years since I moved out of my parents, and I have been paying rent since then, but never before have I had an entire place to take care of. I will be doing all of the housework, shopping, cooking, etc and paying all of the bills. Of course I'm nervous and a little overwhelmed, but I trust that I will learn what it's like to be in charge of a household and manage a budget. I will learn lessons (hopefully the easy way) that will prepare me for marriage. Gone are the days of being able to buy something whenever I wanted or thought I needed it. Gone are days eating out whenever I don't feel like bringing something to work or making something after getting home. (Which will hopefully help my belly as well as my wallet.) I'm excited to take on the responsibilities. I do think I'll get lonely at times being in a quiet apartment by myself. I'll miss Luke driving his cars on the wall at 10:30 at night, Abby screaming bloody murder for no reason, Daniel being inappropriately my brother, the kids yelling at me because I didn't give them a hug good bye, Aaren's food and so on. But it is time for me better learn how to manage my money and continue taking the steps to prepare being the man Cassia deserves and needs me to be.

This is just another milestone in mine and Cassia's engagement that will make the fact that we're getting ready more real. It is hard to believe sometimes that I actually get to marry her in a few LONG months. As we start to order things and set plans in place, we are able to see what our wedding will soon be like. Likewise as we plan our budget, go through the pre-marital classes and books, talk about our desires, purchase furniture, and as I move into the apartment tomorrow, we are able to start seeing what our marriage will soon be like as well. It is obviously a lot to take in, and I'll be grateful when tomorrow is over. All this anticipation has been building up and it'll be released finally. And I'll be even more grateful at the end of the day on March 13th, 2010. :)

It's been awhile

It's been awhile since either of us have updated you all and I think it's telling of what life is like right now, busy. Cassia has been busy with mid terms at school which includes papers, projects and exams. On top of that she has work, ministry, planning a wedding, being a daughter, sister, friend and fiancee to balance in her life as well. I personally think she is doing a bang up job considering all she has set before her. I can't say I'm as busy as she is, because I'm not. But I've been preparing to move into the apartment on Nov 7th, buying the necessities, figuring out my budget, realizing I really should start packing soon, having more opportunities to play on various worship teams and with the band again which is definitely something I needed. I was getting pretty discouraged about that lack of opportunity lately so it's been a huge blessing.

As far as the wedding planning goes, we did pick out a cake and let me tell you, you guys are going to LOVE it. It's so stinking good, in fact thinking about it is making me hungry right now. Cassia has started to look for flowers and work on the invitations, which means we need to finish up our guest list soon. Which will actually be a pretty daunting task. We start our group pre-marital class on Nov 1st with a few other couples who recently got engaged (we started the trend) so that should be great. We're currently going through a "great expectations" packet which is really in depth and although some of the questions are ridiculous, it is full of things that need to be considered.

Some things we could use prayer for are; patience as we both are finding it hard to wait now as we come up on 4 months left to go. Financial guidance, as we figure out our budget and start to see it in action with me moving in. That our hearts will be guarded against Satan's attacks. And one of the bigger things right now is just that we can stay close to God right now and listen to what He desires for us, and as we continue to learn and see what our roles should be.