July 28th, 2012- Our wedding day!
Everything was perfect. We were married in Logan, Utah, and although it was pretty toasty, I am grateful the sun was shining and we were surrounded by so many friends and family members. We were really fortunate because the week of our wedding involved THREE family reunions. This made the week extremely busy, but also go by pretty fast. And it allowed for so many family members to be at our wedding! Jason spent the Johnson family reunion on Monday and Tuesday with me, and then on Wednesday he headed up to Idaho Falls for the Vance family reunion, while I traveled to Park City for the Relyea family reunion. I love my family so much. My dad is one of 8 children, who have all had pretty large families, so Johnson family reunions always involve a LOT of people. The reunion included time up at the Snowbird ski resort/lodge, another B. Clair Johnson 5k run, a family picture (with Kyle even photoshopped in :), and a few wonderful family programs. I learned so much more about my Grandpa and the amazing legacy he has left. He was such an incredible man. I always love watching my Grandma at big family events like this too, because she is so observant of everyone, and I can tell she is always taking every moment in, and remembering it all. I hope and pray that when I am her age I have the keen memory that she has. It blows my mind all the details of everyone's families and lives that she remembers.
On the gondola up to the top of the mountain at Snowbird
All of us with our sweet Grandma Wanda
The Relyea family reunion was also a blast- we all stayed up in a huge cabin in Park City for a few days and celebrated our family! We danced, ate lots of delicious food, and saw a sweet slideshow that my Grandma made with tons of old pictures of their family growing up. It was so fun! We got back to Provo Thursday afternoon. On Friday morning, Mekelle and I went for an 8-mile Canyon run- our favorite! I love and miss running with her SO much. Running the canyon never feels the same without her. Before heading up to Logan, I made sure everything was packed up and ready to go, and we got our nails done too. I really love getting my nails done...there's something so nice about having your nails perfectly painted...
If I keep including this many details I am going to be typing for days...but that night our dinner with Jason's family at Cafe Sabor in Logan was perfect. Jason and I ended the night going to the temple grounds and walking around. I felt so at peace. My entire life whenever I have anticipated a big change occurring, I have always had a hard time adjusting and accepting the change in my life. Although I know it is always for the better, and it always turns out just fine, I still always have a hard time with it. But the night before we were married, I was so happy, calm, and simply at peace. But this could not have been a more dramatic change in my life! I feel so blessed that I was able to feel so happy. And I know it is because it was right! Heavenly Father has blessed me so much.
Definitely one of my favorites :)
Since July 28th, I have continued to see the many, many blessings in my life. Jason and I spent an amazing 5 days at Rosemary beach between our wedding and our reception in Georgia. The reception was August 4th, and it was so much fun! I loved getting to introduce Jason to everyone. I especially enjoyed wearing my wedding dress again :) I am so happy Luanne was able to fly out and be there too! She took some amazing pictures of the night!
We relaxed and opened our presents the day after the reception, and then Monday morning we began our road trip across the country back to Utah! It was definitely an adventure, but I would not have rather done it with any other person. And we got to stop off and see our friend Michael in Nebraska, and also stop in Nauvoo, Illinois and go to the temple there! That was fun. Needless to say, I was so grateful to make it back to our apartment in Provo. It was hard saying goodbye to my mom when we left Georgia, but I don't think that will EVER get any easier in my life.
Off we go!...he's still smiling at this point :)
Beautiful Nauvoo!
As much as we loved all the wedding festivities, it was a lot of fun to settle into our apartment and really BEGIN our new life together as a married couple. And we sure jumped right in. I was starting school in just a few weeks, and I pretty much had nothing ready for my classroom. I was feeling extremely overwhelmed. But Jason was wonderful, and organized our entire apartment while I spent many, many hours in my classroom getting ready for my first class of 3rd graders! And now the school year is over...it's hard to believe. I LOVED my first year of teaching. Really and truly. I have no regrets, and I am so grateful for my sweet students and my wonderful colleagues who helped me so much. My first year teaching 3rd grade is one to document in it's very own blog post (or 2 or 3)...
