My Holy-Crap-We-Set-a-Date Post

HOLY CRAP--WE SET A DATE.

Now I feel like I really have to start working on planning this whole wedding thing. I mean, my official "The Knot" wedding webpage tells me that I have a checklist of something like 150 things to do in the next 401 days, 5 hours, 2 minutes (precisely how long until our big day arrives, thank you The Knot).

September 29, 2012.

9/29. Should be easy enough to remember our anniversary. Not to mention it is only 2 days after my mother's birthday and 1 day after my brother-in-law's birthday. In this family, we like to keep things simple like that. (My birthday is the day before my father-in-law's, Kyle's is the day before his mom's). 9/29 will soon be the most significant day in our lives besides our own births and births of our future children.

The date is perfect. Want to know why? Because Fate itself picked it out for us. That's right, Fate. I wanted a fall wedding for as long as I can remember. Narrowed it down to September with the anticipation that we could Honeymoon over my fall break from school. Chose September 29, the first Saturday of my fall break, hoping for fall color and a 2-week vacation to recover from the wedding. And then, when touring the venue I am in love with, we asked to see the calendar of availability, and that is when Fate said "You must marry on September 29, 2012", because it was the ONLY SATURDAY LEFT NEXT FALL FOR OUR VENUE!

And that is how Fate helped us pick our wedding date. And venue.

So, Fate, now it is time for you to pick my wedding dress out for me. And then find me a good photographer. I don't have time to second guess myself, so I need you to be more involved in this process to make sure it goes smoothly from this point on.

We set a date. :)

Our Celebratory Tour of Venues

The Fateful Day we Chose the Date!

The Importance of "We" Time

If nothing else during this engagement, I have learned to appreciate the time that I get to spend with Kyle when we aren't under the stress of work, chores, or even wedding planning. Our weekends away, which are quite frequent as has been the case throughout our relationship, are often the refreshing escape we need to be reminded of the bigger reasons we are together. I recommend that all couples going through the planning stages of a wedding, or even a child or buying a house, get away from it all to relax a bit and remain sane.

This makes me think back on some of my favorite travels with Kyle. Whether it was to Europe in the summer of 2009 to party in Pamplona during San Fermin (and running with the bulls), or paragliding off the Swiss Alps outside Interlaken, or closer to home in the Yosemite Valley watching the rock climbers on the face of El Capitan, and wine tasting in Sonoma, CA, I cherish our time away. It is these trips that not only help us expand our knowledge of the world, but also bring us back to the roots of our relationship- our mutual love of people, of nature, and of each other.

Recently, although on a scale not as grand as Europe, we got away a few times. The woods are quite relaxing, calming, and with our crazy friends, often extremely fun. Call me Emerson, but living in nature just brings about clarity of mind.

Teva Mountain Games- Vail, CO

Water Wheel Trail and Waterfall- Payson, AZ

Bear Canyon Lake, Rim Lakes, AZ