Playing Catch Up

I have to be honest. I have been avoiding you.

I’ve been avoiding you because I have a guest post to get working on, and I have ZERO ideas. I told myself I wouldn’t post on my blog, until that blog post was done.

Welp.

Still not done.

But so much to catch up on, and I couldn’t stay away.

So here’s a little game of catch up:

Work is busy. Randy’s work is busy. Randy’s school is busy. My side businesses are busy. Church is busy.

We get to see Courtney and Tommy regularly which is a blast – weekly dinner/treat get-togethers is too much fun.

I got to go to lunch with my mom for her birthday at Eva’s Boulangerie. It was wonderful, my mom is amazing.

Friday we went to Happy Sumo (thanks gift card) and then my sister and her friend came over to hang out!

Last Saturday we spent the whole day cleaning cleaning cleaning. I reorganized, cleaned, and bought a couple things to spice up our house.

If you didn’t catch my snap story, here’s this lil look. Not quite perfect yet, but I’m loving it!

Then we went to Kaysville for a sneak peek of birthday fun with my mom, and then bowling/mini golf with our friends.

Sunday was teaching, visiting teaching, home teaching, and to Provo for a birthday party.

And then this week was a blast with Saint Patrick’s Day and some trips to the temple and a sweet surprise just because (I accepted all the roses). And hugely exciting – we booked our tickets to Boston for the summer and started getting details on our Disneyland trip in June.

While the Jordan River temple is getting renovated, we get to go to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple – HOLY GORGEOUS.

He’s so sweet to me.

SO EXCITED TO GO TO BOSTON

We are busy and in love and trying to figure it all out. Not every day is perfect; most of them are fairly stressful. But it’s a wonderful life, and we’re so lucky.

the weekenders

This last weekend was fulllll of adventures! Summer is winding down and Randy will be back in school before I know it. SO we are making every moment count. Hence the weekend filled to the brim with fun. 
First we joined the Tour de Utah. JK. 

We were biking around on our cute little SLC Green Bikes while the Tour de Utah FLEW past us. It was such a fun adventure! The curry we had for dinner didn’t even make pedaling through the city less fun. 
We were walking around Temple Square and ran into a guy in Randy’s parent’s ward! We chatted and then he ran us down to see Meet the Mormons at the Legacy Theater. We hadn’t seen it and it was AWESOME!

Pause for a second. Can I just say how much I love the city? We walked back to my office/the car in the rain after the movie and let me tell you, it was wonderful. There are some crazies that hang out downtown and it can be an intimidating place for sure, but I love that my office on 4th and Main gives me the chance to spend lots of time here. I love finding restaurants, free activities, riding the train and knowing the stops by name. It’s truly a dream come true for me.

So after a night in the city on Friday, we decided to do the opposite on Saturday. We hiked up to Cecret Lake, and it was AMAZING. I love that living where we live means time in the city and up in the mountains all in one weekend. What a great place to live! 

He picked a couple flowers for me. SHHHH.

We ended our Saturday with Midvale Harvest days which was so fun! Ryan Shupe and the Rubber Band were the stars of the show and they are a hoot. We headed back to our apartment just in time to see the fireworks over the city. We LOVE Midvale.
Sunday was spent at church, and then down in K-Town with family. We got to have lunch with my family, and dinner with Randy’s! How lucky are we? 
But really, I feel so so lucky. More so every day. I have a husband that I adore, we live in a place that I love, I have a job that rocks, amazing family, the list goes on and on. Thanks to every single one of YOU who brighten my life.
Happy Wednesday!

cannibal, kaicho, pioneers, cheesecake, need i say more?

Sorry for the past few days friends – I got a little spooked when I went onto my statistics and found some of my top referring sites were pornography (what the?!?!)

I found out it’s just a spam bot – that nobody was reading my blog from a porn site and my site wasn’t affiliated with them in any way. Just shut down to only private for a few days until I could get it all figured out. And now it’s all figured out and all is well!

We got WEDDING PICTURES! Expect a full, detailed post (or two. or three.) about that wonderful day just 2 months ago.

Let’s catch up a little:

24th of July was awesome! We got to watch the parade, hang out with family, and go to Lagoon! And YES we rode Cannibal – TWICE in fact! It was so much fun to be with family and have such a good time.

I love Pioneer Day because it gives me the chance to really think about my pioneer ancestors, and appreciate all they did to get me where I am today. Some people don’t understand or think it’s that important, but really it’s one of the most important parts of history, in my opinion. I will forever be so thankful for what those brave men and women did, so that I can be where I am. It made me reminisce on my Pioneer Trek experience from Young Women’s. We went up to Wyoming to actually walk the path that those pioneers did. It truly was so remarkable to walk where they walked, to see what they saw. It made me that much more grateful for my faith and those who worked so hard to make sure I could believe whatever I wanted.

Last week was filled with mission gatherings for Randy and I. Randy’s mission president came home, so we got to go see everyone at a BBQ and then go to the homecoming! Randy’s “dad” and others were so fun to hang out with and get to know better. 
And finally meeting Kaicho was incredible! I’ve heard so much about him, and he’d heard so much about me, that it was nice to finally meet. He just went on, and on about how wonderful Randy was as a missionary, and it was so amazing to get to meet him.
And finally. 2 months calls for a celebration. A cheesecake celebration! Randy and I spent one of our amazing wedding present gift cards to celebrate 2 months of marriage. Being with Randy has literally been a dream come true. It’s not always perfect, but it’s the best thing I’ve ever had and I can’t wait for the months and years ahead. If you’re getting married soon PLEASE message me with questions! There are so many things I wish I would’ve known, but didn’t want to ask. Please ask away!
Now I’m ready for a relaxed weekend with my love. 
Happy Friday everyone!

ballet and football and friends and routines

The days get away from me now friends!

The routine has settled in, here’s how it goes.

Wake up, Randy goes running and I either work out or sleep. Get ready. Breakfast. Scriptures. Drive to work together. Work work work. Randy sometimes goes in later or leaves earlier depending on his schedule, and goes and runs errands which is AMAZING (love you!). Get done with work. Drive home together. Make dinner. Watch a show, read, play games, spend time with friends, go shopping for more house things, have FHE, go to the temple, make treats, or a mix of any of these. Then we do it all over again. Surprisingly, I really love the routine we have settled in to. It makes me feel like we are real life adults, a family, and I love that security.

Now here’s time for the ballet part of this post:

My sister danced her last recital at Clytie Adams a few weeks ago. It was so nostalgic for my family. We have had a ballerina there for the past 18 years. And now we’re all done dancing at that wonderful studio. Clytie came to my wedding a few weeks before the recital, and jokingly asked me when another Richards girl would be coming to dance for her. I have left so much of my heart at that studio, on the stage at Weber, in the dressing rooms downstairs, in every toe shoe and pair of tights. Dancing 100% has made me who I am today. I will always be a ballerina even though I’m not dancing as much anymore. Dancing at Clytie’s are some of the most precious memories I have. I danced for me when I was there. Just for me. Because I loved it. I learned elegance, grace, friendship, technique, determination, hard work, how to smile through hard things, and that I could absolutely anything I put my mind to. I am forever thankful and so happy that I had the chance to be a Clytie Girl, and that my sisters also both that to do that.

Sometimes at work we throw tiny footballs off the parking garage and I win jump ropes for being the closest to the target. I seriously love my job and the people I work with.
And I also love spending time with these fun friends. We spent a Saturday with them playing games at the arcade and then playing board games at our apartment, and talking long into the night. They are so much fun and I’m lucky that these friendships survived the test of time. 
ALSO another glimpse of the apartment! I promise I’ll be posting the whole thing once I’ve got all the finishing touches. It will be wonderful, promise!
And lastly, happy one month of marriage to my sweetheart. It’s so amazing to me that after loving him through high school, college, a mission, and more, I love him even more in marriage. This month has taught me about Randy’s sleeping habits (snoring, sleep talking, not being awake until he’s had a shower) that he’s incredibly grumpy and sassy when he’s hungry, that when he honks the horn or tickles me until I stop being mad at him, it works, I’ve learned that he always wants lots of meat with dinner, and ramen is his breakfast of choice, I’ve learned that he sings in the shower sometimes, gets really excited about the most random TV shows, and that I love him more than I can even comprehend. After a month of marriage, I’m not sure that eternity will be long enough. I love you sweetheart and I’m so happy that you chose me.
For now, happy Tuesday everyone (holy smokes it’s only Tuesday! How will I survive this week??)

Playing Catch Up

I know, I know. I haven’t blogged in so long that it’s becoming a sin. A travesty. I’m ashamed of myself. BUT here I am, ready to play catch-up during my lunch break! Randy isn’t here:( So you won’t be getting any of him today, but I expect he’ll be around again soon enough!

Between working 40-50 hours a week, planning a wedding, spending time with Randy, trying to wrap up my senior documentary, apartment hunting, and trying to see friends before I’m married a no fun, it’s been a little busy!

So here’s the small catch-up I can give you right now, stay tuned some posts purely dedicated to Randy and I’s first look photo shoot, the rest of our bridal shoot, my thoughts about going to the temple for the first time, and things I’ve learned since becoming a working girl that I didn’t learn in college!

For now, here’s what’s been up:

Randy and I snuck off for date night to go see Big Fish at Hale Center Theater in Orem! It was amazing! It’s one of Randy’s favorite movies, so it was fun to surprise him with the musical!
Another thing that’s been a blast is checking out restaurants for lunch when Randy is in the city. Sometimes we’ll have errands to run so Randy will come up to the city and do them while I’m at work, and that means we get lunch together! It’s a blast!

Speaking of work….this is a glimpse of what I do all day. I feel like my job has it all…creativity and analytics, brand strategies and content writing, computer programming and PhotoShop, it’s just awesome and I am absolutely loving it!

 I also some how missed posting about Mother’s Day!!! I’m terrible I know. So here’s a post for my mother! My mom is absolutely amazing in every way. Heavenly Father knew she was EXACTLY what I needed in a mom, and best friend.
Randy and I got an apartment! Yay! We are so excited to live in Midvale! 
I’m mostly excited about this giant walk-in closet here!
Quick shout out to the rest of my awesome family members and their accomplishments: 
Liv ran in the State Track Meet and KILLED it. Both of her relays got second in STATE and the Davis team won! 
Bethany just sang a solo in her choir concert, and the little sample I got before had was incredible. She has the voice of an angel and is teaching herself to play guitar.
Ben and Kim are expecting a baby GIRL and I am so excited! Ben also just finished the hardest year of law school.
And my Papi is just amazing. The man is loving his job and doing really well, running a billion miles every morning, and in his spare time builds and rebuilds computers and servers. He’s a rockstar.
And last but not least. All I have to say about going through the temple right now, is that it was one of the best experiences of my life. More on that later:)
Sorry it’s been forever! Hopefully anyone who wanted one was able to get a wedding invite! Message me if you didn’t! And stay tuned for those new posts that are coming soon (I promise!)
Happy Thursday everyone! 

Construction

Don’t mind the construction on here for the next few weeks….we’re just getting read to unveil…

The Low Down

Randy and I are SO excited to be doing a blog together! We thought about waiting until we’re officially married, but it’ll just be so fun to blog about these few weeks before the wedding, together!

Watch out for Randy in bold and Maddy in normal font!

New URL: http://www.hereisthelowdown.com
Don’t worry, http://www.averagedayofaginger.blogspot.com will still get you here!

So again, don’t mind the mess for a few weeks while I reconstruct! If you have questions, suggestions, comments, or advice please let me know!

Happy Monday everyone!

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes

So I’m a little behind blogging. I’ve been a little busy, getting engaged! Oops:)

SO here’s the story. 100% unedited, ready for you to read. It’s a good one, super sappy, but super perfect. I’m going to tell my side of the story, and then Randy is actually going to type up his side of the story in a cute he said/she said. We’re thinking of moving my blog to a platform where we can both post regularly, so let me know what you think about that!

Ok, here we go:)

I swear this was us about ten minutes ago. Just reenacting one of our favorite art pieces (American Gothic) while performing in Fiddler on the Roof. Circa 2011.

She says: Randy and I had been seriously talking about getting married for a few weeks now. We’d been praying, going to the temple, spending time together and apart to figure out if it was right. And we both came to the conclusion that we were crazy about each other, and wanted to get married. It was the right decision. We went and looked at engagement rings and I pointed out several that I liked, and told Randy to make the final decision and surprise me. I was waiting, and waiting, and waiting, for him to propose. I knew he’d gone and talked to my dad, but I wasn’t sure if he had the ring, or when he was going to pop the question. I would bug him about it every day, whining and wondering when it was going to happen. He was stubborn and wouldn’t tell me a thing! Which is good because i would’ve been upset if he’d spoiled the surprise. Randy told me he was going to do grand gestures and crazy dates for the next few weeks so I would never knew when it was actually coming.

So Monday, February 2nd, my roommate and best friend Rachel texted me and asked if we could go get cheesecake in Salt Lake that night. We had both had a rough weekend, and she said she wanted to go have a girls night out. Randy had told me a few days earlier he was working Monday night, so I said of course! I came home after class and got all dolled up for our night out. We drove to Salt Lake and jammed to our favorite tunes. I was a little suspicious at first, but Randy was texting me from work, and Rachel had been in no rush to leave, and I figured if Randy was proposing he’d want me at a spot at a certain time.

We went and got our cheesecake, it was delightful.

We wandered around City Creek, again removing my suspicion that Randy was proposing, because I was sure he would have a specific plan with a specific time we needed to be there. 

We took some pictures, and then Rach asked if we could go to the Capitol building and take more pictures to document our date-night. Of course, I agreed. 
We got to the Capitol and I was telling Rachel all about Randy and I’s Senior Prom there, pointing to places where we danced, etc. We started walking up the huge staircase at the very front of the building. There are huge pillars near the front door, and we decided to go up there to take pictures. 
Then, Randy walked out front behind the pillars in a suit, with flowers. Rachel disappeared to who knows where! I was in shock, and I think I stammered out “Um….what are you doing here?” Then. It hit me. This was it. He was proposing here. Tonight. Right now.
The city was lit up behind us, you could see the temple and it was so perfect. Randy grabbed my hands, and said some sweet things about how much he loved me, how he had loved me when we had danced there at prom.
Then he got down on his knee, he was so nervous! 
Then he asked me to marry him.
And I said yes. 
I’ve had lots of wonderful and happy days in my life. But the day that I agreed to spend the rest of my life with my best friend,  my high school sweetheart, my returned missionary, and the ultimate love of my life, will go down as one of my very best days. I can’t wait to marry him on May 30th! 

He says: When I got home from my mission, it became very real that I wanted to marry Maddy. We had to start praying and being very serious about the question, but at the same time, I don’t feel like I ever had any doubts that it was the perfect choice. She’s my best friend and I don’t have any interest in searching for someone else. Why would I try to find a replacement for a perfect fit? She’s everything to me.
So I started talking to Maddy’s friends and figuring out how I wanted to ask her to marry me. I also talked to her father to receive his blessing. It was SO scary, but he gave me his blessing and then it was up to me to ask her. Rachel and I made plans to get her into Salt Lake City so I could ask her. I was really worried that I wasn’t going to be able to surprise her because we had talked so much about marriage and we had already made plans to get married. To keep the secret, we decided to tell Maddy that I was working on Monday night and have Rachel take Maddy to Salt Lake.
While Rachel was taking Maddy out to have a good time, I was preparing myself at the Capitol building. It was the place that Maddy and I had prom and one of our most romantic dates we’d gone on. It was the perfect place. I got my suit and some flowers and went to the Capitol and waited. I was pacing around and preparing what kind of things I wanted to say when I asked her to marry me.
I ended up waiting for about 2 hours. I started to get really anxious and nervous. Then Rachel texted me and told me that Maddy would be there in about a minute. I stood behind one of the pillars at the top of the main staircase and waited to hear her voice. I felt pretty confident and prepared. Then I heard her and stepped out to see her. She was dressed up nice with Rachel and looked so beautiful……and my hands started to shake uncontrollably. I forgot all the things I wanted to say to her. I just kinda spit out all the things that I was feeling and then got down on my knee, and asked her to marry me. She gave me a cute smile and said yes. 
It was the best night. It took more to prepare than anyone had ever told me it would be. It was scarier than anyone had ever told me, but it was also more exciting and happy than anyone had ever told me. I still can’t stop smiling. I walk around school with a stupid smile on my face and a little hop in my step. I’m so excited and I’ve never been so happy.