Vacations and Parties!

These last two weeks have been great! School was fairly easy, and last weekend Jake and I went to my family's cabin in Schofield! It was so much fun! We spent our days laying around, watching videos, playing with siblings, and riding 4-wheelers. It was exactly the break I needed to recharge and plow forward for another couple weeks. Fall semester is over in approximately 5 weeks, and I'm really excited. I love my classes and the interesting things I'm learning, but it starts to get pretty draining when you're constantly working with deadlines.

After we got back from the cabin last Saturday afternoon, I was craving Indian food so badly, that I made Jake take me to the Bombay House in Provo. It was delicious! I believe Indian cuisine is my new favorite food.

We went to church with Jake's parents that Sunday, and it was fun to visit a family ward. I had forgotten how crazy sacrament meeting can be when there are tons of kids making all kinds of noise and doing funny things. We sat behind the cutest little family, and I watched the little girl and her mom play Princess. The women made me feel very welcome in the ward, and I enjoyed being there.

Jake's brother, Jeff, had the Swine Flu, and the whole time we were visiting the Baileys, Jake kept doing funny things to Jeff. I told him to be careful and make sure he washed his hands and not touch his face while we were there, because I didn't want either of us getting sick, and he, being Jake, took it to the extreme. He would walk over to Jeff's door and say, "Come out here Jeff I need to talk to you." Then when Jeff would open the door, Jake would throw his hands over his face in a dramatic manner and say, "I can't look at you because you might make me sick," and they would carry on in this crazy way. Jake even got some candy bars and shoved them under Jeff's door because Jeff was being quarantined. Jeff put on a doctor's mask so he could come out and socialize with us. It was pretty ridiculous, but funny. I always enjoy spending time with my in-laws.

This weekend was my aunt Geri's 50th birthday. Geri is mentally handicapped, and so doesn't have the opportunity to get married in this life, and it's been pretty hard on her. She cried at my wedding because she wanted to get married so badly. My sweet aunts decided to throw her a huge reception for her birthday, and invited everyone from the community who knew Geri. It was spectacular! There were all kinds of treats and goodies, and the cake was gorgeous! I made a video montage of Geri's life that played in the background, and it made my grandma and aunts cry. The best part was that it was all a secret. They secretly found her favorite dress and got her a tiara, jewelry, a corsage, and had her take pictures. She looked beautiful! My aunt Sandy told me that while she was doing Geri's hair and makeup, Geri said, "I look so beautiful, I look like Shannon! Don't tell her I said that!" I just laughed. She felt just like a princess, and I am so glad she was able to have her time to shine.

Today was our Stake Conference and the Spectrum was packed! We had Elder Ballard and Eyring come and speak to us. They said just what I needed to hear. Jake was distracted by the two sets of couples in front of us. There were these two girls that talked through the entire meeting, showing each other pictures off their phones, and the other couple sat there nuzzling each other and doing things that would have been better in private. I felt embarrassed for them. Overall, it had been a great meeting.

Fall and Birthdays!

I love fall, it's my favorite time of year. The air turns crisp and cool, and you get to wear sweaters, and the leaves turn such beautiful colors. The holiday season is just beginning, and you start to feel that holiday excitement! That's probably why I was born in October. :-)

Jake has been such a sweetheart these last few weeks. Birthdays are really big in my family. We get woken up early by our family members belting out "Happy birthday," and open the presents they present to us. Then we get a special breakfast of our choice, and the whole day is dedicated to you. We get to choose the place we want to go out to dinner that night, then we eat cake and ice cream to end the day. It's the perfect way to celebrate coming into the world once a year, and my whole family loves it. Jake got to witness my brother and mom's birthdays while we were engaged, and my dad wisely advised him that "the women in this family expect big things for birthdays, and if you are smart, you'll make it the best day of Shannon's life."

A week or so before my birthday, I thought it would be a great service to Jake to let him know exactly how I expected my birthday to play out. I've learned early you can't expect your spouse to know what you want if you don't tell them. I let Jake know I expected him to wake me up early and sing me "Happy birthday," as well as give me a present, arrange dinner with my family, call some of my close friends and invite them over for cake and ice cream, and surprise me with anything else he wanted throughout the day. I definitely wasn't disappointed.

He woke me up early, sang to me, and gave me a present (which I picked out, bought, and wrapped while teaching him how to wrap a present in a gift bag). It was exactly what I wanted! Jake and I went to our separate classes, and on the way home after my class, I saw a bunch of little blue sticky notes with cute messages all over our car windows. We were driving to my parent's house that afternoon, and he knew I would see them. It was so sweet. I wasn't expecting another surprise when I walked in the door of our apartment, and was astounded to see Jake had bought me flowers and chocolate covered peanuts (my favorite!), and arranged the pictures in our house on our table. I started bawling when I saw it. Jake had gone completely out of his way to surprise me, and I absolutely loved it! He also covered our door in little blue sticky notes with super cute messages, and wrote me a mushy card.

We drove down to my parent's house for the weekend, and went to Winger's for dinner. Afterwards we watched my sister's drill team dance, and then had cake and ice cream. It was the best birthday I've ever had. Jake was so sweet. I keep falling more and more in love with him. :-)

Jake had drill, and it was also conference weekend. I spent the weekend with my mom and sisters going to model homes and out to dinner Saturday night during Priesthood session. I loved every minute of spending time with them. I was sad Jake had to be at drill, but at least I had fun. My Grandma Griffiths came up to my parent's house Sunday afternoon and gave me the quilt she made for my wedding. It is so beautiful! I am so thankful to have grandmas who are so talented. Jake's Grandma Bailey also made us a quilt for our wedding. We are so lucky.

Jake and I had to leave Jake's Saturn at my parents house because he let the tires get so bald you could see the steel bearing on the front passenger tire. Men.

I love being married to Jake. He is so much fun and tries so hard to be a good husband. I couldn't have asked for a better man to spend eternity with.

Helicopter Slot

These past few months have been stressful for Jake. He has been avidly trying to find a helicopter slot. I've come to learn the Army is really difficult to work with, and the right hand doesn't really know what the left hand is doing. They've told Jake there were slots open in Utah, and then there weren't, and then there were, then they transferred him to a new unit without him knowing, then there weren't any slots. It's been frustrating and stressful, and we have prayed every night that Jake would be able to get a helicopter slot.

Jake came home this last Thursday and told me we finally got a helicopter slot in Utah. We were both so excited! (Me especially because he was starting to get ornery.) I felt so blessed and knew the Lord knows our situation and knows the desires of our hearts. He wants us to be happy, and we are living right and trying to do all the things required of us, and He can't not bless us when we are obedient.

Jake wanted to give the details about getting the helicopter slot:

Well, Shannon is making me give the details about the helicopter slot so here it goes... just kidding Shannon. She pretty much summed it up already. Anyways, I did make a lot of phone calls and talked with a few people who should have been sure-fire authorities on telling me whether or not there were slots open and how I could get one. I wanted to know sooner rather than later so I could call other states if I had to. I was surprised more than once that no one seemed to know what they were talking about and what was going on. The 211th even sent a representative down to talk to all cadets at our school two weeks ago and told us there was no chance any of us would get a slot this year. That was right after I was transferred into the unit on the suggestion that it would improve my chances of getting a slot. Well, one week later I got word that the commander of the 2nd battalion of the 211th, a Lt. Colonel Adams, was coming to Logan to have a meeting with two of our cadets. If he didn't know the answer, no one would!

I wasn't one of the cadets invited for some reason and to my disappointment but one of these cadets told me I should come anyway, so I did. After talking to us for an hour about the history and situation of the unit being so full I thought he was going to tell us sorry or maybe just give one of us three a slot. In the end he just said, "well, this is what I can do..." and he gave all three of us a helicopter slot to fly blackhawks! I couldn't believe it! I was so relieved and happy!

I'd given up on this dream a long time ago and it just recently came back to life a couple years ago after they loosened the standards and let me get eye surgery. Sometimes I thought that maybe Heavenly Father had something else in mind for me and that I needed to learn to not get my way sometimes and that I needed to remember that there were other things that were more important. Shannon and I feel so blessed! We prayed for this every day and now it's actually going to happen! So, probably about a year and a half from now is when we'll report to Fort Rucker, Alabama for flight training and "other fun" (SERE School). We'll probably be there for about two years. On my way home from the meeting with Colonel Adams I skipped and sang "I got a golden ticket" at the top of my lungs!... in my head.

Festivities of the Past Week

This week has been a little more crazy than usual, but we had some exciting things happen.

We took Jake to the dermatologist on Tuesday to finally get his moles looked at. He has a lot of moles on his body, and I was very relieved to discover they all looked normal. The dermatologist decided to take one off his back, and he used this little metal scraper thing to shave the mole off. It was disgusting. Jake will probably have a good scar there, but he likes scars so it was no big deal.

Alan and Jake went to the rest home here in Logan and performed some of their camp songs with other members of Alan's ward. It was pretty funny.

Jake and I drove down to my parent's house to stay the night because Jake's brother Jeff was coming home on Thursday. Jake was so excited and could hardly stand the wait that night! It was so great to visit my family. I miss watching my siblings grow up and do the funny things they do. It makes me sad sometimes at how far away I live. Jake tells me it's not far at all compared to Alabama, but I still feel like it's far away.

We drove up to Salt Lake on Thursday morning to attend Jake's sister-in-law, Ornela's, citizenship ceremony. She's from Albania and has been in the US for six years and is finally getting her citizenship. The ceremony was awful! I was so annoyed with how everything played out. The people around us were really disrespectful; letting their kids run wild and walking in front of the projector screen while we were trying to watch the program, talking, and most of them wouldn't even stand up when they were asked to. I hate people sometimes. The judge conducting the ceremony, and the speakers, talked to the people becoming citizens like they were five. The judge asked several people where they were from and how long it took them to become a citizen, and most said they had been in the country for 10 or 20 years, and this guy was trying to tell them how to be a citizen. It was ridiculous! I was really happy for Ornela though, it was a great day for her.

After the ceremony, we rushed over to the Salt Lake airport and made it just in time to see Jeff walk out. Everyone was so excited to see him. He looks a lot like Jake I think, and he was really nice. We all went to Sizzler for lunch and enjoyed each other's company. I love Jake's family. They are so sweet and fun! I especially love the younger members, and I love having nieces and nephews! Jake let Jeff drive our Rodeo back to his parent's house for practice, and I thought he did a really good job for being gone for two years.

The Bailey gang.

Jake's missionary badge has now been in three missions. He gave it to Alan and then Jeff to carry with them while they were on their missions.

We hung out with Jeff and Jake's sister Becky for the rest of the afternoon, and took him shopping that evening. Jake and I decided to head back to Logan Thursday night because everyone had school the next morning. It had been a fun day, and Jake was really glad he got to spend some time with Jeff. He was a little disappointed he and Jeff didn't get to watch the movie Hot Rod (which is a really dumb movie) or play Ghost Recon (a computer game).

I spent Saturday morning deep cleaning our apartment for school to start and also my family was coming up to see it. Jake had to work, so I took lunch up to him for a break. My family came up to visit, and we went Repelling up Logan Canyon. Everyone loved repelling.

We went and ate at Golden Corral, where I ate WAY too much food. Jake, dad, and I went to Walmart after to buy some jumper cables because the suburban had died in the canyon.

The Temple dedication was great. There were some really great talks given and hopefully I can remember to go to the temple to listen and receive the blessings of temple attendance. It reinforced my goal of going to the temple each week. My family came over to our apartment after the dedication and Jake fixed his famous steaks for lunch. My family was really impressed with our apartment and my mom called it very "homey". This was the highest form of a compliment for me, and I was very pleased.

This has been a great week! School starts tomorrow and I am so excited! Mostly to get on a schedule again. Jake is very unhappy. :-)

Sealed Forever

Jake and I went up to my cousin Drew Davis's sealing on Thursday night in Idaho Falls. It was interesting because we were originally going to get married on August 14th, but decided why wait? Idaho Falls has a beautiful temple, but awful streets. They were all named instead of numbered and Jake and I drove around for about an hour trying to find a Target and Chuck-A-Rama. By the time we found Chuck-A-Rama, it was about to close, so we had to drive around again and find some place else to eat. We ended up eating at Olive Garden, which was nice, but I detest Idaho Falls streets now!

We slept in a Hotel Thursday night and woke up bright and early to be to the sealing. I told Jake it was like we were getting married all over again as we walked down to breakfast and saw a lot of my extended family. The temple was beautiful, and it was so great to listen to my grandpa seal Drew and his fiance Whitney together. It helped me remember the covenants Jake and I made, and also to remember the counsel and instruction my grandpa gave us.

I am so grateful to have parents who taught me the right way to live so I could attend the temple and be sealed to Jake forever. He is such a good man; ambitious, hard working, loyal, honest, and kind. He is always trying to find ways to please me and do whatever I ask, even if he doesn't like the things I make him do. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect companion to go through life with.

Jake helping me vacuum one Saturday. He is quite the stud.

Oh How Time Flies

Wow time sure seems to fly by. It's already time for school to start again. I'm really excited, but Jake is less than enthused. I'm really glad we decided to get married in June. It gave us almost two months to get used to married life before school starts and life gets crazy. I guess I need to do a quick update on the happenings of the Jake and Shannon Bailey household.

Jake and I went back to Salem to stay with my family over the 24th of July. It was so fun to have Jake there to share one of my family traditions growing up. We went to Magleby's for breakfast, then sat on Spanish Fork main street to watch the parade. Jake fit right in with my dad and brother. All three of them hate parades, and the Spanish Fork parade is known to be super long! It had been going for about 2 hours by the time we decided to leave, and there was still about another hour left to go. Both my sisters were in the parade this year. Stephanie is the Miss Salem 1st attendant, and Melanie is on the Salem Hills drill team. I've been in the parade for both things before, and it was fun to see them follow in my footsteps. (They hate it when I tell them that. They like to think they're paving their own way. :-) After the parade we were invited over to my aunt Kristin Morley's house for lunch and to swim in her pool. I had never seen it before, and it was pretty amazing. They have a pretty big pool with a nice big hot tub next to it and a really tall ledge you can jump off into the water. Jake and Brandon just thought it was the greatest thing ever, and tried to do cool things off the edge. Jake really impressed all the little boy cousins with his front and back flips off the ledge. He was pretty proud of himself.

Jake and my dad chillin' at the pool.

Jake's front flip.

Jake's cool back flip.

Jake's throat started hurting him something terrible a few weeks back, and we decided to take him to a ear, nose, and throat doctor. The reason his throat was hurting was because he got hit square in the neck way back in March playing football. I made him go to the emergency room just to make sure there was nothing wrong. The dumb doctor didn't even look down his throat but made Jake feel he went there for nothing. Fast forward to the present, we went to the throat doctor, and the doctor looked down his throat and apparently Jake got a hematoma on his larynx and scar tissue had formed, causing some minor damage. Hopefully he’ll be 100% better in a few months.

We went on Jake’s family reunion this last weekend. It was a lot of fun! We met in Rexburg and went rock climbing first to kick things off. Jake, Alan, Rachel, and Jenny tried to race to the top. It was entertaining to watch. We went camping at this really pretty lake in Montana. It rained really hard the first night we were there, but cleared up the following morning. Jake begged me to make these chocolate cookie brownies that everyone loves, so we brought those and they were gone really fast. Jake also found this HUGE rope swing that he went off three times. His sister, Becky, also went off it once but almost hit the rocks. That was a stomach clencher. It was a really fun vacation, and I felt I got to know his family a lot better.

Jake tried to be a redneck. I thought he pulled it off pretty well don't you?

Just playing at the beach. Doesn't he look all muscled up? :-)

I thought this picture was really cute of Jake and little Logan laying by each other. He found a worm and we thought it would be funny to stick on Jake while he was sun bathing. Jake is such a good sport.

The rope swing Jake found. He went about 30 feet in the air before dropping into the water.

We babysat Cassie overnight a couple weeks ago, and Whitney instructed us to give her a nap in the morning after she had eaten. I gave the job to Jake so I could get ready, and when I came out of the bathroom this is what I found.

He is such a good uncle.

Jake really wanted to go to the demolition derby yesterday, and was so ecstatic when we got there. Looking around at all the men with their tongues hanging out, goggling over the cars bashing each other just made me laugh! Every man is just a little boy at heart.

Waiting for the demolition derby to start.

Daddy Daughter Dance

I was finally able to get the video clip of my Daddy Daughter Dance at my reception from a friend. I couldn't believe she was the only person who filmed it! I thought for sure my videographer would have been there, but he turned out to be MIA. It was so much fun anticipating this dance, and it was great to perform it. My dad was a real sport. People keep asking me if I coerced my dad into this, but I didn't. He was more than happy to accommodate my wish. So here it is! Enjoy! Make sure you watch it to the end!

The Results of the Pranking

Well, I got a text about 15 minutes after my buddy Ben's shift started letting me know that I'd got him good. He was tee-oed because I came by earlier that day to borrow some tools and the first couple seasons of "The Office" from him. Bit the hand that feeds me. He said, "You know this means WAR now don't you?" I'm sure he'll get me back good. In the meantime, we're leaving it up to try to scare our boss and a couple other people. Heh heh heh!

~ Jake

Jake the Prankster

Jake works as a night manager in the Taggart Student Center on USU campus. One of his friends and former roommates also works as a night manager. I got a blow up doll for one of my bridal showers, and Jake came up with a prank to play on his friend. He decided to hang up this doll in one of the creepy rooms they have to check every night so when you open the door the doll swings down. He came home so excited last night after rigging up this prank and couldn't wait to show it to me today. I have to admit it was pretty good and would have scared the tar out of me if he hadn't told me about it first! I just had to film it so you could see how it works. Jake climbed up a couple of pipes to wrap the rope around one of the pipes going across the ceiling and put the end in the door hinge. When the door opens, the rope unwinds from around the ceiling pipe and down comes the doll. I married such a smart man!

Every Girls Dream

Wow sometimes life seems to drag by super slow, and then zoom so fast it's gone in the blink of an eye. That's how I'm feeling at this moment. I've dreamed and planned for the day I would get married, it dragged by so slowly, and then before you know it, a week has passed and I'm officially Mrs. Shannon Bailey.

The weeks leading up to the wedding were stressful, but not as stressful as they could have been. Jake left for AT (annual training) for the National Guard two weeks before our wedding, and I was pleasantly surprised when I found out I would be able to see him most nights. I tried to plan as far ahead as possible in order to prepare to go through the temple and focus more on the sealing and less on the reception. I'm so glad I did! Receiving my endowment was absolutely wonderful, and I know I wouldn't have had the great experience I did unless I had adequately prepared myself for it. I cried as Jake took me through the veil and as we walked into the Celestial Room. I was amazed and deeply touched by the support and love given to me by those who came and wished they could come. Jake and I had the opportunity to go through the Logan Temple a few days before our wedding. It was a great refresher and a beautiful temple.

June 30th dawned bright and clear (I was very grateful for that because our reception was outdoors), and I woke up at 5:45am because I couldn't sleep anymore. It was like Christmas! I drove over to the brunch in Lehi by Jake's parent's house and saw the beautiful table decorations Diana had made. She put so much hard work into making the brunch perfect. Before the brunch started, I went over to see Jake and discovered he was quite nervous and was running around trying to find an appropriate tie to wear with his brown suit we bought him. (Apparently boys aren't very good at matching colors. :-) This caused me some concern because I didn't want my husband-to-be getting cold feet. Luckily it was just because he HATES being the center of attention. I told him he should have considered that before he proposed. ;-) The brunch was great and Dennis and my dad said a few words about how much they appreciated the newest addition to their families. Jake gave an account of our dating and engagement story, with some interjections from me when appropriate, and we left for the Mt. Timpanogos Temple.

It felt like a dream. My mom and I were ushered into the bride's room where she helped me put on my temple clothes. This was such a special moment for me to share with my mother. After I was ready, the temple lady had me wait for Jake behind a wall. She wanted me to make a grand entrance. I really liked her. Jake wasn't even paying attention. We were escorted to the Celestial Room and were allowed to sit and wait there together. I think that is one of the best things they let us do. While we were sitting there, I had the most powerful feelings of love and peace fill my heart, and I knew without a doubt Jake and I were supposed to get married and we would be so happy if we always put each other first. My heart almost thumped out of my chest when the temple lady came back in and told us they were ready. My grandpa Griffiths met us outside the sealing room and took us aside so we could talk. He went over some things about the ceremony and asked if we had any questions. I started to cry when he said this was legal both in Heaven and on Earth and we would be married for time and all eternity when we walked out of that room. I was ready.

My heart was beating so fast when we walked into the sealing room and I saw Jake

and my family and friends there supporting us. I just couldn't believe how much support and love we had from those around us. My grandpa gave some excellent counsel about being fiercely true and loyal to each other, and then Jake brought me to the altar. I couldn't help but cry again when my grandpa sealed us together forever. We exchanged rings and our family and friends were allowed to come and congratulate us, and just like that it was over. I was a married woman.

My mom helped me get dressed into my wedding dress in the bride's room, and then Jake and I made our grand entrance out the side doors as husband and wife. We took pictures and everyone left to relax before the reception. Jake and I went back to his parent's house and Jake and his dad thought of a plan on how to hide our car from those who would do it harm. I stayed out of it because it was totally a man thing. Jake and I got to our reception about 5:00pm and took more pictures and helped set up last minute things. I looked around at my reception in awe. It was beautiful! As a little girl I always dreamed of a fairy tale wedding, and here it was! My happily ever after had finally happened. We had so many friends come through our line, and then it was time to cut the cake. The cake even tasted good! I have always wanted a dance at my reception, and we started it off with Jake and my first dance. My dad and I had prepared a special daddy daughter dance to show off our personalities, and I was so glad it was such a hit! My mom told me later that people from our ward were still laughing about it on Sunday. My dad just beamed.

The time approached for us to make our grand exit, and there was a horse and carriage waiting for us as we ran through the center of family and friends holding sparklers and yelling their congratulations at us. The carriage drove around for awhile, and then dropped us off at our car. Jake's brothers and sisters were sweet and gave us a nights stay at the Hines Mansion in Provo. We left for Jackson Hole the next day and enjoyed the tram, waffles, hiking, horseback riding, and the Bar J Wranglers dinner and a show. On our way home, we stopped in Rexburg to visit with Rachel and Matt and spent the 4th of July lighting fireworks with their cute little family. We attended church with them the following day and drove back to Logan that night. It was so much fun to go on our Honeymoon, but I'm glad we're back and can start our life together. I love Jake so much and being married is great!

Our night at Hines Mansion. Jake, my little cowboy.

Horseback riding!

The ride up the mountain on the Tram and eating waffles!

The view from our hike.

16 days, 7 hours, 10 mins....

Wow Jake and I got a lot accomplished this week. Our goal was to move all Jake's stuff into the apartment and get everything done for the wedding he needed to be a part of before he left for annual army training. I don't think Jake really liked me helping him move because I made him get rid of things he doesn't need or aren't essential to his survival. :-) It was a long process and we're still not quite done. We also took our bridal pictures, and I can't wait to see them!

Jake's mom and sisters threw me a kitchen bridal shower on Saturday. It was so sweet of them and I got so many essential items I really needed. I appreciate all their hard work and feel so welcome in their family. My mom and sisters drove 2 hours to be there as well. It's times like this that you know people really care about you.

Alan and Whitney invited Jake and I over to their house for dinner last Sunday. They are so great! I got to meet Tom and Ornela and think they are the sweetest people. I really love Jake's family and am so glad I get to become a part of it. Jake and I are doing really well and are so excited for June! 30 days!

My family decided to go to our cabin this last weekend for Memorial Day, and Jake and I decided to go with them. It was a blast! I have to brag a little bit here, because Jake is always wanting to show off for me and bragging about it. We have a fooseball table at our cabin, and I slaughtered him! Twice! I would have won him some more, but he got all huffy and said he didn't want to play anymore. We then went shooting clay pigeons and I hit one before Jake. Gloating can be so sweet. He is sitting next to me and telling me how much he doesn't want everyone to know what a poor sport he is. I told him everybody already knows. :-) He did take me rappelling to make up for his poor sportism, and show off to me some more. I have to admit, it was pretty impressive when he jumped off the cliff like a flying monkey. I just love his silly little ways.

I recently had a bridal shower thrown to me by some of my close girlfriends. They asked Jake to come for the last game. I got some...interesting things. He was embarrassed.

We finally have our engagement pictures! Jake was very good natured about the whole thing and allowed me to drag him around the mall looking for a black shirt (which he said he wouldn't ever wear again), and take pictures for an hour and a half. I took him to Tucanos afterwards to reward him for good behavior. Gotta keep these boys happy! These are a few of my favorite pictures.

Check Ride

Jake passed his check ride by the skin of his teeth today. Apparently he got some of the dials or directions mixed up. Luckily he corrected it right at the last second. It was definitely a cause for celebration, so Jake went to Jamba Juice. We only got to enjoy a few sips because he spilled the shakes all over his lap. Good job Jake! 

A few words from Jake:

I only spilled one of them!

I have been ready to take this check ride for the past two months.  However, scheduling conflicts, weather, the stupid FAA, and everything else imaginable combined against me to delay taking it until today.  An F-16 even crashed at Ogden shutting the airport down yesterday and one of the runways today to complicate things.  Besides yesterday, I haven't been able to practice at all in the last two weeks and so I was a little nervous and rusty.  I almost failed on a couple parts but recovered just in the nick of time.  It couldn't have been any closer, twice!  They were stupid little mistakes too that I'd never had trouble with before.  I am one lucky feller.  My check ride examiner was Steve Biggs.  He's missing the middle finger on his right hand and he likes to make jokes about it and play tricks on people (except when he's in the middle of the check ride).  When he found out that I'd just got engaged the week before he said, "NO WONDER YOU HAD A HARD TIME CONCENTRATING!"  Anyway, I'm glad it's finally behind me and I can move on.  Next up:  Commercial Rating.

Jake's Hospitalization

I dragged  Jake to the emergency room the other day because he was hit in the throat during a football game. He didn't feel it was anything significant, but I wanted to make sure there wasn't anything wrong. He really didn't like my worrying or insistence, but I told him to get used to it. :-) When we got there, the nurse made Jake take his shirt off and put on a gown, then proceeded to hook all sorts of tubes and hoses up to him. She even put a breathing tube up his nose! We think she went a little overboard with her precautions...The doctor said everything looked fine and if Jake had any other problems he needed to come back. Other than a sore throat and not being able to make high pitched noises or sing, his throat is healing just fine.

The Proposal

I couldn't have asked for a better proposal! It was so romantic and sweet! Jake put so much thought into it and I love him so much for that! I told him since I already said I'd marry him and we picked out the ring that he'd better make it a proposal I would be proud to share with everyone for the rest of my life. No pressure, right? I felt kind of bad because I really started putting the pressure on Jake to give me my ring about a week after we picked it out. He told me he was going to trick me a few times, just to keep me on my toes and wondering when the ring was actually coming. 

On April Fool's Day I was walking home from a piano practice with my duet partner, and when I tried to enter my apartment, I was shoved back outside and forced to go to the store with my roommate Anamarie. I knew Jake was up to something because I heard him in our kitchen. After an agonizing 30 minutes, we were allowed to come home. Jake was in our kitchen trying to act normal, (which is hard for him to do sometimes :-) and I walked into my room.  I was surprised! There was a bouquet of roses on my bed surrounded by balloons and a letter with a picture of Jake sitting on top of it. I looked all around to see if there was a ring box...but there wasn't. Jake walked in while I was reading his letter and he just hugged me. His letter made me cry! Even though there wasn't a ring, the thought was so sweet.  

Later that night, Jake grabbed my hand and started pulling me out the door. I asked him where we were going, but he wouldn't say anything. We started walking down the sidewalk and Jake handed me the wooden spoon (it's an inside joke) and told me to hold onto it. We walked down to a river and just stood there holding each other for a few minutes. Then Jake got down on one knee, took my hand in his, and said, "I need to tie my shoe." I punched him.

About two weeks later I was really bugging him about getting me my ring, and was trying to find out as much information as I possibly could. He gave me a few hints, and my roommate Anamarie told me he was waiting for the weather. The next day, Friday April 1oth, Jake called me while I was in my piano practice room and told me to answer the phone when he called me back in an hour. When he called me the second time, he told me he was coming to pick me up because he had a surprise for me. Jake picked me up and drove me back to my apartment to get a jacket and some sunglasses, then he blind folded me and we drove to the airport. I wasn't expecting anything out of the ordinary because the day before I had been told I wouldn't be getting proposed to for a little while. I thought Jake was just surprising me by taking me flying, which was very sweet. I did get a little nervous when I found out Jake was flying the plane without his instructor. Talk about putting your life into someone's hands! 

We started flying south, and Jake even let me take the controls for a bit (I wasn't very good). I was surprised when he radioed Provo tower and asked for permission to land at the Spanish Fork airport, which is where I'm from. That was a pleasant surprise. I figured we were just going to take back off again because we had no car to go anywhere with. When we got out of the plane, Jake put the blind fold back on me and led me to a car. We then proceeded to drive around for awhile, and when we stopped, Jake led me up some wooden stairs and sat me on a bench. He was really quiet then, and I thought he just left me sitting there. Jake started reading a few versus out of D&C 132 about becoming an eternal family and becoming Gods and Goddesses together. He paused, then started to cry as he read a part out of his patriarchal blessing about his future wife and family. I, of course, was bawling as he pulled the blind fold off and was down on one knee with the ring and asked, "Will you marry me?" I didn't even look at the ring but said, "Of course!" 

My sister-in-law and my sister had provided us with a picnic, and we enjoyed that together while I admired my ring. It was the best proposal ever! I am so lucky to be marrying such a thoughtful, romantic man! 

Dating and Engagement

I have gotten  a lot of inquiries about the recent development between Jake and my relationship. It has happened all very suddenly, and many people have excitedly demanded "give me the details!" Jake told several of his siblings and family members our story, but I feel men aren't extremely great at detail, so I've decided to share our story from my point of view and with as much detail as possible. Hopefully this will satisfy everyone's curiosity. ;-)

Jake and I have been neighbors since the beginning of the school year (August 2008). It's actually an interesting story how I came to be at Garden Court (my apartment now). Back in March 2008, I was looking for housing for the fall semester and was just going to stay at the place I was currently living (Old Farm). I even paid my deposit and everything! Something didn't feel quite right, however, and I ended up applying for an apartment in Garden Court. I was put on a waiting list and was told it was already full. A few days later I received a call from the manager telling me there was a private room available in Apart. #1. I became roommates with Alli Cope and Anamarie Lamb, and because the three of us were so much fun, Jake started coming over to our apartment and practically took up residence as our 7th roommate. Needless to say we got to know each other very well. (A little too well I think. :-))

Jake tells me that about the beginning of February was when he started liking me. He told me he loved being with all three of us (Alli, Anamarie, and me), but when he came over he wanted me to be there, and he missed me when he wasn't with us. (I thought that was so sweet!) I tend to be a little dense when it comes to noticing boys' advances, and I didn't think anything about Jake staying later to talk to me on our love sac night after night, or asking me to go to his friends house for dinner one Sunday evening, and then to Alan and Whitney's for the next Saturday. Jake said he was showing all kinds of signs that he liked me, and everyone apparently noticed it except me. It should have been obvious to me when he volunteered to accompany my roommates and I to the hotel my parents were staying at for Parent's Day and spend the rest of the night having a "girl's night" party with all of us. 

The following Monday after our dinner date, I received a text message from Anamarie telling me that "boy did she have some news for me about Jake!" and I needed to call her when I got out of class. When I called and talked to her, she said she couldn't tell me what had happened unless Alli said it was alright. I started to panic a little when I called Alli and she responded hesitantly to my inquiry, saying she would talk to me when she got home. "What in the world is going on?!" was the thought racing around my mind. Words cannot really describe my thoughts when, upon returning home for lunch, Alli proceeded to tell me Jake had asked to talk to Anamarie, sat on our living room couch, and told her he was considering dating me, asking her for all sorts of insider information. (The little traitor!)

I was speechless. That was the last thing I was expecting. I had so many thoughts race through my mind. My biggest concern was that I had a missionary out who was coming home in May, and I didn't think it would be fair to date Jake for a few months while I was planning on dating my missionary when he got home. My mind was set on seeing what would happen with my missionary. It's funny how God works, and several things happened the next few days in order for me to have a change of heart. I started really praying to know what I should do, and after Jake and my date to Alan and Whitney's (which was really fun), we went for a drive. We drove around for about an hour looking at cool houses in Logan, and then we stopped to fill up Jake's car with gas. Once the car was filled and we were on our way again, I could tell Jake was nervous about something because he just sat there waiting at a green light. I said, "Uh, Jake it's green. Green means go." and he mumbled, "It's hard to talk and drive at the same time." I just laughed and said, "You weren't even talking!" He was quiet for a minute, then said, "Shannon, I like you, and I want to date you. I'm 25 and not getting any younger, so I'm dating to get married. Anamarie told me you're waiting for a missionary, and I told myself I was never going to date anyone who has a missionary again because I don't want to date someone who already has half their heart given away to someone else. So I need to know how serious you are about your missionary." 

Talk about being upfront and forward! I was stunned. Not so much by the fact we were having this conversation, because Anamarie warned me it was coming, but by the way he did it. There was no beating around the bush at all! It was a this-is-how-it-is-and-I-need-an-answer-now type of a thing. I took a minute to collect my thoughts, pray for guidance, and really think deeply about how I felt. Then I just went with my feeling. I told Jake my missionary and I had been very serious and I was, at the time, waiting for him to come home to see what would happen. I wanted to date my missionary and see where things would go. I also told him I was going with what felt right, and dating Jake right then felt right, but it was up to Jake whether or not he wanted to pursue this relationship knowing what I just told him. I held my breath, hoping he would say we should date, but thinking he probably wouldn't want to take the chance. He took a deep breath and said, "Ok, if we're going to date there are some things you need to know about me being in the military..." While Jake talked and filled me in on the difficulties of being a military man's girlfriend, I felt the most amazing warm feeling fill my chest, and I knew this was right. 

Jake walked me back to my apartment and we both stood there awkwardly because we didn't know how to transition from being friends to dating. After he left, I went into my room and started to panic. What was I doing getting into a relationship right now? Was this the right thing? I prayed really hard to have no doubts about this, and in church the next day sitting next to Jake, I had the most powerful feeling that this was what I needed to be doing. Since we were neighbors we spent almost every hour together, and it was Spring Break that week which was a big plus. We went tubing, snowmobiling, and watched movies, talking until 4:00am (it was ok because he hadn't even kissed me yet) about anything and everything. We got to know each other so much better, and we both feel that without Spring Break, our relationship would be on a lower level than it is right now. He did finally kiss me Tuesday night (which was really Wednesday morning) before I left for home. It was a good thing because I don't know how much longer I could have waited for him to take charge before I kissed him first myself! 

After the week of Spring Break, I knew I needed to make a decision about Jake and my missionary. It wasn't fair to be dating Jake while waiting for my missionary, and I was starting to have some pretty strong feelings for Jake. The Sunday after we started dating, March 15th, I made the decision to see where dating Jake would lead and not date my missionary in May. It was a hard decision, but I felt it was right, and I took off the promise ring my missionary had given me before he left and took down the countdown poster. I prayed for confirmation I was doing the right thing, and felt impressed to say, "I'm going to marry Jake." I immediately felt the same warm, powerful feeling I had before and I knew I was given my answer. Now all I had to do was wait for Jake to feel the same. 

On Monday night I told Jake I took my ring off and was only going to date him. Needless to say he was extremely happy with this turn of events and rewarded me for my decision. ;-) 

I called my mom on Tuesday and told her I was going to marry Jake. She reacted better than I thought she would. She didn't even question my decision. She asked me why I wanted to marry Jake. I started telling her about how great of a leader he was and how nice and smart and handsome....she abruptly cut me off and said, "Shannon, I don't care about all that stuff! Does he make your heart pitter-patter? Do you just want to be with him all the time? You are too logical! Is your heart telling you he is what you want?!" I laughed really hard at that! Leave it to my mom t0 put me in my place. (And yes to all of those questions.)

Jake and I went to the Draper temple dedication on Sunday March 22nd, and while they were showing the bride and sealing rooms, I thought to myself, "I really want Jake to take me there." Later that night Jake and I were talking and I asked him what he was thinking. After a moments hesitation he responded, "If we keep dating like this we're eventually going to get married." I immediately said, "I already know I'm going to marry you." What? Why on earth did I just say that?! It just popped out! Jake sat up and said with a bewildered look, " What did you just say?" I was super embarrassed and didn't want to tell him again, but he demanded it. Jake said he had been thinking about marrying me but didn't want to scare me away because we had only been dating for 2 weeks. He also told me that during the temple dedication while they were showing the sealing room he had the thought that he wanted to take me there. Coincidence? I don't think so. I asked him if he really wanted to marry me, and I absolutely loved his response! He said, "I have never wanted anything so bad in my life." 

We went ring shopping the following Wednesday, and I already knew what I wanted because I had gone by myself the day before. I was just so excited I could hardly stand it! We picked out the ring and I told Jake he had better propose to me in an amazing way because I would have to tell everyone this remarkable proposal story for the rest of my life. He got the hint. :-) I called the temple and scheduled the day and time, and Jake came and asked my dad if he could marry me. My dad was beaming about Jake the rest of the weekend. My parents definitely approved. Everything was set, all I was waiting for was the ring...