Sunday, July 31, 2011

Date Night

Last night we went on a date with Nathan's sister and husband. We love hanging out with them, they are such a fun couple! We're sure gonna miss them when we leave Chicago :( First we went to Red Lobster and I had crab legs for the first time ever, so delicious but so messy! After dinner we saw the movie Crazy Stupid Love. I loved it! Has a few awkward parts but overall the moral is good. 


Friday, July 29, 2011

best friend

Besides Nathan my best friend is my little sister Morgan. I am about seventh on Morgan's long list of best friends. I guess she's popular. Morgan is so cool. And if you do not know her you are missing out. She is really funny. We always have a good time together. No one really gets "us". I am glad she is my little sister and best friend.






Rod Kimble: [bowing, in a high pitched sing-song voice] Ancestors protect me.
Kevin Powell: [bows back and sings in a high pitched voice] May they protect you.

Rod Kimble: [bowing, sings] Gods of War.
Kevin Powell: [bows back, sings] May your hammer be mighty.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

The Guzy Visit

 Cubs Game

 Art Institute

The Bean 

 Fountains at Millennium Park

Czech and Slovak Grocery store and we ate at a yummy Czech Restaurant

Shedd Aquarium
(the one on the bottom right is a fish!!)

Sears Tower

 Lincoln Park Zoo

Bowling!

Such a fun trip and we miss Holli and Ian!!

Monday, July 18, 2011

Our Story

A lot of people don't know our story. And let me tell you, our story is a good, weird, crazy story. It all started a little over four years ago (crazy, I can't believe he has been in my life for four years!). My older sister Emily was a freshman at BYU and I was a junior in high school. Emily and Nathan were real good friends, I guess you could even say best friends. It was towards the end of the school year and one day I called Emily. Emily was with Nathan and she put him on the phone with me. We were talking and he told me he would be leaving for a mission soon. I (I swear it was him, but nathan says it was me) then asked him if I could write him on his mission. Of course I thought that would be SO cool writing a missionary when I was only a little high schooler. So Nathan leaves on his mission and we begin to write. It wasn't anything crazy, just a letter here and there, about every month or every other month. We'd always joke about dating and getting married when he'd get home. Then towards the end of his mission we started writing weekly.  I was seriously falling for this guy I had never even met! So Nathan came home to Chicago in June of 2009 and I was out at BYU. We would talk on the phone EVERY DAY. I seriously think we only missed two maybe three days. I remember our first phone call and it lasted two hours.  Towards the end of the summer we thought we should try skyping. I was so so nervous to skype him.  But it was successful and he was even cuter than his facebook pictures ;) Nathan then came out to Provo in August and we would hang out and go on dates a lot.

Halloween 09, we won the tri-stake costume contest!

I did not want a serious boyfriend that fall semester but we were still with each other non stop.  I knew the day I would start dating him steady we would get serious pretty fast. We both went home for Christmas break and I realized how much I missed him. As soon as we got back to school in the beginning of January we went steady, even facebook official :) Oh yeah, we even said I love you to each other even before we were official, that was December 8. Things were progressing fast as I predicted. We seriously spent every waking moment together.

 March '10, meeting the Waldrom Gang in Phoenix

June '10, meeting the Van De Graaff Gang in Chicago

July '10, Disneyland with our siblings Stefan and Morgan

And then it happened, we got engaged in September of 2010. But let me tell you the story behind our engagement. So we had gone ring shopping and I knew it was going to be coming soon. But time kept going by and Nathan says they were having some complications with the ring. He felt bad about them taking so long so he took me to Melting Pot. I had a little suspicion he was just trying to trick me so I went along with it. At the restraunt he told me he had a surprise for me, in walks Stefan (his brother lived about 5 minutes from the place) and that was my surprise... So after dinner we went on a carriage ride around temple square. I was sure he was going to propose there. But he didn't... So he drove me home and dropped me off. I couldn't believe it! I was venting to my roommate that he had spent all this money tonight and didn't propose! I even started to cry a little... I know pathetic. I texted Nathan and said "I really thought you were gonna propose tonight." He said, "Can we talk?" I started to freak out, I thought it was something bad. So he pulls up to my apartment and picks me up. I start crying even more because I wasn't sure what was going to happen! He takes me to the park where we always go and talk (and it's where we had our first kiss). And he hands me a card. I told him my eyes were too blurry from crying and asked him to read it to me. It said "Ali you are my baby. You are my sweetheart. You are my milenka. You are my birdie. You are my best friend. Will you be my wife?" I started crying happy tears then! He got on one knee and pulled out the ring. 



So here we are now married. I could not ask for anything else in life.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Friday

This is Henry. I love Henry. Henry is three years old. I nanny Henry every morning for four hours. We love playing with transformers, building towers, playing with play doh and going to the park.

The many faces of Henry

 After dinner with the family last night we went on a walk to Baskin Robins.



And earlier that day Claire, Rivka and I went to the Skokie Lagoons and canoed! It was so beautiful and so green.



Look at the mama duck and baby ducks!

And I bought this beauty at a sidewalk sale for two dollars!!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Outdoors

I love being outside. Chicagos weather is crazy though with all these tornado warnings and 50 mph winds. But today was a lovely day. The Van De Graaffs have this awesome little bike that can pull babies around! Can't you imagine Nathan pulling baby Stefan on this thing??




And today Leah learned how to walk for real!! Go Leah!!

Monday, July 11, 2011

Cheesecake Factory

A little bit over due but Nathan's parents took Dani and I out to the Cheescake Factory for dinner tonight!! We love that place. And the menu is basically a novel. Boy do I love my in laws :)
Cutie Leah on the drive

 Leah and her Uncle at the toy store while we waited for our table

 How'd you get in there?! ;)

 Claire and her new puppy named Bee Bee

 My hunny and I

Claire and her beautiful mom Dani

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Zoo



 "I hate snakes." Name that movie.


 HOW CUTE IS THAT FOX?!




This kangaroo is striking a pose for me.