J a n u a r y
In January, our upcoming wedding was on our minds! Lisa ordered Thomas' ring and it came in the mail during January. We also began a Social Dance class at BYU together.
F e b r u a r y
In February, we celebrated Valentine's Day with a nice dinner at PF Chang's the day before and a visit to Grandma Bradshaw the day of. Thomas got Lisa a bouquet of Peruvian Lilies. Lisa began a full-time job at Backstage Library Works assigning Library of Congress call numbers to records of books. We signed the contract for our apartment.
M a r c h
A p r i l
In April, we returned from our honeymoon and moved in to our apartment together! We spent the first Sunday of April in Salt Lake for General Conference with some friends and family. Lisa's maternal grandmother passed away. We were called as Sunday School teachers in our new ward.
M a y
In May, Lisa's dad was in town. We spent some time with him. Lisa's cat, Peekaboo, passed away in California. At the end of the month, we drove to California for Morgan's graduation from high school. We met up with Elizabeth & Saki's family while there, too.
J u n e
In June, we finally finished all of our thank you cards and sent them out. It was quite an undertaking! We began the "Backstage 100," a fitness competition held by Lisa's employer, giving us 100 days to walk as many miles as we could to win prizes. Lisa got to travel to Saint George for her friend Shiloa's temple wedding, with her mom & sister, who traveled out for that purpose. Robert & Camille's family visited us as well, and we got to go to a baseball game with Thomas' friend Katey and her husband Ashton. Lisa's job responsibilities changed, and she was trained to catalog books, which she has been doing ever since.
J u l y
July was a very fun month. We celebrated Independence Day with Camille's family, as well as attending the Freedom Festival festivities a few blocks away. We watched the annual parade from (basically) our front lawn with some of our friends. We attended several temples. For Pioneer Day, we went on our first hiking/camping trip together down south at Nebo Loop.
A u g u s t
In August, we hiked the Y, got new glasses, and attended a party hosted by Lisa's employer. Thomas went to his friend América's temple wedding. We had a visit from Thomas' dad. Our neighbors moved to France. Lisa got a new computer.
S e p t e m b e r
In September, we both went back to school full-time, as well as continued working part-time at our jobs. Labor Day was the end of the "Backstage 100." Lisa finished at a little over 151 miles, and Thomas at 163.1 miles! The Poppletons had us over for dinner and Lisa hosted a "girls' night in" for the General Relief Society Broadcast.
O c t o b e r
In October, we watched General Conference together. We had the Grigsbys over for dinner. We went on a field trip together to Rock Canyon for one of Lisa's classes. We went on a shopping date, we helped some friends in our ward move, and we carved pumpkins.
N o v e m b e r
In November, we celebrated one year since our engagement. We went to some concerts. We experienced a small but meaningful miracle in our temple attendance. For Thanksgiving, we flew to Florida to spend time with Thomas' parents and his brother's family. We walked on the beach but had to avoid Portuguese Man-o-Wars! We were glad to spend time with family.
D e c e m b e r
In December, Thomas surprised Lisa by bringing home and setting up a Christmas tree while she was at work. We attended the First Presidency Christmas Devotional and had a Reese's Peanut Butter Cake for Thomas' birthday. Lisa cut her hair and donated ten inches to Locks of Love. We went to a concert at the Provo Tabernacle. A few days later, the Provo Tabernacle burned down. We finished (and passed) all of our classes, even surviving finals week! We went to the Bradshaw family Christmas party. We had the Childs over for dinner, and then left the next day to drive to California. We visited Elizabeth and Saki's family and then headed to Lisa's parents' house. We visited some friends and family and celebrated Christmas there. Thomas got Lisa another bouquet of Peruvian Lilies for New Years' Eve!
***
Overall, it's been a great year! We've been very blessed in countless ways. We are so grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives, and especially for the blessings of the temple. It is a great comfort and empowerment to know that we are sealed for eternity if we live righteously. We have a bright hope for the future and find joy in planning together!
