The Engagement

He did it!! And here I finally am posting the story on my blog....

The date was Wednesday, April 22, 2009. The entire day had been gorgeous and, since I knew it was coming (I'd gotten work off for it, for goodness sakes), the butterflies in my stomach had been soaring since I had awoken that morning. But it finally came... six o'clock. And then, true to Parker Standard Time, it passed. Shortly thereafter though, Parker came to my door with a dozen of the most beautiful roses I have ever seen. Being that I'm a sucker for flowers-- any flowers-- this was certainly a good move.

Where are we going Parker? Don't worry about it? Where are we going Parker? No answer.

I didn't figure it out until we were nearly there, but, eventually, we made it to The Little America. Nice for two reasons: it's a fancy, expensive restaraunt and, more importantly, it's where the Eagle Condor Service Banquet was the first night Parker and I were introduced (Thanks Sara and Taylor!)

After I could eat no more and Parker had weirded the waiter out with his serenading skills, we headed up above the capitol to one of Parker's favorite views in the city. With just a short walk up a hill, you're overlooking both sides of the valley and it reallly is gorgeous. So there we were, enjoying the setting sun on our University of Utah blanket when....

INTRUDERS! INTRUDERS! Another couple decided this really was the best view in town and, although it might have been expected they would leave when they saw the seats were already taken, they didn't. They simply decided to face the other way. Any other night this would still be funny, but I was waiting for a proposal here! Fortunately for us, they only stayed for ten minutes or so.

After they left we still had a few more minutes to watch the sun set and the city rise. Then Parker pulled it out....

His guitar. And, since we already established he was so good at serenading, began to serenade me:

Someday somebody's gonna ask you

A question that you should say yes to

Once in your life

Maybe tonight, I've got a question for you

("The Question" by Rhett Miller)

And then, he put his guitar away and pulled out a little black box. Got down on his knee (this is when my heart was sprinting). "Laci, will you marry me?"

YES!

I didn't even let him get off his knee. I just jumped on him-- barely even glanced at the ring on my way into the hug. Came to find out later though, it was absolutely stunning. (Sidenote: Parker and I had been shopping so he'd known what kind of things I liked, but he designed it by himself. Which I also love.) I couldn't stop smiling!

We finally made it to my house to announce the news to my family and called a couple other friends. Now we just wait....

July 22, 2009 can't come soon enough! I love you Parker!

Life is Good

Although posting is CLEARLY my forte, I do have some updating to do. Where to start? Hmm.... Christmas was wonderful! The break was so nice and I loved spending so much time with family and some of my best friends! My parents asked us to do service this year as part of their gift so I was able to read Christmas picture books at the Rest Home and that was so fun. You can never escape that place without lots of great stories. Christmas was also nice- we had the Naylor traditional Christmas Eve party (Santa came this year!) and then all my siblings and I slept downstairs in our new PJ bottoms and the hoodies Mike and Hayley made. Dad's trap was creative, but nothing we couldn't handle-- the fog machine, black lights, and motion detectors were neat, but a cinch to break through. Of course we all needed naps the next day after Mom's amazing breakfast, but it was the perfect day for it. I ended up watching August Rush that night and who doesn't love that? I did.

Naylor Family Christmas Eve Party

My Family with our Holiday get up and our Zoolander Faces

New Year's was great too. Although our house stunk like seafood for days, Dad's "Fisherman Stew" was fun. I always love having so many friends and neighbors over for that. Parker and I had plans with some of his friends that night, but first we went to Mike and Hayley's with Matt and Kaylin to dominate the boys in Family Feud. Then Parker and I went to Jami's house for more games and the first half of "Dark Knight" before midnight came-- it was all a fun way to ring in the New Year!

Now I'm back in school- taking less hours this semester than last, which I hope will be nice, but my classes seem to be more demanding and that still puts me at school from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm on Tuesdays. I'm sure I'll be fine though. Actually, this past weekend, even with school, work, church, and Parker, I've felt like I've had a lot of time-- so that's nice. Apart from my life, my friends' weddings seem to be a huge emphasis currently. Rebecca's wedding (January 2, 2009) was so fun and perfect for her. I'm a bridesmaid for both Sara Whipperman soon-to-be Davis (March 12) and Ashton Monson soon-to-be Jensen (May 8). And I'm so excited for them both! It's interesting to see the differences in the bride stress level because Sara's wedding has been more rushed while Ashton has been engaged forever already, but, regardless of stressors, they're both very happy. I also have my suspicions (confirmed or otherwise) about my brother. But we'll leave it at that for now.

Life is good- really good.

1, 2, 3... Change!

I wrote this last week after the elections finished and headlines about the new President were everywhere. I considered sending it as a letter to the editor, but decided against that. I didn't know what to do with it- even though I wanted to do something- so here I am, posting it on my blog. It's just my take on the racial impact, I guess, of the election.


No, Barack Obama didn't win my vote, but that doesn't mean I wasn't considering him for a time. During the primary election I probably would have even voted for him over John McCain. (Oh, what would my parents think if they only knew that?!) Like many other voters though, I am more conservative that either candidate was.

Regardless of who I voted for or my political views, I do think the hype about the race thing is blown out of proportion. Yes, absolutely it is historically significant and motivating that the United States of America has finally elected our first black President. One day, one election, one man however, does not mean that suddenly the world as we know it has changed and we have overcome racism. The accomplishment does not lie in the fact that a black man was elected; he (and other African Americans) were on the ballot. Doesn't that immense success count for something? It certainly should.

To say that after one election racism has been defeated is absurd. Obama himself said his victory is not the change- it is the chance for change. What wise words those were. When there's a chance for something, it means there's a chance for something else too. A chance for increased division and discrimination with the increased focus in regards to race, perhaps? Don't get me wrong, I want there to be equal opportunity for men and women of every race. But I do not want the color of their skin-- black, white, brown, yellow, green, or purple-- to be the emphasis.

The next President of the United States is more than just a black man- he is a human being. Nothings "changed." Time will tell if it does.

Fall Updates

So I haven't blogged in eons. Sometimes it's hard to think big, exciting things are happening when you're just going to school, working too much, living at home.... but things actually do happen when I think about it. If not to me, to people close to me at least.

The following is a list of EXCITING, BIG things that have happened as of late:

• The week before Fall Break I had four tests (and several papers, but thats a trivial detail).... the good news though? I aced them all! Wahoo.
• I FINALLY bought a car. I drove my '98 Mazda Millenia S home last week. Classy, right? The car had great reviews for older cars though and I paid cash so that was nice. Unfortunately the check engine light came on the other day so I'll have to look into that, but for now it still drives!
• Andrew's soccer team won Regionals so they get to play Nationals (AGAIN) in California this summer. My Dad wants me to audition for Disneyland next summer so they can have just one big trip. Views?
• Andrew also has his Court of Honor tonight! It's about freakin time. Good job Mom.
• Adam turned eight on October 19th so he's getting baptized on Saturday, November 1st. My mom asked him who he wanted to baptize him and he said he didn't know because he has soo many choices. I guess with a Dad and four older brothers who could all do it, its gotta be pretty tough. He's excited though
• My amazing, beautiful, hilarious, love-her-to-bits-and-pieces cousin Rebecca Naylor called me the other day and left a great message. "you are so beaut-a-ful to meeeeeeee. Helllloo there! Okay you are weyrd. Well La-ci! I was just calling to catch up on things, see how your life is, hows school, what job you got, how's your house, any boys, no boys? Girls rock. So, umm... I'm engaged. Uh, call me back. Okay, bye" Rather anticlimatic for such big news. I seriously screamed when I listened to her message. She's getting married January 2nd and I'm so happy for her. Strange my little cousin is getting married, but even when we were little people thought she was older. She's always been taller. She'll be the most incredible wife out there. Dallin Homer is a lucky man.
• My best friend, Sara, is doing a study abroad in England this semester so, without long distant cell phones, we've become master emailers. But the other day her boyfriend, Taylor called and let me borrow his mac so I could talk to her face-to-face (kinda) via ichat. Thanks Taylor! It was good to see her cute face and hear the tone of voice in the conversation.
• Just this very day I gained an appreciation for the Singles Ward. I went to my family ward Primary program today (which was excellent), but I don't think I've visited that ward without at least one person, usually more, asking me if I'm dating anyone seriously and wanting to line me up. Which, you know, is fine and everything... but ugh. I'm glad it's not like that at the Singles Ward because we are all in the same boat, more or less.

Alright, that list kind of strayed. So maybe its more just a list of things I've thought about lately. Or something. I don't know. It's just a list of Fall updates. By the way, I love Fall! There's little better than Fall. With good friends. And Canyons. Love Utah.

a Dream is a Wish your Heart makes...

Well it's certainly not much, but at least for now, a few pictures are better than nothing.... The sitting down one is in the beautiful Castle Suite. And yes, it really is quite elegant, but the toilet happens to be more time appropriate for Cinderella. I was amused-- a reflection on my age, no doubt-- so I had to take a picture on it. The other ones are just pictures of playing. A cute guest who did her hair "just like I do my hair sometimes in the morning." I wonder if her bird friends helped her do it. I'm certian her Fairy God Mother made her orange dress though because it is the very color of my pumpkin carriage. I think it's completely wonderful. The pictures with Ariel, Belle, and Princess Aurora were just some of my cute friends in Florida. I know I've said it before, but sometimes it really does feel like just a dream.....

just a dream

Can summer be gone before it's even started? Apparently so. Well I made it home from Florida in no time flat with Becca-- and no, we didn't speed (too much), we just drove basically non stop for days on end. Perhaps the first night when we couldn't find a hotel room in the middle of the night we weren't the happiest, but other than that it really was great. I adore her.

It's been good to be home... really good. But it makes everything seem so weird. Kind of like my summer of adventure never really happened and perhaps I just imagined it because not much changed. At the same time, so much changed. I have friends getting married left and right (or so it seems) and I couldn't be more excited for them, but it solidifies the changes life brings. And, lets be honest, some part of me is jealous. Just because they don't have to date anymore. Ugh. Oh well, that is an adventure to enjoy all on it's own, I suppose.

I've stayed busy at home playing with Matt, car shopping, dominating job interviews, and hiking (sort of). I train Monday-Wednesday to be a Peer Advisor at the U and Thursday-Saturday to be a Abnormal Behavior Analysis (ABA) Instructor. Then, all of the sudden, school starts again... so here I am, back in real life. When push comes to shove, though, not even playing the part in a Fairy Tale can beat home sweet home.

Down to the Wire

Oh, my goodness.... the countdown is on. I can't believe my time at Florida is almost coming to an end. Granted I still have a few weeks until I actually get home, but this upcoming week is my last real week here. My family gets here a week from tomorrow (Yay!! It'll be the first time we've all been together ever!) so I figure I'll basically go on vaca to FL that week... even though I will be working a few days still. Then, in two weeks, I start driving home with my amazing, hilarious, crazy-as-me cousin, Becca. (What are our parents thinking?)

And as holds true for most things, the end always seems to make me reflect on the experience.

What an experience it has been! I know I've been really bad at blogging (I totally warned I would be), but I really have loved it. I've learned a lot and grown more into the woman I want to be ultimately. I've simultaneously met friends who I will truly miss and created moments I won't forget.

Some of the most memorable in the past week or two include the 3 year old little girl who had to forfeit her ziplock baggy of pacifiers over to Cinderella so she could be a true Princess. The lessons were short, but she also learned to twirl and curtsey quite nicely. (My mom liked this moment lots too since I had a fettish for binkies myself... it was rare I didn't have three in my mouth at one time- or so my mom says.) Also memorable was that guy who grabbed me because he needed a kissing picture with a Princess. Of course I pulled away and referenced Prince Charming, but that was the first time anybody had actually grabbed me. Of course there's other moments- like the note from the Princess so grateful for the balloons I put in her room before I invited her to dinner (parents are great), and Victoria who spoke Spanish to all my Princess friends 100 mph, and didn't mind at all that we were replying in English, and Bailey from Scotland.... oh Bailey. Bailey is the sweetest boy ever and seriously the biggest Disney fan alive. His family comes from Scotland every year for six weeks so he can go through the Character lines over and over again. And he is so thankful to his parents- it's amazing. One day his hair was spikey so he ran up to me explaining, "CindaRAILa, yo Ugh-ly STEPsistas, AnaSTAJa and Druzella said I should BASH me HEAD inta ya! (laughing hysterically) They're soo fonny! They CRACK me up!! (continued laughing)" He really is a sweetheart. The other night, Princess Aurora said something along the lines of how he needs to come back in ten years and work for Disney (he could be a Prince-- he is very handsome) and he got soo excited and said, "Then I could GO thru the Princess Line EV'RY day!"

Anyway... thats long enough for now. Mostly the point of this is that I really have loved being at Walt Disney World. Chances are slim I'll come back because it's not too practical (though I did audition and get fitted for a new Disney friend named Rosetta-- check her out online-- and that would be awesome to experience), but either way, this summer has been a good opportunity. Now I'm eager to get back home to my family and friends who I love and miss so much and to start the next of life's adventures!