Merry Christmas!

I always enjoy reading my friends' Christmas letters and though it's too late to mail out letters, I thought I would share ours on the blog.  To all of our friends and family reading, we love you, we're thankful for you, and wish you the very best Christmas wishes.

2012 has been a wonderful year for us.  Daniel and I met at the beginning of the year in our singles ward in Ogden.  I was living with my brother up there on the weekends and Daniel had just moved home to save money for graduate school. 

This past summer was a great one.  We got engaged and we ran our first marathon together (Daniel's first marathon ever).  We also spent lots of time with family, watching Monk (the T.V. Series), enjoying the outdoors, and visiting the temple. 

In August, Daniel started his first year of a Ph.D. program in clinical psychology at the University of Utah and he is well on his way to achieving his dreams.

In October, we experienced the best day of our lives as we were married for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake Temple.  We honeymooned in Florida and have settled in Holladay, Utah.

I have been working at Pearson Butler for about 10 months now and it has been going really well.  I like this lawyer job better than the two previous jobs and it is a great environment to work in.  I manage my own caseload and am still specializing in bankruptcy.  I am also starting to branch out into estate planning, probate, guardianships, and social security disability (elder law in a nutshell). 

A couple of weeks ago, Daniel and I were called as team primary teachers at our church and we are excited to serve together and teach little children.

On December , 2012, we had the opportunity to go to the Conference Center in Salt Lake City and see the First Presidency Christmas Devotional of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  This was a wonderful event and the words of President Thomas S. Monson have stayed with me:

"Christmas isn't just tinsel and ribbon, unless we have made it so in our lives. Christmas is the spirit of giving without a thought of getting.  It is happiness because we see joy in people.  It is forgetting self and finding time for others.  It is discarding the meaningless and stressing the true values.  It is peace because we have found peace in the Savior's teachings.  It is the time we realize most deeply that the more love is expended, the more there is of it for others."

We hope that you will feel the true spirit of Christmas and enjoy this beautiful season.  Merry Christmas!

Love,

The Brides



Our first Christmas tree

The Thankful Tree

Daniel and I have been starting some fun traditions in our family and this is one of them.

Every day for the month of November, we added a leaf to our tree and both listed one thing we are thankful for on the leaf.  It was a great way to feel the spirit of Thanksgiving!

 

(PS - Yes, those may or may not be stockings next to our thankful tree.  Christmas began immediately the day after Thanksgiving in our house). 

The Big Day! (October 5, 2012)

I am overwhelmed at the thought of even writing about this day.  In short, it was the best day of my life.... One completely perfect day.

I hope to someday have the time and energy to write about this amazing day, but in the meantime here are some photos of some of our sweet moments caught on camera:

Just Another Day at the Firm

Overheard at the office:

Special Moment #1
Madi (my assistant): I am sooooooooo sick of the IRS!  They keep claiming they never get anything I send them!
Me:  I know, but what can we do?
Madi: Throw rocks at them.
Me:  But then they'll claim they never received the rocks we sent them.

Special Moment #2
Len (my boss):  Hello (insert client name here).  I am calling because....
Client: click click click
Len:  What's that?
Client: click click
(later in a chat with Madi and Kylie)
Len: There's something different about that guy.
Kylie:  Yes Len.  He's Black.

In other news, I looked in the main conference room today and this is what I saw staring back at me:

The best part was that his owner said absolutely nothing about it, like it was the most normal thing in the world to bring a massive dog to an appointment with his lawyer.

Details Details

We had our engagement photos taken this week and they turned out great!  Head on over to Crystal's blog to check out the sneak peak: http://www.envisionimage.blogspot.com/2012/08/daniel-and-maryanns-engagement-sneak.html.

And just to update you on details, we have an official date!  We will be getting married on October 5, 2012 in the Salt Lake Temple.  We have decided not to have a reception and to just have a small dinner after the ceremony with our families and a few close friends.  Surprisingly (at least surprisingly to me) I feel like this has turned out to be a bit of an appalling thing to some people.  I guess it makes sense because we're living in a culture where everyone invites everyone they have ever met to their wedding reception. We hope no one will be offended and everyone will understand our desire to have a small wedding.  I will post pictures though!

Lastly, since the blog is now about "our story" rather than "my story" I thought I should change the blog name to something other than "Maryannland."  Any suggestions?  The blog address will not be changing.

Engaged!

I know this is slightly outdated, but Ru Ru took these photos just after Daniel asked me to marry him and I thought they should make it onto the blog. 



This is the actual spot where Daniel proposed.

Bride Family Cotillion

Every summer, Daniel's family hosts a formal dance in their backyard.  I think it's such a great tradition!  

My friend, Kate, is the head of the Cinderella Project in the Salt Lake Valley.  The Cinderella Project is a non-profit that lends formal dresses to low-income girls to allow them the opportunity to attend prom.  Kate told me that she would be happy to let me wear one of the Cinderella Project dresses and that there were a ton of them in her office.  When I showed up, I realized there was a whopping one dress that had sleeves, so this is what I ended up with.

It's really something isn't it?  One of the little girls at this dance actually thought I was a real princess!  



As a side note, the Cinderella Project NEEDS more dresses, especially dresses that are modest and bigger sizes.  If you have dresses that you would like to donate, please let me know and I can put you in touch with Kate or you can give them to me and I'll make sure Kate gets them. 

 

Here we are with Daniel's three sisters (Helen, Abby, and Maria), and his brother-in-law (Scott).

Here's all of my sibllings minus Launce.  

I'm so in love with this man!

Daniel's parent's (Terrence and Lucy).  I think they are so cute!

And, here's a few more pictures just for fun.

Oh Say Can You See?

So last night I went to the Days of '47 Rodeo in Ogden with the sibs.  My brother, Jason, and I got there just in time to hear the national anthem.  I put my hand over my heart and turned toward the flag.  My brother, on the other hand, put his hand over his heart and turned toward a completely different direction.  I looked over to see what he was facing and saw something that looked almost exactly like this:

Haha.  Gotta love that kid!

Danny B's Big Proposal Adventure, Starring Ru Ru

My dear friend Amy Lou pointed out to me that I left out a big part of the story.  Amy said " One thing your blog post didn't answer...how did the journal get on the bench?"  Well I forgot to mention that Daniel coordinated the big even with his roommate, Andrew, who we call Ru Ru.  Ru Ru was nice enough to accomodate the change of scenary from Salt Lake to Bountiful (depsite spending hours ahead of time with Daniel picking the perfect spot in Salt Lake) and wait for nearly an hour for us to finally exit the temple. Ru Ru also filmed the whole event and below is the video for all to see.  Thank you Ru Ru!

Soon to Be a Bride!

On June 30, 2012, Mr. Daniel Lyons Bride asked me to marry him and I said yes!  That morning Daniel and I had plans to run (we are training for a marathon after all), but I realized a little too late that I forgot my running clothes in Ogden.  Instead, we went to the Original Pancake House for a delicious breakfast, ran some errands, and then got back on schedule to go to an afternoon session at the Salt Lake Temple.

When we arrived at the temple, We saw big yellow signs outside the parking garage saying that the temple was closed.  I pulled up next to Daniel (we were in separate cars because we drove separately to Salt Lake for work and were both headed home to Ogden after), and suggested we go to Bountiful instead.  Daniel looked a little stresed out and he hesitated a little, but then he agreed it would be the best idea.  He seemed a little weird, but I just figured he was tired since we both had not been getting much sleep lately.

After our session at the Bountiful Temple, I suggested that we take a picture together because my friends at work have been asking to see pictures of my boyfriend but I didn't really have any!  Daniel liked the idea but suggested that we head to the East side of the temple - right where there was a huge wedding crowd.  That sounded like a crazy idea to me, so I tried to convince him to go to the other side.  He said "Do you trust me?" and asked me to follow.  At this point, I finally got suspicious. 

He led me through the crowd to a bench in a quiet corner in back of the temple.  On the bench we found a journal.  Daniel said "Hey! That looks just like your journal! Maybe it's yours."  I agreed.  It did look like my journal, but I told him that it was definitely not my journal because mine looked a little more beat up than that one.  He picked it up and said, "Well, let's just see," and began turning pages. 

On the first page, I saw this:

Daniel said "That looks an awful lot like me!  This must be your journal!"  I had to laugh.  This picture represents the day we met.  We met at a church activity where a bunch of eligible bachelors shared their opinions and theories on dating.  I remember that I was impressed that he said he didn't need anymore friends that are girls and that he was dating to find the girl he wanted to marry.  I liked that he said this because I felt like he was saying that he knew what he wanted out of life.  He seemed like someone who would be committed and loyal.  The next picture was this:

This picture represents our first date.  We went snowshoeing near Snow Basin, and we got a little lost.  Daniel was so sweet while I was tripping all over myself and so easy to talk to and so funny!  I really enjoyed his company.  The next picture was this:



 One day Daniel and I went on a 30-mile bike ride to the Brigham City Temple.  We sat on the grass across the street from the temple and engaged in a DTR (that's Determine the Relationship for those who aren't up on the hip vocab).  We decided we wanted to date exclusively.

  This picture represents our first kiss.  Yes, it was really that awkward. :)

 This picture represents the first time Daniel told me he loved me.  We went for a moonlit walk in the neighborhood and Daniel told a funny story and ended by telling me he loved me.  As I kissed him and told him that I loved him too, we heard this strange Native American drum music coming from somebody's house.  Now, we joke that it is our song!

Daniel flipped to this final picture.  You can't tell from the jpeg, but it was actually a pop up!  Amazing.  And you'll notice that that is the Salt Lake Temple in the background, not the Bountiful.  Poor Daniel, that's why he was sweating bullets.  Daniel got down on one knee and said something along the lines of "This is the next page in the story of our lives.  Will you marry me?"  I think I said "YES!!!" before he even finished speaking. 

I am sooooooo excited to marry my best friend!

Running Running Running

I feel like I write about running a lot, but it's probably because it's one of the most exciting things I do. I love running with the fam. It's been a fun experience, because I don't think any of us considered ourselves to be "runners" four years ago. It's also been a growing and bonding experience for all of us.

On Memorial Day, we ran another family race - The Memorial Day Classic Half Marathon and 5k in Syracuse, Utah.  If you're ever considering a race in Utah, I highly recommend any race sponsored by Striders!  These races always seem to be well supported and fun.  The trail was beautiful and I got to run with some of my favorite people.

Me, Jay, Pop, Casey, and Becca

My favorite running buddy, Daniel Bride, and his family also ran the race.  Here's his cute family.

Daniel, Maria (sister), Terrence (dad), and Lucy (mom)

Daniel was a sweetheart and ran with me and Pop the whole way, despite his superior running ability.  Here we are crossing the finish line.

Running pictures are almost never flattering, but I think he looks pretty great. 

The next big race is the Morgan Valley Marathon on July 28, 2012.  Yep, the full blown thing!  Last year after my first marathon, I said that I'd never do it again.  It was sooo painful.  Apparently I have forgotten all about that because Daniel talked me into doing another one and I'm actually pretty excited about it.  Marathon pictures and recap to come.... as long as I don't die! :)

Half Marathon x 2

While we were in Las Vegas, we ran a family race. It's becoming a regular thing we do when we go to Las Vegas. This one turned out pretty great. Pop and I ran the Laughlin Half Marathon and the rest of the crew ran the 5k.

Pop dragged me along the whole way and ended up finishing 10th in his division. I finished 5th in my division. Launce finished 4th in his division. Becca finished 5th in her division. Casey finished 3rd in his division. And Jason finished 1st in his division. Both Casey and Jason got finishers medals.

(Running the Laughlin Half, along the Colorado River)

I had a hard time during this race. It was hot, the scenery was stagnant, and it turned out to be a completely flat trail run (rather than road) which made it tougher. We ended up finishing in 2:29:38.2.

After the run, we started joking about doing another race the next weekend. Before we knew it, our joke became serious and Pop decided to drive to Utah on a whim. "Why not," he said. "I'm retired!"

So, we found this pretty awesome race hosted by Striders in Eden, Utah. This half marathon is part of their winter training circuit and ended up being the best race I have ever run in my entire life! When we started running the temperature was a little colder than I expected at 18 degrees, but by the finish time it was around 46. I didn't mind the cold once we got going. In fact, I prefer it. The scenery was soooo beautiful! We saw creeks, horses, cows, sheep, ponies, old barn houses, trees, mountains... sigh, loved it.

I also loved that Striders provided ice cold Gatorade and Blueberry Pomegranate Gu Chomps (my favorite energy booster) along the way. At the end of the race Roosters and Union Grill (my two fave Ogden restaurants) served us breakfast. It was also one of the best breakfasts I ever had in my life (scrambled eggs with mild jalapeno peppers and homemade salsa, fresh baked muffins, orange juice, fruit, and yogurt).

The best part of all is that we got a new PR! We blew our previous time out of the water at 2:16:47.4.

Into the Wild Blue Yonder

This past weekend, I headed to Las Vegas to see my dad retire after 26 years of dedicated service in the United States Air Force.

I had never been to a military retirement ceremony before, so I had no idea what to expect. It was pretty neat. It began sort of like a wedding processional. We (as the family and guest of honor) were asked to wait in a separate room while everyone else got ready. My mom lead the pack, then me, then each brother in descending order (oldest to youngest). My mom and I were escorted by a couple of really cute Airmen (this was my favorite part, ha!).

(Here's a picture of me and my escort that my brother snapped on the way out.)

We were taken to Pop's hanger. Our seats were labeled with our names and relation, in the front row of a sea of about 85 people.

Once we were in our seats, they asked each of us to stand to welcome the guest of honor. Pop was the last to march in right after his commander.

When we were all in our places, a member of Pop's fighter wing sang the national anthem, and the wing chaplain gave an invocation. Then we were seated and Pop's commander gave a history of Pop's career including his promotions, achievements, accomplishments, and individual stories about how he personally affected others' lives. Needless to say, this was a long one but it was still interesting to hear all that he had done with his career.

Every time Pop would get a new assignment, it would come in the form of "orders." After the history, one of Pop's colleagues who had worked with Pop on multiple bases, read his retirement orders. I could see Pop getting a little emotional about this time, receiving his last assignment. I know this is going to be hard for him because he loved his career!

After the orders were read, Pop was presented with several awards. Here's Pop after receiving his meritorious service medal:

And some more awards.

And Mom even got an award.

(Mom receiving her military spouse's medal)

Then Pop presented Mom, me, and Becca (my sister-in-law) with flowers to show his appreciation for our support.

(Becca, Mom, and Me with our flowers at the after party)

Then there was a flag ceremony, after which the color guard presented Pop with the flag. This was fun to watch. I wish I had thought to video it.


Then finally, Pop gave his remarks. I felt so proud of him!

After Pop's remarks, the ceremony concluded and we had cake and chatted with Pop's guests. We also went back into the hanger to snap some family photos with the airplanes.

(Becca, Casey, Me, Pop, Mom, Launce, Jason)

And just for fun:
Youngest to oldest. Tallest to shortest.

16, 23, 25, 27
6'1", 5'11.75", 5'10", 5'4" + 3.5 inch heels

Happy retirement Pop!