The Best Calling Ever

So remember how we've been in our ward since August and Matt got a calling in September but I never got one?

For a while I felt pretty awesome about sliding under the radar and unintentionally tricking the system by not having a calling.

And then I remembered that I actually love having a calling. It gives me an excuse to get to know people in my ward, which makes me feel less like a dumb dumb loner.

So I finally got a calling. And no one in charge knows anything legitimate about me besides my contact information. And they gave me the best calling ever. Because God is in charge, and he knows me.

Have you ever sat down and thought about your ultimate favorite-of-all-time calling? You feel excited and qualified to do it and it gives you exactly what you need?

Some people covet the high-up callings. There's a reason they want them...they have no idea how much work and worry goes into being in charge of more than four people. I had one of those callings before. I loved it. It was exhausting, but I felt like I did a lot of good. I also felt like being in charge made me look intimidating to some people so they didn't really want to be my friend. Did I mention the I had this calling while I was student teaching? My car died that semester. It was a really stressful time. I loved it, but I would never ask for it. Ever. I felt inadequate. But it was perfect for me at the time, and God knew that.

Well my new calling is perfect for me now. I'm I charge of the ward program every Sunday. I get to make something look good, and I have an excuse to meet new people, and I get to do it mostly by myself. And I'm pretty excited.

BTW, I think my first draft almost made the bishop faint. I forget that normal people can't really wrap their heads around super modern designs. I had to tone it down.

What's your ultimate calling? Why?

Someone asked to see the first draft. Here it is:

The True Meaning of Christmas: A Babe, born in Bethlehem

It's Christmas Sunday! I'm so excited to go to church and listen to the story of Jesus' birth and life. I've been reading up on him here, and it's getting me really excited for Christmas. I love having a reason to learn and think more of my Savior. To get you in the Christmas mood, here's a quote on the true meaning of Christmas, and a short movie of the nativity. Enjoy your Sunday! 

"The Christmas season is a time to celebrate the priceless gift of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. His birth, which we commemorate during this season, is more than the symbol of a holiday. He is the Son of God, the Redeemer of all mankind, the King of kings, the Prince of Peace, and our joy and salvation. This Christmas season will have greater meaning as we seek to follow His example and live His teachings."

-found here

Pants

I'm sure by now you have heard about the renegade call for LDS women to wear pants to church this Sunday. I have read a few articles about it (go here for more context. I especially loved cJane's take on the subject) and I don't entirely know how I feel about the whole situation. This is what I do feel...

I believe that church is a time to worship God, learn more about the Gospel, and build community with fellow LDS members.

I believe that God does not care about what we wear to church as long as it is our best and we are fully clothed.

I believe that pants are not the thing that make men and women equal.

I enjoy femininity and the spirit that comes with being a woman. (edit: I'm not saying that wearing pants to church makes you less feminine. I'm just saying that I enjoy being feminine, and I also enjoy being a strong woman, and those are not mutually exclusive.)

Skirts are more comfortable than pants. Pants can be just as dressy as skirts. Neither alone will secure my place in the Celestial Kingdom.

Women and men were created to work together as partners. Men are not above women. Women are not above men. We have equally important roles, and clothing does not change that.

What do you think? Just as on my Facebook, I welcome all opinions as long as they are respectful and in a spirit of discussion, not bashing.

And whatever you do, please just don't wear these to church...or ever:

Friday Favorites

It's Friday! Why is Monday so close to Friday, when Friday is so far from Monday?

Our best friends got married to each other this weekend! Other than that, we have spent the entire week detoxing from Thanksgiving. We have been hitting the gym way more than usual (easy, when the usual is never lately), cooking healthy meals, and overdosing on all things Christmas. This weekend we're going to see the lights at Temple Square (I'm a sucker for twinkle lights) and doing a temple session. Lesbehonest, a good portion of this weekend will also be spent on my rear.

Here are some of my favorite things this week:

Tradition .... TRADITION!

I think I mentioned earlier that I am trying to find some new family traditions that Matt and I can share together. I love my family's traditions, and I love being a part of Matt's family traditions, but I think it'll be fun to have our own. Being newly married puts a big old magnifying glass on everything I thought was normal. Turns out, some things are normal for me, but not for Matt. The things I did growing up are not the same for Matt. Talking to people about their holiday family traditions has either proven that 1) my family is weird or 2) my family is awesome. I am wholeheartedly choosing #2. 

Here are some awesome Rowland family traditions that I am excited for this Christmas:

1) Watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. This is the only movie that I have seen more than 7 times. (Other movies that come close are Titanic, My Little Pony, and Sex + the City).  My father loves it. He quotes it all year long. It's a given that this will be on in the background at some point during Christmas vacation..........Do you see what I did there?

2) Chinese food on Christmas Eve. I think this tradition might have started because my mom was getting too stressed out about cooking a perfect meal on Christmas Eve, so my dad took away the stress by ordering Chinese food one year. I love that he gave her the perfect reason to relax and enjoy the family instead of slaving in the kitchen. We have done this for a few years now, and I look forward to it. It's a nice treat for us and for my mom...(BTW, she cooks amazing meals all the time and we love them). 

3) Mom's Annual Bathroom Reader Giveaway. That's right. I don't know how this started, but my mother buys literally every single person in our family a new version of Uncle John's Bathroom Reader every year. I always pretend to be grossed out, but those books are actually really interesting. I just keep them outside of my bathroom...

4) New Year's Empanadas. Growing up LDS outside of Utah means no LDS friends (except for my trusty sidekick, Jeannette). I obviously wasn't allowed (or invited, let's get real, I was a total nerd) to go to parties, so New Year's Eve was always a family night. We started cooking Empanadas every 31st while we watched the countdown. Now that I'm away from home, my new tradition is to spend New Year's with the very same sidekick Jeannette, no matter where we live. 

My favorite New Year's was the year before Matt left on his mission. We went to a party in SLC, but it was lame, so we went and watched Benjamin Button. That movie was so long that we had to run to get back to the party to see the fireworks go off at midnight. We were running through the deserted streets of Salt Lake and missed the fireworks because the buildings were so tall, but they reflected off of the buildings across the street. We stopped running and just stared...and then I got an asthma attack.

5) Three Christmases. My extended family is very small. And we all live within an hour radius of each other. We see each other all the time. Thanksgiving is always at my house, and Christmas is always split up between my mom and dad's sides. Christmas Eve: immediate family. Christmas afternoon: Mom's side. Christmas night: Dad's side. I had never even heard of a family reunion until I moved to Utah. We never needed them. 

6) The wrapping party in the laundry room. My mom usually stays up wrapping Christmas gifts late into the night. My sister and I loved helping her wrap presents growing up. I love giving gifts, and I love giving pretty gifts even more. I would try to make every gift look different somehow. We have a whole closet in the laundry room dedicated to wrapping supplies. Boxes of gift tags. Bows upon bows. 10 different kinds of wrapping paper. Bag and bags and bags galore. Wrapping the gifts for me was almost better than Christmas itself! I loved staying up late with them and talking or listening to Christmas music. When we had dogs they would come in and walk all over the presents, but we loved them so much we didn't care anyway. Good times.

7) Stake Christmas Choir. I don't do this anymore because I can't be at rehearsals beforehand, but in HS, I was always in the Stake Christmas Choir every year. We always sang at a special Christmas fireside a few Sundays before Christmas. I love singing, and I love Christmas music. It was so fun to be a part of a singing group that sounded pretty dece. Nothing brings the spirit of Christmas to my heart faster than singing Christmas music.

8) James Taylor Acoustic Christmas. Once my dad figured out how iTunes worked, I'm pretty sure James Taylor Christmas was the first album he bought. And then he played it loud enough for the whole house to hear. I would be in the bathroom and hear that guitar start up and I knew exactly what was going down. "James Taylor is such a good musician, but man, is he messed up." Who cares...his voice is like butta.

9) Late-night Mexican food runs. Somehow my brother found the most ghetto authentic Mexican food in Fullerton and craves it annually, at 2am. It's the kind of place where all the cooks expect you to order in Spanish. Since we both inherited the night-owl gene, we'd be the only two up and he'd ask me to go on a Tacqueria de Anda run with him. Of course I thought it was super cool when I was in high school to hang out with my cool adult brother, so I usually went along. One time he tricked me into eating a brain taco. I think that was the end of the late-night runs for me for a few years. I hope we go again this year.

NEW HARDIN FAMILY TRADITIONS: 

- Buying a new ornament every year when we go on vacation. 

- Decorating the tree together for FHE
- Small gift at Christmas. Use the saved money to go on a nice summer vacation.

- It's not Christmas yet, so I still have time to think of some more + execute them.

What's your favorite Christmas tradition? 

Jim LePage made a poster for every book in the Bible.

Found here. I've become pretty intrigued with visual interpretations of scripture. I'm such a visual person, and sometimes straight reading isn't enough for me to grasp what's going on. Sometimes even listening to an audiobook of the Bible or Book of Mormon make them easier to comprehend than reading. What do you do to supplement your scripture reading?

7 Thing I Love About Christmas

Friday Favorites

Happy weekend! Not gonna lie, this was the longest week ever. But, at least we are all kinds of ready for Christmas around here! On Monday (for FHE) M + I may have sat around in our unmentionables and watched The Voice...but then we decorated our Christmas tree! We're all about keeping it real. I'm so excited for Christmas that today's post will be mostly dedicated to my favorite holiday. Here you go! 

The island where people forget to die. What?!

12 healing foods to cure headaches and other ailments.

Christmas is coming! I'm more excited this year than any other year! Here's a list of things to do in November to get ready for crazy December Christmas-month.

Have you heard of renter's wallpaper? I kind of hate those sterile white walls that come with rented apartments. I might have to get some of this myself...

Wondering what to get me for Christmas? I knew you were! Let's start with these vintage Santa matryoshka nesting dolls. Oh boy!

Look! A free, cute, printable DIY Christmas calendar.

One of my Bucket List items: Sleep under the Northern Lights in an ice igloo in Finland. Yes, please!

Need a neighbor gift for Christmas? This is super easy and better than cookies.

However Late You Think You Are

However late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you think you don't have, or however far from home and family and God you feel you have traveled, I testify that you have NOT traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ's Atonement." -Jeffrey R. Holland

Waiting

Today's lesson in Relief Society was about waiting on the Lord. We talked about having patience and faith in the Lord's timing while hoping so desperately for a specific thing to happen in our lives. The whole hour, I wanted so badly to raise my hand and comment about my most recent experience with waiting; to stand up tall and pontificate about the wonderfulness and the despair that comes with waiting. I wanted people to see that I had a trial that was very hard for me, and I feel like I learned to endure it with faith and grace. After all, my trial was literally to wait. In waiting for a missionary, I put on hold a temple marriage, children, and a more comfortable life (because he has yet to start college). I'm a pro at waiting! I was the perfect example of waiting! So why did the Spirit stop me from raising my hand and sharing my story?

I don't really know. But I have a guess.

Because my story of waiting, no matter hard it was for me, was not that hard.

Standing up and sharing my story of literally waiting for a missionary while others are quietly waiting for children to bless their homes, or enduring life after their spouse died, or surviving cancer, or waiting for a wayward child to return to the Gospel, seems trivial. I waited for my blessing for two years, but others wait lifetimes for theirs. 

Yes, I waited in a literal sense, and I used the Lord to get me through it. I had faith that I was doing the right thing, and I turned to God in times of doubt and weakness to lift me up. I waited on the Lord. But there are other, more significant ways to wait on Him. And supposing that my trial trumps all the other ones in the room is not fair. 

So I formulated what I would say if I were to stand up and give a speech, and then I listened to others tell their stories. 

I learned so much more by listening than by speaking.

Home Away From Home

It took me a long time to consider Utah home. I have been living here for over six years and still consider myself a true Californian. Once I realized that I might be spending the rest of my entire life here (ok, maybe just like four or ten more years), I figured I better start stay-cationing my new home! BTW, stay-cationing is what delusional people call vacation. I am in that category. It's a great way to feel awesome about not having any time or money to go somewhere far, far away and forget your real life for .5 seconds. Luckily, my real life is pretty great + my adventurous husband and my job allow me to see a fair share of this state. 

Rachel and I have started taking advantage of our long trips together. We have made a goal to visit every LDS temple in the state. When we have an overnight trip somewhere far away, we try to schedule a temple session if there's a temple nearby. 

I have loved the peaceful feelings the temple brings. I learn new things every time I go. It's also nice to visit somewhere that feels like home when we are three or four hours away from our real homes. It makes heaven seem so much closer, and I am always in a great mood every time I leave! It's a great time to feel close to God and ponder my purpose here on earth.

We were on our way home from Logan, so we stopped to see the new Brigham City temple. 

Rachel didn't have a skirt because this was an unplanned stop, so we tried to walk somewhere to buy her one! Brigham City may have a temple, but they are apparently not up on the skirt scene. We went to the only dece store in walking distance, and it was being renovated... and the store owner pulled skirts out of a cardboard box in this unfinished loft area. Plus the skirt didn't fit, so we pulled a Liz Lemon and shut it down. Hopefully we'll get a chance to go inside soon when we're more prepared! 

I don't have pictures, but so far we have gone to sessions at the Logan + Manti temples. 

We go to a lot of small towns. We have driven through Nevada, Arizona, and now Wyoming to get to some towns! We see a lot of old buildings on our way...

 We went to a school that was right across the street from a farm. We had some time, so I took a walk to say hi to the cows and they just stared at me.

I realize that farms and cows and being in the middle of nowhere are not new things to some people, but I still can't get used to it. I think I will always prefer cities to small town life, although it's fun to visit.

 My BFFL Jeannette is on a crusade to save the world, one folk opera at a time! Matt and I hosted a sleepover last weekend so she could have a flyer party for her upcoming show. We got up "early" on Saturday and walked around Provo posting flyers for all to see! Hopefully it worked. Matt and I walked around putting flyers on each and every door until we realized we could just post them in big complexes on the mailboxes. Sometimes being smart and lazy go very well together.

Matt hates pictures of himself. I think his biggest fear is that I will turn into one of those blogger wives who takes pictures of her food at every meal and whatnot. And to that, I say, I do what I want! 

The sleepover was a great time to catch up on old Jacob Lake stories. We may not see them a lot, but our JL people feel like family. 

Amy + Steve are having their baby girl soon! I told Amy that I am going to be the first person to hold her baby. She wasn't happy, Bob.

Game night at the Hardin house! Another home away from home. We are so lucky to have family in the same town. If only my mom could convince my dad to move up here, we would never have to leave! OK, on second thought Mom + Dad, stay there so we can go visit you! 

I may or may not be temporarily addicted to MacDo's Monopoly. I got obsessed for a minute and FOR SURE thought I was going to win a million dollars, if not, a fancy trip or some fries or something. I even got everyone on our road trip to St. George in on the game and convinced them to give me their winning pieces. The jig was up once I realized I would have to ingest the products I bought (because I cannot see food go to waste). My grandmother trained me to pour cereal, then milk, and eat what was there, then only put more milk in if I needed it, so the milk wouldn't go to waste. Morgan Spurlock has also ruined me. My Mata and Morgan Spurlock are officially the reasons why I am not a millionaire. Once I had that epiphany, the game was over. Unless anyone wants to trade... :) 

For more information on why Mormons build temples, go here, or watch this video. 

I am grateful that the most important thing about a place is that it feels like home. And I'm lucky that I have a lot of people (our friends, Matt's family, my family) and places (California, Utah, the temple) that make me feel at home! 

Adventures in Utah + What Looper Taught Me About Motherhood

Work takes me all over the state. Last year, as a new teacher living the single life, traveling was almost a welcome escape from dumb ol' Provo. It meant I had an excuse for not dating or going to activities I didn't want to go to! It was great! Now that I'm an old lady, this year at work is interesting. I feel like I am a better teacher and can handle "hard schools" better, which in turn makes my days better. But now every time I have to spend the night away from my old man, I can't wait to get home!

(It's a welcome heartache to miss a good husband.) 

This weekend, we had two events five hours across the state from each other. So Rachel went South to cover that event, and I went north. Since I was going to be alone, Matt and I decided to make a weekend of it. We stayed at a hotel the night before my event and partied it up....in Ogden. 

Ogden is a weird place, because it's only 90 minutes away from Provo, but it feels almost like a different state. It's got the ghetto of SLC, but none of the class that goes with it. Somehow (ok, after an hour on urbanspoon.com), we found an amazing (seriously, amazing) Japanese restaurant with some serious swagger and delicious, cheap food. Apparently there was a Greek festival that weekend, so the place was deserted except for a few quiet couples, which we loved. These Hardins love their privacy! 

We went and saw Looper and had a nice swim in the hotel pool, then I had to go to bed so I could present at the event the next morning. Something weirdsies happened during the movie. Read on to find out.

SPOILER and crazy transcendent tangent to follow:

Looper is a cray cray time-travel movie akin to Inception and set in the future. It was so realistic that I walked out of the theater terrified for 2044! The movie sets up different ways the characters' lives could have turned out based on the choices they made. One of the main characters is the mother of a child who we know turns out to be an evil gang lord in the future who kills maybe a bazillion people, give or take, with his telekinetic power. At one point, a character has the chance to kill the gang lord in his childhood, and prevent those bazillion deaths. The only reason he doesn't kill the gang lord is because his mother convinces him that, with a good mother, Sid can grow up to use his power for good and not evil. She can change the course of history by mothering him right. 

Emily Blunt has come a long way from The Devil Wears Prada.

Joseph Gordon-Leavitt srsly changed his face for this movie.

Sitting in that theater, during a crazy R-rated violent movie, I had a silent, introspective transcendent moment; an epiphany about the importance of motherhood.

Of course I already know and respect the role that a mother plays in her children's lives. I had a good mother and a church to give me that example. But sometimes it's nice to see that moral reinforced through a third party. As if having God, church leaders and my family teach me that isn't enough, someone in Hollywood also agrees that a mother's choices can change her kids for good! 

Something crazy happens when you get married. I feel like a dormant part of my personality has been slowly waking up from hibernation, and the hunger for motherhood is fierce after 24 years of childless winter. (WHAT?!?!? That sentence just happened.) Now that the reality of motherhood could hit at any moment, I've been pondering the timing and responsibility of rearing a tiny half-version of myself. Since I am a natural worrier, the task in its ambiguity seems daunting. I keep trying to fill out calendars (in months) in my head, wondering how I'd juggle a baby and a career, or if I'd give up one for the other, for the time being. I keep feeling guilty for wanting to move up in my field , because I feel like my eternal role is to raise children full-time. I really want to get a Masters and one day be an Education Curator at a museum. But I also desperately want to raise a family. I truly believe that being a mother is the most important thing I can do on this earth.

The day after Looper, Matt's mother invited me to watch the General Relief Society Meeting at her stake center. I really enjoy Mary, and I honestly wasn't thinking about going, so it was nice to have a few hours with her.

The first talk was my favorite. 

 The speakers were great, but I kept getting distracted by my own thoughts. I realize that I needed to be in that room to feel the added measure of the Spirit speak to me about my life. The principals they taught were true, but the Spirit was answering the questions I had been pondering for months:

Is it ok to enjoy my job and keep teaching?

Is teaching really what I was meant to do?

Should I get a Masters? 

Should I give up teaching to become a mother? When?

The answer I received didn't solve everything, but it definitely quieted my worries. 

I received a strong impression that the position I have now, teaching children art, is preparing me to be a mother to my own children one day. 

I still don't know the timing of my impending motherhood or how far I will get in my career. I still have days when I wonder why I got into teaching and if I'm really cut out for it. But I also have days that are extremely rewarding. Sometimes I want to yell at kids, other times I want to hug them for their goodness. I hate the lack of sleep, and how tired I feel at the end of a school day. But all of it is preparation for my eternal role. The hard days are always worth the good days. So whatever happens in the future, I will be more prepared for it because of this job. And that is a great answer to have.

Thank you, Looper, for advocating motherhood. And thanks to LDS Conference for letting me have a quiet moment to synthesize those thoughts.

The Best Day

I feel the need to write down details from our wedding day, because I have the worst memory ever. I don't want to think about our wedding five years down the road and not remember everything!

Our wedding day was so smooth. I felt like all the planning, stress and minute details were all worth it, because I was stressed out before and not the day of! Matt's mom, Mary was the biggest help, since we got married in Utah and not in California. We were only engaged for about two months, which were the two most stressful months of my life! Planning a wedding plus having a full-time job feels like THREE full-time jobs! Matt helped a lot, but since I'm picky I had to do a lot of stuff on my own.

I was so lucky to have almost my entire family travel from California and Arizona to attend our wedding. It would not have been the same without them! I love my family (and my new family) so much, and it was really nice to have everyone there to celebrate this big step in our lives together, as a new, bigger family. If everything had gone awry, having my family together would have been enough for me! Luckily, it didn't.

Almost my whole family came from California/Arizona to be with us! 

Jeannette threw me a small and perfect bachelorette party the night before. I didn't want something huge because I hate attention, so we invited a few close friends to dinner and a small party at my house. We talked scandal and whatnot and had a great time. I woke up around 8 the next morning and went to get my hair done by my SIL Kait's sister. She did a great job and I loved girl-talking in her parent's bathroom. I wore a polka-dot dress to the temple. I had gotten endowed a few days earlier, and wore the same dress to the temple, so even though it didn't turn out great in pictures, that dress is special to me now. I just remember having enough time to not feel rushed and really think about the importance of the act I was about to do in a few hours. We decided to get married later in the afternoon for that exact reason. After my hair and makeup were done (I did my own makeup, mostly because I got a "makeover" in high school at Sephore and walked out looking like Ariel the mermaid princess dressed as a drag queen). It started to rain, but I wanted my car to be clean for the wedding (don't even ask me why), so I went to the car wash in Orem to get it cleaned inside and out. I had planned so much time to do things that I went to jamba to get a smoothie and a pretzel since I heard you don't have time to eat on your wedding day. I didn't want to be hangry all day!!

As I was driving down the freeway, it started to rain a little harder. I wasn't even phased! I just remember being so excited to marry Matt after four long years that a tornado could have come through and I would have been just as happy. I usually listen to music in my car, but I just drove in silence for 40 minutes to the Oquirrh Mountain temple in South Jordan, and I actually started to cry tears of joy.

I got to the temple and found out I was SO early. I guess I was just too excited to wait around at home! I sat in my car and waited for Matt and his cousin, Ammon (and wife Leah) to show up. We waited in the foyer for our parents, who were running a tad late, and I was so antsy! I couldn't sit still! Anyone who knows me knows my talent in life is sitting still. I couldn't do it! We got checked in and my mom took me to get dressed.

The temple matron told me I could wear my temple dress or my wedding dress. I was planning on wearing my temple dress, but it felt right to wear my wedding dress to get married. It was completely white and had no beading or embellishments, except for a queen ann neckline and some rouching at the stomach. I got my temple clothes on and went to sit in the bride's waiting room. It was gorgeous and full of light and that's the moment I started freaking out. We were waiting for everyone to get seated upstairs, so we had a few minutes of down-time. My mom stood five feet away from my chair, chatting with our helper. I couldn't really breath in my wedding dress, so I kind of started to silently hyperventilate. My biggest fear in life besides deep water is passing out (who knew?), and I started running scenarios through my head....what if I couldn't get enough air and passed out in front of 60 people?!?!? On my wedding day!!! I didn't know what a sealing would be like...would I do and say the right thing? I remember just sitting in that chair in the corner silently freaking out while my mom carried on a completely pleasant conversation. Then all of a sudden it was time to go, and I didn't have time to think about all those worries. I figured whatever happens, happens, and that would be it. Anyway, it would probably make a good story.

We walked out of the changing rooms where Matt met me. He looked so serene and ready to do. this. thing. I saw no fear, no hesitation, just complete confidence in what was about to happen. And then I stopped worrying completely. We walked into the sealing room where all our loved ones were magically together! Who even knew?! It was the best feeling! During the sealing, I started bawling because that's what I do. But it was beautiful and wonderful and then it was over. We were married! So many days of waiting and wondering and hoping had passed and the thing I wanted most in life, to marry the man who knew and loved me the most, had finally just happened. After the sealing Matt made a dumb joke and gave me the biggest smile.

We said hello to all our guests then went to change.

Matt walked me down to the changing room, and everyone I walked past knew what had just happened and gave me the best looks. Welcome to the club.

Our grand exit from the temple! Everyone was cheering for us, but we had that awkward moment where no one knows what to do but stare and clap at you. I wonder if that's how babies feel most of the time. My sister and some cousins came up to hug us, and then we took a bunch of pictures. The wind was so cray cray, but you can't even tell in pictures.

Our photographer, Danielle Woodall, was so great. I met with her beforehand so we were comfortable with her, and I would recommend her to anyone! After pictures, Matt and I had some time before the reception, so we went to Carl's Jr, of all places. The best part is that we walked in an no one in the entire building acknowledged that we had just gotten married. We might as well have been wearing Cirque du Soleil outfits or our birthday suits. Not one word, not even a facial expression was different. It was kind of great.

After layering about a billion napkins over my dress, we ate our food and headed off to the reception. Everyone had gone earlier that morning to set up, so everything was ready when we got there. We had the reception at the Draper Day Barn Indoor Pavilion at Pioneer Park in Draper. It was an old dairy barn that was renovated and moved and set up for events. It was really small and the perfect mix between modern and rustic. There were white tables with gold and coral decorations, custom frames on the walls, twinkle lights on the ceiling, flowers everywhere, and great natural light. It was perfect.

The reception passed like a blur. I don't think Matt and I were ever together more than 5 minutes because so many people had come to see us! My biggest wedding-related fear was that no one would show up to our wedding, and I was overwhelmed with the support that everyone showed. It also helped that we held it in a small building (highly recommended if you want your reception to feel cozy). Matt's best friend, Treadway was the MC and we had Matt's cousins and my father do special songs live on the guitar. Jeannette and Treadway gave great best man and maid of honor speeches, and we had a first dance to Love Me Tender.  I specifically remember Treadway saying, "I'm supposed to be the best man, but if I were, I would be sitting in Matt's chair right now." It was pretty tender and it made me feel awesome. Jeannette quoted my favorite poem, which was printed by the wedding cake (which also had the poem piped onto it)..."I Carry Your Heart". Matt made a special wedding-day playlist that played in the background otherwise, and copies at the welcome table for people to take home. We had games to play so people wouldn't be bored. Camera games, "Meet the Hardins" boxes with info on the bride and groom, time capsule predictions for our life 50 years down the road, and lots of food provided by moms and aunts and sisters.

We had some dancing, then it was time to change and go to the hotel! I changed into my polka dot dress and sparkly gold heels, and I came out and Matt was wearing shorts, a t-shirt and his dress shoes! The picture of us walking out to our car still kind of infuriates me to this day, because we look like such a mis-matched couple. I guess that's because we are, but it works. I didn't say anything and just let it go.  If anything, it makes a pretty good memory.

I remember getting my hair cut by Twix a few days before, and he was so shocked I was engaged, when the last time I saw him Matt wasn't even home from his mission yet! I said it was okay because I already knew most of Matt's "quirks" and I still wanted to be around him. In fact, most of those quirks are quite endearing! Isn't that the best kind of love? I know Matt so well that most times I can read his thoughts or his facial expressions. I know all the amazing things about him, and also what drives me crazy. But I would rather be with this guy than any other guy. And the best part is, he knows all of my "quirks", too, and he stills wants to be around me! That is the best gift I could ever ask for.

We drove off in a car full of twinkle lights and covered in oreos and paint. We went through the car wash on the way to the hotel, but most of it was still stuck on the car. I would normally let that bother me, but I kind of loved the reminder that we were just married. I didn't wash that car for another month, just for the afterglow.