Thanksgiving for Two

This year, we were unable to go home for Thanksgiving. So our holiday consisted of this:

 And a little bit of this

 And also a little bit of this...

 YUM. 

Josh & I loved Breaking Dawn. Best one in the series by far.

We also stopped to give the horses some Thanksgiving treats and lovin'.

 And then it was off to Cracker Barrel for some substitue "home-cooking."

It was a delicious Thanksgiving feast...Check out all that food!

We decided that even though it was odd not spending Thanksgiving with family, we enjoyed our little holiday just the 2 of us!

Engagement Anniversary

Thanksgiving: what a perfect day to give thanks for my husband, being the one year anniversary of our engagement!  On this very day one year ago, the following happened:

Josh & I were home visiting for Thanksgiving week.  On Thanksgiving eve, we drove from my home in Temecula back to his home in Santa Clarita.  Along the way, Josh wanted to make a quick stop "for memory's sake" at a private beach in Laguna, where we had one of our first dates.  After pulling through the gates, he pulled over and told me to wait in the car while he ran down the million flights of stairs to the beach to "go pee."  (And knowing Josh, this did not seem odd by any means.)  After waiting for him for about 5 minutes, he called me and told me to just meet him down at the beach so he didn't have to walk all the way back up to get me.  How rude, I thought.  But as I turned down to the last flight of stairs, it all made sense.

11.24.2010 was the happiest day/feeling/dream of my entire life! (Of course, until 3.26.11...then that day took over 1st place!)

I could name hundreds of reasons why I am grateful for Josh.  He is the most hard-working 24 year old man I have ever met in my life; never do I hear him complain about his usually-long hours or obnoxious job putting shoes on women's feet.  He makes me laugh and makes me giddy.  If he thinks I am upset with him or bothered by something he did, he will not rest until it is resolved and I am happy again.  He still gives me butterflies when I know he's on his way home or I know I am about to see him after a long day.  He is the most handsome boy in the whole world, and I always look at him and can't believe he is mine.
  I could not be more grateful on this wonderful 2011 Thanksgiving that one year ago today, I got engaged to this amazing man!

 Happy Thanksgiving!

"Reception Highlights" Film

Now that we got most of the final finishing touches done on our reception video, I wanted to finally premiere it on our blog. A big thanks again to everyone who made our wedding day and reception so amazing. I recently realized that I never made an actual, public thank you to those that did so much. The list could go on forever, but to Mom, Tracy, and Kelly...You made the reception a dream-come-true. Thanks so much for all of your extreme hard work, creativity, dedication, talents, and time. To this day, I still think about how darling everything looked and how perfect it was. It was exactly what I wanted and more, and I couldn't have dreamed up a cuter, more creative reception.  Josh & I are forever grateful. And to all those great family and friends that threw in your creativity, time, & talents as well to help them, thank you times a million! I know a lot of sweet hands went into that night. Love you all.

Caitlin & Josh Wedding Reception Highlights from DaveNeeley.com on Vimeo.

Thanks, Churro.

Something kind of incredible happened today during my lunch date with Josh at Rubio's. And it relates to my mother and something I noticed about her more and more as I got older. My mom is the type of mom who will literally give up anything for her kids. Whether it was her last bite of food, the better seat at the movies, the bigger cookie, the necklace she was justttt about to put around her neck that you quietly mentioned would look really good with the outfit you're wearing today, etc etc etc. Now, how does this relate to what happened at Rubio's? Well, I ordered the kid's meal (bean and cheese burrito with choice of chips and a churro, duh) which is what I get every time ***except for sometimes on Taco Tuesday, I'll venture out and get a fish taco. But the reason I love the kids meal so much is because you get all that yummy food for only around $5 AND (best part) you get to end the meal with a delicious, perfectly cinammoned-and-sugared, delectable churro. I mean, really, you should see this churro if you have never seen it. It's perfect every time! I look forward to it my entire meal. But on this particular Rubio's trip, Josh ordered a burrito he does not normally get, and at the end of his meal said, "Aww man, now I know why I never order that burrito...I'm still so hungry." And what was the first thing that came out of my mouth?..."Have my churro." Without thinking. I just said it. And the thing was, I really meant it. I legitimately wanted him to eat my churro, the BEST part of my meal, my favorite reason for ordering the kid's meal at Rubio's. After me rebutting all his protests of not wanting to eat the thing I look forward to the most, he finally ate it.  And I wasn't even mad, not even a little. It was right then, because of that stupid, funny experience, that I truly understood my mom and why she has done things like that and been that way my whole life. It's called true love.  My respect for my mom grew a whole lot today as well as the realization of how much I truly love my husband. And all because of a churro.

Wedding Bells & Bliss

Josh & I were so excited to fly down for Tiffany and Jared's wedding! The day was a dream.  The stunning bride and handsome groom wed on 11.11.11 and were sealed for eternity in the Los Angeles Temple. We are so happy for the new Mr. & Mrs. Beauchamp!

The night before at the rehearsal dinner:

Sister love!

Handsome Baker boys waiting for the bride & groom to come out!

Bridesmaid Photo Shoot!

Since my dad is bedridden and my mom cannot leave him, my aunt Stacey drove up to the reception and brought along my little sister & brother, Brooke & Jon!

Jon caught the garter!

Congrats, newlyweds!

After the wedding, I went with Stacey and Brooke & Jon to Pasadena to stay with my aunt Deborah. The next day we went horseback riding in Santa Monica.

We rode past Steven Spielberg's house!

Me & Tucker!

Picnic in the park.

Dinner in Downtown Pasadena!

We surprised Papa & Grandma by showing up to dinner when they only expected Stacey & Deborah!

And while I was gone, Josh kept himself plenty busy with all his buddies/brother/cousin!

I was supposed to meet Josh halfway to the Long Beach airport Monday morning to make our flight back to Utah. But on Sunday afternoon, there was a knock on the door...and to my surprise, there was Josh holding flowers and his suitcase. Best surprise ever!
Yet another amazing California trip!