Since I last posted, we have had family visit us in Denver, a road trip back to Phoenix, Thanksgiving, and lots of time with family.
Daniel's mom, Aunt Barbara, and Abuela drove all the way to Denver from Phoenix to see our new house. We spent hours cleaning and making sure the house was perfect and it was all worth it. We had a lovely time all together. Before we all left to drive back to Phoenix, we did a Native American "smudging" that uses burning sage to bless our house. Abuela couldn't help throwing in some holy water for good measure. So our house is doubly blessed! We stopped the night in Moab, Utah at a beautiful ranch/vineyard. Poor Jackson still has a hard time "going" while he's on a leash so it was a very uncomfortable trip for him. We arrived in Phoenix Wednesday evening, just in time to meet up with some friends and my sister for dinner.
Thanksgiving was perfect. It was the best Thanksgiving I can remember. Daniel and I had lunch with my family, dinner with his family, and then dessert with both. I got to see my brother for the first time since he joined the army, and I got to see my cousin Ceadar, her husband, and her 1-year old baby girl Chloe. At Daniel's house there was quite a variety of people too, and most of them weren't actually related. I was so glad to see our families mingling and enjoying each others' company. I'm sure the wedding will go just as well.
Since Thanksgiving, we've just been hanging out with our families. We have been trying very hard to balance spending time with both sides, and so far it's gone well. It's getting more and more difficult to stay at my parents' house. I miss having our own space and privacy. But I also love having so much time with my parents, Daniel's parents, and my grandparents. We also spent quite a bit of time with Ceadar, Rafi, and Chloe while they were here. We will see them again just after Christmas when we go to California.
Jackson has been extremely well behaved. He hasn't eaten another TV remote, and has stayed off the furniture for the most part. He hasn't even been jumping up on people. The worst problem we have now is that if he gets out, he runs. Twice now he has dashed across Thunderbird, a very busy street. The first time I didn't even know he was gone! Daniel called me and told me that a lady was in the front yard with Jackson. She found him, lured him into her car with french fries, and called the phone number on his tag. It was so frightening that we didn't even know how he got out! Daniel spent some time with him in the backyard and discovered that he had gotten into the garage and jumped out a small opening in a window. He is just too smart! The second time, my mom was leaving out the door and he slipped out. He went straight for Thunderbird. We really have to work on that, it is so scary. But other than that he has been so well-behaved. He gets lots of attention from his grandparents and the other dogs in the family wear him out.
A few days ago, Daniel and I finally came to a conclusion about our wedding. We have been discussing where to have it since we got engaged and it's been a very difficult decision. Daniel wanted to have it up in the mountains of Colorado. He thought that all of our college friends wouldn't have the money to travel to Phoenix. And he made the argument that Colorado is our home now, so we should have the wedding there. I wanted to have it in Phoenix because there are a lot of church friends that I want to attend and I don't think they will be as willing to fly to Denver, rent a car or find transportation up to the mountains, especially not if it's snowy and icy. So we finally settled on a compromise: Denver. It will be easier for people to fly into and they won't have to rent a car or drive another 90 minutes up to the mountains. It's where we live now, and it has special meaning. We both would love to have a snowy wedding and although Denver doesn't always have snow, it is a possibility. And if it doesn't have snow, it's very easy for us to drive up to the mountains the morning of the wedding with our photographer and take some pictures in the snow. We also decided that we want to have it on campus at DU. I don't like the idea of having the wedding at any old place- I want it to have meaning. DU hosts weddings quite often, and they have some absolutely beautiful places on campus. We would like to have the ceremony in Joy Burns Plaza, and the reception in the HRTM school. Joy Burns Plaza is the lobby of the music school. It has marble floors surrounded by columns and there's a balcony that wraps all the way around. A grand staircase goes from the balcony down to the marble floors. To see a 360 degree photo, go to http://www.du.edu/events/popQBurnsPlazaBanquet.html.
The HRTM school (hotel, restaurant, tourism management) hosts wedding receptions regularly. They also host fundraisers, banquets, wine tastings, etc. They have a 5 star restaurant that caters events. The location can seat 120-150 people for dinner. It's decorated in the Tuscan style with stone floors and a wine cellar on one side. There's also a grand staircase, a dance floor, and a patio area if the weather is nice. I think it can be really beautiful. To see a picture, go to http://67.199.119.112//denverbrass.cfm?Action=ViewDetails&ItemID=226&Category=45 and click on the picture to see it larger.
We also moved the date to December 3, 2011. That means it will be in 2 years! I will already have my B.S. in biochemistry, and Daniel will be just 3 months away from his MBA. Since it's over winter break, there won't will a lot of students on campus. And we will have time to go on our honeymoon before Christmas. So it sounds just perfect! I'm excited already.
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