Happy Happy Anniversary to us! To us!

Saturday was our first anniversary. Which is super crazy. It doesn't feel like we have been married for a year, but at the same time it feels like we have been together forever.

Also, for a while, it looked like we would be spending our anniversary apart, due to stupid car issues. But, after spending $600 and then deciding to ignore the law, I drove up Friday and got to spend all Saturday with my love.

*Quick note about the car issues: My registration expires this month and I had to get my emissions tested. The check engine light was on, so I failed. It took a week and lots of visits to the mechanic to get it fixed. And then, it was taking forever to get the computer/engine "ready" which apparently it must be to pass emissions. Friday morning, after driving a ton hoping to get it ready, I still wasn't passing. After some quick soul searching, I decided that laws and car registrations are for sissies and left for Canada. I will be getting my emissions tested and my registration renewed first thing in August when we get back. So no worries.

And now on to the real reason for my post, I promised Caitlin that I would put up wedding pictures for my anniversary. This is all for you, Cait!

Just out of the temple

Families are forever. Plus, I love love love the back of this dress. My mom made the bow just for me.

Us!!

Decor at the Canada reception. This is in his parents' yard.

Food! It was so good. Plus, that banner was really cute.

Reception/luncheon pictures. We kept it small, just family and a few good friends.

Happy Anniversary: Part 2

Decorations and such for the Boise reception

More decor

Family and fun. Some of the best things in life.

Can I just brag for a moment and say what a good wedding planner I am? This was, in my humble opinion, the least painful wedding reception I have ever been to.

Hoodoos having nothing to do with voodoo

While on our honeymoon, Chizm and I went on a hike to something called the Hoodoos. Before we went, I was all confused about what exactly we were going to go see. I thought perhaps it would be some ancient Indian site where they preformed rituals or something. Probably because Hoodoo rhymes with voodoo.

I was wrong. Hoodoos are sandstone cliffs that have been carved into crazy shapes by wind and water.

You can't really tell in this picture, but this kid is right at the edge.

The trail we went on took us right to the top of the cliffs. Chizm went right up to the edge, and the whole time I was thinking, "It will suck when he falls over the edge. The headline for the newspaper will be Honeymooner Falls to His Death. How sad will that be? Married for less than a week." Anyways, I was freaked out of my mind.

Looking over the edge. It is much freakier in real life.

And then Chizm pretended to throw me off the cliff. I was never really in danger, he held on to me the to me the entire time,  but he scared me enough to make me cry.  Those cliffs freaked me out. They just didn't look stable, and it had been raining a ton. I was sure the cliff was going to crumble and take me with it.

Me holding onto a branch so I wouldn't fall over the edge when it crumbled

This sign was not helpful to my state of mind

 But the view was spectacular.

 

The Best Things in Life Are Free

Chizm and I went to Fairmont Hot Springs Resort for our honeymoon. It was lovely there. All green and mountainous, basically exactly how I pictured all of Canada looking before I came to Alberta and found rolling hills.

View from our suite.

When we arrived, we realized that "Resort" was the most important word in the title of where we were staying. They were all about making money. We had to pay to get into the hot springs, and there were no natural pools that we could find. The Resort pool was huge, with two different sections that were different temperatures. There was even a diving board. But, $12 a person per visit seemed a little steep to us, so we just went once.

On the way back to our room, we noticed a little stone building just up the hill from the Resort pool. We decided to go visit it while we were there. So, on the last day of our stay, we walked up the hill. And were promptly upset that we had spent money on the Resort pool. The little stone building was a bathhouse that had been built in the early 1900s.

Old 1900s bathhouse

There were 3 rooms, that each had a little pool carved out of the rock floor. The hot springs flowed right into the building. And beyond the bathhouse were the actual natural hot springs themselves. There were no natural pools, just ones that had been carved by people. It was awesome. And the whole thing was free.

Outside looking in

Inside looking out

We immediately went and got our swim suits and hopped into those lovely, free pools. And they were way better than the one we had to pay $24 dollars to use. There were no people, no noise, and a beautiful view.

 The moral of this story is, if you ever go to the Fairmont Hot Springs Resort, don't pay to soak in the big pool. Walk 2 minutes up the hill and have a better experience. For free!!

That building you see in the distance is the pool you have to pay for. This one is free.

Forma Ab Exitio.

So, I am basically done with my final year of undergrad. It was over the day my final show went down. I am not really sure what to do with myself now. Except for the whole wedding planning thing. I am dreadfully behind on that.

But, to return to the original topic, I am posting pictures of my show for those of you who were unable to come. I hope that you enjoy it!

 

 A bird's eye view

read this. if you can, it explains the premise for this whole thing.

These two may look the same, but they are not. Look closely.

See? Different.

This was inside the tent. The videos are of marbles breaking and one of the Venus statues breaking. It was pretty cool, and unfortunately, impossible to take a picture of.

And there you go. A quick view of what you missed.

I have a sweet, new website!

Check it out: katiewest.prosite.com

This one is just for my art. And I think that it looks much better than that silly one I made last year for my editing class.

This is old news for most of you...

I'M ENGAGED!!!!!

So, not only am I engaged, but we finally have a date and a place! June 21st, 2013 in the Cardston Alberta Temple. We were having troubles since he is Canadian, and I am obviously not. People kept telling us that he wouldn't be able to get back into the States if we got married in Canada. 

But, we called the United States Visa people, and the Border Patrol. They both said the same thing: as long as he has a valid student visa, there will be no problem with him getting back into the country. So Canada it is! and we couldn't be more excited.