The Last Frontier

After the painting extravaganza, I headed up to Alaska with my parents for a true adventure! It was such a blast!We were able to do so much and Alaska is truly incredible. Never have I seen such huge landscapes and such beautiful mountains. Yes, Alaska is part of the United States but it truly has it's own culture and is a very different experience up there. 

This is my first time eating reindeer! It was really good actually with some kick but very filling! 

The people are just not phased by the snow. Here is a man advertising on the corner of a street in a blizzard. Who cares that it's freezing out side and snowing like crazy? They don't! 

We drove by the Anchorage temple. It was one of the smaller temples that I've ever seen but it was absolutely beautiful. 

We went to a wildlife preservation and got to see all the wildlife of Alaska in one place. Granted it wasn't totally authentic but it was pretty darn cool! These moose were awesome! 

Oh and here are some bald eagles just chilling. 

This baby bear just came out of hibernation. I think he was a little upset that there was still so much snow on the ground and not as much food.  

Mom and I had an experience on a dog sled. 

This was my first exposure to ulu knives. I had no idea they existed. I guess they were knives that the natives used to skin the whales. They're circular and a handle on one end and cut things in a bowl as well as on a flat cutting board. It was neat to watch them make them too. 

We perfected the art of a selfie while I was there!  

These were glaciers that we visited. Rarely have I ever seen a mountain completely covered in snow from the cap down. They were gorgeous!

We visited Palmer, AK. Who knew that they grow some of the largest vegetables in the world! I never would have guessed that a frigid place such as Alaska, would be so fertile. They explained to us that it is because of how much sunlight they get in the summer.  

Painting Break

One of the benefits of going to Utah State is the Spring Break. This is something that I hadn't experienced since high school and it was a welcomed break. My mom and dad made us an awesome offer to come out to Denver and paint the apartment in order to earn some money. 

You can't really tell from the picture but Taylor was in the most awkward sleeping position while in the car. I had to document it but it really doesn't do it justice. 

This was my first time painting ceilings and I was ready for it! It was a lot of work but it was good for us to learn more about painting and also how the other person works. Good times! 

The Future Mrs. Lind

Friday, February 21 Taylor told me that he wanted to pick me up from campus for lunch but was very late. Little did I know that he was preparing a scavenger hunt in order to propose! 

All of his friends were there helping, preparing envelopes, dropping them off at specific points, etc. 

1st Stop: He sent me to the apartment he lived in over the summer that we met. 

2nd Stop: To Charlie's (an ice cream shop) where we had our first date. 

3rd Stop: The park where he took me on our second date. As I was driving here, it hit me - Taylor was proposing! I had a moment where I had decide if this was what I wanted; what would my answer be? Just a few moments after I had the realization, I felt at peace. I felt like I should just keep going and see what happened and how I felt. 

4th Stop: The Logan Cemetery where we spent many a night searching for my relatives graves and where we first held hands. 

5th Stop: My old apartment in Aggie Village where we had our first kiss. 

6th Stop: Dave and Mindy Ritcher's (his Spanish professor) house. We were babysitting their kids one night and that's the first night that we seriously talked about marriage. 

7th Stop: Smith's Grocery story to pick up some Oreo's - our favorite. 

8th and Final stop: a parking lot overlooking the valley. This was the place that he and I decided that we were dating. Here he had an envelope of letters from his parents, Anne, and my family talking about how they were excited for us. Taylor then appeared out from the cars and got down on one knee. 

It's one of those moments that you wait for your whole life and then it doesn't even feel real when it happens. I was so happy! 

The ring was exactly what I wanted. I am very lucky!