Camping the Great Indoors

We registered at REI - may I recommend that everybody registers at REI, it is amazing. For wedding gifts we got a brand new tent, all sorts of camping cookware and a bunch of other fun useful things. So naturally, even though we got back from all the wedding stuff (and by that I mean honeymoon and reception number two) mid-October, we had to go camping.

Morgan agreed to go with me to Leavenworth; the fact that it is a German town and they were celebrating 'Oktoberfest' that weekend definitely contributed to his agreeability, and so I began planning in total excitement. Then, of course, I was knocked out flat with some stupid version of the flu, which began to affect Morgan. So as Friday approached, I begged for the strength of my immune system. Friday morning, the weather changed. Morgan had left work believing we would be camping that night, but as the temperature dropped to a shockingly low value of 20 degrees in Leavenworth, I realized that meant at least close to zero up in the mountains and that was not exactly conducive with unhealthy campers.

So, in a desperate attempt to make our first camping trip memorable and healthy, I began plotting. I pushed back the couch, set up our tent, sprinkled pine cones around, even set up our miniature Christmas tree, and began preparing our camp food so that it was all ready to cook campfire style when Morgan got home. I lit a pine-smelling candle that surprisingly, and beneficially, let a ton of smoke throughout the house creating that smoky campfire experience. I opened all the windows, put out the lantern, the flashlights, and all our camp cooking stuff. When Morgan got home he was greeted to our campsite with the beautiful view of "Planet Earth - temperate forests" playing.

It was definitely not the best campsite ever - but it was pretty awesome. That night we roasted marshmallows under the broiler with our little marshmallow skewers. So here is a delicious thing to try:

Caramel Apple S'mores

-Cut thin slices of apples, so that one apple basically creates 4 big flat apple-looking slices. (Should have taken a picture... next time)

-Soak them if you are going camping or won't be using immediately in lemon juice cinnamon and sugar - naturally use an abundance of the sweet stuff

-Place the apples flat on a foil-lined cookie sheet and place two pieces of a chewy caramel on top of whichever apple slice you decide to be your bottom of the s'more.

-As you roast marshmallows, let the apples sit on a lower rack in the oven. This actually doubles as a cleaning and safety mechanism in the event that your marshmallow drops or drips or such

- Once your marshmallow is golden brown and just how you like it, and the caramel is all melted over the apple, remove the cookie sheet, place the marshmallow between a caramelly apple slice and a regular apple slice, squish together and enjoy perfection.

OH MY GOSH.

And, for the record, I am a serious chocolate addict, so a s'more without chocolate seems like a sin - but this my friends, was a new level of Nirvana. Feast and enjoy.

We woke up that night still FREEZING - you should not be able to see your breath in your own house. However all in all it was a wonderful trip.

In the morning we did in fact take a "day hike" to Leavenworth, to eat some brats, admire the beauty of colorful leaves, and watch dead salmon floating down the river. It was a beautiful day.

Where do I start???

OK - So I have clearly been slacking in the blog department, but in my defense it has been one seriously insane month and a half. I couldn't decide... well I guess I actually can't decide if I should tell you all the incredibly sappy wonderful things Morgan does for me, explain the beauty of life as a Dipo, or describe the details ofthe past few weeks, the parties, the wedding ceremony and the reception, Costa Rica and beyond.

I guess I'll just write, let it flow, and hopefully you can piece together what I feel like has been an utterly perfect past few months.

I think for now I'll start with that moment that the wedding drew to an end. For those of you who have been married, you may have experienced what we did. Basically, someone may pronounce you husband and wife but you aren't officially married until the pictures are done, hugs are exchanged, food is consumed, bouquets are tossed, and the clock signals it is time to go. It's not until all that passes when you finally realize that the mantle of marriage is now upon you, and life as you know it will never be the same.

After running through a tunnel of bubbles, cheers, and our dearest friends and family, we got in the car finally being able to relax in peace and listen to our own thoughts. Within 5 minutes of being in the car, the miraculously sunny day's forecasted clouds filled the sky and rain began to spit on the window. Morgan in his excitement began re-living some of his favorite moments in the wedding, and as he explained how much love he felt as we danced with our friends, and as we were cheered goodbye, tears overcame us as we realized just how loved we are and how beautiful life will be as the newest Dipo family.

It was our perfect wedding. We had been watching the forecasts for weeks and never once did we see anything but rain for the week before and the week after. Even the day before and the

morning of forecasted pouring rain on September 18th. Once I got to Newcastle I remember looking out the window and seeing a glimmer of blue sky and announcing that at least I could say we had blue skies on our wedding. Actually, that was quite the understatement and by the time we went out to take pictures, nothing but blue skies illuminated the seattle skyline and the sun beat down on the bright green grass and our beautiful wedding continuously.

Family and friends came in from out of town, and our biggest regret from that day was not spending more time with all of them. But, people keep telling me it is what's expected from a wedding, so I guess, we can just be incredibly grateful for their love and support. It really was a perfect day.

Practicing Chivalry

Jenny's parents live in a house on the top of a cliff overlooking a bay on Bainbridge Island. To get down to the water, they have a tram that will take you down steadily in about two minutes. If the tram is out-of-order, or if it's at the bottom and you don't want to wait for it to come up to get you, you can take a neighbor's staircase down to the bulkhead.

Such was the case on Saturday afternoon. Jenny's dad was working on their boat, and we were supposed to go down to meet him so we could go pick up a crab pot we had placed a while earlier. Unfortunately, the tram was already at the bottom, and we didn't want to hang around to wait for it, so we took a neighbor's staircase. Once at the bottom, though, we realized that it was high tide, and that it would take some wading in front of the bulkhead to get over to the Black's dock since significant shrubbery and thorns blocked the way between the two properties. It didn't look that bad, but the beach in this particular area is very rocky and will easily scratch one's feet. Jenny felt confident because she had snowboots on (don't ask me why) that were supposedly water proof. I just had tennis shoes on, and wasn't fond of getting my feet cut up on rocks and dead clams, so I told her I would run back up and wait for the tram.

"No, Morgan, I can carry you," said Jenny prophetically. I then thought to myself that it was probably a waste of time to wait for the tram when I had already come all this way, so I decided I could wade barefoot, but Jenny still insisted on carrying my poor, soft feet over the sharp rocks. She started to wade through ankle deep water with an extra 200+ pounds on her back, and I thought she would give up at any moment and make me walk. But she kept trudging along without complaining until, before we realized it, we were in hip-deep water, and there was no turning back. We didn't realize the water got this deep so close to shore, but she couldn't set me down now because my cell phone was in my pocket, and would surely get ruined. Like a true soldier, Jenny continued to wade until I was safe and dry on her parent's bulkhead. Jenny, on the other hand, was soaked from the waste down, but had won even more respect from me.

Next time, we'll take the tram.

Judgment at First Sight

Like most guys, when I first saw Jenny, her attractiveness caught my eye. As I later got to know her, I found out that she had just graduated from BYU (this was back in 2008), and had just started working as an environmental consultant for a company called Oasis.

Hmmm....a very gorgeous blond that just graduated from BYU, and is still in a single's ward? There were only two possibilities to explain this conundrum: 1) She got married her freshman year, and is now divorced, or 2) She has a bad case of the crazies.

I came to find out it was neither (or at least not the first one). Jenny was simply no ordinary MRS Degree-seeking BYU student. She was (and is) something special, who isn't "tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men." She does what she wants and what she feels is right, and is all the better for it.

And thank goodness, because who knows where I would be if she had followed the masses of marriage culture at BYU.

PS> September 4th.....GO HUSKIES!!

Foreplay

I'm camping with my dad; sort of a last Daddy-daughter excursion before I get married. Or so that was the original plan.

I'm sitting on a boat in 90 degree weather, stuffed full of cherry pie (courtesy of Cyrus O'Leary), and a delicious Italian dinner. Yes, I am using the internet. Jimmy Buffet is playing and my dad is wearing a silk aloha shirt and white linen shorts. White? Yes. Camping? Yes.

We are plugged into the world wide web via MiFi, the newest device of ATT which basically taps into the 3G network anywhere and creates a wifi network for 5 computers. We are out at Blake Island with a bunch of friends of my family and so though my final camping trip isn't quite the quiet intimate camping experience with Dad, I am quite content. Plus, since I've been surrounded by a ton of people whose inhibitions are weakened by the not-so-occasional cocktail, conversations have been fun, abundant, and rather loud, leaving me with ample time to sink into my thoughts and dream about Morgan. So I thought I would share this fun little story:

Shortly after beginning to go to the University 3rd ward, I became good friends with a girl named Maile, who was dating Morgan. After we had been friends for 2 months or so, the two of them went their separate ways (phew). Maile knew that Morgan was getting pretty serious about buying a home so she gave him my number so I could put him in touch with my mom - the all-star realtor of Bainbridge Island and definitely the go-to person for ANY real estate question. I distinctly remember being out shopping the first time Morgan called me. To be honest, I don't at all remember what was said, but I do remember completely freezing in one corner of the store (Urban Outfitters) for about 10 minutes as his question flowed effortlessly into conversation and laughter. The realization that I was flirting with Maile's ex and was entirely too happy/comfortable with it made me flush with embarrassment and quickly hang up the phone.

That conversation began a series of phone calls that lasted way past Morgan's bed time. Nowadays, since he has me hooked, Morgan tries to be in bed by 9, but let me tell you, back in those glory times, I had him on the phone past midnight almost every night - and this was before we had ever even 'hung out.'

As I lounge on the boat watching the sun go down, Boston is playing the song "Foreplay" which I think is perfectly fitting for this blog.

GOSH get your mind out of the gutter.

But really, that flirty stage before you decide to go official - I suppose it is a type of foreplay, one I liked enough to decide to take the plunge!

Get married that is.

Dinner disaster

In a previous post I explained the video Morgan and Cecile put together for our bridal shower in which Morgan answered a variety of questions. One of the questions asked: "What was the worst meal Jenny ever made for you?" To which he responded he couldn't think of any bad meal but if he had to say something it was probably something vegan. Well, thanks to tonight's creative outburst, I now know what his answer would be.

So I don't know what's wrong with me, but somewhere between new supplements (magnesium and chromium for sugar cravings), a desperate attempt to diet, and strong advice to avoid wheat, dairy, sugar and red meat for clearer skin, my cravings and energy levels have gone somewhat awry. Now I'm not the best at following a strict diet, and though I have lessened my intake of those suggested vices, I have definitely not expelled sugar and wheat; cookies are a permanent part of me and I will never give them up. That being said, I have definitely been a lot better, but as is the case any time you reduce your calorie intake and deny yourself certain foods, my cravings have been less than ordinary.

This afternoon, Morgan came home to find me asleep in his bed - I was supposed to be running. Apparently, a sudden onset of exhaustion flooded over me as I was changing into my workout clothes, and my quick nap seemed a much better use of energy than running. At any rate, upon waking me up I realized my hunger had reached this sort of sickening low, and my cravings were running rampant. I offered to make dinner to make up for the embarrassing fact that I had been napping while he was working. As I approached the kitchen, thoughts of fruits, fats, breads, and beans flooded my mind as I tried to acclimate my diet with Morgan's pantry. What came next was a disaster, not for the weak in stomach:

Makes 1 serving:

1 tortillia (corn or flour depending on your ability to handle wheat and/or advice to consume it)

1/4 avocado

1.5 tbsp almond butter

1.5 tbsp strawberry preserves

a lot of turkey slices

1/2 tomato

1/4 mango - diced

On Morgan's I included... (oh I am so embarrassed to admit this) 1 tbsp mayo and 2 slices of provolone.

Roll it all up and ENJOY!

Sweet wonderful Morgan ate the whole thing, and I enjoyed mine too considering it was apparently what my body wanted at the time. For the record I would have included spinach, but men don't seem to ever have green things in their fridge outside the form of pickles and moldy cheese.

Morgan kindly told me (after some prodding) that he would prefer that I not make the creative wrap again, and I agreed. I feel like we have accomplished something here: I have officially made the first most awful meal of our life together. Oh so many more firsts to come.

"These days there's dudes getting facials..."

Morgan always quotes this song by Brad Paisley whenever I chide with him that his jeans are denim versions of sweat pants... and not just any sweat pant, but like the serious ghetto pant which could conceal a skateboard, an oozie, a few boxes of pizza, or perhaps an entire extra person. The song is called "I'm Still a Guy" and Morgan uses it to remind me that he refuses to wear anything... constraining... at all to maintain upmost manliness.

But yet, some things can change.

In an effort to make my skin radiant, youthful and unusually void of my age-defying ocasional pus-filled pore (IE acne) my mom has gifted me with a series of peels, facials, LED light treatments, eletrocuting glove thingamabobbers, and so forth. As much as the acid, the extraction and the electric shock therapy are quite the opposite of relaxing, my skin is feeling noticeably better and wonderfully shiny.

This weekend we were showered with advice, kitchen supplies and bedding at a beautiful wedding shower on Bainbridge Island. Morgan came over to the Island with his mom and me, but was obviously not invited to the shower. Since I have been frequenting Bainbride for my skin treatments, I advocated Morgan paying a visit to Vernell at Athenique for a... "dermatologist appointment"... Though skeptical at first, with a bit of encouragement, Morgan did it, he signed up for a facial, and though he is embarassed to admit it, I'm pretty sure he enjoyed it almost as much as I do... especially the extraction part - if you don't know what that is, look it up and enjoy.

During the shower, and while Morgan's pores were being exfoliated, I was out at Hilary Newbery's beautiful beachy home talking with old friends (old as in I have known them for a while... not exactly regarding their age) and getting some wonderful advice. Furthermore, we ate beet-chocolate cupcakes that were to DIE for, and I promise as soon as I get that recipe, not only will I personally bake and eat 2 dozen more, I will post the recipe on here.

I LOVED talking about Morgan, and despite the fact he joined the ranks of "dudes getting facials" I pretty much think he is quite the man - and truly a manly man, uber guy, or however else you want to say it. I get giddy telling stories about him, and I guess as the days grow shorter, I am getting more and more lost in love and am still overly, completely, and 'jubiliantly' twitterpaited.

One hot shower

So apparently I am not the best blogger. Life has been so fun and so busy, but boy when that sun comes out (as it has been FINALLY doing around here) I shy away from computers big time and get outside. However, since Morgan has written a bunch of blogs in a row, I feel it is time to begin my much overdo contribution.

Let's talk about sex.

Just kidding.

But I got you going didn't I?

So as the days are getting closer, that oh-so-anticipated night is approaching, and to warm me up to the idea, my friends threw a super sexy bridal shower for me on Thursday. Kaetlin Miller, all the way from NYC spear-headed this thing, with Cecile Farmer being her hands on the west coast, and Lachelle Francis taking charge of the invite duties.

I have AWESOME friends.

In an attempt at getting me some first class education, Kaetlin's original idea was to have the shower at a "toy" shop, which was tamed to just have the toy shop lady come to the apartment. In sort of a bridal shower, not-supposed-to-have-any-part-in-the-planning-process-but-I'm-terrified-how-this-may-go-over-with-some-of-my-naive-friends panic, I vetoed the decision and reigned in poor Kaetlin a little more. The thought of a 19 year-old sweet little impressionable LDS girl engaging in one of those conversations definitely had us squirming out of discomfort.

Fortunately, Kaetlin kept up the creativity, and turned this party into a fantastic and memorable night. Cecile put up all sorts of decorations and made party favors while Kaetlin baked a cake in the shape of a giant... well I'll leave that up to your imagination. The girls brought all sorts of fun gifts and between that and the discussion, I am definitely feeling a little bit more educated and ready.

Cecile and Morgan put together a you-tube video where he answered a bunch of questions like, how we met, what our favorite things are about each other, favorite meals etc. So Cecile would ask me a question, I would answer hoping to match his answers and then we'd play his video getting to see what he had to say. Sure enough, we matched on almost everything! One of the only ones we differed on was our celebrity crushes, and since neither of us have one, both of us tried to guess somebody random, when really, we both only have one crush: each other. Morgan was so cute and more than once the girls sighed in unison as he would say the perfect thing... like I am pretty sure he always does.

It was truly a blast, and with less than two months left before the wedding, I CANNOT HOLD IN MY EXCITEMENT!!!! So many wonderful friends will be able to make it, even those far away with babies! This Saturday is the adult-friendly bridal shower, which I suppose is more centered around cooking stuff. I do find this funny seeing that this group of ladies would be far more versed in the night-time stuff than my younger group of friends... but I think I'm thankful for this setup, despite the apparent contradiction.

Life is wonderful. Wedding plans. Showers. Birthdays. Summery days. Long Runs. Blogging.

Sheesh. I really like this no-job stuff.

Ward Spotlight

Just thought I'd share this ward bulletin that Allen Brand posted about us (click on the image to see it better)...

My Preeeeecious

After I proposed to Jenny, she immediately took to her ring very well. I loved to see her wearing it immediately and trying so hard to keep it clean and looking nice. It's almost like she has already been wearing it for years. She has even said that she feels naked when she doesn't wear it for things like wake-boarding. It took me a few weeks to pick out the best possible diamond for the most important person in my life, and it's really neat to see that she likes it so much.

We have been having fun with her new engagement ring. Having seen poor Gollum's obsession with a ring in Lord of the Rings, we tend to also call Jenny's ring, "The Precious." Ok, it's kind of weird/cheesy, but it makes for fun jokes during sacrament meeting. Sometimes she will let me hold it and polish it with my handkerchief. But she is like Frodo, and is the only one worthy of holding The Precious for any extended period of time.

When we are actually married, she will have two pavé wedding bands stacked around the actual engagement ring. What will we call that? The Triple Precious, of course!



Jenny is my Precious.