Things that will forever have happened.

Today, my brother-in-law is getting married (Congratulations, Brady and Katie!). This made me think about my wedding day, almost 3 months ago and, if i don't write this down now i'll probably forget and I can't wait till October 5th, 2013 to come back and re-read these things and remember how hilarious my wedding day was, in reality. All of these things are not in the beautiful memoirs of wedding. It's not in pictures and I'm sure plenty of people don't even know half of these things, but i think the back-stories of my wedding are just as great as the real thing. So, of course, here comes another bulleted list.

On our wedding day:

• I watched part of Arachnaphobia with my family while we were getting ready and waiting for Sean to. 
• He texted me "I'll be there in 3 minutes" after half an hour of playing Super Smash Brothers with stupid Bloom when he should have just been getting ready. After he sent that text is when he actually started getting ready 
• I wore Abby's dress to the temple because I didn't bring a dress except my actual pretty wedding dress because I thought that's how it went.
• Punk Rock Freddie's death was on the front page of the newspaper that day. 
• I stole white pins from the temple.
• It was so cold and i wore Sean's "SAUCE" jacket while not being photographed and I said once "Where is my warm thing-i-mean-husband?" 
• The thing I most remember the guy who married us saying is "You probably won't remember anything I say."
• I wore a shirt Sean gave me that he once sold that says "I <3 Sean Donner" what was much too big for me to get my hair done. 
• I could hardly sleep.
• His parents bought us Burger King for lunch after going to the temple and we ate it in the car on the way to the reception location. It was chicken fingers, fries, and coke and Sean accidentally got Diet Coke and was upset so i drank it for him.
• We were setting up for the reception all the way up until guests started coming in and we had them help us. 
• After the reception was over and people were cleaning up, Sean's Aunt Melanie helped hide me with a round table so i could take off my tights.
• During the father/daughter dance, my dad asked me something about moving to Minnesota, i think and I accidentally swore and then blamed it on Bloom. 
• Bloom gave us a crappy baby shower gift card. idiot. 
• We ate barbecue and I was prepared and brought an apron and Sean said something like "She knows where her place is" jokingly to my family. even though he does WAY more cooking than I do.
• We got copies 2 and 3 of Caddyshack. 
• My mom was the only one (besides me) not to wear her wedding clothes to the temple. Abby wouldn't have either but i was wearing her clothes so i could carry my dress into the temple and wear it out. or something.
• I cried a lot after being sealed.
• We made velociraptor cake toppers but our cake was just a slab cake so we put them on our table.
• Escape (Enrique Iglesias), A Thousand Miles (Vanessa Carlton), Do The Moo Shoo and His Cheeseburger (Veggie Tales), Party Rock Anthem (LMFAO), Party in the Bloom.S.A (Miley Cyrus), Smile (Vitamin C), and Kids in America (No Secrets) were all on the playlist. and this WASN'T. How that happened, i have no idea. It's like our theme song...
• During A Thousand Miles, Sean and I were at our table eating and when it got to the piano bits, we'd pretend to play it. adorable.
• We took pictures with our faces going crazy and i did some weird flying moves and Sean took pictures of me and I took pictures of him. because we're creative and awesome. 

So next time you or someone else gets stressed out about having a perfect wedding, force them to remember that whenever anything goes wrong or right or not in the way you were planning, it doesn't matter because eventually it'll be funny and adorable. Or just plain nuts-o.

love, ellen

It's Christmas Eve, Not Christmas Steve! volume 2

Merry Christmas Eve, all!

This is the first Christmas that Sean and I have ever spent and I think it's going to be number 1. I can't wait to see his face when he opens all his fun gifts and for him to see mine when visa versa and whatnot.

I'm so grateful he's here to enjoy this holiday with. So far, he's made me a christmas (eve) ham which was super delicious, and we drank sparkling blueberry grape juice, also delicious, and we've given each other pajamas and 1 gift each. I got him an awesome rifle lighter and he gave me a super cool microfiber hairbrush that dries your hair when you brush it! Awesome.

Anyway, I'm sure you don't want to be reading some blog on Christmas Eve. Go enjoy your family and stuff! okay,

MERRY CHRISTMAS TOMORROW!

love, Ellen

1 week and 1 day

Til I get to spend Christmas with my fantastic husband. Today, there's a lot to say and i think it best to be in a bulleted list, like i like.

• Remember last year's Christmas Eve post that had my most favorite christmas songs on it? that was a good one. you should check it out if you haven't.
• Yesterday, in church, Sean and I gave our 'new to the ward' talks. We actually had some fun writing them and telling each other the funny bits we were planning on saying. When we actually gave them, people seemed to enjoy them and we got lots of compliments after. 
• Okay, so last monday (a week ago today) i got my first smartphone. It's an HTC Radar. I cannot begin to tell you how incredibly careful i am with it. I leave it in my bag when i'm sitting down and it's rarely in my pockets in case it falls out. So on sunday, right before i'm about to go into the church for sacrament meeting, guess what. Sean's ipad was covering it when both were sitting in my lap and, as i stepped out of the car, i bet you can only imagine what happens next. yep, the brand new phone slips and tumbles straight onto the pavement and the screen shatters. my luck... but it's all going to be fine. the phone was free, it's only a malformation in the screen. All the apps and buttons (is that what they're called when they don't protrude from the surface?) and whatnot work. so it'll be fine. but what a frustrating thing. 
• On Saturday morning, Sean and I woke up bright and early to take miss kitty to get fixed. When we picked her up that afternoon, she was so silly! she had a piece of duct tape on her head for the vets to put her in her in the right carrying cage thing and she just looked high as a kite. She also got her vaccines. We have been giving her meds every day at 7 am and 7 pm and, even though they're super gross and she hates them, she takes them well. She's been sleeping a lot more and letting me cuddle with her! Right? she loves having her head scratched and laying down right next to me. cute.

• we've seen The Hobbit twice so far. for realz. We saw it in normal  and then in  Lots-o'-frames 3D which was weird. I don't know if i liked it or not. but anyways, it's really great and I'd recommend it. Also, recently, i've been re-watching the Lord of the Rings Extended trilogy. Awesome. 
• Only a hair more than a week till CHRISTMAS! I can't wait to give Sean all of the things I got him. And I can't wait to see what he got me! I think married christmas is going to be so much fun and I can't wait for Prime Rib with my family that night! and to give them what we got them! oh, christmas. so fun. 

i think that's all. 

but i also think i need to share this adorable picture of my sweet husband sleeping:

love, Ellen

simple observations.

i have to start out with a rendition of a song:


oh, the weather outside is frightful,
and all i ever wanna do is cuddle.
And cuz Sean's at work all day,
I will wait, i will wait, i will wait.

okay. back to business:

• i'm okay going 20 miles under the speed limit today because of my poor tires and it's slippery all around.
• i love almond hot chocolate. almond anything, really.
• You HAVE to let the dryer finish when you don't have a laundry thing at your house and have to transport it because if you don't and put it in the bottom of the hamper, it WILL wrinkle and you will have a bad time.
• my house is a mess and for the first time in months, kitty is being super sweet and cuddly. She's even letting me pet her without attacking my hands. jerk.
• Today is the perfect day to start re-watching Lord of the Rings in preparation for Friday. Also because of the weather. Good thing the 1st part of Fellowship is still in the bluray player from that time Sean and I fell asleep to it on saturday.
• i want to be an artist. 
• 2 finals down, 2 to go. and then BREAK. awww yeah.
• the creepy heaters in our apartment are actually awesome. 
• I need to go buy some of Sean's stocking gifts today. or tomorrow. probably tomorrow.

okay, that's all for today. now i'm going to take a nap and clean my house. 

love, ellen.

getting the spirit on.

and do some serious studying.
next week is Finals week. I have 2 monday morning at 7 and 9 and 2 on wednesday at 11 and 1 and then WINTER BREAK! 3 weeks of getting things done that have been put off by school and work.

As of late, Sean and I have been getting our Christmas spirit on by attending (his) work parties and wrapping presents up and getting each other stuff. I can't wait to see his face with what I got him! I still have a reasonable amount in the budget to get him some more things, but i have a few days.

I'm GETTING A SMARTPHONE. guys, i'm moving up in the world. I keep feeling more and more grown up. I'm married and I'm 1 semester from getting my associates degree and i'm becoming more technologically savvy. it's great.

okay, i'm gonna go do the dishes and eat and study.
love, ellen.

not even december

Happy end of november. It's almost christmas season and i'm feeling... normal. I think it needs to be december, snow some, and then i'll be willing to listen to all the christmas music and buying up the rest of Sean's christmas presents. 

I'm just really ready for this semester to be over and be able to relax and enjoy my husband and our cozy apartment and (i guess) our kitten. Only 1 more week of classes, 3 papers, 1 project, and then 3 finals. deep breath. it'll be okay. 

anyway, just wanted to do a quick update. 

love, ellen

Happy Thanksgiving!

just a few thoughts on this day of gratitude (in a bulleted list, like i like)

• as cliche as it is, i'm the most grateful for my incredible husband. He takes such great care of me and cooks and takes out the trash and listens to my ridiculous dreams and makes me laugh. he's so great and I'm so blessed to have found such a handsome fella to spend forever with.
• I'm also grateful for my wonderful family who i can't wait to chow down with in a few short hours! I love them!

• and, as stupid and annoying she is a lot of the time, i'm grateful for my kitty who makes me laugh and (occasionally) cuddles with me. 

I hope everyone has a most excellent Thanksgiving and stuffs their faces with tons of super delicious grub and then takes a big ole' nap. at least that's how i'm going to spend my holiday. 

love, ellen

Utah Reception

okay, i know it's super late, but i'm gonna do a watered down version of the Utah reception. It really was amazing and i appreciate all the beautiful decor and donations of cookies and chairs and time.
My cousin, Malea, was our Utah reception photographer. These are all her pics and her daughter, Emma's (she was our super cute paparazzo).

like i did with the Minnesota reception, here's a bunch of pictures in (mostly) chronological order with captions. These first few are just couples shots of me and Sean before the party.

 cute. 

 Love!

 Just LOOK at his eyes! my mr. handsome.

 haha marti hands. we have fun. 

 My guys!

 Our cussin' awesome cake topper!

 Sean's groom's cake! Handmade by my dad. (impressive,right?!?!)

 the guest gift table! cute!

 refreshments, anyone? cookies and milk and water and cream cheese mints!

 This is an advice box. we got a lot of good help and tips and stuff!

 one side of the stage in the room 

 middle of the stage

 the other side with super cute shutters and picket fence!

 guest book and the big D from the MN reception and a handmade paper 'D' made by my cousin (super awesome!)

 The entrance to the party! (and a funny play on our name)

 Bench outside the reception room

 My mom and brothers-in-law!

 Brothers!

 the wall behind the line. we have 2 banners that Sean and I wrote You're the ___ to my ____.

 A cute frame we got from the Penny's at our MN reception. SUPER cute!

 Gift table and envelope birdcage. See! AMAZING decorations!

 cutting the cake

 cute. we're the clean kind.

 toasts!

 Scandinavian cup drinking 

 bouquet toss! 

Second first dance

Then we went to the hotel our best friend Jayme got for us and relaxed. The next day we went to my parents' house to have brunch and open gifts. It was really a beautiful reception and lots of fun. 

Let's just say, though, that' i'm glad we're done getting married. It was a lot of work (for everyone, probably more than me), a lot of stress and headaches, and i was just ready to be married to this super handsome, incredible guy. Now we can start up all our holiday fun! 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! 

love, Ellen

married life.

Seriously, i recommend it. highly. it's great to have someone to come home to at night or to surprise with little things like special desserts or leftover beverages or whatever. And it's great to have someone here at night keeping me safe and warm.
(seriously, though, it gets freezering in this joint sometimes and the fiery furnaces frighten me sometimes.)

Over the past too long of time (if that makes any sense...) i've been working like 6 more hours a week and Sean's been working overtime as well and it's not so fun for either of us, but we're coping and getting excited for all the extra funds coming in. Let's just say Christmas will be good.

The only not so fun parts are chores. i love cleaning the house, but i'm not a huge fan of taking out the trash or doing the dishes... Luckily Sean takes out the trash mostly, but i still do the dishes, usually.. it's fine, i'm getting better at not gagging at the really gross wet leftover foods (which is a thing that happens.) working at a food place has helped in that aspect but it's still not so fun.

School is whatever. I just can't wait for THANKSGIVING! a nice break from school and work and just getting to spend time eating and cuddling with my husband. i have to be honest here, cuddling is the 100% best thing ever in the world.

Speaking of stuff, i have to go do the dishes and then get a package from the post office and then French class and then more work. Yay! or something.

okay. love, ellen

The Honeymoon

Sorry i've been out of commission for a while.. I've been busy with school and work and being married. Anyway, here's the honeymoon bit.

So we stayed in South Dakota, right? I know, I know, you're thinking "eugh, south dakota? like the least romantic place in the galaxy?" and to that i say "no, it was pretty and secluded and all I wanted to do anyway was cuddle with my new husband, so it was perfect."

We left Mankato at about 9 am on Sunday morn after the wedding and stopped at his parents house for pictures his dad took, frozen peppers that he bought who knows how long ago (like 2 years?), and some of his old stuff from their attic. Then we finally hit the road for SD. drive drive drive. Then we check into the hotel, grab some hot chocolate and check out our hotel room.

Over the course of our honeymoon, we cuddle a lot (like i wanted), watch Jurassic Park and baseball, visit Mount Rushmore,

"That's just my wife wondering how far I'm gonna make her walk." photo courtesy of Sean's Instagram

get a huge pizza and eat it in the hotel room, and go to Rapid City and have dinner at the Firehouse Brewery.
There's a story about that. So we go to Rapid City, park a couple blocks away, and walk there through a graffiti'd alleyway with a couple sleeping bums, and then get there and the special is prime rib. awww, yeah. We both order the same exact thing (the special, obvs) with a baked potato and a lemonade and hot chocolate. Then we eat, normal, and get the check. It's a substantial amount wrong (over). So we wait and wait for the waitress to come around and pick up our check so we can have her fix it and it's taking forever. There's a couple of couples a short distance away from us and one of the ladies there is super picky about her food. So anyway, the waitress comes up the stairs with their order and at the very top, she trips and all their food goes tumbling. Sean looks at me and says "Should we just pay the check?" and so we did with some cash from our wedding. Then we leave and walk toward our car aaand Sean has us walk 2 accidental blocks past our car. greaaat. it's cold. anyway, it was great. then we went back and cuddled so it's okay.

Then we left on tuesday morning and get home tuesday night and relax.
It was really great. I only wish it was longer.

And that's all. Love, Ellen

The post you've been waiting for!

okay, i don't know where to start on this bad boy... how about 2 tuesdays ago. Deal. So i got home from work, we loaded up Clark the Caliber (Sean's car) and headed out. drive drive drive. lots of music, a couple naps, breakfast in Rapid City and we visited some concrete dinosaurs in the cold and kissed because of excitement of almost being married.

"She just got done telling South Dakota that we're getting married on Friday." Photo courtesy of Sean's instagram

Kept driving, got there wednesday and rested and did something... i can't remember what... Thursday we relaxed and then started setting up for the big day. Also, our parents met each other and got along instantly (i guess now Sean's and my dads are going camping sometime eventually..) and then we went to Buffalo Wild Wings (YUM.) We said good bye, hugged a bunch, and I stayed with my family that night.

Then happened the big day. I woke up at about 7 and showered and got ready while my family slept. then i waited for Sean to come and get me and take me to All About Hair to get my hairs did by Sean's friend Amy for the wedding.

Then we went back, I put on a dress Abby lent me (that i looked good in ;) ), and then Sean came back from Bloom's (where, instead of spending 15 minutes getting ready and coming back, Sean spent 30+ minutes "Smashing" (super smash bros) and 3 minutes getting ready. that guy...) Then we took an almost 2 hour drive to the temple, where we left our sisters and Sean's cousin Kathy who took our pictures, and Sean and I were sealed. After the wedding, we gathered for pictures.

This is the only one I've edited so far. and i'm still trying to figure out my new, simpler version of photoshop.

Us and our sisters. awww. 

"Wurr Murried!" also, "It's cold!"

Me and my warm-thing-I-mean-husband. :)

After pictures, we went to Burger King. Sean and I got some chicken strips and fries and cokes and drove back. We checked into our hotel and went and saw the room. (SO nice! the bed was as big as my entire bedroom, i'm pretty sure.) Then we went to the church, finished setting up a little, and had a party! we had BBQ and dancing and it was great.

This was our guest book. Cool, right? my dad made it.

I remembered we were having bbq so i brought my apron.

see how well they get along? haha

Marti hands! (my aunt marti has a chronic cannot-hold-her-hands-normal-in-pictures condition ;) )

Wedding cake! from top to bottom, White, Carrot, Marble. YUM!

feeding. look how cute and clean we are!

first dance! the light spots are bubbles. 

father/daughter dance!

and that's just the MN reception. We stayed in Mankato for a couple days, chillin' and visiting his friends and getting some stuff he left at his parents house. Then we headed for South Dakota. We stayed at the K Bar S Lodge in Keystone, SD.

i'm gonna cut it short cuz i'm sure you're tired of this and also, i'm gonna eat lunch and take a nap and watch Fellowship of the Ring. Don't worry, i will eventually write about honeymoon and Utah reception. 

love, ellen