Dear faithful and not-so-faithful readers,
It’s Brianna. Remember me? I am the pathetic author of this
blog who has completely neglected her writing duties for far too many months
now. But I’m back now with vim, vigor, and lots to write about so here goes
nothing.
*WARNING: this post could be a word and picture overload.
Brace yourself.
Oh my goodness, I don’t even know where to start. How about
August? August was the dawn of change, a goodbye to academia, a celebration of
survival, a hip-hip-hurrah-fist-pump-I’m-so-relieved-kind-of-month. Why you
might ask? Because this girl officially became a college graduate! That’s
right. For all you who doubted my ability to make it out alive—I did!! So take
that. I didn't say I made it out a sane woman, but hey alive and crazy is
better than nothing! It’s kind of strange to have an Alma mater—to have memories of college instead of making memories of college. Not to go
all nostalgic or anything, but I am honestly going to miss that awesome time of
my life. BYU shaped me into who I am right now, and I will always look back on
those 4 hard, but incredible years and be grateful for them.
So…diploma, check! The rest of August consisted packing,
unpacking, repacking, and more packing. I also had some amazing bridal showers
(in which I was completely blown away at the love and support I received); I
spent good quality time with the people I love most, aaaaaand I turned into
bridezilla. Okay, okay…slight exaggeration—but I sort of felt like one. No I
wasn't the bridezilla that demanded perfection down to how many grains of sugar were going to be used in the cake icing. I was more like an emotional bridezilla that cried
at the drop of a hat and felt like she was going to spontaneously combust if
one more change or “to-do” was added to the list. Good thing I have a mom who
is seriously a rock star. I fully admit that I could not have done ANYTHING
this summer without her. If I was in elementary school I could probably pick a
pretty good fight as to “why my mom is cooler than your mom”…good thing I’ve
moved on from those days :)
Anyway. September finally rolled in and 4 days into the
month I decided to oh, I don’t know, GET MARRIED. Crazy! Rob and I tied the
knot in the Salt Lake Temple at 10:26am, to be exact. Now he is stuck with me
for time and all eternity (bless him)! Being married is crazy. As a little girl
(and even up until the minute I got married) I always pictured what it would be
like. I thought that once I was a wife I would feel different. Guess what
though? It doesn’t feel any different! Well, let me rephrase that. I am the
luckiest girl in the world to be married to Rob, but I’m still the same old me.
The only difference now is that my last name is Craig and I get startled in the
middle of the night when I realize there is a man sleeping next to me. Haha.
But back to the wedding: The day was perfect. The ceremony
was so meaningful and the spirit was so strong. It was so fun to finally get to
wear my wedding dress, Rob looked adorable, I was surrounded by everyone that I
love, the food was amazing, the décor was stunning, the weather was
beautiful…it was everything I could of hoped for. Now if I could just remember
it, it flew by so fast!
Before I knew it I was off to Hawaii on my honeymoon.
Hawaii was bliss. It was the perfect vacation and Rob and I
loved it there.
1 week later I was back in SLC only a day away from the
dreaded move. Don’t get me wrong, I was excited to go to New York. But I was
not excited to say goodbye to every familiar face I had grown up with, every
family member and friend that I love so dearly, and essentially childhood. My
family joked that in order to actually get me on the plane I would have to be
sedated. They had no idea how right they actually were! Sitting on the plane
and watching Utah disappear behind me was quite possibly one of the hardest
moments of my life. No wonder I cried all the way to the Great Lakes!
But now, I am here in New York—a land where the homes have
character, a gallon of milk is 5 dollars, strangers don't smile back, and
traffic laws don’t seem to exist. Don’t worry though, Rob and I have somehow
managed to get 2 parking tickets already. What are the odds? The thing is, New
York isn’t so bad. Thanks to my incredible in-laws who drove a moving truck
across the country for us, our apartment is starting to feel like a home.
Thanks to my sister Chelsea, I’ve got some family out here to spend any free
moment with and to call around the clock. Thanks to my new ward, I’ve already
met some really awesome people. Thanks to map quest, I’m starting to learn my way
around. Thanks to fresh air, gorgeous weather, and breathtaking trees, I love
the area. Thanks to my husband I feel so loved out here. And thanks to
technology I’ve been able to stay in touch with the people I am missing so
much. We’ve even started to have a few adventures…
Well folks, that's the end of my update. If I had to summarize this post in one sentence, i would have to borrow the words of my dear friend Pooh Bear. He said, "How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." And that couldn't be more true. I have been so blessed to have an incredible life surrounded by people that I love so much and while i miss that life so very much i can't wait to tackle life's next adventures with Robert Craig by my side! And who knows, i may even love it here :)
Stay tuned for regular updates...i'm back in the blogging world!!!
Oh one last thing. Isn't this family just the cutest? I don't know what i would do if the Chappell family wasn't out here right now.
The End.
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