Viva Las Vegas

This past weekend, Darren, Matt and I took a quick trip to Vegas to visit his mom.  Saturday we were able to attend a session at the Las Vegas Temple (Matt had a friend going through).  This was my first time going to a temple other than the Mesa Temple, so it was new and exciting.  The Las Vegas temple is AMAZING!  So beautiful =)

I got the whole Vegas Temple experience, according to Darren.  I talked to the trees!

After that, we headed to the hospital to visit Chris.  This time seeing her was a lot different than the last time.  Last time we were there, she would babble endlessly about the most random things.  For instance, she kept talking about the 'bank accounts' and all the changes that needed to be made and so forth.  This time around, she didn't do that.  She repeated everything a few times, but was..more in reaility.  She knew we were visiting from AZ, she even knew that Darren's job is to 'spray bugs so they die'.  Her memory seemed to be less scattered and more in the present than last time, which is good.  She's still a crack up to talk to and we had fun chatting with her.

Saturday night we went to a bonfire with Matt and all his friends.  It was relaxing just sitting by the fire, which was HUGE!  Here are a few pictures from that.

 BONFIRE

Well..half of Darren's head, but it's the only one I got with him smiling normal

 What a goofy husband I have ;) I love him!

 Unloading the trailer

Sunday morning we went back to the hospital to visit Darren's mom one last time before we headed out.  Again, it was a fun visit.  We even were able to video chat with Nate and his kids.  Chris loved seeing Caroline crawl.  After that visit, we stopped by the group home where she'll most likely be for the next two months.  It's a nice little place with a great staff and I really feel that Chris will improve a lot there.  She'll be able to move around more, interact with others, and just be in a more loving environment.

It was a fun weekend, but now it's back to work!  Happy Monday =)

Grandma Abuela

On August 30th, my Grandma Abuela passed away.  It was completely unexpected and therefore took us all off guard.  The funeral was on Sept. 4th and it was a wonderful ceremony.  She touched many lives and will live on in all of us.  She was a wonderful grandma who loved her grandchildren and great grandchildren very much.  This post is for my grandma, Laura Mazzarelli.

My grandma was amazing.  Looking back, I now realize that she was always there for us.  Every baby blessing, baptism, graduation, and of course wedding, Grandma and Grandpa we always there smiling with pride.  She supported all of us in everything.  Also, every birthday you knew you'd get a phone call and a present.  Sometimes the present was a shirt too small, but you knew Grandma was thinking of you.  Same with Christmas...someone always got something special just for them.

Another thing about my grandma, she LOVED having us visit.  Her door was always open.  I remember going one weekend when I was probably 12 with a friend and my dad.  We were able to go to the beach, the fun-zone, roller blade around Balboa Island, and play cards with Grandma and Grandpa at nights.  My college roommate Keira and I just recently spent a few days at Grandma's last summer.  It was a great time and Grandma made sure we were comfortable and there was food in the pantry for us.

Another thing about Grandma would have to be the trips she takes us on.  For all her major anniversaries, she and Grandpa managed to get EVERYONE together for a getaway and each one was wonderful!  In March, we were able to go on a 3 day cruise to Mexico.  It was great - everyone was there but Uncle Fab, who was missed.  It was really neat to have us all together.  Here's a picture from that.

All because two people fell in love <3

I could go on and on with memories of Grandma, but it might get a little long.  My grandma was great, loved by so many and loved everyone.  She blessed many lives, and it is because of the love she has for my Grandpa that I am here today.  She will be missed but it will be a wonderful reunion when we're all together after this life.  I love my grandma abuela.

Oops! Should have posted this a week and a half ago!

So...it has been a very busy few weeks so I'm a little delayed on this particular post...the engagement post!  As promised in the previous post, here's the story of how my amazing husband proposed to me a short year ago =).

Darren and I started talking about marriage sometime in August.  We even picked out a ring and everything!  The last Sunday in August, Darren had the wonderful opportunity to ask for my fathers blessing in our marriage.  The date was picked, I may have even been dress browsing, and the ring was on its way.  Everything was coming along great!  Now, I had no idea when Darren was planning on proposing.  I knew the ring had been shipped, even knew he had it sized and everything.  But...my sneaky husband teamed up with my best friend Jessica and between the two of them, they came up with a plan to confuse me.

You see...Sept 10, Darren and I were heading to Utah for the weekend to visit some of his friends and David and Jess.  And I was sure he was going to propose then.  He went so far as to be constantly texting Jessica with me right there so I would KNOW that Jess knew something.  They even had a 'fake' text conversation about how he was going to propose in Utah up the Provo Canyon.  Now these two really had me confused..and I was sure that Darren was planning on proposing in Utah.  So what happened next, I never expected...

Friday, September 4th - That morning I had a job interview bright and early.  Then Darren picked me up because we were going to Flagstaff.  The trip was so we could visit some cousin of his who traveled a lot with his work and happened to be up the mountain at the time.  Darren said that this cousin probably wouldn't be able to make it to the wedding so he wanted me to meet him while I had a chance.  You would think I'd be suspicious at this point, right?  Well, WRONG!  Clueless...

The whole drive up, I think I slept.  For those that know me and car rides, or just know me, you know I like to sleep.  So that's what I did.  And since I was asleep the whole time, I didn't even realize that we weren't headed to Flagstaff, the GPS said "Snowflake, AZ".  Well, by the time I woke up from my long snooze, we were already there.  I remember waking up and Darren saying "So, we're ahead of schedule and have some time to kill."  I looked out the window and saw the Snowflake Temple.  Now..it's a good thing I don't really know Arizona very well or else it would have hit me that..hey!  Snowflake and Flagstaff are TWO HOURS away from eachother!  So..here I am, still clueless.


We got out of the car and started towards the temple.  I remember the parking lot was empty.  Now, I don't mean five or ten cars kind of empty, I mean emtpy.  Not a single car in the parking lot and not a single person in the temple empty.  Apparently there are only two sessions at the Snowflake Temple - morning and evening - so 1:00 pm, perfect time for a stroll around the temple grounds.  So we walked in the gate and I saw a picnic and a dozen red roses set up under a tree.  Now here's where it gets very blonde on my part...I see this and say to Darren "Aww, look.  Someone's having a picnic."  CLUELESS!  Darren laughed and said "Hmm...well, isn't that weird.  Hey, I think the picnic's on our blanket."  And that, ladies and gents, it when it hit me.  He wasn't proposing in Utah, he was proposing right then!

So we sat down for lunch and had a wonderful picnic.  For Darren, a subway sandwich, one of his favorites.  And for me...all of my favorites!  For the main course, Golden Grahams.  For the drink, a nice cold Dr. Pepper.  And for dessert, a brown and vanilla ice cream!  Does he love me or what?  It was a delicious meal.  Afterward we finished eating, we went on a stroll around the temple till he found the perfect spot to propose.  And let me tell you, it was the perfect spot.  You see, in the front of the Snowflake Temple is a beautiful waterfall.  And over that waterfall is this little walkway - or bridge if you will.  See below:

So while on that little bridge over the beautiful waterfall, Darren got on one knee and proposed!  And of course, I said yes!  It was a happy day and the whole drive home was filled with phone calls telling everyone the news.  I have an amazing husband who made that day so very special.  Thanks so much Darren!  Here's a picture we took as we drove away from the temple.

P.S. For all those out there wondering as I was, Darren's brother and sister-in-law, Nate and Lalani drove up a few minutes before us and set up the wonderful picnic.  Thanks so much for being willing to do that!  Such a wonderful surprise.

One year ago...I met the love of my life =)

I was going to post this yesterday but...that didn't happen, so here's my August 4th post!  On August 4th, 2009, I met the man I would marry only 3 1/2 short months later!  And to celebrate this, I thought I'd tell our story - the story on how Darren and I met and got started.  You don't have to read it, dunno how long it'll be.  But since I never wrote any of this in a journal, I thought this would do.  Anyway, here it goes!

August 4th, 2009 - I had been home from college for about a week or two and was moving into my sister Kristy's basement.  My plans were to live there, go to the singles ward, get a job, and possibly head back up to Idaho come January.  I was still iffy on my plans...but knew I was where I was supposed to be.  Anyway, I spent Tuesday unpacking then decided that I should go to FHE for Valencia Ward.  Now...it's not like me to just show up somewhere without knowing a soul, but I was determined to get involved with the ward.  But thankfully, Kristy texted her friends brother in law (Darren) and told him that I'd be at FHE and to make sure I didn't sit alone.  So an hour later, I was sitting at FHE by myself waiting for it to start when Darren walked up and said "Are you Emily?  I'm Darren, come sit with us!"  FHE was fun, I liked the ward, but I went home and didn't think twice about Darren - nor did he me.

We didn't see each other till Saturday night at the ward pool party.  This is where we started to get to know each other.  After the party, Darren, Brandon, Chelsea, and a few others came over to Kristy's to watch a movie.  It was a lot of fun.  Sunday, Darren gave a talk in church and I sat with Brandon.  It was a great talk, btw.  That night I'm sure we did something somewhere, but to be honest I don't remember.

Monday was our first date.  I was going to go help clean the church (Darren's calling), but ended up helping with my nieces birthday party instead.  So Darren texted me and said "I'll see if we can get a group together to go see GI Joe after church cleaning."  Then I got a text that said "Nobody will come, you still want to go?"  Little did I know he was just curious if I'd go to the movies with just him!  I went, it was a good movie, but I wouldn't let him hold my hand.  Haha...I'm mean...That night after the movie, we went hot tubbing with Brandon.  Still, I showed no interest.  The next day, after FHE, Darren came over for a movie again.  This is when it all started.  Wednesday night, he kissed me.  That weekend we took a step back to think about what we wanted.  On Monday, we had a long talk and decided we would both pray about us and go from there.  I got my answer during that conversation.  I knew, while talking to Darren about praying about us, that I would marry him.  The next day we didn't talk or see each other till FHE.  When I got there, Darren pulled me into the closest classroom, pulled me into a huge hug, kissed me, and said "I love you and I want to marry you."  And there it is!

We spent every day together from that point on, and almost still do.  I love him so very much =)  He makes me so happy!  So there's our beginning.  Proposal will be blogged about on Sept 4th =).

Our first picture together!

Amazing Progress!

So...Darren's mom is doing amazing!  Here's the most recent update we've gotten:

"They are taking the trach out today.  Shawn talked with mom for about 2 hours today.  She answered most questions correct that Shawn asked.  He had her read the cards that were on the windows that people have left for her.  Friday when dad and I were visiting her she took the blistex and unscrewed it, pushed some on her finger and then screwed the lid back on.  We looked at each other in shock.  It was cool to see some fine motor skills at work."

..................................................................................................

Here's a more recent picture of Chris in the hospital all smiley.

The nurse put a big bow in her head for the picture.  Thanks again for all your prayers.  She's doing great!

Why I *heart* aRiZoNa

There are many reasons I love Arizona but...here are my current top four

#1 - My husband, of course!  Now, I know this picture was taken at the family reunion and not Arizona, but look at that face!  =)  I love him

#2 - Arizona has amazing sunsets in the summer.  When the storm clouds build and the sun sets...one word.

A*M*A*Z*I*N*G

#3 - As mentioned in #2, we get some nice storm clouds here in the summer.  Now, I have yet to see a real storm this year, but I've seen some pretty great makings of a storm!

#4 - Last but not least, one of my best friends is HERE in AZ for TWO WEEKS!  Yes, that's right.  Ladies and gentlemen, new to the Hunsaker blog, introducing Keira Sean Hofeliiiiiiiiiing!  Please, hold the applause.

Life is wonderful =) and so much fun!  SMILE

Summer time = Vacation time

It's been a busy few weeks since I last posted!  The Saturday after we moved into the house, Darren, Matt, Coby (his nephew) and myself started our trip up to Utah for the Ream Family Reunion.  Our first stop...Vegas!

Upon arriving in Las Vegas Saturday night, we went straight to the hospital to visit Darren's mom, Chris.  I was excited - I hadn't seen her since two weeks after this all happened!  I was looking forward to seeing the progress first hand.  Also, Coby, her grandson, had never seen her so he was thrilled.  She was wide awake when we got there and in a great mood.  She kept laughing with everything Darren and Matt had to say.  She tried to mouth a few things now and again, but I was only able to pick up on the last word or so...which was kind of pointless.  It was incredible to see the improvements made - from where she was a week after it happened to where she is now can only be described in one word.  A miracle.

After church on Sunday, before heading to Utah, we stopped by again.  Chris wasn't as responsive that afternoon, but my guess is she was really tired.  She smiled a few times for us and laughed when Darren decided to make Matt's hospital gown into a short tight dress - silly boys...

Monday night was the reunion at a lodge near Roosevelt, Utah.  It was a blast!  Darren went fishing every day, multiple times, and I got to hold baby Caroline nearly the whole three days =).  Aunt Rene and Colleen did a wonderful job planning the reunion.  My favorite part was paintballing (where I got a nasty welt/bruise) and playing soccer in the rain!  It was a great vacation with family.

After the reunion, we got to visit Darren's good friend Aaron, his wife and son, in Vernal, Utah.  Last we saw them was at our wedding and even then, we didn't really have much time to visit.  Thanks Marcee and Aaron for having us!  It was a lot of fun - we got to see the behind the scenes part of a movie theater.  Super neat.

Friday and Saturday, we were back in Provo where RAINA came!  Yes, one of my roommates and best friends from Idaho - whom I hadn't seen in nearly a YEAR - came to Provo!  It was a lot of fun seeing her.  We walked around the 4th of July fair, took a nap at the park, walked around Big 5, and then finished the night off with an amazing firework show at Stadium of Fire.  Thanks so much for coming to spend time with us, Raina!

Sunday, we drove home - a LONG drive!  We stopped in Vegas of course, and stopped by to visit Chris.  She wouldn't open her eyes - Sheldon said she hadn't in awhile.  Probably tired...but she smiled and squeezed Darren's hand a few times - overall a great visit.  We got back to AZ late that night and crashed immediately! What a trip...

Here's a video of Chris's progress a few days after we saw her.  To put it into perspective, when this all happened, she had absolutely no control in her arms.  She couldn't lift them, squeeze her hands, nothing.  This clip is of her doing some simple tasks showing the movement she's obtained.  A miracle.



Thanks again for all your prayers on her behalf!  They're being heard.