Our New Home!!!

After MUCH searching and viewing MANY differnet apartments, we have FINALLY found our first home! It has been decided that Gavin and I will move out of the dorms this next week and he would live with his grandparents and I will live in our new apartment until the wedding. We had been searching for a long time and had found only a few places that we thought would fit our needs, but none have worked out. Well it was coming down to the wire and we desperately needed to find a place so that I would have somewhere to live after we came back from Christmas break. We set aside a day to go look at several places and said a prayer that we would be led to the right place. The place we found is a teeney tiny place not too far away from the college. It a small apartment that has been added onto a home. It has a small kitchen a living room/bed room and a bathroom. We are so excited to have found a place! Here are a few pictures of the place so far... I cant wait to decorate it and make it feel like our "home." :)

Bubbles! Bubbles! Bubbles!!!

Late last night, Gavin, me and our friend, Makenzie decided we wanted to go hot tubbing. It had been a long week for all of us because finals week starts on Monday and we had been studying long and hard all week long. We thought we deserved a short break to go relax in a nice hot tub. We called our friends and asked if it would be all right if we used the hot tub in their apartment complex. When they said yes, we immediately grabbed our swim suits and hopped in the car. As we are pulling up, it starts to snow! In St. George! I'm sure all you who are in Salt Lake or other cold places are scoffing right now. But after living in such a warm place for awhile, you acclamate fast! Alright, alright...we are woosies. :) But hey, its a HOT tub, so we should be fine. And we were, other than freezing for the 5 whole seconds after taking off our outer clothing and running to the hot tub in our swim suits. We start up the jets and settle in, just LOVING the warm water when the bubbles start getting higher and higher. All of the sudden I couldnt see Makenzie anymore! The bubbles were literally over her head. Someone must have put some soap in because it was like a gigantic bubble bath. We sure had alot of fun!




This is not a great pic, but you can kinda see how crazy these bubbles were. And this was even after we had turned off the jets and let it simmer down a bit!

Visit to the Hospital...

The other day my leg was feeling funny and would go numb and tingly off and on all day. I told my mom and she told me it could be a blood clot and I should go to the ER to check it out. Um...ok. So I told Gav and we left institute class early so we could go check it out. We got to the hospital and I felt kinda silly because I felt absolutely fine, but better safe than sorry! We walked in and met with a nice lady who took my vitals. Then we waited. And waited... finally someone brought us back into a room where we were to wait for the guy to take an ultrasound. And we waited...and waited some more. I just wanna say that I hate hospitals. They make you wait (AND WAIT) in an uncomfortable gown in a room with weird knick-knacks all around that look scary and intense. Crazy. Good thing Gavin was there to keep me company. We actually had fun talking and waiting for the doctor and pretending like we were on "House."
FINALLY the guy came in and took the ultrasound of my leg. The weird thing was that he didnt say a word to us. Kinda weird. I've never had an ultrasound before, it was interesting. He would be looking at the blood flow and it would pluse red and blue. Then he would squeeze my calf and the sound would speed up. Crazy.
Then he finally did speak and said that he didnt see any clots, but that was for the doctor to decide. Then we waited some more. About 20 minutes later, the doctor comes in and is talking to us and says, out of the blue, "You are expecting right?" Gavin and I look at each other and we both respond in unison, "NO. No, definitely not." Then the Doc was all embarassed and said that for some reason he thought I was. Awk-ward!!! Haha, but so funny at the same time. Gavin wanted to play a prank on my mom and say that the doctor "said I was pregnant," but we didnt think that would go over so well.
Turns out that everything was fine, it just needed to be relaxed and taken easy on. He said it was good of us not to risk it and check it out because blood clots are very dangerous. After that, Gavin took me to get my favorite ice cream (cinnamon) for being such a brave girl. What an adventure!

Homeless... Well we need to find an apartment

Gavin and I have been Resident Assistants for the last semester and since we will be getting married during the next semester, they have found our replacements. This means we will no longer have duties and obligations toward the dorms, and we will no longer have our room and food paid for. So we are in need of an apartment for me to live in as Gavin will be staying with his grandparents until the wedding. Apartment hunting is definitely not the funnest and although we found some pretty awesome places a few months ago, sadly are no longer available. More sadly, nothing seems to be available.I guess people are more involved with Christmas than moving and selling their contracts...who knew? Hopefully we will find something soon because we sort of need to be out of the dorms by the 19th of December. Yikes! We sure could use some prayers for us to find a decent place within our budget! Thanks to you all!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!!!

Friday night, we went to the college basketball game and won big. We went a little bit early so we could enter in a raffle and try to win some prizes. We walk in the door and are handed our ticket and we walk up just in time for them to announce the winner... GAVIN!!! Whoo hoo! He won $30 to Texas Roadhouse. Thank goodness because we are almost out of money on our meal plan... Then five minutes later, we play a game to see who will win the next prize, hot potato. About 30 or so students form a circle and start passing golf balls. One by one students were out because they were holding the ball when the music stopped. Finally it got down to two people, me and some random kid. In order to win, we had to get rid of the ball after physically grasping the ball in our hand. It was intense. But at the last second, I switched it up and used my other hand, AND WON!!! Whoo hoo! Twenty-five dolla to Applebees!It was pretty sweet if I do say so myself. Then they did another contest kind of like limbo, but instead of it going lower and people having to bend to go underneath, it got higher and people had to jump over the top. The winner got a digital camera and Gavin made it into the top three. I had no idea he could jump so high! He seriously came within an inch of winning the camera, but Nate Jensen has crazy long legs and won. Good for him. Gavin did get a free movie ticket to the theatre though. :)

Scooter Time

Awhile back, Gavin and I made a rather sizeable purchase... A SCOOTER!!! It was hard because I didnt have a car and we both couldnt take Gavins all the time, so we thought a scooter would be a good investment. So far, its been great!!! We love it. Its nice because its still not very cold down here (Ha ha!) So we've gotten some good use out of it already. We named her Nelly because the first time we rode it, Gav said, "Whoa Nelly." Way funny and clever, I know.








Sorry there is not one of the actual scooter, we couldnt find anyone to take the pic...

It's Thrilling!!!

It was a cold autumn night.... (OooOoOOOOooh!)
Lauren and Gavin were far away from civilization.... (OooOoOOOOooh!)
And they saw.... A GHOST!!! (AHHHHH!)
....and a mummy and skeletons and Frankenstein and VAMPIRES!!! Oh. Scary. But Thats the way (uh huh uh huh) we like it. (Uh huh Uh huh!)

Thriller ROCKS!!! Lets go again next year!!!










P.S. During intermission, there was a little side show that was interesting. In the show there is a few numbers done by an actress portraying "Lorena Bobbit". During intermission, she came out and said she was in search of a new man and she was looking for one in the audience. She went through a couple guys and found one named Michael. She had him come down to the stage and told him they were getting married right then and there and that he was never going to find someone as good as her. Michael then says he has found someone better than her. So Lorena asks him to bring her down to the stage. Well she comes down and Michael then procedes to tell the audience their whole life story. How they have been dating for 5 months and how he felt this was the right time and how she was dating his friend but that didnt work out. Yadda yadda yadda and then he gets down on his knee and asks her to marry him. Ah! Nothin says romance and true love like proposing in front of hundreds with a bunch of dancing zombies breathing down your neck...

Vote!!!

I dont know if many people read this, but to the ones who do on a regular basis, you probably get tired of hearing just from me. I dont know about you but I would like to hear more from Gavin. What do you think?
If you would like to hear more from him, leave a comment and we'll see if the support will encourage him to write something! :D

Fictional Hunks

This is an article I wrote when I worked for the Dixie State College Newspaper. This was right at the beginning when Gav and I started dating. If you pay attention, you will notice how I subtly mention that I like Gavin. :O)
DISCLAIMER... because I talk about the ficitonal hunks I've had crushes on, nothing compares to the reality of my very own flesh and blood hunkahunka burnin love.

Not everyone has experienced love at first sight, (I could say I have! LOL) but plenty of ladies have experienced love at first read. It may sound crazy because it is a lot like having an imaginary friend, but girls everywhere seem to develop a profound love toward fictional characters. So, who are the sweetest and most desired fictional characters? In my opinion, there are just too many to name, but I can think of a few that are worth mentioning.
One of my first literary crushes was Oliver Wood in J.K Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." He was not even that prominent a character, but the moment his character made an appearance, he seemed like a charmer. What made Wood so attractive was his passion for the ultimate sport, Quidditch. How many guys can handle flying on a broomstick while two heavy balls are sporadically trying to knock you out of the air? Sure, Harry Potter is supposedly the best player Hogwarts has ever seen, but come on, Oliver Wood has a better name. Ron Weasley is another male character who has caught my attention. (I have a thing for redheads.) He is Harry's best friend. Sure, he has his moments of jealousy, but he is there for Harry through thick and thin. He is the comic relief, and we can all relate to him. One example is in the movie "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." The famous trio is sent into the Forbidden Forrest where they were told to follow the spiders. "Follow the spiders," Ron whines. "Why couldn't it be follow the butterflies?" Ah yes, why couldn't it have been butterflies? Well the answer is simple, Ron. It is just not as entertaining as spiders.


Also, if I had to choose one character from "Lord of the Rings" (No, I would NOT choose Gollum!), I would choose the beautiful blonde elf, Legolas. Why, you ask? Well, why not?! He can see far, hear the softest sound, and sense when someone is coming. He's also very fast and light-footed. His archery skills are second to none. And he is an ELF-need I say more?



I have always been a Jane Austen fan, and "Pride and Prejudice" is my favorite because Austen is so skilled at capturing the desires of the female heart. At first, Mr. Darcy might seem like the haughty and pompous jerk who doesn't care a wit about others, but in reality, he is just misunderstood. Mr. Darcy is a classic gentleman. He has the perfect combination of subdued arrogance and aloofness mixed with pride and loyalty, and has the capacity for deep and meaningful love. Another thing that makes him appealing is his flaws. Because of those flaws, girls can relate to him. He is human. On the flipside, there are characters who aren't human at all who hold an enormous sway over young ladies.




After Mr. Darcy, a certain fictional vampire caught my complete attention and still holds a special place in my heart. What is it about Edward Cullen, as opposed to Wood or Darcy or any of the other hunks who have captivated almost every girl from Atlanta to Anchorage? Could it be his smoldering topaz eyes or his superhuman strength? Is it his cold marble skin or his ability to read minds? I have heard oodles of guys asking the question, "What is it about Edward Cullen that makes girls fall head over heels?"Gentlemen, the answer is simple: all of the above. Bella, like most girls, sees herself as average and has little self-confidence. Readers find it easy to relate to her and identify themselves with aspects of her character. So, when Edward falls madly in love with her, it is understandable for girls reading the book to feel a connection with the romance. She is not the popular girl or anything special, so when there is a story of a common girl finding true love, it gives us hope.
Typically, girls are always searching for love and looking for the person they believe will complete them. Every girl who has read any of these books yearns for that same feeling.I am not saying that good men don't exist because they most definitely do. (They sure do! Hehehe) Even so, we yearn for some sort of fairytale ending at some point in time, and these characters fit the image for our own perceived happily ever afters.

Well there you have it. I really liked writing this article. And Gavin sure enjoyed reading it and seeing him inadvertantly mentioned. Good thing he caught the hint because he doesnt consider himself a "redhead". But he knew who I was referring to. ;)

Lauren's Favorite Things

I have no idea why, but I LOVE English Bulldogs. They are probably the ugliest animals ever but I think that they are so ugly, they are cute with their wrinkely litle faces!
Someday I want to have one or two english bulldogs and name them Balthazarr and the other one Buttercup. :)

I love reading. I am reading a different book almost every week. I love getting lost in the stories. Some of my favorites are; The Goose Girl series by Shannon Hale, The The Fablehaven Series by Brandon Mull. The Love of a Prince by my Aunt Amy Finnegan, (Ironically all these authors are from Utah) I also love the Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling, Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer, the Da Vinci series by Dan Brown... Oh there are just so many to name! I love books!

I love music. I dont play an instruments, I cant read music, but I love to sing and I love to dance. I am in Dixie State's show choir called Ragin Red. Great fun. Enough said. If music be the food of love, PLAY ON!

RAIN! I love it. Singing in the rain, dancing in the rain... kissing in the rain. ;) I just love rain!

Happiest. Place. On. Earth. Need I say more?

Not only do I absolutely LOVE Disney... Belle is my all time favorite. I always wanted to work at Disneyland as Princess Belle in her pretty yellow dress.

Anything Old fashioned. Sometimes I wonder if I was born in the right era. Along with that I LOVE old fashioned cars, but I will always love old red trucks. I also love the old actors like Lucille Ball and Gene Kelly.



And of course, My family is a favorite... I love you guys!



AND NOW... MY ALL TIME FAVORITE THING IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE IS......
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DRUM ROLL.............................................................
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MR. GAVIN GARDNER!!!






Isnt he handsome? :)

FINALLY!!! The official engagements are here!!!