Caitlin & Derick: 2013

The Town of Wayzata

A few Sundays ago we were all dying of boredom. Finally, after going crazy for a little we all piled into the car and drove. We had no idea where we were going, we didn't care as long as we were away from our apartment. It just so happened we stumbled across the cutest little town on a lake (<< no surprise there, seeing as pretty much every town in Minnesota is on a lake), right next to a railroad. We spent the afternoon sitting on the dock and trying to catch the hundreds of fish swimming underneath our feet. Blake was so adamant about catching one, he even had us hold his feet as he dangled over the edge. It took him about an hour of them slipping through his fingers to finally give up.

(^^ Susie only tried to catch fish for a few minutes, but she was the only one I got pictures of dangling over the deck^^)

You know what? Sometimes it pays to be bored, because if we hadn't been bored that Sunday afternoon we wouldn't have stumbled across the cute little town of Wayzata.

Diving for Dollars

Every week the sales team has an incentive to do well. A couple of weeks ago the teams incentive was diving for dollars. For every sale they got, they earned a $1. I think there were a couple of times where each sale was worth up to $5..but I can't remember the guidelines for that. By the end of the week they earned over $800! And what they did with the money was the fun part.. they threw it all into a pool, and the whole sales team had to dive for it. First come first serve. Derick sold the most the week of the incentive so he got a 5 second head start. They cleared the money out a lot faster than I had thought they would! Here's to making a ridiculous amount of money for a 15 minute swim!;)

*We made the mistake of leaving those wet $ bills in a plastic sack for over a week. Our noses were in for a surprise when we grabbed some money for a movie the other night. In case anyone was wondering.. soggy money does not smell good.

One Year Down (Part 2: Things i've learned)

It has come to my attention that my favorite descriptive word to use when talking about Derick, is perfect. Ok, as long as you guys know that I know I use it a ridiculous amount, it is ok for me to use it now, right? So, our first year of marriage was perfect-- perfect as in, I would not change a single second of it if given the chance. Once again, from what I've heard (maybe I should stop listening to what people tell me) the first year of marriage can be incredibly rocky, and an absolute roller coaster, that after you get over the first year it's a lot easier. Am I just oblivious? Because I didn't experience a first year like that. Of course there were dumb arguments, about the dumbest of things. Maybe there was one, or two, temper tantrums on my end, because Derick doesn't know how to read my mind. (<<When are guys going to be able to do that? It would make life a lot easier ya know..) Maybe there were a couple of disagreements on whether or not I really needed to spend that much money on that one thing. Come on, a girl needs to spend money here and there. But when it all boils down to it, all of those dumb 'fights' were a small measly portion of this past year. I learned so much from this first year of marriage. Some of which were:

1. A snoring husband isn't a nuisance, but more a sound of comfort.

2. I am more wrong than I am right. I promise, it took me a long time to admit that one.

3. When I am right, it is still okay to be the first to apologize.

4. Derick is a better cook than I am, and when he recommends I put a certain ingredient in what i'm cooking, I shouldn't get offended, but be happy that he helped me make that dish so much better.

5. I am so loved, and I shouldn't ever forget it. And if I ever have a "down in the dumps, fishing for a compliment" sort of day, all I need to do is go to him to make me feel better.

6. Laughter is the best medicine. Where did this boy come from? He is a complete riot. And even when I act like I don't think he is being funny, inside I am still thinking he is the funniest boy in the world.

7. Times goes by so much faster when you are just living in the moment. <<This I don't love so much. Time slow down, pleeeaasse.

8. It's ok if the house isn't always spotless, and if the husband leaves a sock on the floor after you cleaned, it is not the end of the world. And guess what, if you ask him to pick it up, he'll do it. Here's where I had a problem with him not being able to read my mind at first. ;)

9. Communication is key, and honesty is the best policy.

10. And lastly, I learned that when I think it is impossible to love this boy more than I already do, I am so embarrassingly wrong. Every day I realize just how wrong I am.

Happy Anniversary Derick. I love you to the moon and back, and then back again, etc. Here's to many, many, many more years to come!

One Year Down (Part 1: The Wedding Day)

I can't believe the happiest day of my life was already a year ago. If you wanted to ask me any detail about it I could still tell you. It could be because I have an awesome memory, or it could be that I was constantly thinking "remember this" and taking a mental picture in my head throughout the day. Those mental pictures really do work. ;)

Of course my entire life I thought there was no way I'd be able to sleep the night before I got married thanks to nerves, but the exhaustion of planning a wedding proved me wrong, because I slept like a baby the night before. I woke up to my alarm at 8 in the morning. I took a nice long shower (<< some how the nerves had not set in. I was feeling mighty content in that shower). My friend Meghan came over to do my hair around 8:30. Meghan did such a great job! She knew how to do my hair exactly how I wanted, after I told her a not so-good description. I completely left the job up to her and she did not disappoint! I knew I became best friends with her in 6th grade for a reason;). My sister, Rachel, came over a little after 9 to do my make up. I felt it was fitting she do my make up since my entire life she would always beg to give me some sort of make over. And to add to the matter she actually knows her stuff, unlike me. We started running out of time fast. Something to know about me is I am annoyingly punctual. Even when I try to be casually late I still somehow show up on time. So, it would make sense I run late on my wedding day. That's just how it goes, right? I was still getting ready when my sister, Olivia, came to pick me up. We rushed around my house pretty quick to get everything I needed together and then we rushed over to the temple.

I will always remember when I first saw Derick. He showed up about 2 minutes after I got there. We both looked at each other and started crying with the biggest smiles on our faces. "We're finally doing this, Caitlin! It's actually here." And I knew what he meant. I had only been dreaming of marrying that handsome man for 5 years. We hugged for a minute and cried some more happy tears (<<Sorry, Make up!).

Probably one of my favorite memories of the day (who am I kidding, the entire day was my favorite) Was when we exited the temple as Mr. and Mrs. Cox. I couldn't believe how many people were there, for us, cheering us on. I had never felt such extreme happiness before.

We had such a good, small, luncheon at Cafe Sabor. After the luncheon we had a reception at Herms, where we got to talk to so many great people and dance the night away.

I can't tell you how many people have told me that their wedding day was so long, and tiring-- even boring at times, and they were so glad when it was over. This completely surprises me! I don't think there was a single second of the day that I wasn't absolutely loving life. And it was anything but long. Seriously! I had no idea a day could go by so fast.

I am so grateful for the day that Derick and I got married for time and all of eternity, and celebrated with all of our friends and family. It was so perfect. Every last bit of it.