Happy Thanksgiving from Maryland

Dallin and I went to his hometown of Potomac, Maryland this year for Thanksgiving break. I'm obsessed with where he grew up- it is one of the most beautiful places and so close to DC. This was such a fun trip because of all the siblings came to his parent's house and they are so fun. I  feel like I am just laughing the whole time we are together. Here we are in Georgetown shopping on Black Friday.

This was our first Thanksgiving together as a married couple, so I got to be apart of all the great Bills family holiday traditions. To start the Thanksgiving day, the boys always play a "Turkey Bowl" football game.This year they also got all of the kids to play a game. They were so cute to watch!

Another tradition is that they drink a lot of Welch's sparkling cider with their huge Thanksgiving feast. After eating, we passed around a little corn jar and took turns expressing what we are grateful for. They do this every year. The corn jar has a special meaning to them because when their house burned down many years ago, it was one of the few things that survived the fire. This is definitely my favorite tradition.

We also spent time playing with our cute 8 nieces and nephews. I love them all and it's so fun being "Aunt kayla"!

Hannah and I went to the mall at midnight for Black Friday. We went looking for sales, but mostly we wanted to experience the chaos since we had never done it before. The lines were absolutely crazy.

We did a lot of shopping this trip, and managed to see both the new Twilight and Lincoln movies. The last day of our trip we spent downtown DC at the Botanic Gardens. We went to see their Christmas display- every thing was decorated and made me so excited for Christmas time!

The Day I Got Engaged

Today, one year ago, is the day I got engaged to my wonderful husband! It was one of the best days of my life. At the time, we were dating long distance since Dallin was working in California and I was finishing up my last semester of school in Utah. He told me that he planned a special day for me because he missed me, and that everything was already paid for, I just needed to show up with a friend to the places he sent me. This didn't seem out of the ordinary because Dallin was always doing nice things for me. So, first Candice and I went out to breakfast at my favorite Crepe place in Utah. They brought us out my favorite breakfast- Strawberry, Banana, & Nutella crepes. To top it off, the server gave Candice and I these pink shakes topped with sprinkles. Next, we both got professional massages. It was amazing.

After I got home from that, Natasha came out with me to the next place, which was off to the nail salon. We got pedicures together. I was surprised that Dallin picked out such a good nail place (must have had sisters help). Then, we went to Nordstrom where they had a gift card on hold for me to shop for whatever I wanted- My man knows the way to my heart ;)

After that, Dallin's sister-in-law Hannah picked me up to take me to dinner in Sundance. As we were walking to the restaurant, she said that Dallin left a gift for me by the bonfire. I looked over and there were rose petals surrounding a present. I opened the gift and there was a note from Dallin inside. As I started to read, out walks Dallin! I was totally shocked. He told me the sweetest things before he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. He had been calling me throughout the day pretending he was at work and in meetings- little did I know he was in Utah the whole day (and met with my dad). I felt so much love and happiness and peace in that moment. It was perfect.

We then had dinner together at a restaurant in Sundance, and I think I stared at my ring the whole time. After, we went to Shane and Hannah's house and tons of friends were there to surprise us and say congrats!