Katie's Life

It's a love story...

2011-02-28T20:08:00.000-08:00

So...as many people have heard...it is official. I am ENGAGED! I have finally found my prince charming. His name is Troy Hackett. He is the greatest thing that has ever been mine..and I am SO in love with him. We will be getting married for all of TIME and ETERNITY together in the Salt Lake City, Utah Temple on July 30th, 2011. He is everything that I have ever wanted in a man and more.
Many people have asked me about our story...so I figured it was time to share it with the world :). A few months ago I decided to join the infamous "online dating" world known as ldssingles.com..
.

After spending a few months on here without any success, I was getting on to delete my account..It was then that I saw a very handsome boy pop up on my home page:

I have to admit...the first thing that attracted me to him was his arms :D...Not far behind that was his smile. I continued to read on in his profile, and really was impressed by what I read. We were both looking for the same things in life, and I figured...why not? So, I decided to take a chance just to see what would happen. I sent him a "flirt" to see if I would catch his eye. I found out on our first date, that he received it immediately (Thanks to the technology of smart phones), and was out and about. My profile caught his eye as well, and as soon as he came home he sent me a flirt back :). After getting a flirt from him...I seriously could not get him out of my mind! We had sent a few emails back and forth getting to know each other. The next day, we caught each other on the chat which the website provides. I only had a few minutes because I was jumping off the computer to go somewhere, and I wanted to keep talking to him... so, I threw my phone number at him before leaving the computer. We texted non-stop, and then eventually made the big call to one another. A few days later, we decided to go on our first date. On December 7th, Troy took me to Temple Square to see the Christmas lights.

A week later, on December 14th, we went on another date. That night, he asked me to be his girlfriend, and (of COURSE!) I said yes. Since then we have had many dates, talks on the phone, and fallen in love. In all honesty, I knew from our first date that he would be the one for me. There was a point, after such a great first date, that he took me up by the Reflection Pool at the Temple. I remember being in his arms and looking up into his eyes and having this over-whelming happy and peaceful feeling come over me. In that moment, I knew that this was somebody I could spend my life loving. Things have only gotten better since that moment. We have fallen so deeply in love, and he has become my BEST friend.

Troy is completely the man of my dreams...and I am so grateful for the happiness and joy he has brought to my life.
So then came the proposal...

On February 22nd, I decided to sneak down and surprise Troy when he got off work. He works for the Church and leaves from the Conference Center. We finally get each other on the phone and I tell him just before he leaves the parking garage, "Troy! I was wondering if you would like to go out to dinner tonight?". I was so proud of my surprise...and SO happy to see him again! So we meet up and he says to me, "Hey, do you mind if we run to my house so I can change my clothes?". I didn't think anything of it and was just happy to spend time with him. Before driving away, he tells me he is going to call his mom to let her know we are on our way. Well, he called her to let her know...and also to try and surprise me as well...and BOY did he succeed! :) Seconds after leaving his house, we get a call asking us to stop at the Apple Store at the Gateway mall in Salt Lake City to find a cord to connect an iPod to a TV. So we head up to Salt Lake and hit the Apple Store at the Gateway Mall:

While there, he calls up his sister to ask her questions about this cord she wants (I had no idea this was all a ploy just to get us back up to Salt Lake). After talking with her, we decide to leave and eat at the mall. Troy decided to try this DELICIOUS Brazilian grill place known as Tucanos...which by the way..I recommend..it was SO good!!

After dinner, we leave the Gateway mall..COMPLETELY stuffed...and see the Trax leaving and start running to get to it..

Once we get on Trax, we head back to Temple Square. I ask Troy if we can cut through the Temple as we head back to our cars (Mostly because I wanted to look at it because I was so excited to think about this is where we will be getting married in a few months). He agreed and we took a trip through the South Visitor's Center. After talking with the Sister Missionaries, we are walking out and I see the time is 8:30 and think how I should get going because it was supposed to snow and I needed to get back to Logan. While walking through Temple Square, he stops and wraps his arms around me in front of the Reflection Pool, at the exact same place from our first date where I realized he was who I knew I could be with.

We started looking at this beautiful building and talking about how soon we would be married to each other here. I remember laying my head on his chest and thinking, "Wow, his heart is pounding! Maybe it is from when we ran to catch the Trax"...not even realizing that was a good half hour before. I was just about to tell him how grateful I was we had found each other when I see him take a step back and reach into his pocket. All of a sudden my light-bulb turns on in my head as I see him get down on one knee and ask me to be his wife. Everything felt so right...and I have never been happier when I promised him, "YES!"

I can't wait to spend forever with Troy. He is my best friend and knows just what to do or say to bring a smile to my face. I have never been happier...and look forward to our lives together. I can't wait to find out what is in store..
<3

Life's Waiting to Begin

2010-09-21T15:18:00.000-07:00

So...it has been a few months since I have updated my lovely blog..I guess I am a failure...but it's ok...I am not expected to live the "higher law" of blogging until I am married...so I don't feel too guilty... :). So April has most definitely come and gone...Graduation was FANTASTIC and so was the summer. After graduation, I spent two weeks on tour with the BYU-Idaho Sinfonietta which was an incredible experience for me. I spent the summer living with my family in Logan, Utah. At the end of August I moved down here to Sandy, Utah to complete my degree with a semester of Student Teaching. Sandy seems like a great place to be; however, I am really missing life in Logan. I am a small-town girl, and living in this "city" has been a little tough, but I am learning to adjust. Student teaching has been a blast so far though! It is amazing to see what goes through a student's head at times. My beginning brass class has to be my favorite. There are about thirteen seventh graders in there...most of those being boys...and they are FUNNY! An example: We were teaching them the concept of Tutti and Solo/Soli. One of them just could NOT resist raising his hand, and with an innocent giggle, saying "hehe, tutti sounds like fart!" Man..they are the BEST! Here are some pictures to update you on the last few months...the best way I could think of blogging is letting the pictures tell the story:

Senior Portraits

2009-11-27T07:44:00.001-08:00

So it's finally arrived!! I am almost ready to graduate! I just thought I would share some pictures...these are for my senior recital (December 5th at 1:30...everyone should come!) and for my graduation announcements. There are a ton, but these ones are my favorites! :)

The First of my Dreams has come true!

2009-11-19T23:03:00.000-08:00

So this semester has been quite a monument for me. The first of my biggest dreams came true: I was able to perform in the Tabernacle at Temple Square. I have always wanted to do this, and this semester the BYU-Idaho Symphony Orchestra went on the Sacred Music to Twin Falls and also to Salt Lake. I was so excited!!! Now for the rest of my dreams: Graduate college, Temple Marriage, Audition and be a part of the orchestra at temple square :)

Halloween Time!

2009-11-02T18:42:00.000-08:00

So it is finally my senior year here at BYU-Idaho..and let me tell you.. it is INCREDIBLE! I am having such a fun time and have fallen in love with Rexburg. Coming here for school has been the greatest choice I have ever made in my life and I'm SO grateful I did it! This last week was a blast! Our ward had a Halloween Party and also I played in my last Halloween Concert ever with the BYU-Idaho Symphony Orchestra. I just thought I would share some pictures! Life just couldn't be better! :)

Return of my BEST Friend!

2009-10-20T06:03:00.000-07:00

My first "home" picture of Elder Milne!

Mason: advertising for In-n-Out :)

Our final stop: In-n-Out in St. George

I am not really sure what we were doing in this picture...it was our serious/deep face

If you can read these signs..just laugh. Del Taco's were all over the parking lot

Me and my BEST friend!

I went to take this picture and Mason insisted on being in it

There we go! :)

The duo is finally reunited! These two are the BEST of friends!

Some old friends from Wrightwood Ward mingling :)

So this last weekend I went down to my hometown in Wrightwood, California. Kevin Milne came home from his mission on Friday night and it was SO wonderful to see everyone! It was a very quick trip: we left Friday morning and drove to St. George. Then on Saturday we went up down to California just in time to make it to Kelsey Raps's Bridal shower. It was SO much fun to see everyone from the ward again! Then after that, I went down to the Milne's house to hang out with Mama Milne for a few hours until Kevin and the rest of his family came home from Ryan's football game. Then we all hung out and went to go see "Where the Wild Things Are" with Becca, Mason, and Brittany. By the way..totally do NOT go see that movie! hahaha...not EVEN worth the $9 we spent to go and see it :). Then on Sunday we all went to church and hung out again. It was just such a wonderful weekend and it was so perfect to see everyone again. I had a really hard time leaving all of my close friends and memories from Wrightwood...but it was so worth it to see everyone. I love you guys!! Just check out all of the pictures :)

Back to College BBQ!

2009-08-30T17:19:00.000-07:00

So..this last weekend...I went down to Alpine, Utah to celebrate the "returning" to school..and we had a BLAST at the McEwen's house! There was lots of great food..and some old friends I haven't seen in a LONG time! Here are just some quick pictures..I hope you enjoy!

lol..so don't laugh too hard at the pictures of Kindsey and me...we were trying to get the worst possible pictures...and I'm pretty sure we succeeded...I'm digging all my chins!

We Are Doing a Great Work and Cannot Come Down!

2009-08-16T09:36:00.000-07:00

So today is Sunday, and I was doing some reading from the Conference Ensign from May 2009 and I read President Uchtdorf's talk, "We Are Doing a Great Work and Cannot Come Down" that he gave during the Priesthood session. I totally recommend it to anyone! Some of my favorite quotes included:

He begins by telling a story of a plane that crashed in the Florida Everglades about 36 years ago. The reason for the crash was that a light had failed to illuminate that would indicate whether or not the nose landing gear had extended successfully. In the process of investigating this lightbulb, the pilots "became so preoccupied with their search that they failed to realize the plane was gradually descending closer and closer toward the dark swamp below...Everything was working properly- all except one thing: a single burned-out light-bulb...The malfunctioning lightbulb didn't cause the accident; it happened because the crew placed its focus on something that seemed to matter at the moment while losing sight of what mattered most"

"The tendency to focus on the insignificant at the expense of the profound happens not only to pilots but to everyone...Our weakness is in failing to align our actions with our conscience"

"Are you focused on the things that matter most? How you spend your quiet time may provide a valuable clue"

"What are the things that distract you from your duties or hinder you from magnifying your calling more diligently?"

"We need balance in life."

"We cannot and must not allow oursleves to get distracted from our sacred duty. We cannot and we must not lose focus on the things that matter most"

"I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down" (Nehemiah 6:3)

"There is always room for improvement"

"What could be accomplished in our personal lives, in our professional lives, in our families, in our wards and branches if we became true representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ"

"It is easy to become distracted- to become focused on one burned-out lightbulb or the impolite acts of unkind people, whatever their motive may be"

"God lives and is mindful of each one of us"

These are just a few of the quotes that I really liked...I really encourage you to read it...especially with all that each of us is going through at this time. I bare testimony that God loves each and everyone of us..and his Son, Jesus Christ, died for us so that we could have the Atonement in order to improve our own lives and become more like Him. I know that this church is true with all of my heart and I am so blessed to have it in my life.

Latest Projects

2009-08-13T20:49:00.001-07:00

So today I got really bored and decided to take a trip to my favorite store: Porters. For those of you who don't know what Porter's is...it's the craft store here in Rexburg :). Umm...not exactly the best place to go when you're poor..because you end up spending money (YIKES!) haha. BUT...none the less..I still love it. I finally came up with some ideas for Elder Kevin Milne's birthday/homecoming present. He will be coming home on October 16th...and then will be heading up here for school in January. I am so freaking stoked! He is like my best friend and it is going to be great to have that up here at school again. Anyways...I started to make this board...which I'm hoping to turn in to a "Missionary" Bored...I'm looking for his official "Mission Pin" so I can attach it..and am hoping to get some more pictures from him to add to it. We'll see how it ends up coming..but hey..here are some pictures of its beginnings! :)

Letter from the Missionary!

2009-08-12T21:13:00.000-07:00

So..today is Wednesday..and it's Kevin's P-day. I got an email from him with some pictures of what Elders do on P-day...and I thought I would share them..they're pretty funny and you'll get a good kick out of them! He also sent a picture of his bike tire from his email last week...which is a really neat story! In case you didn't get a chance..here it is:

"Fast and testimony meeting in the Washington DC 3rd ward is always an adventure. over 70% of the members are new converts to the church of only 5 years or less. there is always this sweet old lady that stands up every month to give her testimony. Sis. Mack is very old and loves to sing. Every month she gets up there and sings the same short song. "you got to stand your test and judgement, you got to stand it for yourself, nobody else, can stand it for you, you Got to stand, for yourself" She then will end with" No one can stand it for you, But Grandma is here to help, you father is here to help, your mother us here to help. You may stand it for yourself, but people are always there to help along the way." That was sunday, but let me tell you about yesterday. bed bugs, Seria and siteria, bike, Afican food.FUFU. In the afternoon, we had an appointment with a Less-active at his house. While teaching, My compantion saw a bug Crawl across his pant leg. He stood up to try and get it off...with lonts of bouncing and jumping and shaking the pants. When we lest I asked what that was all about. He said it was a bed Bug.(bed bug bite in the middle of the night and leave nasty little red bumps). Then we ended up finding a great family that was in need of help moving into the top floor of their new appartment. 10 flights of stairs, no problem. The we went on our way to a dinner appointment and locked our bikes up to a poll before we went in........(I know this is long but it will all come together in the end).....The food was Real African food and everything had to be eaten with our hands. Rice, beans, FUFU, the whole Shabang! That was a Mess but sure was good. After the appointment, we had a little surprize outside for us. Some one had tried to steal out bikes. I've already had that happen 2 times. This time they couldn't get it off the poll, so they decided to break my back tire. It is now in a "S" shape. I had to carry my bike back home 13 city blooks. now, on the way home, we ran into the family that we helped move in, and they stopped us and told us that they want us to come back. WHAT a blessing, If my bike would have been working, we would have been Riding down the hill too fast to have been stopped by them. So that was really cool. Now to end to story and pull everything together....Elder Mayfield and I woke up this morning to find small red bumps on our legs...I wonder where those came from.All in all, It was a good week. Today we went to the temple, then went the mall near the capital to play some Football with a bunch of elders!Well my time is up, I'll talk to you all later!

Love ya all.Kevin"

Hope ya'll are having a WONDERFUL day!

Movie Time!

2009-08-11T20:25:00.001-07:00

So today I got off work and thought I would go to Wal-Mart and pick up a new movie to watch. For those of you who don't know...I love buying new movies. So I was looking at the cheap ones...and found this one for $9...and let me tell you..it was so worth it! I stayed at home and watched it and it was SO cute! I definately recomend it..and it's a movie that the entire family can watch together. It reminded me a lot of Raising Helen. So next time you are looking for some cheap entertainment..I recomend this movie!

Also! Some very exciting news! I have decided to take my next step in music..and am going to learn how to play the Violin! I found a GREAT deal on a Violin on ebay...for $45 I get a violin, the case, the bow, an extra set of strings, a tuner, and some free online lessons! I am SO excited! I have always wanted to learn..and it should arrive here in the next few days :) I will let ya'll know how it goes!

Happy Birthday Kade!

2009-08-09T21:26:00.000-07:00

So this weekend was a lot of fun! I snuck down to see my parents down in Logan for a few days, and also headed down for Kade's 3rd Birthday! He has gotten so big!! It was really neat to see everyone and we had a blast! His two favorite presents I would have to say were his bike and his red wagon. What a CUTE kid!

Inspiring Quotes

2009-08-07T22:13:00.001-07:00

So...to try and figure out this "blogging" thing..I thought I would try and add some of my favorite quotes! So! Here goes:

Love is like playing the piano, first you must learn to play by the rules, then you forget the rules and play from your heart
We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to love an imperfect person perfectly
Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about getting out there and learning to dance in the rain
Life is a Climb, but the view sure is great!
Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game
Being nice is like shaving: No matter how good of a job you do one day, you still have to wake up and do it again the next
We can have in life but one great experience at best, and the secret of life is to reproduce that experience as often as possible. -Oscar Wilde
There is no end in sight for the good you can do. Do you know it? You are just simple kids. You are not geniuses. I know that. But the work of the world isn't done be geniuses. It is done by ordinary people who have learned to work in an extraordinary way...-President Gordon B. Hinckley
You just have to do your very best with all the capability you have. You have to do your very best. And somehow, if you do that, God will open the way before you and the sun will shine, and your lives will be fruitful and you will accomplish great good in the world in which you take a part.-President Gordon B. Hinckley
If you follow the Prophet you will end up where he is going
People become stronger because we all have memories we can not forget
There is nothing that prayer and chocolate can't handle -A Quote from a magnet on my fridge
You know you're in Love when you can't sleep...because reality is finally better than your dreams. -Dr. Seuss
Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around and shouting that he has been robbed. The fact of the matter is that most putts don't drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old time rail journey...delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride-President Gordon B. Hinckley
Life is to be enjoyed, NOT endured!- President Gordon B. Hinckley
The reason there are mountains is so that we can learn how to climb
The greater the measure of obedience to God's laws the greater will be the endowment of faith. If we desire more faith we must be more obedient.- Kevin W. Pearson
Personal righteousness is a choice
Live by faith not by fear!
God doesn't give you the people you want; He gives you the people you NEED... to help you, to hurt you, to leave you, to love you and to make you into the person you were meant to be

These are just a few! I'm sure more shall come :)

Ok..

2008-07-23T00:15:00.003-07:00

So..
this is all coming a little bit easier...still trying to figure out the whole blogging world...so if anyone has tips..by all means..please let me know :)

Life

2008-06-29T19:18:00.000-07:00

So...just joining...coming in to check out what blogging life is all about...more about life to come soon :)