Dallin was convinced I wouldn't be warm enough, so he made me pack the thickest clothes I owned, haha.  I looked like such a marshmallow that a girl called me "sir."

This week, Jordie {Dallin's mama} has been in town. Last night Rachel and I met up with her, Matt, Danielle and the baby for food.  Mavvy kept giving us the cutest smile, and I realized that the next time we see him, he won't be itty bitty anymore!  Matt got accepted into med school in the Caribbean, and they are leaving very shortly.
THEY GAVE US SO MUCH.  Seriously.  I thought I was going to swing by to take her plates and her knives, and next thing you know I had a car full of every kitchen thing I could possibly need!  I told Danielle that I didn't want to take it from her if they could make any money off of it, but she insisted that me and Dallin will need these things for our first apartment!  In addition, when we came over after dinner last night, she gave even more! Canned food, decor, potentially the king-sized bed, and A CAR.**  What???!!! For real????!!!! I guess the mattress is 10-years-old, so they don't think it's worth much, and the car was a gift to Matt that he now wants to pay forward.  It was his brother's 30-year-old wife's car back in high school.  And it works great! I am seriously STUNNED by their generosity and I honestly don't know how to express how utterly grateful I am.  I have loved getting to know them better just since they moved here half a year ago, and much as I can't wait for them to start their new life adventure... I will miss them!  I love how open and real Danielle is; she gives amazing advice and she has been a great "older sister" for me as I get ready to get married!
And isn't that such a bonus to marriage?  Inheriting all new family?

**Update 2/17/2020: I reread just this post and realized I never corrected it.  The Paces offered us their car, which we were incredibly grateful for, but due to some problems with the car we decided to purchase our own car shortly after the wedding. My parents chipped in so that we could get a used car in nice condition that we can hopefully use for the next ten years if we wanted!

    My biggest hope is that Dallin can play volleyball next year.  I love watching him play, because his passion sparks when he's on the court.  He is so dedicated and has improved so much over the past couple of years since I watched his high schools games sitting next to his mom on the bleachers.
     Of course, we don't know what the future will hold.  Right now, we have a lovely summer apartment picked out, but there are many other uncertainties, including work.  Realizing the possibility that maybe just maybe Dallin won't be able to play volleyball next year, I decided to make it to at least one more tournament out of state.  With about a three-day's-notice and plans that were still up in the air until the night before, I crammed all my homework and tests in with the hope that maybe I could go to Arizona.  And I did! On Thursday night we rode with one of the players and his sweet mom and spent the night at their relatives' house in Vegas.    We were already back in Provo by Sunday late afternoon! But the 24 hours with my family were so worth it.
     My mom really wanted to squeeze in engagement photos for our invites. We got to Phoenix an hour or two before they had to ref, so my mom drove up clothes that Rachelle had bought Dallin.  I had already gotten ready in the car, so after Dallin quickly changed, we tried to find a place to take engagement pictures for our invites.  We drove straight towards the cactus-speckled mountain in the attempt to take some epic, stereotypical Arizona shots with my camera, but it was too bright, so we snapped 100 more in the manicured entrance of a fancy neighborhood. It works, right?
      We said hi briefly to Dallin's family and watched the first set, and then my mom and I booked it down to Mesa to watch Eric play in the Scarlet Pimpernel.  We grabbed a quick bite to eat with Dad, and as we entered the theatre, it was nostalgic to see all my old music and acting teachers. At home, I met the huge new Bernie puppy, Oakley, and then the five of us family members went to BJ's for pizookies {as was always tradition}.  Liv left early to go dumpster diving behind Krispie Kremes for donuts to decorate her friend's lawn.
      Mom, Dad, and I left in the morning to watch the entire Saturday tournament. We of course visited Liv at work first.  During the tournament, we sat next to Dallin's dad, Dan, who still has to ride around in a scooter after his horse accident.  The boys smashed it! We were definitely on our feet screaming by the end. They were matched with teams that were at an equal skill level, which meant that every game was cutting it close.  When the ref made a terrible call, the boys got so angry that they upped their game and turned the score around. They won every single game and ended up winning the entire conference!
     We were sad to say goodbye, but we realized that the next time Dallin and I came home and saw the family, we would be getting married!