new blog.

yes, it's true. head on over to maceandbri.blogspot.com to see what's up.

back in action.

i've missed the blogging world the past couple weeks. oh don't you worry, i haven't missed any of your posts.....just missed posting my own. and writing about how much fun bri and i have been having.

there was the wedding day......the honeymoon.....family camping trip.....unpacking....figuring out {all} the financial things...bank accounts....insurance.....more unpacking....organizing....and ultimately trying to make my house look like a home. things have settled down a bit..(which is why we were finally able to get to the internet issue....) its been quite the three weeeks....but we've loved every second of it. :)

and this is just for fun. :)

more pictures to come. :)

i'm a nanny.

i spent last weekend with these adorable kiddos. 

a snuggly, giggly, adorable 2 year old. {nora}

a cute, sassy, hilarious 6 year old. {sara}

and a calm, clean, obedient 8 year old. {zane}

i spend a lot of time with these three. and don't know why i've never blogged about it...i wish i could remember all the funny things that they've said/done. but there are just too many. all i know is they sure have me wrapped around their little fingers.

posing in their sunday best.

try saying no to that face.

                            

oh goodness. she makes me laugh.

zane. and fairy wings.

and now you know. they're cute.

a few things i learned...over the weekend:

1. babies. (or 2 year olds) sleep as little as they want. and wake up as early as they want.
2. lip gloss will make a six year old happy.
3. don't challenge the kiddos {or anybody} in mario kart. i get my trash whooped.
4. pack plenty of treats to church. (it's fine if the diaper bag is overflowing.)
5. don't ever skip the 2 year old's nap.
6. don't say you're going to do something if you don't really mean it. it doesn't work. they always remember..what you said.
7. warm weather makes this whole nanny thing a lot easier...
8. popsicles can solve anybody's problems.
9. i couldn't have done it without brian.
10. i'm not ready to have kids.

happy saturday! :)

me. lately.

i would be lying if i said i haven't blogged for a while because nothing's been going on. between -work, wedding invitations, furniture shopping, a new job, trying to remember how to run, savoring ever last second i have with my roommates, more furniture shopping, bridal showers, planning my life, and planning for the big day-i've barely had time to breathe. but it's been good. it's made the time go by fast....i am 2 weeks away from being a mrs.
 a mrs peterson to be exact. :)

so. here are a few highlights of whats been going on lately...
 i'll let the pictures do most of the talking.

summer nights.

i am living the summer dream. no school. just work and play. i seriously cannot believe i went all four months of summer last year with it getting dark at 5. (yes, it gets dark at 5:00 pm in brasil. every night. all year round.) no fun. there is nothing i love more than a 8 pm run. or just laying out on the grass until it gets dark. while still being really warm.  my favorite thing lately has been the park up the street. 

 best friends.

this little lady and i are getting married a week apart. [which i still can't believe] she's on of my best friends...and sometimes we think we're practically the same person--except for physical appearance of course. :) it's been so much fun to be in the same place of our lives together...and talk wedding things with each other. she's one of my bridesmaids...and will be providing the music at my reception in burley...because she is one amazing singer. i love this girll.

our friends wanted to have one last little hoorah before we all moved out. (okay, im the only one moving out)...but you know how it is. for some reason it seems like the end of the world. yes i did wear that "bride to be" while in cafe rio. people kept telling me congratulations..and i kept thinking..."how do they know???...." 

one of my favorite things. us four were lucky enough  enough to all be in the same place at the same time. this usually happens about once a year. hol and mckell came down to provo...and we did our yearly catch up with each other. my favorite thing is not seeing them for months...but then picking up right where we left off. they are seriously the best friends a girl could ask for.

(picture taken last year....of course we didn't get one this last time)

on repeat.

i seriously cannot believe how many times this song has been played by me the past couple of days. you'll love it as much as i do if you listen. promise.

getting married {to do's}.

invitations:

wow...what an experience. this feat made me so grateful you only get married once. i won't go into details...but everyone knows what it's like. and if you don't, you will eventually. im still having nightmares...dreams that someone calls me up and starts yelling at me for forgetting about them. scary stuff. all i can say is thank goodness for brian's family. i couldn't help but laugh when i noticed there were more boys than girls around the table putting together invitations. welcome to the peterson family. :)

our soon-to-be home:

our bed set and couch were delivered to our apt today. (the apt bri and i will be living in) he's moving in tomorrow and is going to be staying in it for the next 2 weeks. (while i crash with my roomies and then go home) he doesn't need to sleep on our bed until tomorrow night, but for some reason we felt like we had to set it up tonight. [mostly we were so just so excited to see it] we started at ten. finished at 2. and both work at 7 am? maybe not the best move. but we love it! 

my little structural engineer at work.

sometimes i can't believe i'm actually getting married in 2 weeks. 9 months ago i was starting to seriously think about a mission in the summer of 11. in fact, i'd talked to the bishop about it numerous times...and he put me in the "mission prep" class at church. well, guess who was the teacher? yep.....you guessed it. (what can i say? his teachings skills blew me away......but seriously.) so..9 months later...here i am. 

i'd say it's a pretty good place to be. :)

rainydays&mondays

i am officially burnt out.

tired of 7am workdays.
tired of cold weather & wearing sweatshirts and jeans.
tired of not sleeping well.
tired of treadmills.
{and} i really don't think i can do one more wedding to-do list.

but, things i'm thankful for today?

having a fiance to do the hard things. [heath insurance, car insurance...etc]
that my family will be here in {one month}
naps that go for as long as you want.
the best big brother in brasil that does favors for me.
a fiance that makes me laugh when i'm feeling like this.

 yeah..he's funny.

and cute.

just a peek...

we got our engagement pictures back today...

and are in love with them. to say the least.

it's tough to compete with my dear fiance.

 [who looks like a model in every picture. no..but seriously]

hey, i'm not complaining. :)

i'm not planning on posting any on facebook before i send out invites.

[what a surprise ruiner.]

in fact, i'm sure i'll never post them.

so you'll have to come to {the reception} to see the rest. :)

photographer: michelle kemp.

she's amazing! :)

this is the life

my much needed girls trip to jacksonville florida.

[included]

four best friends.

5 am mornings&travel pillows.

a visit to peach tree city georgia. 

 golf cart rides

beautiful running trails.

a cute beach house.

on a beautiful beach.

one overcast day.

swimming suits....

and sun glasses...all day. every day.

four girls in a king size bed. 

cool places to visit. [st. augustine]

lots of car time.

and car pictures.

delicious food.

 girls nights out.

and curly, frizzy hair.....

for a week straight. :)

as you can see i had the time of my life. trying to soak up my last couple weeks as a single lady. [not that i need any more single lady time....six more weeks is way too much]

but it did remind me [once again] that i have the best friends in the world. 

lots of orange.

i'm feeling very antisocial. {which is unlike me} we just had an opening social for our new ward. (brian and i are staying where we have lived all year just until we get married) [but] it's hard to be social when you're engaged. i don't want to take the time to try to get to know/make new girlfriends. because lets be honest, when would i ever hang out with them? and i don't like talking to the boys-because well, when you're a college student, every conversation includes lots of flirting/checking each other out..and is eventually leading to.... could i date/marry this person? no joke.

so instead i stick to brian's side-so that all the cute new girls in the ward know he's taken, and so that the boys stay away. and when he's not around i flash my perty ring as much as possible.

 and believe me, the boys DO stay away.

so i'm kind of a loser. but oh well. it'll be worth it.

and now for some pictures.

saturday brian and i did a walk for ms. [multiple sclerosis] it was such an awesome experience to see so many people come together for one cause. (and to see so many family members) my cousin abram put together a team (our team had about 40 people) we all had matching bright orange shirts and walked three miles together in downtown salt lake, with thousands of other people. it was really cool. 

this picture below is of one of my {favorite} uncles. he did this awesome pose for me at the walk.

also, i have a funny story to tell about him. 

so i called him on friday and asked him if he'd left for salt lake yet. (i needed him to bring some of my bridesmaid dresses down-that had been shipped to my house) he agreed but then wondered how we were going to meet up. 

me: you can just give them to me at the walk on saturday.

him: okay.......wait, aren't you in FLORIDA?

me: no, i'm not leaving until next week... how did you know i was going to florida?

uncle chad: well, i was reading your blog the other day, and it said you were in florida. 

whoa whoa whoa. uncle chad?? reading my blog???? haha. how funny is that!? 

i'm guessing his wife or daughter was doing some blog reading and he read over their shoulder.

 or something like that. 

moral of the story: you never know who's reading your blog. :)

one more thing. i'll be here in approximately 3 days. woohooo!

the sun is shining

today is going to be a good day. 

why?

it's 11:30 and i'm already done with work.

it's warm outside.

i've already chatted with my pops today.

just finished an effortless five mile run.

my apartment is clean.

no school to worry about. [for four months]

i'm leaving with my best friends to florida. in one week.  

and, i'm engaged to this boy.

what are you loving about today?

i'm missin the fam today. maybe it's because i haven't seen them for 3 months. maybe it's because it's easter weekend. maybe it's because i don't talk to them as much as i should. or maybe it's just because they live 4000 miles away.

i miss being able to call my mom on my walk home from school. or whenever i want. 

i miss the daily text from my dad giving me a scripture to think about, asking me about my love life, or just telling me that he loves me.

i miss asking lis for her opinions/take on what i should do in certain situations. (she knows the right answer to everything) and well, she's the only big sister i have.

i miss when trae would call me to talk to me about byu basketball. or sometimes he would just call for no reason at all. just to check up. 

i miss morg's smile and crazy personality. she's one of the funniest girls i know.

i miss mal sitting on my lap or hanging on my arm, she likes to snuggle. and i miss that.

and i miss dave's laugh. it sounds exactly like all my other brothers laughs. even when nothing is funny just him laughing will most definitely get you laughing. 

i miss watching ave do her thing. walk around. boss around. and get me to do anything she wants by  just being plain cute. :)

i better stop this before the tears start flowing.

i know my family being so far away is a good thing too. they are learning and growing so much. i can't believe how much older morgan looks. or how much portuguese my mom can speak. i can't believe how easily and happily lis handles being so far away from her family and raising a 2 year old in another country. or how much good my dad does every single day.

 them being gone has forced me to do some learning and growing on my own. so maybe i talked to both of my parents multiple times everyday. (before they left) and possibly relied on my dad a little too much, for everything. i've had to learn how to be more independent. but as independent as i am i can't always handle everything by myself. and that's where brian comes in. :) every need i have, he fills. bless his heart.  He's who i depend on. and who i know, just like my parents were, he'll be with me. through everything.

 so i am in fact grateful for the change, grateful for the 4000 mile distance, and the [sometimes] lonely days.  it's allowed me to loosen my tight grip on something really good in order to grab hold on to something else really good. the next step in my life. heavenly father knows me too well. 

thank goodness for that.

starting the week off right.

sunday couldn't have come at a better time this week. (isn't that how it always is?) i love this day for so many reasons. just to name a few: 

i get to talk to my family. the ones in idaho, and the ones in brasil. i usually get quite a long chat with my mom on skype. (which is always much needed) today this included my adorable niece singing "someday my prince will come." made my whole day. 

the end of the week (when its the end of the semester) usually leaves me feeling pretty run down and very burnt out, but 3 hours of church always fixes that.

 no homework:) -not that i don't have any, i've just made it a goal not do DO any on sunday. best decision of my life, i would recommend it to everyone.

being with my roommates all day long. our school/work schedules are completely different-sometimes it feels like we don't see each other for days. sunday usually fixes that.

today i was thinking how awesome it is that we are encouraged to wear our {sunday best} i'm sure a lot of you, like me, get more done up for church than any other day. (heavens knows i don't get dolled up for school) i love being surrounded by everyone looking so cleaned up and nice. 

the guitar is somehow always involved on sunday.

my fiance looks smokin hot in a shirt and a tie.

brian and i go up to sandy quite a bit. and always get an amazing home cooked meal. :)

sunday popcorn. 

naps.  

visitors. family/ friends. it's the best.

sundays give me the energy/strength to take on the rest of the week.

today was one of those sundays that everything said at church was for me. one of those sundays that makes me want to be a better person, in every way. one of those sundays where everyones testimonies/lessons/comments were all related to each other. one of those sundays where you go home feeling better than ever. one of those sundays that where you know you're at the right place. one of those sundays that you know the gospel is the most important thing. one of those sundays that you know,without a doubt, it's all true.

also, brian and i have been attending a marriage/temple prep class. two of our bishopric members teach it, and it has been so good for us. today we talked about two talks that were given in general conference.

priesthood power-president monson 

the eternal blessings of marriage-elder scott

the talk by president monson was given in priesthood session. if you haven't read it, do it. it's one of my favorite talks from conference. somehow he talks about everything there is to talk about in a couple of pages. very applicable to everyone. i also loved elder scott's. pretty sure i'm ready to take this marriage thing on. :)

thank goodness for sundays.

one of those days

yesterday was a bad day. just one of those days when nothing really bad happens, just a lot of little things that accumulate and make it not very fun. so, that's how my day was. just a lot of little bad things. until about 3 o clock. then something really bad happened. which was the icing on the already bad cake. (and i hate cake)

so......a little bit grumpy, and really tired i get off work and decide i'm going to make myself feel better. my mom told me she'd buy me an easter dress, and i've known exactly what i want for some time-so i was going to treat myself to a brand new dress. i headed to the mall, in decent spirits, walked into the store, grabbed what i wanted, paid for it and was on my way out in less than three minutes. as i was walking out the door i checked my pockets and start to panic. oh no, where are my keys?? but i already knew, they were in my car. i was praying the whole way to the car "pleasse pleasssse be unlocked." but did i get that lucky? of course not. well....you think that's bad. guess who's cell phone was also in the locked car. gooood one macey.

also, i don't have a spare key to my car. never have, probably never will.

i stood outside of my car for probably 20 minutes trying to figure out what i'm supposed to do and trying not to cry. (please keep in mind, that i never cry) so, the only person's phone number i know by heart (besides my families) is brian's. but he was at work...and i wasn't sure what time he was going to get off. [probably not for a couple of hours] but since he was my only hope..i decided i'd go into jcpennys and call him.

i go to customer service, and they tell me their phones don't dial out, unless you go to the catalog desk. so i go upstairs to the catalog desk, and of course the lady that is working has to be the grouchiest lady in the world. she couldn't help me for about 15 minutes because she was busy chewing out her husband on the phone. (apparently he forgot to pay the cell phone bill.) after waiting there for about fifteen minutes she gets off the phone and i asked her if i can use the phone. thank goodness she said yes, and then put in like a ten digit code before i could dial out.

brian is pretty good at returning my texts/calls when he's at work. he works at the mtc so sometimes when i'm calling he can just step out of the classroom and take it. or if he's not able to do that he'll call me/text me back when he can. which usually never takes long. but i knew he wasn't going to answer the phone of a random number calling him. and i didn't think he wasn't going to be able to call me back-because that ten digit number the lady typed in was pretty complicated. so, i left him a message. which consisted of: my keys and phone are locked in my car, and i don't know what to do. call me back if you CAN.....if not i'll just try to call you in a couple of hours. (but of course i forgot to mention the fact that i was at jcpenny.)

not knowing what to do after that i sat down on one of the chairs and decided i'd call him again in 45 minutes. (i was too scared to ask the lady any sooner then that) plus she was back on the phone with her husband, yelling.

well, about five minutes later the phone started ringing.....and ringing and ringing. she couldn't answer it because she was "busy." i couldn't help but thinking..."that's probably brian." but there was nothing i could do about it...so it just kept ringing and ringing. then, about five minutes after THAT a spanish lady's voice came over the store intercom. "macey jones.....sadflasdkfjldkj" (i didn't understand anything except my name, because of her accent.) she repeated the same thing like three times, but i didn't know what to do! was i supposed to go somewhere downstairs? stay put? call brian back? ugh. instead, i just kept sitting.

the mean lady was finally off the phone and had a line of about ten customers. when the phone rang and she [finally] answered it. you could tell she was overwhelmed and super annoyed, but she looked at me and said "macey jones, you're wanted on the phone." it was brian. hooray.


after brian drove down to hang out with me, he called 5 different locksmiths and found the cheapest one, and then $50 bucks later...he told me how he got ahold of me. apparently he called the number i called from back and got: "welcome to jcpenny....choose which department you would like to speak to." of course he didn't know where i was in the store. so he just tried his best guess. first, the women's department. next, women's dresses. (that's where the spanish lady paged me) last, women's shoes. (and that's where the guy told him i probably called from the catalog desk and connected him there)

pretty sure if our positions would have been reversed i would have given up as soon as i dialed jcpenny because i wouldn't have known what else to do. and probably would have just waited for him to call me again. but not brian. he would spend 45 minutes trying to figure out where i am.....and rescue me from the mean lady. moral of the story: he is the best fiance.

thank goodness for this boy. 

[the hat is proof that it was just a bad day. bad hair and all]