Newlywed Graduates!

June 10, 2010
Disclaimer:
This is long overdue....
but made possible with the faster internet now.
In California our internet was too slow to do any pictures on our blog,
so that is why there is a huge space between posts.
Enjoy!

This has been one crazy fun year of marriage.

We have lived in

Provo, UT

and

San Diego, CA

and loved each experience in its own separate way.

Now it is time for our First Anniversary
so we got work off to head over to

DISNEYLAND!

We were both so excited because the last time I went to Disneyland I was 8 and Nik's last time he was 18.

This was MUCH overdue....

and came at a perfect time for living 90 minutes away from the park at the time.

Here are some pictures I can FINALLY load up with the faster internet.

Welcome to Disneyland, ya Lovebirds!

In front of Splash Mountain.

We did this one twice.

Loved it.

Pictures below.

Don't know why this is sideways

I love him!

This was our delicious lunch

And our waiter snuck into the picture

It was so good!

We stuffed our faces and didn't have to eat for the rest of the day.

Before

After.

OMGoodness! It was sooooooOOOOooooO Good!

On the Matterhorn.

First time on this ride because when I went at 8yrs old,

some guy fell off of the ride just prior to our visit,

so it was down for construction.

Eek.

I WAS a little nervous to ride it.

1st ride.

Made him go first because I didn't want to fall out.

My MOST FAVORITE ride EVERRRRRR!

Nik and I waited a little longer than 2 hours to get the front seats.

It was AWESOME!

(don't mind my goofy face)

Our last ride of the day.....

I WAS SCARED OUT OF MY MIND!

But then I wanted to go on it again right away.

It was amazing.

Well, that sums up our trip. It was so fun.

I love this man and the fun times we have together.

Berry Happy!

I didn't have access to the internet yesterday, so today will have to do.

Yesterday, May 13th, marked one year from the day Nik asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. We have it on video because he was super sneaky (knowing me, you have to be) and still I have yet to see the video. Someday when we get back to Mesa I will, but it has been in storage all this time.

I am so lucky to have him as my husband. He is the best thing that has happened to me. He makes me laugh all the time, helps me learn and grow, and makes me so happy everytime I look at him. At times I feel I do not deserve him because I just could never imagine being any more happy.

Nikolas James Berry, 

You are the man I have waited for 

and 

dreamt about my whole life. 

Thank you for finding me and loving me.

Love,

Dawna Genette Berry

Four weeks from now we will have graduated from the Newlywed Stage in life. How exciting! We are hoping to go to Disneyland since it is right around the corner. [Keepin' my fingers crossed]

One Year Later

One year has come and gone...

...and nobody can believe it.

April 29, 2009

You might be asking what happened on this day.

No, we did not get engaged on this day.

No, we did not get married this day.

No, we did not start dating this day...(well sort of).

And no, I am not crazy for celebrating all the little things.

This day was the day Nik returned home from serving an honorable

and

full time mission in Tokyo Japan.

This day was the day all of us, family and friends, had one huge smile

plastered on our faces.

This day was the day that a son, brother, boyfriend, and friend

returned home after 749 LONG days away.

This day was the day I felt I was living in a dream.

(as I'm sure many others felt too)
This day was the day I had been waiting 3.5 years for.

Let me show you this day...

...the few pictures I have on this laptop.

Okay, well I had a few more pictures to put up
but my computer wouldn't load them.
I will update this post if I can get them up here.

Thank you, Nik, for doing such a great job

over in the lands of Japan.

Thank you for being such a great example.

This day was a special one for so many.

We all love you.

p.s. I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend.

Texas Roadhouse is Special to Me.

April 28, 2009

8:45 pm

Me, Rach, and Katie Jean sitting in a booth at Texas Roadhouse.

The 2 of them were so giddy as I just sat there.

Just.Sat.

I could barely do anything.

I could barely eat.

Nothing.

They were all smiles and laughs and excitement.

You wanna know why we were this way???

At that EXACT moment, Nik was in an airplane over the ocean heading back home to the U.S.A from Japan.

This was the moment I had waited over 3.5 years for.

I was so excited but didn't know how to act or think.

It was an out-of-body experience....like I was standing off to the side watching myself go through this.

For the next 12 hours....I was so out of it.

I slept just fine...WHEN I finally went to sleep.

Rach and Katie Jean kept me company while I made my Welcome Home banner to hold at the airport...and then they went home around 12:30 in the morning. 

It was so weird to think that Nik was coming home.

I finally went to sleep and slept just fine.

Around 6am I started having difficulty sleeping cuz I knew Nik was going to call me from the airport and I didn't want to miss his call.

He finally called and I sat there in my jammies on the couch for quite some time talking to him.

It all felt like a dream. Felt like another out-of-body experience. 

I didn't know if what I was seeing was even real. It felt like it shouldn't have been.

After our conversation on the phone, I got ready for the day.

I was suppose to be at his parent's house by 4:30 so we could get to the airport before his plane landed at 5:20.

We pulled into the parking garage at 5:23. Amy (his sis) and I RAN through the airport to get to his terminal before he showed up.

With all Nik's friends and family and my family standing around, he finally appeared and it was wonderful.

 Look at that Handsome MAN!

He gave everyone hugs and then he gave me a huge huge, lifting me off the ground and squeezing me so tight!

I was on cloud 9.

Showing off pictures.

I couldn't believe this was real...like, was he REALLY home?? Home to stay?? 

IT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!

The rest of the night was great....but that will be for another post.

I didn't mean to give you this huge long story..I really just wanted to relive the Texas Roadhouse experience.

That night was so good...to have my girlfriends with me at my favorite restaurant on a wonderful night.

I hadnt been to that restaurant again until last weekend.

Terri and her friend, Justin, went with us and it was so fun!

It was so cool to have those strong memories that meant so much to me and share them with Nik as we drove to the restaurant. I was able to explain exactly how I felt in that last 24 hours of "single-ness".

Gosh...I love Nikolas James SOOOO much!

I am so lucky to have these wonderful memories and to me ABLE to remember them so clearly.

 Terri and Justin

The Berry's!

Some nice guy took this picture for us.

Yay for Texas Roadhouse! We had so much fun with Terri and Justin and Nik LOVED the food....we went there last night with another couple. That place ROCKS!

Letters to Eternity

Letters to Eternity - This is what Nik titled my Christmas/Valentine's Day gift...and no I am not posting this SUPER late, he really did just give it to me tonight.
The thing is...Nik is very very thoughtful and a natural romantic.
It takes him time to think up a gift to give and lots of time to make it....so that is why it is late.
I'm just so happy I have it now.
We have been together for 4.5 years now and every time we exchange gifts for the many different holidays, his is ALWAYS BETTER! I told him tonight that we are not allowed to exchange gifts anymore because my gifts are never as cool/thoughtful/original as his are.
So let me now move on to what he gave me...but I have to explain a little.
Nik went on his mission to Tokyo, Japan from April 2007-April 2009.
All that time we wrote back and forth.
Even the 15 months prior to him leaving on his mission we wrote letters back and forth.
I have kept every single letter.
The originals are in 4 3-inch binders in sheet protectors. That is 1 whole foot of letters!
Well, Nik being the awesome husband he is, decided to make a book with those.
He would sneak out to the local Geneology center and scan every single last letter.
He then had them bound in a book.
Actually in 2 books.
1 book from January 2006-March 2007.
1 book from April 2007-April 2009.
Let me show them to you now.

When I opened this gift, I could feel all his love and effort put into this project.
This definitely came from the heart.
I can't even BEGIN to describe how much this means to me!
These are going to stay around for years and years and hopefully through generations.
This is a great story of our lives together before marriage.
We keep writing letters to each other.
I have a little mailbox I made back in YW's and it sits on our bookshelf.
When we write a letter we stick it in there and then the other person sees it and takes it out to read it and reply to it.
I hope that in future years we can do this same thing and make another book.
This made me smile.
Isn't he an awesome gift giver?
But how is he ever going to top this one?? For reals!

Nikolas!

To continue on my mushy post from last night, I found this little survey to do on my handsome man.
So without further ado:

1. Where did you meet?
Officially – EFY 2005 (Thanks Josh and Kylee for being the connecting piece), but I had my eye on him back at Red Mountain that semester prior where we were both going to school.

2. How long did you date before you got married?
Almost 4 Years!!! (There were 2 years of waiting for him while he was on his mission in that 4 years)

3. How long have you been married?
Just about 9 months.

4. What does he do that surprises you?
He wakes up early on Saturday mornings to take the laundry down to the laundry room. =]

5. What is your favorite feature of his?
His eyes are such a handsome hazel color…and his hair, when gelled, is the kicker!

6. What is your favorite quality of his?
He always opens up the door for me…in any situation. So lucky to have him treat me like such a lady!

7. Does he have a nickname for you?
Babe.
Or when I feel like being super cheesy/funny I will call him my Stud Muffin (cuz I think that is silly but cute still) and he will reply "Yes, my Studette Pastry". Not even sure if Studette is a word, but it makes me laugh when he says it.

8. What is his favorite color?
Red and Black.

9. What is his favorite food?
Anything Japanese…or Pizza.

10. What is his favorite sport?
He likes to play football but isn’t big into watching it (thank heavens!)

11. When and where was your first kiss?
On the bench at Falcon Hill Park the night of September 24, 2005. Right after an awesome D-Back’s game and a trip to Cold Stone. =]

12. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple?
As cliche as this may sound...we love spending time together. Whether it is a simple walk along the Provo River, having dinner AT the dinner table with no distractions, or catching up on our favorite TV Series.

13. Do you have any children?
Nope.....someday though...

14. Does he have a hidden talent?
He is a great cook. He can look in the pantry and put things together (that I wouldn't think of) to make a meal and it always tastes good!
He also has an amazing talent at calming me down when we take different chances in life together.

15. How old is he?
23

16. Who said I love you first?
Me

17. What's his favorite music?
Pretty much Alternative. He will listen to Country but it isn’t something he would pick on his own.

18. What do you admire most about him?
He has a great way of taking chances and making it work out in his favor. I am a big planner and he likes to just take things as they go. That is something I need to be better at.

19. Do you think he will read this?
Only if I tell him I posted it.

Three BIG Words.

Those of you that know me real well can confirm the fact that I remember silly little dates of

when silly or simple things happen in mine and Nik's relationship.

Don't ask me how...I just pay close attention to detail.

Well...4 years ago, today, Nik said 3 very special words to me...

"I love you, (and then he added the best part) Dawna."

I remember it every time February 28th comes around. 

That was one very special night to me because I knew he had waited so long to say it in the perfect moment...

not to just say it to say it and have it be premature.

He always told me he felt very special about me but he didn't want to say those 3 BIG words until the perfect moment and when he could say it with all his heart.

At that point we had been dating for 5 months and 4 days. 

It meant a lot to me that he waited for a special time

(and not even on Valentines day) to say it.

Nikolas James Berry...I want you to know that

I love you more today than I did on February 28, 2006. 

Thank you for loving me!

Open Please!

Nik and I will be celebrating our 4th Anniversary since we started dating on the 24th of September. Don't get that confused with our Wedding Anniversary because we have just past the 3 month mark! woot woot. That being said....these past 4 years he has done nothing but treat me like a princess and now his queen. One thing he has always done and been very strict about is opening my doors. I do not open any doors when with him because this is one of the ways he likes to show me that he loves me and cares for me. For the first 1.5 years before his mission it was nice and fun getting use to having my doors opened so politely. Then he left for his mission and it was a little hard the first couple days REMEMBERING to open my own door and to not just stand there. lol. I finally got use to it and the 2 years of his mission went on. He came home and didn't even hesitate one second to open a door and would even give me a sad look when I would forget and open a door myself. Hello! He was gone for 2 years! I kinda got out of the habit. Anywho...needless to say, I haven't opened a door for myself when he is around ever since he returned.

Well, right after we got married we moved to Utah. We are all alone but are trying our hardest to make friends to change that. I do have family here and so does Nik but they are all about 30 minutes away, in opposite directions. So we do see them but not very often and not as often as I would like. So, what I am getting at is that when Nik and I aren't together, I am alone. I will go shopping at the mall alone or grocery shopping alone while he is at work. There are many things I do on my own and I open every door, no problem. Well yesterday my sister, Carrot (or rather Caren) came into town for my birthday and after dropping Nik off at work, we went to the mall to go shopping. Okay...so....I am not alone at this moment because Carrot is with me. Carrot and I get out of the car and walk up to the Nordstrom doors to enter the mall. We get to the door and I just STAND THERE. haha. I look at the door and then her as if I am waiting for Nik or someone to open it. I then burst out in laughter! haha. I wasn't alone at that time so my mind just automatically told me to wait and the door will open. hahahaha. I end up opening the door and explained to Carrot what the deal was. haha. Everytime I was with someone for the last 3 months, it was Nik and he would open my doors.

LOL! I hope you find this as funny as I do. I felt like a complete idiot! It was classic.

Oh wait! Later on that evening when Nik got off work we all went out to eat and then to see Love Happens. (great movie, btw) We go to the theater and this is one where you open one door and then you have to go thru another one right after that. Nik, of course, opened the first door so Carrot and I went in. We then stood there waiting for him to open the next door but he was still holding the first door for the other people behind us, because he is just that much of a gentleman. Carrot and I are standing there and it doesn't register in my head that Nik is not going to be able to open that next door until about 5 people gather into that same confined area as the two of us. So after it registers I rush over and reach for the door, which was completely weird, and I opened it for everyone else while laughing to myself. It was very funny. Carrot understood what was going on only because of the mall scene I put on and she was laughing as well.

Nik is so wonderful to me and to any lady he is around. I love that he cares this much for me and every other Daughter of God to do this. No other boyfriend has ever treated me the way he does and I love him even more for that. I could go on and on about him, but I think you catch my drift. Hope you enjoyed my funnies.

Open Please!

Sharing is Caring!

So I haven't posted in a while but boy do I have some funnies to tell you!

Let's start with the usual dinner at the Berry House. Ok? I usually have the main meal made by the time Nik comes home and then when he gets home I finish the last stuff...veggies, fruit, salad, or anything else that is better fresh. Sometimes I will ask Nik for his help and this one particular time made me laugh the hardest.

I ask him to cook up the frozen green beans and so he started with getting the bag out of the freezer and getting a bowl down from the cupboard. He proceeds to put the frozen green beans in the bowl and puts them in the microwave. Once it beeps he pulls them out, puts some butter on them as well as salt and pepper. He brings the bowl to the table.

Notice how I never mentioned him putting the now cooked green beans on our plates or in separate bowls? That's right...because it never happened. We eat dinner and then before I know it I look over at him and this is what I see - Nik holding the green bean bowl up with one hand and a fork in the other, grabbing the LAST green bean out of the bowl! They were GONE! He sees me looking at him with a sad puppy-dog face as he puts the last one in his mouth. He then immediately looks down at the bowl and then back at me and realizes he ate them ALL! He smile with a mouth full of green beans and swallows. I asked "what about me?" in a sad little cute voice. He replies "I brought these over to share" and smiles again in a sorry but cute smile.

Hahaha I couldn't help but laugh so hard at that face and what he just did. It was the funniest thing ever. Lol. Yes, he really did mean to share but he was just enjoying them too much and ate them all. So every now and then when we have to share something I always joke about letting me ACTUALLY eat some of it or what not.

This same thing happened at breakfast one time. He had made waffles and brought everything to the table. He asked what I wanted to drink and I told him I wanted milk. Well, I'm not if it is this way with every male but with Nik he would rather keep it small and simple. So he grabs a big cup out of the cupboard and pours milk in it and brings it to the table. That's right, just one cup....a big one. Well I didn't really pay attention and need any milk to drink until later...and of course it was at the moment Nik takes the last sip of milk. I look at him with that same over-exaggerating sad face as I see there is no milk. He makes the same "whoops" face as he looks at the cup and then at me and then at the cup and back at me. haha. It was so funny I laughed hysterically again because this was the second time sharing wasn't really the best of options. haha. We both laughed for a long time.

I love my husband and how cute and funny he is. He is always making me laugh with the funny little silly things he does on purpose and not on purpose. He is all mine and I couldn't be any more happy!

The Beginning of a Beautiful Thing

As Nik and I have spent almost 4 years together, the most recent verse of our song began on June 10th of 2009, so we decided it would be fun to share a blog as we write out this song ourselves.

Now let me explain why our blogger is ~CuzItsUAndMe~...because that song, 'You and Me' by Lifehouse is what Nik and I consider 'our song' and what we danced to as Husband and Wife for the very first time. It is a song with special meaning to us.

So give us time right now as we try to figure out this blogging thing.

We are excited to be able to connect and keep in touch with our family and friends this way.

Love you all!