new beginnings, new adventures

Goodbye 2012!

It has truly been a wonderful year and I am grateful for every day of 2012. Everyday, Austin has been an important part of my life whether he was just my I-Rep partner for Get Connected, a classmate in Light & Sound, a friend, a boyfriend, a fiance and now a husband.

the ring

the night Austin proposed

went to my first concert

don't make fun but it was a One Direction concert.

Danica graduated from middle school and started high school!

one of my best friends Lejana got married

I nannied this cute little boy

I saw Mitt Romney at a memorial day event

I voted for the first time!

Austin & I FaceTimed a lot during our long distance engagement

My big brother, Derrick also came home from serving in the New York New York North mission for two years teaching the gospel in american sign language!

In 2012, I feel like I have accomplished so much. I completed my associate's degree just a few weeks ago. I went through the temple and have enjoyed being able to go with my husband often. I planned a wedding and survived! So many of my close and dear friends got married too. I also got a new Honda 2013 CR-V!

first time through the temple

bridal shower

marriages!

brandie & ryan's wedding

our wedding

family

new car!

Austin also had some wonderful things happen too. He graduated from BYU-Idaho with a degree in mechanical engineering. He proposed and married me! And finally, he got a wonderful job with Boeing in St. Louis as a design engineer.

To start off our 2013 year, we will be moving to St. Louis, Missouri a week from today, January 7th!

We are so excited for this new adventure and we are so ready for what St. Louis will bring us. We are ready to take on those married couple responsibilities as adults like owning our own place, paying bills, going to work and maintaining a home.

I can't wait to start this new year and start new goals and new beginnings. I can't wait to see what all of these new adventures will bring for Austin & I. St. Louis will definitely be a new and scary experience but I know it will be worth it.

 Hello 2013!

We are moving!!

I have just been WAITING for this day to tell everyone about this new adventure we are about to embark on!

After endless job applications everywhere, interviews, two trips to the Midwest and some big decisions, Austin has finally landed a job. Not just any job...his DREAM job!!

Austin will be a Design Engineer for The Boeing Company working in the military/defense division.

We are beyond excited and it has been a long journey to get here. He has been so diligent and patient with this whole looking for a job process and has done a lot of preparation to make sure he is the best of the best. With the help of his grandpa, he was able to refine his interviewing skills and be able to not only have the experience and knowledge they are looking for but also good communication skills and interpreting all of that to potential employers.

There are several reasons we are SO excited for this:

1. Austin is working for BOEING! Boeing has amazing benefits. It is a huge company and they treat their employees well. Austin says they have really nice facilities and that the people seem enjoyable to work with. If you don't know what Boeing is, it is an aerospace company that has all sorts of divisions. One reason I am familiar with Boeing is because my dad works for Southwest Airlines and I fly on Boeing aircraft all the time! They also d a lot of work with NASA and the military. As a Boeing wife, ;) I am excited for the benefits! Seriously, I cannot wait to go to the dentist. It was a hard hit to me to lose my dad's awesome military benefits and insurance when we got married but I am excited to get some good benefits and insurance back again.

2. Many of you might think that because he is working for Boeing, we are for sure staying here in Washington. Well, we're not! We are moving all the way out to the Midwest! Where exactly in the Midwest you ask? St. Louis, Missouri! Here is a nice little map to show you where that is in relation to some other familiar cities like Chicago.

And here are two more pictures of Missouri:

So, we are going quite a bit away from our homes. This is exciting for us though because we have heard good things about St. Louis. It is hard to believe that we will be living in the Midwest! I never thought that I'd end up there ever! I actually had a nice trip to that area two years ago after I graduated. My mom, my cousins and my aunts took a nice mother-daughter trip there in the summer and it was a lot of fun. The humidity was yucky but I enjoyed everything we did there like the famous Gateway Arch, seeing the Mississippi River, and going to Mark Twain's hometown, eating Steak N' Shake, eating Sonic, and of course, going to Nauvoo, Illinois for the pageant and the church historical sites. And yes! Nauvoo is only 3 1/2 hours away from St. Louis! That will be a fun place to have nearby. St. Louis also has a free zoo. Oh and this picture might help you familiarize yourself with the city:

Recognize it? Well, you should because it is pretty famous :) Anyways, we will probably living more specifically in St. Charles, Missouri. That is just right across the river and very close to the airport (which is right next to Boeing). That fact is really nice because my family can visit and we won't live too far away! Only 20 minutes. So if any of you ever come to St. Louis, hit us up because we will be in close proximity :)

3. I am so excited to have our own place! I have been dying to use all of the great gifts we got from our wedding. I am talking about all of the fun kitchen appliances and sheets and other fun house things. I am also very excited to decorate our own place and call it home! Seriously, Pinterest just doesn't satisfy that need! Now I can actually use the ideas I've pinned in the past and make our future apartment nice and pretty. Along with owning our own apartment, I am excited to take on responsibilities like grocery shopping, running errands, going to appointments, making lunches for Austin when he goes to work, and preparing dinner for when he comes home. I am so ready to be that kind of wife! All of this is great but I will certainly miss living with his family here in Washington. It has been so nice and so much fun being around so much family.

4. Well since Austin will be at work with the only car we have (which I can't even drive because it is a manual), what the heck am I supposed to do all day? Well we have figured out a nice little solution for that! We are getting myself a car! More specifically a crossover/mini-SUV type of car. I think we've narrowed it down to either the Honda CR-V or the Toyota RAV4. We are also still deciding on new vs. used. We are leaning more towards new. We have been busy the last week researching and visiting dealerships to test drive lots of crossovers and out of all the ones we tried we liked the CR-V and the RAV4 the best. It will also be a nice car to have for when we start our family!

5. Austin loves design engineering. He is loves math and art so what better career than to be a design engineer? I am so excited and so proud of him for landing this awesome job. He is excited for what he will be working on and to be able to work with such a big company! I am also happy that he will finally be able to start getting busy again. We have been married for about four months now and haven't done too much. I've been busy with my online classes and Austin has been busy finding a job.

6. We can't wait to make some friends in St. Louis! Hopefully some other young couples. We are still new to the whole married life thing and have yet to experience so many typical newlywed things! I am excited about that. I also think it is going to be fun getting to explore St. Louis and the surrounding area. Austin actually lived there when he was a little kid for about a year and a half so obviously he doesn't remember much. I am excited to go on adventures with him and find out all that Missouri has to offer!

7. A great thing is that the St. Louis Missouri temple is only about 20 minutes away from where we will be living! I love that and I am so glad we can be close to one. I am anxious to meet our new ward and to have all of these new experiences! We are so blessed to have the temple so close!

8. Currently, I am finishing up my associate's degree and will be done next week! I am not certain as to what I want to do to finish my bachelor's degree. I still need to look at my options and whether I want to change my major and stick with online classes through BYU-Idaho or find a school in St. Louis to attend to. Anyways, I plan on taking the Winter semester off so I can work and settle into our new place. I am just so glad to be done with school for the semester! It had been a tough one doing all online classes but I have amazing grades and I am very happy with that :) I have learned so much from the classes I have been taking and I know that all that knowledge will be very useful!

I am so excited for the things to come. This is our "something better" and it is going to be quite the adventure!

P.S. We are planning on moving to St. Louis at the beginning of January :)

Double posting! An update of the Terry's

This is crazy but I am posting TWICE in one day! It's really a treat. For all who would like to know what is going on in my new life as Nicki TERRY, here it all is!

Austin and i are currently living in Puyallup, Washington with his family until Austin solidifies a job (which is most likely going to be in the Midwest!). I have been very busy the past two months being a full time online student. It is SO MUCH WORK! Taking 12 credits online is real tough. So all of my time is pretty much spent on the computer or in my various books for class. Luckily, I am more than halfway through the semester and I am rockin' it! I have high As in all of my classes and I am pretty proud of myself :) I am enjoying all of my classes and I am learning so much. At the end of this fall semester, I will have my Associate's degree! Afterwards, I plan on transferring somewhere wherever we end up living so I can complete a bachelor's hopefully continuing on with Communication.

I'm a big fan of writing out all of my assignments at the beginning of the week and feeling so satisfied as I check off and highlight all of the things I have completed :)

We visited the spot in Sumner, WA on the day of our open house here in WA where Austin proposed to me earlier this year :)

We donned our wedding day attire again for our Washington open house

We got the greatest couch from Austin's aunt Julie! We had to put in a little money to get it though. Totally worth it! I love it.

We are so obsessed with this game! Monopoly Deal is so much better than the board game. It is quicker and a lot more fun. We are also huge fans of Settlers of Catan and play it too much :)

We also went on a fun camping trip at Summit Lake with beautiful views of Mt. Rainier!

 We took a fun afternoon trip up to Seattle and explored Pike Place Market. I have never been there before and I loved the diversity, and eclectic environment of the place!

Some of my new family! My in laws, my husband and I and Cassie (who is due in February with a baby boy!) & Tyson, my brother and sister in law

Austin and I put together fun costumes for Halloween...Mickey and Minnie Mouse!

Anyways, we are just living day to day, spending time with the family and finding fun activities to do. Austin has been diligently looking for a job and currently he has two promising job opportunities. As I speak, he is currently in St. Louis, Missouri for an on-site visit tomorrow! So cross your fingers that all will go well :) We are so excited to be off on our own and have our own place. We are so excited for the things to come and all of the fun adventures awaiting us in the Midwest. I never thought I would live there but it is soon becoming a reality and I am excited for new things and finding out all of the joys and trials that come along with being married :) Oh, I am also very excited to explore a new city, meet other married couples, have friends, continue my education, decorate a home, run errands, and feel like an adult!

Before I go, I just want to mention something that makes me so incredibly happy...

I am so excited and thrilled for all of my wonderful co-counselors from Retreat For Girls who have received their call and are going on missions! My heart is filled with joy knowing that these wonderful ladies will be out there all over the world teaching the gospel. I am so proud of them and so blessed to call them friends. I am also so happy for those other counselors who are getting married and joining the club with me! Austin and I still have so much to experience as a married couple and it makes me happy to see so many of my friends getting married and who have gotten married this year along with me. I know there are so many people I can go to for advice and help!

To go along with the theme of my blog, these are my "something betters." All of these experiences and these people have lifted me up and have brought me so much closer to the gospel. I am so incredibly blessed and Austin and I have experienced so much love and joy in our marriage thus far.

I'M BACK!

I haven't posted in AGES! I guess when you get married, life kinda takes you on a whirlwind. Welp everybody, I am a married woman!! I married a wonderful man named Austin Terry on August 10, 2012 and we have been married for almost three months (on Saturday)!

A little bit about our wedding day...it was dang STRESSFUL! The morning I was a wreck and even in the afternoon. Weddings are honestly so hard to handle! Too many emotions and too many things to coordinate and worry about. Wedding planning was SO fun but I was so grateful when it all came to an end. I had some serious blessings though as we planned the wedding. So many people helped out and contributed so much to make our wedding day so special and everything we could have ever hoped for.  Here are some fun pictures for your enjoyment:

We honestly couldn't have had such a wonderful, memorable and special day without the sacrifice and support of so many friends and family. We are so grateful for everyone who was involved, contributed and traveled from far distances to come and celebrate this special day with us!

Something really special that happened to me in the few weeks before we were married was one Sunday at my home ward, we had a lesson in Relief Society about families. Obviously my ears perked up and I listened intently to the lesson. We closed the beautifully taught lesson with the song, "Families Can Be Together Forever." I couldn't help but tear up a little bit when we sang the line in the second verse that says, "I'll prepare most carefully, so I can marry in God's temple for eternity..." It hit me real hard because this is a beautiful song I have been singing since I was in primary and having sung this all my young years, I finally was about to do that exact thing-be worthy to go through and be sealed in the temple of the Lord to a worthy companion.

It is such a blessing to have finally come to this point of my life where I know who I will be spending the rest of eternity with. Definitely something you wonder as a young girl all your life! I am so grateful for such a strong, handsome, smart, patient and understanding husband. He is perfect for me and I am grateful for him everyday.