Reliving the Past--June 30th-July 2nd 2004

* June 30th, 2004:

This was the day Ben arrived by plane to the Phoenix, AZ airport to meet up with me to prepare for our wedding! My parents and I picked him up and then drove to Mesa. I stayed in the Marriott hotel in Mesa with my family and friends/bridesmaids. Ben stayed at a nearby motel with his parents and two brothers.

* June 30th, 2010:

This was the day Ben and I arrived in Mesa to celebrate our 6th anniversary. We stayed at the same Marriott hotel I stayed at 6 years earlier. We checked in, cooled off from the 115-degree weather, then had dinner and went to a movie (Twilight Saga: Eclipse).

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*July 1st, 2004:

This was the day I took out my Endowments from the Mesa Temple. I was there with my parents, my grandma, my brother Mike, my friend/bridesmaid Ashley, and Ben's parents.

For dinner that night, we all went out to a fun place called Organ Stop Pizza. After dinner, another friend/bridesmaid (Erin) arrived to stay at the hotel with me. I stayed up that night talking with Erin and Ashley, and putting together some pictures to be displayed at the reception.

*July 1st, 2010:

This day, Ben and I slept in, went to lunch, drove around, and then met up with my friend Kate and her family who live there in Mesa. She was also one of my bridesmaids, and I haven't seen her since Ben and I got married! Guess where we went for dinner together?! Yep! Organ Stop Pizza. It's a fun pizza place that has a giant organ played all during your dinner. It's attached to a piano, drums, cymbals, and even cat puppets! It's a fun atmosphere and the food is pretty good, too!

*A beautiful sunset...I sure miss these vibrant Arizona sunsets!*

After dinner with Kate and her family, Ben and I went to the pool at the hotel, and then got some blizzards at Dairy Queen and headed to the temple so I could take some pictures.

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*July 2nd, 2004--morning:

This was "The Big Day" when Ben and I were sealed for Time and All Eternity in the Mesa, Arizona Temple. Yes, it was hot (even though I don't really remember that part), but it was a beautiful, sunny day. I woke up early that morning, showered, and dried my hair. Erin, Ashley, and I went to the restaurant on-site and had some delicious omelets for breakfast. Then we went back to our room where Erin did my hair,

Ashley packed my suitcase,

and I did my own makeup. My mom came by and (even though I had already put on my dress) she helped me put on my veil. Then Ben arrived to pick me up at the hotel so we could go over to the temple to have our pictures taken before our sealing ceremony. My mom went down first, followed by Erin and me. When I walked out of the elevator, Ben was waiting for me and was able to see me in my wedding dress for the first time. :)

We had our picture taken in front of this water fountain
(don't have a copy of the original photo), and then we got in my car and headed to the temple for our pictures!

After our photos were done, we went into the temple, were sealed, and then we took a few more photos outside afterward.

We then invited our friends and family to our luncheon at a yummy Mexican restaurant called Rosa's Mexican Grill. It was fun and delicious! After lunch, we drove about 2 1/2 hours north for our reception in Chino Valley.

*July 2nd, 2010--morning:

On this morning, Ben and I woke up, showered, and went to breakfast at the on-site restaurant! It had changed a little bit during the 6 years, but we still had omelets!! It was a very yummy and filling breakfast. Then we went back and checked out of the Marriott, took a picture in the lobby where he had first seen me in my wedding dress 6 years before,

and then headed out. We went over to the Mesa Temple and were able to go in and do a sealing session! And since it was our anniversary, we were able to kiss over the altar, just as we did the day we were sealed to each other. :) It was so sweet and special! After our session, we went out for lunch. I'm sure you already know where we went, but I'll tell ya anyway: we went to Rosa's Mexican Grill again! It was sure yummy, just like before! :) After lunch, Ben and I drove 2 hours north to Prescott Valley.

*July 2nd, 2004--evening:

Ben and I stopped in Prescott Valley on our way to our reception so we could check into our hotel we would stay at that night. Then we continued on to Chino Valley for the reception, which is the town where I grew up, and where everyone I knew still lived. There are no reception halls there, so you either do a reception outdoors somewhere or at our church building. We chose the church building to eliminate the risk of bad weather, to escape the heat, to hide from bugs, etc. However, we had the cultural hall decorated in a garden theme with lots of plants, trees, flowers, and twinkle lights everywhere. I thought it turned out really nice!

The reception was a lot of fun, filled with a receiving line, music, dancing, my brother Matt singing a song for us (Me and You by Kenny Chesney), cake cutting/eating,

bouquet tossing, garter throwing,and mingling. Ben and I took off afterward in our well-decorated carand went back to Prescott Valley to stay in our hotel. The next morning, we got up, ate, packed, and drove to San Diego for our awesome honeymoon. :)

*July 2nd, 2010--evening:

This evening, Ben and I arrived from Mesa and checked into the same hotel, same room, as the night we were married 6 years ago. We rested a little bit, and then went to see my brother Matt and his family. We had dinner with them, and even celebrated by having cake, just like at our reception this same night. We went back to our hotel later that night and danced in our room to some of the same songs we danced to at our reception. A little cheesy, but it was very cute and special. In the morning, we got up, ate, packed, and headed back over to Matt and Trista's house to go the 4th of July parade with them, and then we stayed there at their house for the next two nights.

I am so grateful to Ben for being willing to celebrate our 6th anniversary in this fun, sentimental, and special way. Everything happened this year on the exact same day it did 6 years ago, and I thought it would be a great way to celebrate the anniversary of our wedding, our love for each other, and the fact that we are still so very much in love even this many years later. I can't believe it's been 6 years already! It has gone by very quickly, but we are excited to spend many more years together. Happy Anniversary!!