Christmas Time in the City

Seeing that Christmas is right around the corner, I thought I would update the blog since this is a good time to do it and I am normally not very successful at doing this often. However; I have been extremely busy falling more and more in love with my most favorite girl in the world, McKenzee Anderson. There sure has been quite a bit going on the past few months as we are now engaged to be married and have been now for about two months. Oh boy! Time flies!

McKenzee and I have had such a great time being in love and being engaged. The past two months have been a lot of fun and have been filled with a lot of incredible activities! Summer finished off with a bang with a fun evening up at Sundance to see the outdoor play, "The Sound of Music". This was such a great time as we took the whole family with us and really enjoyed ourselves. Along with this came two Lake Powell trips, one with each family. October is definitely not the prime time of year to be in the normally sweltering hot Lake Powell, nevertheless, Lake Powell is Lake Powell. Many games were played and pictures taken as 2 trips to Powell in 3 weeks were complete. The following week was one of the most important weeks of our new young lives together.

Thursday October 13, 2011 will surely be a day that we will remember forever. What appeared to be a normal Thursday evening for McKenzee turned out to be her first day of being an engaged woman. Kenzee normally has school in the evenings until 10 or so which makes it very difficult to make any type of big plans to ask her to be married, however; I am awesome and made it happen. We had previously arranged to go shopping at the Gateway Mall on her fall break from school, which happened to be this same Thursday. Wednesday morning I coordinated with all of our siblings and their spouses and parents to meet us downtown for a treasure hunt throughout the Gateway to eventually get to the place where I would ask McKenzee to marry me. As we approached the mall I made secret phone calls and messages to make sure that everyone was in place and the clues were given and ready to go. Each sibling had a different clue to lead her around from store to store around the mall to get to her expensive prize at the end. Kenzee and I walked up the escalators from the parking lot and just so happened to see my parents...with the first clue. From there at the ice cream parlor to Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory she went where her parents were with a carmel apple to enjoy later. Off to American Eagle she went to find Levi, Erin, Aislyn and Drew waiting with her next clue. From there she headed to Bath & Body Works where Zach, Collie, Easton and Corbin were anxiously awaiting to send her off once again. She then had some troubles finding Mandy and Makelle at Abercrombie & Fitch but finally tracked her down. Speedily racing down the sidewalk she neared Victoria's Secret where Rob and Courtney were hiding with the next clue. That pointed her in the direction of the Apple store where Cole snuck her the next clue. She then scooted over to Starbucks where Brad, Ashley and Parker were waiting with some Carmel Apple Cider to partake of soon after that. That last clue instructed her to turn around and head back down the stairs to the fountain where I was waiting with two dozen roses and a HUGE smile. I think at that point she was expecting me to ask her right there, however there was more to the evening than just a treasure hunt. We exchanged Hugs and kisses and plenty of smiles and took a few minutes to say hello to the family, now all gathered together and then made our way behind the Gateway and awaited an arrangement that I had made earlier that day. A horse and buggy came and snagged us up and ventured us to Temple Square. On the 20 or so minute drive, we were able to enjoy our treats and talk about many different things that we wanted in our lives and how awesome our love was for each other. I brought with me the list of qualities and characteristics I had jotted down a few years back and read them to her before we made our way around Temple Square. We then slowly meandered around the square and ended up near the reflection pool. This was such a magnificent sight as we both looked into each others eyes and dreamed of going back one day soon to be married there. The opportunity opened up just perfectly and I went for it. I didn't really have much planned by way of what I wanted to say and I actually don't even really remember what I said but we talked a lot about being in love and being so happy and so grateful that we found each other and most importantly, what we wanted our future to be like together. The time was just right and I got down on one knee and made my move. I asked her how she would like it if both of our names had Merrill on the end. She said that she would really like that. "Will you marry me?" I asked. "Of course" she said with an enormous smile and tears in her eyes. This truly topped off an amazing evening and the beginning of our life together. I have grown to love McKenzee more than she will ever know and I am so thankful for the strength that she gives to me and the love that we share. I honestly wouldn't be half the man I am today without her. She is everything to me and I am so thankful and will forever be grateful for the woman who changed my life and who I will get to the spend the rest of ever with. This is such a great feeling! I don't remember a time when I have been happier!

Other than that, the past few months have been full of a lot of school and work for the both of us. Thanksgiving brought us to Sacramento California where we had some great food and an 80th birthday party for Grandpa Harris. A day in Apple Hill and a few 10 hour drives topped off the trip. We have since had a few Christmas activities to attend to enjoy the Christmas spirit and to help begin our wonderful life together. I seriously couldn't feel more blessed and privileged to be so close to such a remarkable girl. I feel so lucky to be marrying her. I can't wait for the rest of our life together!

August '11

So...I guess the posting more often didn't really pan out very well. However, Once a month-ish is a whole lot better than once a year. The past month has been one of the best I would say, probably in my whole life. I have had so many good experiences to help my relationship with my favorite girl flourish and develop into something even more special than before. This is so great! I am so far in love and have such a sense of happiness that I haven't ever felt before. Kenzee is such an incredible girl and I am always being shown different ways in which she amazes me and how much she truly loves me. I am absolutely crazy for this girl!

The past few weeks have sure helped me to become closer to Kenzee and also her family which is very important to us both. Over the past year, this was one thing that we were both fairly concerned with just because of the way that we've had to construct our relationship. I am so grateful for the love and support that our families have given us. We've had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with both of them and they have been beyond supportive and happy for us and helping us get to our goal of being married in the temple one day soon. Three nights of fireworks, a play at Hale Center Theatre, a weekend in Bear Lake, a long 80th birthday party/day and many other experiences have shown our families how in love we are and their support truly means the world to us. Recently, Kenzee's parents have posed questions to Kenzee about marrying me. Not bad questions but good ones. The latest of which went along the lines of, WHEN are you going to marry Danny? Oh man. Kenzee called me as soon as she could gather her composure like so excited!! I would say that the 28th of July was the point in which my worries of families accepting what we're wanting to do went completely out the window. This feeling that I have about this is so much fun and so exciting that I can barely handle it!

In the past, as I have thought about the girl I would one day marry, I never really pictured her with a specific body type or hair color or anything like that. However, whenever I did think about whoever it was, in the past, I knew that we would be a perfect fit. Someone who knows your thoughts and concerns before you even express them to each other. Someone who can take your pain and frustrations away with a hug. Someone who knows just what to say to make everything seem okay. I find myself feeling so close to Kenzee in so many different aspects of life and I am so excited for those feelings and emotions to continue to blossom and become something I have never even dreamed of. Thank you, thank you, thank you to my most favorite girl for being my princess! I love you more than anything baby!

Summer of Dreams - 2KXI

After nearly 10 months or so of not posting anything, I guess its about time I update this thing that I call my blog. I like to keep up with technology the best I can and this blog business is definitely a place where I lack. Hopefully more consistency will take place as I move throughout this journey I call life.

I'm having troubles deciding, more like figuring out where to start. So much has happened since last fall, we'll see how this goes. I'll start where I spend most of my time thinking; my most favorite girl, Kenzee. Last fall left us with sporadic half an hour visits, every other week or so. A few visits through September and an evening towards the end of October, that ended up holding us over until summer was spent at the school play where Kenzee did such an amazing job looking beautiful, dancing and singing like she does best. While watching her, I noticed throughout the play, how much I truly loved this girl. She started each scene in a different spot and every time the lights came up, I spotted her almost immediately. Call me weird or creepy, I call it being in love. We were able to spend some time together afterwards which was the extent of our hanging out sessions other than two give or take 20 minute happen stance run ins over the next 8 months. Whoa!

Over the past 10 months, I have scrimped and saved to prepare myself for the summer where my dreams are starting to come true. In my mind, my logical thinking mind, ducks need to be in rows if you will, when big life changing activities take place. Last summer, not only was Kenzee not done with school, I wasn't in a mindset with the capabilities to make things work. There were specifically 3 different areas in which I wanted to improve in my life to make it so that I could provide in the ways that I feel like I need to for another individual. First, Mentally. I needed to get out of the school mode and start focusing even more on work and doing things that will lead me to more of a financial Provider. Which leads me to the second aspect of feeling ready to settle down with someone, financially. As of last Spring after school finished, I was about $4,500 in debt. Between credit cards, vacations and back payments of phone and insurance bills. It all added up to quite a number. Over the past 10 months, I have been able to eliminate that debt and actually have around $2,000 in savings. I have also been able to purchase some toys that I felt like I needed (wanted) before Kenzee and I continued our journey together. I have a new iPod, iPad, iMac and MacBook Pro. I have no idea how all of this happened, other than a lot of hard work and savings techniques that snuck up on me. Along with these 2 parts of D Murr's philosophy of preparing to settle down, comes the most important, Spiritually. I sure had and still do have a long way to go before I'll be to a point where I can be satisfied with my spirituality. However, I feel as if this past year or so has truly prepared me for what needs to happen with me and my future in helping me become the person that I need to be. I felt like I needed to be worthy; of such an incredible girl, the Lord's magnificent Priesthood, the love of my Heavenly Father and most importantly for my mind's sake, myself. I have seen an incredible amount of improvement in this area of my life that I find myself smiling more often and having an increased desire to serve others, take part in personal prayer, attend church meetings and the partake of the blessings that await in the sacred temple. I feel like the combination of these three things have helped me feel more prepared for being able to provide for and love another precious individual. I feel like I've done a pretty good job at this lately, and in turn, find myself the absolute happiest I've ever been. It feels great!

Other activities that took place over the course of the past few months include weekend ski trips to Snowbird, about 10 of them over the course of the winter. 2 trips to the fancy Deer Valley and an opening sesh at the Mountain Resort in Park City. Winter was definitely a success to keep my mind focused on not going insane without my girl in my life. The Saturday Morning Specialists ended up killing about 15 days with 5 or so of which were done in about knee deep freshness. Sick. The spring time brought a quick trip down to Phoenix with Cole and the Wadsworth private jet. Straight up sillyness for certain. Golfing, hanging out and driving a HUGE truck home topped off the weekends activities. The following weekend was spent in sunny St. George/Las Vegas with Rhetnal Scan and Rosscoe Dash. After about $1,000 of winnings from Mega Bucks for Doc and an incredible show from the Blue Man Group at the MGM and an $8 Red Bull and a crazy expensive game of golf, the weekends activities were a success for the Ninja Wolfgistics Team. I'm sure that the activities that I have left out were fun and exciting, I just can't remember them, thus the reasoning behind me hoping to become more into a routine in posting.

Today being the 21st of June, and the longest day of the year btw, I have been hanging out with my most favorite girl in the whole world for about a week and a half now. the 11th of June brought an amazing reunion that was long overdue. a relaxing romantic walk and talk sesh along the sidewalks and fountain area of the Gateway mall downtown started off the evenings activities. The evening continued on to a hilarious play, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, at the Hale Center Theater later that night. We were able to talk face to face about real life situations, expressing our love to each other and spending some good quality time together for the first time in nearly 8 months! The overwhelming amount of happiness and joy that filled my heart that night, I can't describe but I'm sure that other people who are or have been in love know what I'm referring to.

Kenzee brings so many fun emotions out in both of us. When we are together, we spend most of the time laughing or tickling and just bugging each other (in a good way). It really is so much fun and so cute and probably pretty annoying if anyone else were to be around. There are so many things that I absolutely love about this girl. She makes me feel like the person that I want to be, the person that I want to become. She knows and tells me how awesome I am. She is never quick to judge and always knows when to hold her tongue. She exercises an extreme amount of patience with me and my shortcomings which I am ever so grateful for. She helps me be the happiest I've ever been. Plain and simple. Happiest. EVER! She always cares about me and shows me that she cares in a new way just about every day. Most of all, the thing that I love most about her is the ways that she finds to show me that she loves me. Every single day, she somehow digs into her bag of whatever she has and finds a new way to take my breath away, a new way to make my heart melt and I absolutely love it! She truly is the girl of my dreams and I am so thankful for her in my life. I am also very thankful to a Heavenly Father who is mindful of me and who knows what I am going through and most of all, knows, what is best for me. I'm grateful for the chance that I have to be here on the Earth to go through the things that I need to to help me become a better person, a better disciple of Christ, A better brother, uncle, son and one day father. I don't know what I would do without the strength that my Heavenly Father gives me each and every hour of the day. He knows me, He loves me and I can feel it and find that one of the most valuable lessons I've learned in my life. I've been waiting for this feeling for such a LONG time and after all I've been through with relationships; the trials and tribulations, the good times and the bad, the hard and the easy; I can recognize that Heavenly Father knows best and is blessing me more than I ever thought I would ever deserve. Kenzee is, by far the most incredible woman I have ever met. She is caring in a sincere way that makes me feel like I am loved even through a text message. She is mindful of others and knows what is best for herself and never settles for anything less than the best, which is very attractive. She always works extremely hard and knows that hard work brings things to life and makes things happen. She is motivated to not only do good for herself, but to do good for others. She is determined to succeed in every aspect of her life and I adore that about her. She is an amazing motherly figure to many kids around her including nieces and nephews and neighbors. A motherly instinct is very difficult to acquire, even being a mother, Kenzee already has it, which is so so important to me. Kenzee knows how to show other people and especially me how to be a good example of how to be. Kenzee is, honestly and truthfully, the most amazing girl in the world in my book and I feel so blessed to be a part of her life and to be so in love with her. I can't even begin to explain what she means to me. She means the world and so much more to me and I love and adore her more than she'll probably ever know. Needless to say I'm a little bit crazy-in-love, head-over-heels excited about this girl and what the future holds for us. The feelings that we both have for each other are so much fun and after contemplating, praying, thinking and meditating for what seems like hours upon hours, I know that this girl is the girl who I want to marry. She truly helps me to be the happiest I have ever been. I want to spend my life and the eternities with her, the woman of my dreams, the girl in my life, my lover girl, homie, and best friend. McKenzee Dee Anderson. I love you baby!