Busy, Busy, Busy!

Truck and trailer at Carl's Jr. in Pueblo, Colorado.

We had a very long but safe and uneventful trip from Wyoming to Arizona yesterday.  Even though we were hauling a big trailer packed to the ceiling, and the truck was loaded like we'd hired Jed Clampett as our mover, we made the trip in 14 hours.  That's 2 hours less than when we'd hauled the fifth-wheel trailer down the previous week.  It probably helped that Ed and I were alone and thus able to make fewer stops.

The Denver skyline.

We agreed that we could happily live the rest of our lives without ever making that drive again!  Of course, our family vacation to Estes Park, CO, in July will also require a 12-hour drive, so we'll have no choice, although we're pretty sure we'll break that trip into two 6-hour drives and spend one night in a hotel along the way. 

Castle Rock in southern Colorado.

We got home at 10:45 p.m. and pretty much fell into bed after midnight, yet we were up at 6:00 this morning because we had so many tasks to tackle today. Since we'll only be home today and tomorrow before leaving again, this time for 11 days to go on our honeymoon, nothing could wait. 

A beautiful sunset over New Mexico.

Among many other errands, Ed got his new Arizona driver's license and registered his vehicles in his new home state.  We spent a lot of time with our insurance agent updating my policies into our policies.

Jacob, Ed, Dylan (on truck), and Sarah unload the Dodge Ram 3500.

We also rented a storage unit for most of Ed's stuff, since we won't be home long enough to deal with it until the end of July.  We figure we won't need the unit more than a few months.  There will be a huge yard sale once we start blending our things into one home!

The best part of the day was returning to Helmut the Jeweler to pick up our wedding bands.  We designed and ordered them more than 5 weeks ago, when we still planned to get married on June 24th (yesterday would have been our wedding day, if we'd been patient enough!).

The actual photo of the ring on my hand doesn't really show the amazing detail the jeweler put into the ring, so here are some of his computer renderings.  The center ring is my engagement ring, his one-of-a-kind design called "Paradise."  Notice the heart-shaped prongs that hold the round diamond in place.  So cool!

Although the jeweler designed two bands, one for each side of the engagement ring (because he prefers a more symmetrical appearance), I chose to go with only one wedding band.  His original design for the wedding ring was studded with a series of diamonds all along the band.  I love diamonds, but I prefer a simpler look with fewer stones.  So the jeweler, Stephen, worked with me to design an original band to suit my taste.  I love the two heart-shaped diamonds, which he suggested in keeping with the heart theme.  It turned out better than either of us expected.  I love my rings!

As much as I love mine, I think Ed's ring is even cooler.  While we were choosing our rings, we noticed the jeweler's wedding ring, which looked almost like this one except it had only one, larger diamond which was placed in the center.  The more we admired it, the more we knew it was the right ring for Ed.

The jeweler explained that his inspiration for this ring was the crown of thorns worn by Christ at the time of His crucifixion.  Ed chose to have the three smaller diamonds, which to us represents the Godhead, who overcame death through the Savior's sacrifice. 

It was a wonderful, productive day, and tomorrow looks to be just as busy.  I only hope we can have everything ready in time for our departure on Sunday morning!