Kynslie and Taylor: From Mormon wedding in Utah to expecting a baby in Idaho (by way of Georgia and the UK)

Name and occupation: Kynslie, Receptionist
Partner’s name and occupation: Taylor, Research Engineer
Our wedding profile: Kynslie & Taylor’s semi-offbeat mostly Mormon wedding, April 9, 2011

WOW! It’s been a pretty wild two years (and three months) for us. After our wedding Taylor was still in search of a post-college job (you know, one where he actually uses his degree…) and it took a couple of months but he was fortunate enough to find one in beautiful Savannah, Georgia. However, one of the perks of this new job was that it required three months of training in Oxford, UK and I was able to tag along and basically have a little three-month European vacation.

Unfortunately about a year later Taylor was laid off due to company wide cutbacks. That was super stressful and slightly depressing but miraculously it only took him about one month to find another (better) job. TO MY DISMAY however, this job was located in Idaho. Growing up in Utah, I only knew one thing about Idaho: it was a more cold, more boring version of Utah. Also, potatoes.

So, in September 2012 we packed up our things in a week and headed west — it’s turned out pretty good. Taylor loves his new job. We ended up buying an adorable house, getting a second dog, AND dun dun dun… found out in February that we are expecting our first baby (it’s a boy!) on HALLOWEEN!

Also, here’s a fun video Taylor made me for our two year anniversary:

Life is good.

Looking back all these years later, what do you remember most about your wedding?
The biggest thing I remember is being so incredibly happy to be married to my best friend and surrounded by our nearest and dearest celebrating our love.

I rarely ever think of the decor details that didn’t go exactly my way, or even the ones that did.

What big challenges have you faced? What have you learned from them?
Taylor losing his job and consequently our primary income was stressful and scary. Not knowing where we would go, or how we would pay our bills, or if we would end up living in cardboard boxes under the underpass (or worse… WITH PARENTS!).

I would like to say that we handled the situation with grace and poise and kindness but I know we both had our moments of taking our stress and fear out on each other by getting snippy (and maybe I shouted every now and then…) We were so blessed to have everything work out for us. BUT the struggle taught us that not everything goes smoothly in life just because you found THE ONE and you’ve had your dream wedding (duh).

People say marriage is hard, and it can be, but marriage can also make the hard things easier. When you realize that you’re both on the same team working towards the same ultimate goal of being happy and in love and starting a family or whatever you’re into. It really doesn’t matter if sometimes he drinks out of the milk jug directly or leaves the toilet seat up and she leaves the cap off the toothpaste or laundry on the bedroom floor. None of those things affect the big picture, if you don’t let them. (But hey, we’re all only human, sometimes you want to karate chop your spouse in the throat… just don’t actually do that and you’ll be fine.)

How do you keep your romance alive?

[related-post align=”right”]We are pretty much old people, except that we don’t eat bran cereals or read the newspaper. I would love to tell you that I have some Pinterest-worthy system for creative date nights, but alas, you will usually find us snuggled up on the couch watching re-runs of Parks and Recreation or sometimes playing Xbox.

But basically anytime we leave the house together for errands or for entertainment, we consider it a date. Whether it’s going to The Home Depot, the movies, the thrift store, out to eat, grocery store, or a spontaneous Saturday afternoon trip to Yellowstone National Park (because we only live about two hours away — score!) if we’re spending time together, it’s a date. Because no matter what we’re doing, we’re usually having at least a little bit of fun (unless we’re at the DMV). It’s really all about perspective, as long as you’re enjoying each other’s company, it doesn’t matter what you’re doing.

What advice do you have for newlyweds?
I feel like I have a million tidbits of advice but I’ll try to keep it to a dull roar:
Wear sunscreen, eat your vegetables, be polite, wear your seat belt, no name calling, and wash behind your ears.

But more specifically:

1. DO. NOT. SWEAT. THE. SMALL. STUFF. I’m serious, it’s not worth the stress, it’s not worth the fights, it’s not worth any of it. I know, it’s much easier said than done. Especially when you’re putting up with the same stuff from the same person everyday. BUT JUST GET OVER IT, LET IT SLIDE. And if you do happen to lose it over something dumb, (because you will. the likelihood of you losing your temper during your married life is 117%) don’t be too prideful to say that you’re sorry.
2. Say, “I love you” and “Thank you” A LOT, even when you don’t feel like it.
3. And lastly, have as much sex as possible! Even when you think you’re too tired.