HELP ME RENT MY APARTMENT!!

Large shared bedroom (2 Contacts available) at MANAVU CONDOS. Large apartment, great roommates, fantastic ward, 2 blocks from BYU campus.

It is a steal, and you get to live with JAMES. OR if you need two spots, he is willing to sell his contract too!

****WILL REDUCE TO SELL****

I’ll PAY $200 TOWARD YOUR CONTRACT

AMENITIES:

· Washer/Dryer

· Free Covered, Off-Street Parking

· DSL High-Speed Internet

· Air Conditioning

· 2 Blocks from BYU Campus

· Great LDS Ward

· Huge Living Room and Kitchen

· New Couches

· Huge Flat Screen TV

· Tons of Storage

· 2 Bedrooms/2 Baths/4 Guys

· Manavu Ammenities Include:

· Cable

· Dishwasher

· Barbeque and Picnic Area

· Basketball Area

Breakdown:

· $265 mo. January through August

Call Me Anytime:

Scott (951) 907-8086

Day 10, 5:49 p.m.

I think I am done working for the day. Well, maybe.

I've spent most of the day sanding, taping, preparing, and painting our kitchen. And guess what? It's RED.

So far...

My Mom love it.

My Dad is...hmmm...let's say...undecided.

My Brother just says...Whoa!

For me...Change is good.

On another note. I bought our tickets from Bali, Indonesia to Singapore this morning. They cost $80 for both of us. Isn't that amazing a 2.5 hour flight that only cost $40 bucks a ticket. Man, I love exchange rates!

Thank you Air Asia!

Day 11, 5:23 a.m.

I am a little concerned that I have already entered the realm of pre-wedding anticipation sleeplessness. I have always been that type. I distinctly remember the intense excitement that filled my boyish heart as I prepared for my first trip to Seaworld. I slept, but woke up early in the morning consumed with anticipation.

Yesterday morning, the pattern repeated itself. I woke up to anticipation, but I heard rain and started to worry. During construction we removed some of our roof tiles, and I was worried the roof was going to leak and create one more job. Ugggh. So I jumped out of bed, put on a yellow rain slicker, and climbed up on the roof in the rain and darkness to cover part of the roof with a tarp.

I guess my mom "heard the clatter" and jump out of bed to see what was the matter. The funny thing is that I did everything with bare feet.

Anyway, about 30 minutes later the rain stopped and the sun came out. Hmmm...

Note to Stefanie:

Dear Babe,

I have a bad feeling that I am going to be waking you up in the morning quite a bit. Prepare yourself.

Love, Scott

Day 12, 10 a.m.

We are officially into Wedding Countdown Mode, 12 Days to go!!!

I woke up this morning to sound of workers bustling around outside my window trying to get the cement mixer going. So I went down stairs and before I could get the sleepers out of my eyes, my mom told me we had a little fire with our freezer, and my dad put wire cutters in my hand to take down the safety fence around our property.

Wow, that got me going, but it didn't stop there.

These are the workers putting in the block wall around our house.

Here is the switch that could have burned our little house to the ground, grateful for small blessings. I actually plugged it into an extension cord yesterday, but it didn't go in all the way. Let this be a lesson for us all.

I spent most of the day pulling wall paper off the walls in the kitchen. Did you know this job is kind of a nightmare?

John dug up some huge palm trees out of our garden and we replanted them at the nursery. They were some heavy beasts!

And he installed a new sink.

And we're still finishing the stone work on the BBQ!

Anyway, I took all these pictures at 10 a.m. It was a busy day, but I really enjoyed it. I guess I'm just glad I can help get ready for the open house. I am so grateful to my parents for doing so much to make these days spectacular for Stef and me.

I am so thrilled, excited, and enthused. Can't wait!

Dear Robbers: [Part 2]

Well, it has been several days since you violated my life, and I wanted to fill you in what I've done since then. I endured a period of disappointment, searched high and low for a window that was cheaper than the one at the dealership (It cost $790), and arrived for my window appointment only to find they ordered in the wrong window. But, in the end, I got a new window and it is great.

That's not all the good news...

I got a call this afternoon from some random guy down my street. He said, "Hi, is this Scott Hathaway? Me: "Yes" Him: "Well, I just found you temple bag in my trash dumpster."

WHAT! WHAT!

I got my stuff back!!

Ask, and ye shall receive!!

Dear Robbers:

Dear Robbers:

I really don't appreciate you breaking into my car last night -- it wasn't very nice at all. I am pretty stressed out right now. I'm trying to find a job, get married, pay for a honeymoon, and figure out the rest of my life. Not to mention that my family is going through a lot right now.

I have a couple suggestions:

1. Next time, please break a different window. That was the most expensive one in my car.
2. Get a job, then you won't have to steal.
3. If you are going to be a thief, steal from rich people. The whole smash and grab routine with college students can't be all that lucrative. Did you not get them memo? WE ARE POOR!
4. Please give me my temple bag back. You're going to burn for that one.

The Patio Cover and Arbor

My dad has been working on a patio cover in our backyard for almost a year. It turned out to be a lot larger than I expected...and more beautiful than. We are going to use it for our wedding open house in Corona. Can't wait. It is going to be quite the party!

She's The Boss

A while ago, Stef and I went up to visit Grandma Boss up in Logan and we had an excellent adventure -- as always.

She took us over to Crystal Hot Springs in Honeyville, Utah, for an absolute summer highlight. She put on her new black swimsuit (assuring us that black suits make you look thin) and jumped into the steaming waters with us. We chatted it up with the locals and had a great time. Grandma assured us that Crystal has the best water around and that it will cure whatever ails you.

Oh, and did I mention? SHE IS 94!

On our way out, Grandma put some lipstick on Stefanie because that's what ladies do, apparently.

But don't worry, our adventure wasn't over yet...we had to stop by Grandma's cemetery to check out her tombstone. Her name is all carved -- all you have to do is enter an expiration date.

She volunteer to lie down for a photo op.

It was a great time, and now she has done it again. Grandma cleaned house at Pioneer Village, winning medals for a variety of talents!

Nothing is going to stop this woman. Love You Grandma!

Here She Is

For all my friends and family that haven't had the chance to meet Stefanie yet, here are some sweet shots...

Photo BOMBING!!!

During our little trip to Canada, Stefanie's family taught me the fine art of photo bombing!

I'M ENGAGED! Best Birthday Ever!

After a whole lot of planning and some really intense anticipation...I asked Stefanie Elyse Tanner to marry me, and she said YES!!!

I am so excited! She is amazing, and I am totally in love with her!

Our Story

I met Stefanie last summer while she was staying with her aunt in Corona. I didn't know her very well, but she totally fell for me! The problem was I spent most of my summer up in Provo so we didn't reconnect until our first date right before the start of Fall classes. We dated for most the semester and had some fantastic adventures, including Thanksgiving in Mexico with my parents. But our paths diverged for the Winter -- Stef did a study abroad in Jerusalem, and I moved home to SoCal. During April, I couldn't get her off my mind. I took her out on a date her first day back in the US, and we've been going strong since then. Our lives have been a great adventure -- we've been rafting in Colorado, done Pike's Place Market in Seattle, traveled through Canada with her parents, and million other little great times.

The Engagement

My plans began the Friday before my birthday. I went to the store and paid the deposit for the ring, and swore all the workers to telling her that someone else bought it, if she came into the store.

To make sure she would be surprised, I told her that I had custom ordered the ring and that it would be ready in 14 days. Stef was ready to get engaged and was not very happy about this news. But it turns out she wasn’t totally convinced of deception and kept asking me if it was really going to take so long. (Imagine these in the most intensely desperate voice) “Are you serious?” “Do you really have it?” “14 Days?”

Noelle, Stef’s sister, told me that my fiancé-to-be wasn’t convinced so I had to step it up on my story. After she asked me about the ring again, I mustered all my seriousness and said, “Stef, I am really sorry I didn’t just buy the ring. If I could go back I would, but we can’t keep talking about this. It is making me really upset!” SHE WAS SOLD.

Stefanie and I love the outdoors so I decided a quiet little aspen grove up Provo canyon would be the perfect place. I spent lots of hours scouting out an ideal location. On the day of, Korine and Angie helped me clear brush and string up about 200 battery powered tea lights with fishing string so it looked like they were floating in the trees around us, very romantic.

But while planning, the challenge was apparent -- I needed to get Stefanie all the way up the canyon without having her suspect anything. That’s when it came to me; I would use my birthday as a cover and have her throw me a surprise party. J

Christina, my sister, called Stefanie and they put all their plans together for the ‘secret surprise.’ Stefanie ate it all up and loved every minute of it. Haha, I just think it is so funny. Ha ha. Isn’t she great?

So on Monday, September 21, I spent the morning preparing the site. That evening my friends, Stefanie, and I met at Bombay House for an excellent Indian dinner. During dinner, my sister Christina made a work excuse and left to go turn all the lights. All my friends were in on the gag, so when I got up to use the restroom Stefanie made sure they all knew how to get to the surprise party.

After dinner, Stefanie took me to a park and gave me a great picture book she had made for me. Then the festivities began, she blindfolded me and lead me back to the car. I didn’t want to get nervous so I just kept talking the whole time. I was like, “Stef are you taking me to Squaw Peak for my birthday?” But after a lot of windy roads we finally arrived at our destination.

Stef lead me through the brush and ran me into a couple trees and bushes. She thought all my friends were hiding in the shrubs, and prepped them for the surprise. “Ok, I’m going to take off your blind fold on the count of three. ONE….TWO….THREE!” And no one jumped out. I played along and was like, “WOOOWOWOW!”

After a minute or so, I told her that I actually had a surprise for her and got down on one knee. SHE WAS SO SURPRISED! And it turns out she is a screamer, not a crier.

I told her how much I loved her and then proposed. It was magic. J

Christina was hiding in the bushes a ways off taking pictures. After we had our moment, she came out and took more pictures of us, which Stefanie loved.

Then we texted our friends who were waiting at the bottom of the hill, and they came up for an engagement party. We busted out the Martinelli’s and had a toast to our future.

We’ve shared our great news with so many friends and family since that night. Thank you so much for all your love and support. We are getting married on January 2^nd in the Seattle temple and can’t wait for that great day to come!

Check our her side of the story at http://stefanieelise.blogspot.com/.

Canada's Got It Going On!

I have spent a lot of time in some pretty impressive National Parks during my time in scouting, but Canada just blew America's parks out of the water. If you haven't been, put this place on your bucket list!

This is Emerald Lake--my favorite destination. The brilliant turquoise water is fed by glaciers on the towering rocky mountains that drop right to the water's edge. Beautiful!

Stef's family built this place up so much I wondered whether I would be disappointed. Turns out, they could have gone on and on, and I still would have been blow away.

Most Hilarious Moment: For some weird reason, I have to climb on everything. Stef and I were hanging out on the bridge to the little hotel, and I climbed up on the railing. I think Stef told me she would give me $10 if I would jump into the glacial water backwards. I was like, "You want me to dive into a LAKE backwards?" As I was speaking a 60-something-year-old mother walked by and said, "No, you don't want to dive into to the lake!" Her husband was embarrassed and trying to get her to keep walking, but she wouldn't. I said, "Don't worry, my mother taught me to never dive into lakes so I don't break my neck." As she started to walk away, she apparently didn't believe I wouldn't jump into the lake. So, over her shoulder, in a loud slow voice, she said, "HERE...YOUR...MOTHER'S...VOICE!!!"

I laughed and laughed and laughed...Oh mom, if this isn't proof that your prayers are answered, I don't what is.

We spent some quality time soaking up some sun on the dock of the bay.

What more can I say? It was perfect.

OH Canada!

I have always been pretty intrigued by Canadians--they're basically Americans, but not. And all I have to say is that you better not forget their country of origin or they'll whip out a Canadian flag so fast it will make you head spin.

Before this trip, I had never ventured into the boarders of our friendly neighbor to the north, and I was quite excited to get this Canada thing sorted out in my mind. You know, just figure out what's going on up there...

When we finally arrived at the border and handed over our passports, the pleasant guy in the booth asked us to park our car and go inside. Next thing I knew, we were being separated and interviewed! I've crossed a lot of borders and never been welcomed with type of treatment so I got a little antsy.

Border Patrol: "Have you ever visited Canada or attempted to enter Canada before?"

Me: "Nope. I'm a first timer."

Border Patrol: [Not entertained by my answer and looking very intense.] "What is the purpose for your visit?"

Me: "Travel."

Border Patrol: "Have you ever been convicted of a crime anywhere in the world?"

Me: "No"

Border Patrol: "Are you sure I am not going to find anything?"

Me: [Beginning to wonder if I actually did do something wrong.] No, nothing.

Border Patrol: "What is your current occupation?"

Me: [Thinking that's kind of a tough question and wondering if they wont let me in if I don't have a job.] "Well, I just graduated and I am currently searching for work."

Boarder Patrol: "Where did you got to school?"

Me: "Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah."

Border Patrol: [Testing me.] "What did you study?"

Me: "I graduated with a degree in communications and a minor in business."

Boarder Patrol: "Who are the people you're traveling with?"

Me: "Well, that my girlfriend and those are her parents."

Border Patrol: "OK, you can send the next person over."

Luckily, we passed and got to continue our journey. The road was pretty beautiful and we got to see a lot more sites through the window as we drove.

We even got to see a bunch of Big Horn Sheep. There were just chillin' on the side of the road.

Road Trip!

So after seeing Seattle on Monday, we set out our 7-day road trip. Let's be honest, I was a little concerned. Sitting in a car for countless hours isn't exact my idea of great time, but it turned out to be a lot of fun because we made some very amusing side trips.

This is us a Stef's house right before we took off...I think we drove more than 2,000 miles.

One of my favorite stops was actually before we entered Canada. You see, Stefanie has a little fetish with fish hatcheries--she loves them. I never really understood, but then it happened...

MY FIRST FISH HATCHERY!

Here's the Tanner family right in front of the large outdoor tanks.

A wonderful redneck took us on a little tour. (This is where the river meets the hatchery and newly grown fish are released)

This is the fish latter all the spawning Salmon use to return home.

I wish you could see all the huge recently returned Salmon swimming below Stefanie.

We saw the movie and learned all about growing fish.

The head honcho showed us the egg incubation drawers.

And taught us how to sort eggs. (These are Salmon and Steelhead.)

AND THEN...he took us in the freezer where we saw all kinds of crazy things.

A huge freshwater Steelhead--frozen stiff.

And honestly the experience wouldn't be complete without a frozen bear head, right?

This whole experience was a total blast. Who knew fish hatcheries could be so much fun?

Seattle & Canada

I just returned from a 10-day trip to Seattle and Canada with Stefanie and her parents. We had an absolute blast. I wanted to write all about it, but I just can't seem to get it together...so you'll be happy to know that I am just going to put up pictures with captions.

We started out our tour of Seattle at Gasworks Park; it was the beginning of a very busy day.

We saw the world famous Fremont Troll. (It has an actual VW Bug in it's hand.)

We ate some delicious seafood in Pikes Place Market. This place is a blast!

I ate one of the top 3 peaches I have ever eaten! Now that's a highlight!

We put our gum on the gum wall...it was so delightfully disgusting.

We went sailing on Lake Washington and saw Bill Gates house. It turns out I'm a natural, who knew?

Well, that's all I have for now. I'll have to post again with pictures from Canada.