{Our First Family Photos}

Chase and I were of course already looking forward to our first holidays as a married couple in our own home but this Christmas we were flying Capri to Arizona to visit her daddy and Stephanie.  While Capri is here we set it up to do photos of the three of us!  Here is a peek at what Lorraine Craig Nunes  took of us at the Groves Church in Gilbert, AZ.

{Love the Mainvilles}

{First Thanksgiving}

Okay, this wasnt our first Thanksgiving ever...but it was our first Thanksgiving as a married couple and guess what?! I cooked every single dish we enjoyed this year (except the pies but c'mon it was a crazy Thanksgiving and my first).  Anywho, every holiday it seems that something has to happen right?! Chase ended up in the ER the day before Thanksgiving.  I was in my usual routine on Wednesday morning when Chase tried walking out from the bedroom and dropped to the floor in pain.  We had no idea what happened other than the fact that his back was killing him and he couldnt stand/sit without pain or the help from someone so we went Banner Gateway (which if I might add is a beautiful hospital...planning on having my future babies there ha).  After a few pain killers, muscle relaxers and XRays we had left the hospital knowing that he had a herniated disc in his back and we are following up with a specialist for an MRI/physical therapy.  Chase is doing much better now but still is in pain with too much activity so he is not completely fixed but I love his hunch back self just the same! 

Chase on pain killers while I sat close waiting to go home <3

Back to our lovely Thanksgiving though.  I made of course a turkey, bought a Honey Baked Ham, candied yams, homemade mac & cheese, dinner rolls, stuffing, mashed potatos & gravy, strawberry jello salad and cranberry sauce.  All of which turned out amazing and my turkey I have to add was beyond my expectations.  Im not going to lie, I normally am not a turkey person unless its cold the next day on a roll with some mustard, lettuce etc. but this was so good and I have to give props to my amazing turkey rub!  Google of course helped me out with this but it was easy! Olive oil, italian seasonings, pepper, salt and lots of fresh copped garlic! Mhhmm. Everyone (Sherry, Dean, Hunter, Megan and Chase)  all had a good time and everyone loved the food! So I guess I can do it and my hubby really liked having Thanksgiving at {our} house.  It was sweet and simple. Perfect.

Here are some pics from our Thanksgiving day!

The fam bam lovin my cooking

Table shot!

He loved my food and that gown? Don't ask!

I realized too late that I didnt get a turkey pic...

That 3 pot crock pot was ah-mazing...thank you to who got that for us for the wedding!

stuffing, mashed patatos & mac&cheese



Honey Baked Ham & my family favorite...strawberry jello salad



My kitchen is small but hey it worked!

Chase and his nifty ways...

Happy Thanksgiving
{Love Mr. & Mrs. Mainville}

{Newlyweds}

Being a newlywed has been amazing! In today's age you hear of so many negative things regarding marriage and as you are preparing for your own marriage there are always those people you meet or know on the sidelines who have been burned once or twice before or tell you how young you are...they always have to put in their two cents. Which now that we are married (2 months now) the question from every single person has been..."hows married life?" Well married life is amazing everything I thought/hoped it would be! When you marry the person you know you are meant to spend your life with it just all works out, it all feels right.  Love is about compromise, forgiveness and being a supportive partner in life that we all are trying to figure out.  So enough with my lecturing but I had to get that off my chest ;) 

Anyways, onto our lives now! We spend a lot of time working...but thats what pays the bills!  Although we have so much more responsibility and pressures having our home has been the best.  Chase and I were just saying as we were laying in bed the other night...there is just something about having your home and knowing you have your wife/husband at home ending the days with you and waking up next to you.  It is really comforting.  

There has been some trial and error in the cooking department...lol Chase is such a picky eater but I am slowly breaking him ;) he ate spaghetti {which he hates red sauce}, some veggies but still refuses cucumbers! Who hates cucumber?!  Anyways, one of my biggest things ill never do again is believe that the "easy chicken" recipe in any cookbook is supposed to taste good!  haha It was the most boring tasting chicken and rice that I couldnt eat it {Chase tried choking it down, what a sweetheart}, needless to say we ordered pizza. I have a great husband though because whether something has turned out amazing or crappy he will eat it and he doesnt complain! Im a lucky wife! 

We are now on the path to creating a better future for our little family.  Chase is getting enrolled into school again to complete his degree and I am working hard along side my mom to get our company working more and more!  We are currently living in an apartment {that I actually love, just not the 3 flights of stairs} and we are trying to save for a house one day that we can start a family in!  Buying a house is a big deal, much bigger we have decided recently than we have ever thought before. There is the bedroom issue, one or two story and what about the area and school districts.  We are not just buying a house for us its for our future family so we are waiting to buy something somewhere that we both like! Personally, I like the cute little neighborhood off of Elliot and Higley {I think thats where?!} they have the white fence look and they arnt all stucco ugly Arizona homes ;) 

Finally, the holidays are coming up and it hit me the other day that this year my partents arn't "Santa" so Chase and I have started deciding on our own traditions and we are each doing eachothers stockings and after some good news today Miss Capri will be here the day after Christmas and so Chase and I are going to do her stocking together and open them together the day after Christmas this year.  Oh, also I am attempting Thanksgiving this year for my Mainville side of the family and I can't wait. Let us pray that nothing burns and everything is perfect! 

Thats all for now...{I type way too much}

Love the Mainvilles

{our wedding} 09-10-11

First and foremost a huge thank you to everyone who made it to our special day and anyone who helped! Our wedding was absolutely perfect without a doubt (and after 13 months of planning it better be). We had about 175-200 people in attendance and we all celebrated at the lovely Inspirador in Chandler,AZ off of Arizona Avenue and Boston. So here is a recap of the events the day of...

My day started pretty early we had Capri and the girls started getting ready at Luxe Salon & Spa around 9am. Capri and I went out for breakfast and then drove to Luxe meeting up around 11am. Chase and his boys were just required to be at the venue by 2pm (they always have it easier). Us girls got our fabulous makeovers and then left and headed right over to Inspirador.

Upon my arrival at the venue I was excited and anxious...and hungry!  Thank goodness Seranos was right next door!  On my wedding day I always envisionsed myself being very praticular and like a crazy woman with so much going on but I was the complete opposite. I felt calm and ready, so very ready to marry the man of my dreams.  Chase and I were very traditional in the way that we did not see eachother all day until I walked down that isle and even in the 13 months of planning not once had he seen my dress! I wanted it to be a surprise.  I had something old (one of the diamonds in my ring was my mothers that my dad bought her on their 11th wedding anniversary), something new (well, a lot was new but lets just say my dress), something borrowed (a hankie from my Aunt Linda) and something blue (on the inside layer of my dress I had "Stephanie Nicole Nelson wed Chase David Mainville on September 10, 2011")  Everything was perfect! 

As the ceremony started I was so nervous, not for the obvious reasons but actually because I had been super sick for weeks before the wedding. I didnt want my voice to crack during our vows or for me to get the tingling sensation to cough! That would just be horrible...and I didnt want to cry!  (Although, I swear Chase got a little teary eyed...he will deny it!) Chase and I did have a convenant wedding so we went through 8 weeks of premarital counseling and having a pastor from the church I grew up in and in our faith was amazing.  Also a cool detail of the wedding decor just to point out I had lighting effects everywhere but during the ceremony when the bridal party walked in the colors was green and when I started to walk down (to Bubbly by Colbie Caillat on the harp) all of the lights would be white.  One of our favorite parts though was lighting the unity candles with Capri.  She was such a doll the whole wedding always happy and never shy, she loved all the attention!  We wanted to include Capri in the unity candles because it wasnt just Chase I was marrying I am in love with him and his daughter.  We were becoming family and it only made sense to include her on such an important part! 

After the ceremony comes dinner and let me tell you it was the best food ever! What was on the menu you ask...well we had either Ceasar salad or Wedge with ranch dressing.  Filet or breaded chicken with garlic mashed potatoes and small carrot bundles!  Santa Barbara Catering was amazing, they were quick, everything was hot and we never had to ask for a thing...it was like they were reading our minds!  I would recommend them to any one of my friends or even someone I have never met...they were awsome!  As long as we are on this talk of food the cake we had was also amazing! Designer Cakes by April did a great job and not only did she do our wedding cake but she did the grooms cake and my bridal shower cake!

Okay, moving on to the reception...I will not go to crazy into detail but as favors and just for fun we had a photobooth and of course we had a cigar roller!  My family as well as I am obsessed with cigars...I la la lovve them!  It was a huge hit, everyone really seemed to enjoy themselves...the only downfall was that it rained on our wedding day and we had a courtyard set up with the cigar roller and photobooth that was located directly off the reception with big glass doors that all opened up.  I can't be too upset though because I guess its good luck if it rains on your wedding day! Nothing was going to ruin our day though, like I said I was so calm and happy! We had an amazing DJ named Desert House Productions who put on a great show and all the lights went to the beat of the music it was a party thats forsure!   I threw my bouquet and my brothers girlfriend, Alexis caught the bouquet.  Chase threw my garter and Garrett one of his really good friends caught that (after it had been ripped of course though). 

...and by the end of the wedding we were both exhausted and ready to get to our hotel room.  We had an amazing car waiting for us outside of the venue....

{Love the Mainvilles}

The Honeymoon

Okay first things first...We had such an amazing time at our wedding and seriously could not ask for a better or more beautiful time!  We were surrounded by our family, friends and most of all little miss Capri.  Having her with us was the best time and made my baby fever crazier!  Lets not get ahead of ourselves though there are no new baby Mainvilles yet!  I will post and talk more about every detail of our wedding after I get our photos back though...our photographer still has them and we are so anxious to get to see them.  So we will do this a bit backwards, with our honeymoon first.

Chase and I had no idea where we were going for our honeymoon because my grandparents were secretly planning our entire trip.  At the wedding they annouced we were leaving on the Monday after our wedding to Cancun, Mexico!  We were thrilled and could not wait to get out of town to spend some time just the two of us...especially because any of you who have thrown a wedding know it is sooooo exhausting! Any ways here are a few photos and timeline of just how our honeymoon went :)

This was the view from our suite we had a two bedroom, two bathroom, two kitchens, a living room...needless to say it was crazy huge and the bell boy couldnt get over the fact that it was just the two of us.

Here are a few photos of our suite. It was so nice and the service at our resort (The Westin Cancun) was the best Chase and I have ever experienced!

It was so humid while we were there that fixing my hair was completely pointless so this was the main style I stuck to...Chase didnt seem to mind haha

While we were in Cancun we spent a lot of time on the beach and in the ocean but we had to do some adventure while we were there so we went several hours away to two different Mayan Ruins (Tulum & Chichen Itza)  Also we went snorkeling on the reef outfront of the Tulum ruins which is one of our favorite pictures from the whole trip!

Love the Mainvilles

{Our love story}

Okay first a tid-bit on our backgrounds :)
Chase is the middle child of three.  Megan, Chase & Hunter who were raised by their parents Sherry & Dean Mainville.  He has lived in Arizona all his life and thinks it is the best place to live (even though it is stupid hot). 

Chase Also has a daughter named Capri Kelley Mainville who lives in Colorado with her mother Brooke Kelley.  Capri is now 2 and was born March 2, 2009.  She is such an amazing little girl who is very smart, talented and beautiful.  (She has brains like her father)  We try and arrange a trip to see her as often as we possibly can and currently are hoping to be there for Halloween this year.  Miss Capri is also our flower girl in our upcoming wedding and we cannot wait to see her and spend this special time with her as we become family.

I am the oldest of three. Stephanie (me), Ryan & Rachel and we were raised by our parents Sharry & Mike Nelson.  (Yes, our mothers have the same name ha kind of funny).  However, I was not raised in Arizona all my life even though I do claim this my home since I have lived here most of my life I actually was born in Missoula, Montana moved to Salem, Oregon then Salt Lake City, Utah.  Finally arriving in AZ when I was almost in the fourth grade.  Although I have never been in one school for longer than two years. 

Now how Chase & I met...Well honestly we have known eachother for quite sometime now.  Chase and I met back through some old friends/ex's etc. (I was even at the babyshower for Capri) He has attended some of my family functions (birthdays, holidays, etc.) After him being with his girlfriend on and off for so long and the same for me and my then boyfriend we both had broke away from the highschool relationships that were holding us back and my friend (Taylor Orlando) started begging me to just go and hangout with him but I honestly was not looking for another relationship.  After her pushing I agreeded that WE could go hangout with him but of course how do you think that went...last minute she cancels and he still wants to hangout so I still agreed (thank you Taylor, I do appreciate it obvi) Little did I or he know that that was just the beginning to our amazing relationship.  The only problem was that he was scheduled to be leaving for the US Airforce in only a few months and that honestly made me nervous to see where we would be.  All along we were both willing to see where it would take us even if it was only for a short time.  A few months passed and then came the tears when he had to go because I honestly fell in love with him so fast, I was shocked that I could have these kind of feelings for someone I had only been dating for a few months.  He also felt the same because on one of our dates home from the movies he says "well, I kinda..think..I love you."  (At this point I was thinking in my head umm did he just say he loves me or he thinks he loves me?! haha)  Later on our goodnight phone call it was official...this was love! Chase left for the airforce and letter after letter, month after month we grew stronger and marriage started to become a topic for discussion. We kept our want for marriage and a family to ourselves for so long so that we could do things the traditional way.  Chase wanted to ask my father for my hand in the proper, old fashioned kind of way and I wanted him to be here to celebrate telling our friends and family the great news!  After he was FINALLY home we picked a ring and it was official the next 13 months of planning started and our date was set 09-10-11.  It was perfect, little did I know though that planning a wedding for 13 months is just crazy ;) We are ready to be a family and be husband and wife.
Mr. & Mrs. Chase David Mainville