Our Home!

I've had a few requests for some pictures of our new home. I tried to get as many angles as possible (and I was using a crappy cell phone camera because ours has gone missing) so bear with me :)

Just click on the pictures to make them bigger, I know I should have re-sized them when I edited them, but I didn't and now I have no desire to go back.

And here...we...go

Don't make fun of our ghetto tv stand! We're getting an entertainment center ASAP.

The end!

I didn't get a few pictures, including the patio (door) and backyard, but you get the jist. The backyard is still just dirt anyway, so when we get it looking all cute, I'll post some pictures. And we clearly have A LOT of work to do, including those beloved plant shelves! They are going to be so fun to decorate, yet so time consuming. But I'm excited to get them looking cute.

Also, our bedroom is disgraceful. We're going to get a headboard, nightstands and a media center for our tv (I didn't even bother taking a picture of what we have set up now). But it works for now! We love our new California King bed. When I look at the queen bed we used to have it looks so tiny! We're so blessed. So so so blessed.

So there you have it. Hope you love it as much as we do!

Our love story: part 4

After that kiss, I knew I was in trouble. No more working over the summer in Cedar City. I was going to be spending my time with Chad Boise, Idaho. It didn't matter than I knew virtually no one and had no job lined up. Boise was where I was supposed to be. The fact that my parents moved from New York to Idaho (literally just down the street from Chad's family) was meant to be. Chad and I were supposed to meet, that I knew.

He took me home and I immediately missed him. I didn't want to go back to school. But the next day, bright & early, I started my six hour trek back to Cedar. When I finally arrived, I told my roommate all about Chad. She figured he was just a rebound from my previous boyfriend, but something was different about him. I couldn't convince anyone Chad and I were going to be together. They all knew me well, settling down was definitely not in my plans. But I couldn't help it! He was the one!

We spent our days talking on the MSN messenger (back when it was cool) and the phone. We asked each other questions ranging from "if you could eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?" to "what's a secret no one else knows about you?". Somewhere in the month and a half we were away from each other, he went on a cruise and bought me a souvenir. Cutie. I tricked him on April Fools by texting him that I wasn't interested in him and didn't think we should talk anymore. [He immediately called me to try to convince me otherwise- lucky for him, I was definitely kidding]. He came to Utah for General Conference and we met up in Provo. We met at a park and made out in the car for a good while. Mom, you probably didn't know that. Whoops!

May rolled around and he called me at 5:00am on my birthday (the 1st) to wish me happy birthday. I was so angry he interrupted my sleep, yet I couldn't stop smiling. He had remembered my birthday (even if he thought I was turning 20 but was really only turning 19...turns out my lie about my age actually did matter!).

May 2nd, school was over and I headed back to Idaho. The next month we spent every day together. A few days after I got home, he said he liked me enough to take me on a real live date- you know, the kind where I dress up a bit and he spends money on me. We went to PF Changs and he took me to this place in the foothills that looks over all of Boise. We stood there in the dark, holding hands, staring at the beautiful city. So simple, yet so romantic.

May 16th we went to a dollar movie and on the drive home he said,

"Just so you know, you're my girlfriend now".

"Oh, I am? I don't have a say in the matter?", I said rather taken aback.

"Nope, I already decided"

"Well, okay then...". I didn't even try to put up a fight!

May 20th we were sitting on my couch when I asked him,

"So how long have you known you wanted to marry me?"

(Kinda joking around, kinda not)

He sat there for a second, a bit stunned. Apparently he had prayed about it the night before and received confirmation I was the one he needed to be with forever.

When he explained all this to me, I was literally shaking. I knew I was going to marry him the night I met him. But I figured I'd have to wait around a while for him. When he said that, it all became real.

We talked about it a bit but I was going out of town the next day so our conversation was cut short. We talked about it briefly while I was gone but it was killing me. I wanted to be with him figuring it all out. I like planning. I don't like the unknown, and our "LET'S GET MARRIED" conversation was just dangling there. When I got home, we discussed what would be best for us and it was decided:

On August 28, 2008, our lives were going to change forever.

go here for part 1

go here for part 2

go here for part 3

Our love story: part 3

I was so not ready to get married. I was still a teenager! Could I be wrong, though? I mean, I barely knew this guy. He was the exact opposite of every guy I'd ever dated. He tried so hard to be Mr. Suave but was so...not. He was so dorky it was adorable.

I went up to my room and sat on my bed, so giddy with excitement, yet overcome with uneasiness. I knew very little about this guy. I knew he had just returned home from serving in El Salvador for two years. And he was cute. That was about it...Needless to say, I had some investigating to do before I called this guy my future husband.

There was a YSA ward picnic in a few days and he said he'd be there. Which meant I would too, obvi. I didn't want to be right on time (I have a problem with my punctuality, you see. I'm always on time. Always. But for parties/gatherings, when you're right on time, you look like a loser. Mormons don't show up until at least 30 minutes after the scheduled time. I didn't want to show up and A) be all alone or B) have Chad already be there and see what a loser I am).

When I finally showed up (over an hour later--I got lost...), he was there having a conversation in Spanish with someone. I, like a complete desperate dummy, walked right up to him and said "HI!". Well, he was talking to someone already, so he casually said hi back and continued his conversation.
I felt so ridiculous. I was not being myself, at all. I was nervous and came off desperate. The thing is, I had promised myself no more boyfriends for a while. I was not interested in any sort of relationship. So why was I acting this way?

All the guys were heading towards the baseball field to get a game going. Chad was excited to play, that was obvious. His excitement was clear, and it made me curious to see if he was excited because it was something to do or because he was actually good. Well, he rocked it. He was showing off, and normally I hate that, but it was clear he was showing off for me, and I liked it. He'd hit the ball, run to first base and look at me to make sure I saw. So cute.

When the game was over we talked for a bit.

"My cousin is having a few friends over to play games tonight if you want to come. Or not, whatever. It's really not a big deal".

Do you want me to go, or not?

I had already been invited by another guy to a bonfire at his place that night and told him I'd go, so I was a little unsure what to do. The bonfire sounded like fun, but come on, that guy wasn't my future husband. So I told Chad I had other plans but I hated bonfires so games sounded much more appealing.

When he came to pick me up he had Garth Brooks playing in his car. HA. I immediately went for his CD case to pick something else.

"Why do you have Garth Brooks playing when you could be playing only the best band ever, Incubus?"

"Girls like Garth Brooks", he replied.

"Not this girl", I said.

He smiled and changed out the CD's. Based on his CD collection, it was pretty clear he didn't like country music either. One more reason I knew I liked him: he had awesome taste in music.

We got to his cousins place, played games and had a blast. We watched a few episodes of The Office and decided to call it a night. Chad took me home, and as much as I wanted him to kiss me, I was glad when he didn't. This game he was playing, although it was nothing I was used to, kept things interesting. He had my 100% attention.

The next day was Sunday. We sat next to each other at church and he invited me to go to ward prayer with him later that evening. Afterwards, he invited me to his house to watch a movie. We watched 27 Dresses (how was that even an option??) on opposite sides of the couch. Towards the end of the movie he asked me to sit closer to him. I obliged and our bodies touched, but we didn't hold hands. He was driving me crazy. I knew he liked me but was making zero moves.

When the movie was over he said,

"Come here".

"No. I know what you're doing. You come here", I said.

I was not going to give in. He had pulled every bit of information out of me. I had given in too quickly. But if he wanted to kiss me, he was going to make the move. I was putting my foot down.

He scooted over, put his hand on my knee and leaned in.

Sunday, March 23rd, 2008 I had my last first kiss.

go here for part 1

go here for part 2

Our love story: part 2

There he was. Lookin' all cute and mormon-y. It was pretty obvious he had just returned from a mission. He looked over at me and at that moment I realized I'd been staring at him since the second he walked through the door. I hurried and looked back at my phone. Play hard to get. You're single now, but don't let him know it, I thought. He sat on the couch opposite me and was talking to another girl. I couldn't decide whether or not to approach him. You know, just be nice and introduce myself. But I decided against it. He was busy and I didn't want to look too desperate.

He got up to get some ice and I glanced back at him only to find him, once again, looking at me. I gave a quick smile, but it was more of a raise your eyebrows, "I-notice-you-looking-at-me-and-I-feel-awkward" smile.

[side note: Chad claims I was staring at him and he purposely got up to get ice to see if my eyes would follow him. Not true, but whatever]

It took about 15 minutes before we started talking. He initiated the conversation, yet I never stopped talking. You see, Chad has this way about him. He's really good at getting information out of people without them realizing it until it's too late. Ten minutes into our conversation I had told him pretty much every detail of my life, yet I knew nothing about him. When I finally gave myself time to breathe he asked me if I was single. I almost said no but decided to tell him that yes, I in fact was single. He then looked me up and down, VERY conspicuously I might add, and said,

"Wow, something must be seriously wrong with you of you're single".

Really? At first I thought he was kidding, but nope. He was serious. I didn't know whether to be flattered or extremely offended! I decided based on the fact that he had previously checked me out hardcore, he was attempting to give me a compliment.

I was a bit taken aback. Not only had he just given me a somewhat backhanded compliment, now he was putting me in the position of either lying or going into further detail about my life. Do I tell him my boyfriend and I had just broken up because he wanted to get with another girl or do I go for the "I'm single and loving it!" approach? I tried to change the subject but that didn't work out too well. He kept prying so I told him, "Well, it's pretty recent. My boyfriend and I broke up a few days ago but it's so not a big deal", as I choked back the tears. I was coming off the exact opposite of how I wanted. I wasn't the cool, nonchalant, cute, happy girl I wanted to come across as. I was nervous, emotional, fidgety, and couldn't keep my mouth shut. Oh, and I was rude because not once did I ask him any questions about himself. I felt ridiculous and although I knew I should probably get out of there before I made an even bigger fool of myself, I was drawn to him. His smile made me melt. He had such a positive energy, I had to be near him.

Before I knew it, it was almost midnight and we were headed to Merritt's, a 24 hour hole-in-the wall diner with the best scones in the state. We were driving with another couple (who are now our closest friends). Dan, Chad's best friend since childhood, was driving down the road in his brand new car when a deer appeared out of nowhere. He slammed on his breaks and barely grazed the deer. The deer froze. We froze. We didn't know whether to go around her or wait for her to move along so we just sat there. The deer wasn't moving and neither were we. Dan got out of the car and tried to shoo her away but she wasn't having it. I put my hand on Chad's back and said how bad I felt for the poor fawn. When I felt his warmth on my hand I hurried and took it away. It felt like a bolt of lightning running through my veins. We just touched! That was the moment I realized, yep, I like this guy.

[Chad later told me that was the moment he realized he liked me too-but not because I touched him. It was because I felt so bad for the deer! What a weirdo]

Luckily another driver knew to turn off his lights so the deer could see and she ran away. We made our way to Merritt's and Chad ordered a strawberry scone for us to share.

He then asked me,

"Do you dye your hair?"

I was immediately offended. He was implying I was a blonde. I know I can be an airhead, but he didn't even know me! How rude.

I said,

"Um no, actually. This is my natural hair color, thank you very much. Are you implying I should be blonde?"

He responded by saying,

"No, its just that your eyes are so green. I've never seen such green eyes with such dark hair".

Oooooh, so once again, he was attempting to compliment me. He was trying, that was for sure. And although he wasn't as smooth with words as he thought he was being, I was falling for him. Hard.

We continued to chat and eat our delicious scones. Next thing we knew it was almost 3:00 in the morning. I knew it was time to go home but at the same time, I didn't want to be away from him. Never, in all my itty bitty 18 years of life had anyone had such an impact on me in such a short amount of time. When I got back to my car to drive home I had the most overwhelming feeling:

That's the boy I'm going to marry.

go here for part 1

Our love story: part 1

I was 18, a freshman at Southern Utah University, and thought I was just about the greatest thing since sliced bread. It was March and spring break was quickly approaching. My roommate had invited me to go on an all expenses paid cruise with her family. Yeah, a cruise. Seriously? Don't mind if I do. My parents had just moved from New York to Boise so there was no chance of me going "home". I called my mom to make sure it wouldn't be a problem.

"I really don't feel comfortable with it", she said.

Umm seriously?

"WHY??", I asked.

"I think you need to come here to Boise. Don't ask me why, I can't give you an answer, but I don't feel good about you going on that cruise".

A few other words were said, probably me being sassy and complaining to her that she wouldn't let me go. I'd be with my roommates parents. My boyfriend was going to be with his family in New Jersey so he wouldn't be with us. What could happen? Honestly. Plus it would be fully paid for. I was completely annoyed, frustrated, and flat out mad.

My roommate would be spending her spring break in the Caribbean and I'd be alone in Boise, Idaho. Ew. Not that I don't love my parents, but I knew absolutely no one in Boise. I'd be spending 100% of my time--SPRING BREAK TIME, mind you-- with my parents. Not the most ideal situation for an 18 year old who is just getting used to college life.

Spring break approached too quickly and before I knew it, I was on the 8 hour drive from Cedar City to Boise. I was relaxing with my parents, getting comfortable in my new room, and helping them unpack when my mom mentioned she thought I should go to the single adults FHE activity to get to know some of the people I might be spending time with in the summer. Well...I wasn't totally set on moving home for the summer. I was planning on staying in Cedar and working full time. Be away from my boyfriend for 3 months? Yeah, I don't think so. So, once again, my mom's plans for me weren't the most ideal. But I decided to go with it. I'd be there for 2 weeks so it couldn't hurt to try and make some friends.

I walked into the beautiful house full of young single adults. Feeding frenzy [I so don't miss being in a single adult ward]. I hung out, got to know a few people, and felt like I'd really made some cool friends. One of the guys said they were going to have a Boise Burn party that upcoming weekend and asked me if I wanted to join. Sure, I thought. Why not. I figured he'd forget to let me know when and where it was and that would be it.

The next morning, I got a text from my boyfriend:

"Are you in love with me?", he asked.

Nope. But I didn't want to sound like a snot, so I said,

"I don't know...why?"

His response? "I think this relationship might be moving too fast".

Um, yeah..not so much. But I knew what he was doing. I was out of town and he wanted to get with some chick but would have felt guilty if he cheated on me. I told him fine, we don't need to go out anymore. The end, no biggie. But immediately I began to sob. I couldn't believe what had just happened. He had broken up with me. Even though I wasn't in love with him, he was a huge part of my life. I spent every day with him. Even if he was a jerk, at that time, he meant more to me than anyone else. Needless to say, I was a wreck.

Three days later I got a text from the boy at FHE. He was reminding me of the party that night, let me know where and when and said I better be there. I decided I'd show up for a half hour or so. I figured everyone there would be from FHE and although they all seemed really cool, I kind of had plans that night to wallow in self pity.

I walked in the door, chit chatted for a bit and sat on the couch. Immediately I took out my phone, pretending like I had someone to talk to. I looked at the clock and realized it had been 20 minutes. Ten more minutes, I thought. Then I can go home.

I heard a knock on the door, looked up, and there he was.

To be continued...