January Fun!

January Fun!

Well now we're into January! I hope this post won't be too long - I want to get into the wedding planning, wedding day and the aftermath stuff ASAP! I'm also planning on going through the older posts and putting pictures on! That will be pretty exciting when I get to that point!:) So, where were we... January!

Garrett proposed to me with the best, most awesome ring pop that was strawberry lemonade flavored. Still feel pretty impressed that he found the exact flavor of ring pop as the chapstick that we used! I can't remember if it was the next day or two days after, but Garrett was going to be taking me home to Bountiful for the weekend and to spend New Year's with my parents. I was pretty nervous of how everything was going to go down with Garrett asking for my dad's blessing on us getting married!

We made the hour drive up to good ole Bountiful. We talked and tried to make a game plan of when Garrett was going to talk to my dad. I love having a plan for important things like this, but soon realized that the Garrett was going to talk to my dad when the right time came up. It was the best way to go and we had a couple days to provide that "right time". When we got to my house I took off my ring pop and put it in my purse. When I saw my brother, Ryan, I was itching to tell him what had happened. For many moments in my life, Ryan has just looked at me and has guessed what had happened to make me look a certain way. He guessed when I got my first kiss, when I had my first breakup and other things like that. So when I saw him, and I was smiling like I was, he knew something was up. He asked me what had happened that weekend in a knowing way and after deciding that I didn't want to wait to tell him, I pulled out the ring pop and showed him. He was really happy for me! He really liked Garrett and had felt that he was going to be an awesome new brother to have in our family. He gave me a big hug and then asked me when and how I was going to tell mom and dad. I told him the truth. As soon as I possibly could I wanted to tell them. But I also had to time it to Garrett's talk with my dad. 

So... New Years night came and Garrett and I went with my parents to Salt Lake where we were going to meet up with my Grandma and aunts and uncles at the Little America for dinner. My dad also had a delivery that he needed to make to one of his patients a little ways from Salt Lake. We left our house in Bountiful and after a little small talk, we jumped right into what was on everyone's mind. My dad asked Garrett about his intentions and asked both of us of our plans applying to getting married. It felt very very good to have the subject out in the open instead of having it be a taboo subject. I remember looking at Garrett as he talked with my dad and mom, answered the questions that were directed at him, and handled it all so well. It was another one of those moments that I realized, "Wow. This guy must really love me to be defending his intentions and love for me like this. He is in this for the long haul." I really relied on his calmness too. I have a bad habit of getting defensive/emotional too quickly in some discussions. This was a pretty serious discussion! But I felt much stronger and sure with Garrett holding my hand tightly. In the end, I think we all felt a lot better about getting what had been on our minds. My parents surprised me again by how they handled everything as well. One thing that they always wanted to tell Garrett and let him know was that the reasons they weren't completely on board with the engagement had nothing to do with Garrett and his character. They made sure to mention that in the talk and I know Garrett appreciated it. Maybe didn't believe it %100 yet... But it was still nice. 

We made our way to the table in the Little America restaurant where my other family was waiting for us. Haha, its still very funny to remember the look on my grandma's face when she saw Garrett and I come in together. She had seen us coming in and had been smiling when she saw my parents and me but then her face fell when she saw Garrett was with me and didn't look too happy anymore. She, like many other Grandmothers, is very protective of their grandkids. Granny had nothing against Garrett except the fact that he had intentions to marry me and she didn't like that!

We sat down and dinner was a little bit awkward. It was still fun though, and good to be with family. My parents and Garrett and I left and talked a little bit more about things on the way home. We had a good time waiting for midnight to come and to break open the Martinellies to celebrate (any occasion that could stand for some celebrating must have Martinellies involved!:). We were all pretty tired and didn't stay up too long after the New Year finally arrived. The next day we had a plan to hang out with my parents and then go visit Garrett's Mission President who lived in Salt Lake. We had to get all these things done time enough so that he could get back to Provo, get a good sleep and be back roofing the next day. He also had a plan to ask my dad for his blessing that night. 

It was really nice to have time to be with just my parents that next day. My dad loves getting things ready for events/hang outs. He went out to get food and drinks that we'd want while we watched a movie together and played games. Garrett beat my in ping pong and we got the downstairs cleaned up. We all sat down together and enjoyed each others company. Garrett had set up a time to go visit his Mission President that evening so after the movie we got ready to go. When we had a little time alone, I asked him when he was going to talk to my dad. He said that when we came back from Salt Lake to drop me off before he left to Provo he wanted talk to my dad. 

It was so good to meet Garrett's Mission President! It's so awesome, every time I meet someone who has known Garrett, they all rave about him and tell me what an amazing person he is. His Mission President had a lot of praise for Garrett. Garrett had told a little bit of the success that he had had as a missionary in Norway but he had been pretty humble about it. His Mission President let me know how much of a difference Garrett had made in his mission and that he had a played a big part in the success of the missionary work in Norway. The years that he was on his mission were some of the most successful in the history of his mission! Garrett tried to down play it but I definitely believed his Mission President. After introducing me to his Mission President and his wife, they invited us to come have some authentic Norwegian marzipan cake. They asked me about my family and wedding plans and eventually it was brought up that Garrett was going to ask my dad for my hand that night. His mission president gave him really good advice! We talked a little more and then said our goodbyes. We realized that we had needed to hurry home so that Garrett wouldn't be driving too late down to Provo. It was such a great experience meeting Garrett's Mission president and his wonderful wife that night and I know that it made Garrett and I more confident about the rest of the night. 

We listened to music and didn't talk too much on the way home. I was thinking in my own head how bummed I was that I wasn't going to be seeing Garrett again until I got my knee surgery later that week. I was also thinking about the various scenarios that could happen that night. We finally got back to my house and I actually can't remember how exactly Garrett asked my dad to talk with him. It kind of just happened... I do think though that after we he got all of his stuff together and in his car that he went up to my dad and asked him if they could talk. I remember my dad agreeing with a smile but I could still tell he wasn't completely ready to have that talk. My heart went out to my dad and knew that it was really hard for him to be doing all this for me, his little girl. I was nervous for Garrett but I knew that he was going to do fine. After they went downstairs together to go talk in my dad's den, I looked over at my mom and she was teary eyed. I was teary eyed too and we both sat on the couch trying to divert our attention to the TV and folding laundry. We sat there for a lot longer than we thought! I remember we both were getting a little nervous by how much time was going by. I snuck downstairs a little ways to see if I could hear anything and I just heard them talking - no fighting or whatever else had been in my imagination. I immediately felt guilty for sneaking down and went back upstairs to update my mom. We were talking for a little bit when all the sudden the guys came up from down stairs. My mom and I were both looking at them very closely to try and decide how the talk had gone. They both looked fine! Garrett looked a little tense.. but OK.  I went to hug both of them. I asked Garrett how it went he said it was went just fine. I wanted more info! I asked him what they had talked about and he told that it didn't need to be repeated. It was just between him and my dad. Even though I felt a little annoyed that I couldn't know, I agreed that I didn't need to know. I was impressed with his sense of privacy about it and felt his respect for the situation and for my dad. 

We got the rest of his things in his car and came back inside so he could say goodbye to my parents. My mom gave him a hug and he shook hands with my dad and also gave him a hug.  After Garrett left, I went back inside and my parents were talking about the talk and my dad was a little emotional. I went right for his arms to give him a big hug. He also said that the things they talked about were between just him and Garrett but he told me what a wonderful job Garrett had done. He was extremely impressed with the things that he had said. I did find out that my dad hadn't given him permission necessarily (I was a bit perturbed:/), he and my mom wanted to pray and fast about it, but Garrett had told him that that was fine but he and I were going to continue on the path that we had started. My dad really respected that and again, was impressed with how Garrett had talked with him. I felt that a huge leap of progress had been reached! I was still waiting out for my dad to give Garrett his official blessing... still am waiting for it!!;) But I was finally able to announce that I was officially engaged to Garrett! 

I didn't announce the news to everyone right away, I wanted to wait until I got my real ring. But I got to tell my close friends. Later that week I had knee surgery. I went in with my dad early in the morning and thank goodness he was there afterwards! I was given some loratab for the pain and my tummy sure didn't like that! Post-op I was able to have some crackers and water so I could take my medicine. I felt a little queasy from the anesthesia that wouldn't wear off right away and I needed to lean on my dad to get to the car. My knee was pretty huge too! I laughed looking at the difference between the operated knee and my normal one. I was a little worried about the pain I had in my thigh but I figured that it was normal and that was the pain I was supposed to take my medicine for. Can I just say, I love my dad! He always makes sure that I'm safe and as comfortable as possible when I have an injury and is super helpful. He got me in the car just fine and I fought off my queasiness. No way was I going to get sick! 

I had thought that I could get a lot done that day of my surgery! I had scheduled to get my hair done after I got back from the hospital. My dad drove me to my appointment and sat with me as I waited to make sure I got around OK. I was sitting in the waiting area with him when he and the receptionist at the desk noticed that my face had turned ashen. Well... my resolve to not get sick didn't last too long! I felt super queasy and then just in time my dad grabbed the trash can by us and I got rid of the crackers, water, and whatever else I had in my stomach, in the trash can. Well let me tell you, if you get sick in a hair salon, you will be well taken care of! The receptionist got me water and offered to go get me some medicine. Another couple hair dresser came to see if I was OK and offered me some snacks to help me get some energy, a costumer offered me her soda and made me take it. My hair dresser was in the very back of the salon and hadn't seen what happened so when she came up to the front to come and get me, she too hurried to help. I felt so much better after that initial purge! I was still kind of queasy but got up on my crutches just fine to hobble away. I hugged my dad and he watched to make sure I made it back alright. I sat down in the chair and sipped on the soda that I had been given. While I was getting my hair done, I talked to Garrett about when he was going to getting to Bountiful. I was so excited that he had taken work off to come up and help me!! 

I got home before Garrett got to our house but was nice and laid out on the couch when he got there. I could tell he didn't really know how to maneuver hugging me and all that with my knee propped up and such. It was the best having him sit where I could have my head in his lap as we were watching TV! My parents were impressed/happy with how Garrett had made sure to come back up to Bountiful to help me out. My dad was especially excited to play racquetball with Garrett the next day! Those boys are all talk and have a lot of fun playing together.

I think we were only in Bountiful for about three more days and then Garrett was going to help me take all my stuff back down to school which was staring up again that following Monday. We had a lot of fun spending time with my family, my sister and brother and parents, the days that we were there. I was very very bummed to go back down to school at the end of that week. I was also a little skeptical of how I was going to make my way on campus with my leg, crutches and ice on the sidewalks... But I was still more sad to say goodbye to my family. We said our goodbyes and I could feel that I was entering a whole new chapter of my life again. School starting, engaged... my life was changing so fast! But I was ready and knew that everything was going to work out. I knew that more than at any other time in my life I think.

I was welcomed home by my amazing roommates and they helped me get all my stuff situated. I took my new pain-killers that didn't make me want to empty my stomach and tried my very best to stretch out my crazy messed up thigh muscles that I had noticed were tightening after my surgery. Garrett chided me after not using my crutches like I should and helped me get around better. School was good, I liked my classes a whole lot better than last semester. Life was good! The one thing that I was still awaiting very anxiously for was the day when I would get my actual engagement ring! And oh what a day it was... The first time that Garrett proposed to me was amazing, but the second time wasn't any less than the first! I cried the second time:)

The Engagment!

11. The Engagement! 

The next weekend after Christmas, I was going to go back down to Provo to say goodbye to the Facers before they went back to Texas. The Thursday of that week however, we had planned for Garrett's parents to come up to Bountiful and have dinner with my parents! I was really excited and a little nervous for how all that was going to go. After getting ready along with parents, we headed down to Pizza Pie Cafe in Bountiful where Garrett and his parents were going to meet us.

When we got there we waited for a few minutes and I could tell my parents were a little anxious. Haha, I think I remember them looking at each other and asking one another, "Can you believe this is happening?" Garrett came in first looking all fine in his nice jeans and button up shirt. And his cologne.... Thank you to the past girlfriend who got it for him! It's amazing and whenever I hug Garrett, I linger longer than necessary just smelling him! I went up to hug him and noticed that his eyes were a little blood-shot and I knew he was fighting the long week he had had roofing. He said hi to my parents and just a few seconds later his parents came in. Everyone was happy to finally meet one another after hearing about each other. I stood there looking at both sets of parents and had one of those Is this really happening? moments. I was introducing my parents to the parents of the guy I wanted to marry... Whoa.

We made our way to our table and after chatting a little bit, went to go get our pizza. It was kind of funny, for the most part Garrett and I had that time to ourselves! Our parents talked with one another and we sat across from each other talking between ourselves. It was a really good dinner/meet and greet. It was really good for my parents to learn more about Garrett from his parents perspectives rather than just mine, also. Even though since Thanksgiving we'd made trips up to Bountiful, truth be told, my parents didn't know Garrett very well. Try as I might to tell them more about Garrett and all of his wonderful-ness, my opinion could be taken as slightly biased on account of mine being in love with him! So having my parents learn more about him from his parents was a very good thing. I could feel my parents anxiety lessen throughout the night and I could tell from their reactions after the dinner that they were very happy to meet Garrett's parents. 

We were at the restaurant for quite a while! We left right before closing and said goodbye to my parents and put my things in the Facer's suburban. Because Angie and Hansen's flight hadn't come in yet (The reason why the Facer's were able to come up to Bountiful was because they were picking up Angie and Hansen at the airport from their vacation to Maine) we drove around Bountiful and I was able to show them some of the neighborhoods as well my own house. Just as we were about to head to the airport however, we saw that Hansen and Angie's flight had been delayed. We went over to Garrett's Aunt Shannon's house to visit them and wait till we needed to go to SLC. I love Garrett's Aunt Shannon! She's so spunky and fun to talk to. A couple of her kids were there at the house too and we had a really good time talking with them too. I was beginning to get the hang of meeting new members of Garrett's family and tried to commit their names/faces to memory. It was funny to sit there as the Facer's caught up with one another and to try and recognize the names I heard and put it all together. I just smiled and was really happy to talk about rugby and lacrosse with Garrett and his cousin, Brad. 

When the time came that we needed to head out, we said our goodbyes and got the suburban out of the drive way without sliding very much on the ice! at the airport, we had to maneuver my snowboard and bag to fit Hansen and Angie's luggage. Garrett and I moved into the back seat. I was pretty excited for the privacy we'd have! Nothing happened... Haha, we actually just ended up dozing and I played with Garrett's hair when he fell asleep on me. I looked at the clock and, noticing how late it already was, I hoped that Garrett would sleep as much as possible in the car and then get right to bed when we got to Provo. He had to work early the next morning. 

Grandma and Grandpa Facer's house was very full! I don't remember the reason why, but that night I was going to sleep in Garrett's cousin Mitch's room. I love Mitch and think he's an awesome person, but I felt a little weird sleeping in his room... It was the only single room and it was still pretty full of his things. Haha, he's a Chemistry major so on his wall he has  periodic table of elements. As I was going to sleep I went through the rows and named each of them... Like counting sheep! I was actually pretty tuckered out and didn't even remember Garrett coming in giving me a kiss and leaving for work. I think I remember his dad coming in to see if I was up and ready to go snowboarding. But nope! I was out! I finally woke up when Angie came in and sat on the bed with me and we just talked. A sign of being best friends with someone is talking in bed in your PJs, no bra, and feeling totally fine with it! After a little bit, Andelyn heard us talking and came in too. The room got a little cramped so I decided I should probably get decent and then we could hang out in the living room. We laid on Andelyn's air mattress and just chatted. It was really fun and again I felt that this is my family feeling. I don't quite remember what we did that afternoon... but we did something and hung out until we needed to get ready to go up to Garrett's Uncle Keith's house in Farmington for a family Christmas party!

The plan was to stop in Pleasant Grove and pick up Garrett at his work and then head up to Farmington. Even though it was freezing outside and he may not have gotten very sweaty, Garrett still needed to shower before seeing the rest of his family at the party. I was so excited to be in charge of getting a change of clothes for him to wear! I had a momentary thought of picking out an outfit that I know he'd think was silly but then picked out one of my favorites instead. I made sure to pack his cologne in his shower bag too. I felt like such a "wife" getting all of his things together and noticing the fact that I indeed knew where he kept everything in his room. The only mistake I made however was picking out the wrong garment top to go with the slightly V-neck shirt I brought for him. He still looked very handsome! 

We played car games the whole way up to Farmington. I don't know what the name of it is, but the car game where you have to name different things in order of the alphabet and then remember each thing that everyone says and think of a new thing on your turn... Anyways, that's the one we played on the ride! I had never played it before so, of course, I focused really hard and was my competitive self inside. It made the ride go by very quickly! Besides having a little bit of a hard time finding the right road to get to the house, we had a smooth ride. 

The Christmas party was really fun! It was a really good refresher of names/faces that I hadn't seen since Thanksgiving. We had a really yummy dinner and lots of fun conversations. I felt very much at home and a part of the family. The only kicker was... when was I actually going to be a REAL apart of the family? When was I going to get that ring? 

Truth be told, I had been expecting pretty much any moment to be the one where Garrett would pop the question. Whenever we were alone I was sooo ready for him to go on one knee and surprise me. I had also left the ring choice up to him. My dream had always been to have the guy pick out the engagement ring all on their own and of course, if he was the right guy, he would pick a ring that was perfect for me! We'd looked at a lot of different ones and I had noticed that our tastes were very much the same. I was confident that I would love any ring that he got me. 

On our way back from the party Garrett and I sat in the back with Andelynn and played the alphabet-memorization game again with the rest of the fam. At one point Cannon had put on a Ring-Pop and turned around to show it to us. Right as he did that I saw Garrett's face lighten up a little bit. I tensed.... for a while we'd joked about Garrett proposing to me with a candy ring as a place filled until he had the money to buy me a real ring later. I looked at him very carefully to try and see what he was thinking. A couple seconds later he asked, "Hey, when does Macey's close?" I looked at Andelyn and I could tell that she was on the same page. Garrett had gotten his phone out and was looking something up and not letting me see what was on the screen. Suspicious... holy cow, is he going to propose to me tonight?! But it was really late and he was still really tired after work. Hmm... maybe not tonight... But then WHEN?! We still had quite a while till we were in Provo, so most of the car started to doze off. I was still out of it when we got to Pleasant Grove so Garrett could get his car. 

We pulled up beside Garrett's car and I started to get out of the car with Garrett. "No, you stay in the car. You can't come with me." I looked at Garrett with a very confused face. "No, It's OK, I can come.I want to come with you. Wait.. Why can't I come?" I was still sleepy so I wasn't getting the hint that Garrett had something he wanted to do without me with him. I finally got the point after he told me again that I couldn't go with him but he was trying to hide a smile on his face. I immediately thought in my head Oh... well I sure am going to stay in the car!! Go Garrett go! I sat down next to Andelyn again and we excitedly talked about what Garrett could possibly be doing that I couldn't come with him.

Garrett got home a little bit after the rest of us did and I looked at him very closely... He didn't seem like anything was out of the norm at all! He wasn't nervous.. He didn't act weird around me... I was disappointed thinking that maybe I had gotten excited for nothing! He came in and hung out with Andelyn and I. We left Andelyn alone so she could talk with her boyfriend on the phone (so Garrett didn't stay and tease her more about it! Oh big brothers...:) I went in with Garrett to help him clean his room. I was picking up the sweater he had been wearing that night from his bed when realized he had left some things in the pockets. Garrett had had the problem of not being able to find his keys, wallet or chapstick and then finding them in pockets, so I put my hand in the pocket to pull whatever one of those things was in there. My closed on a plastic wrapped package and immediately the image of a ring-pop was in my head... I caught my breath and and look at my hand in the pocket with wide eyes and a big smile. I turned around without taking my hand out of the pocket and asked Garrett, "Hey Garrett... What's this?" Well he hadn't shown any out of the norm emotion until then! He immediately jumped over and told me to take my hand out of the pocket. He asked if I had looked at what was in the pocket. I laughed a little bit and said that I hadn't, I promised. After that he quickly thanked me for helping him and ushered me out of the room. He told me goodnight and gave me a kiss and I can't remember exactly what he said...But it was something hinting about having a good sleep... I got in my room with Andelyn and I got in my bed. Psh, I wasn't go to sleep anytime soon! 

I don't know when, but eventually I fell asleep. Garrett had a hard time waking me up when he came in early in the morning to wake me up. I woke up and cracked my eyes to look at him and wondered why he wanted me to get out of bed. At first I didn't want to on account of having been really comfortable but then... I didn't want to get out of bed because I had totally forgotten I hadn't worn a bra to sleep ... Ooops! I was panicking inside trying to find a way that somehow I could hide that fact or get one on really fast. But as soon as I started getting out of bed with Garrett holding my hand, I realized I wouldn't get the chance to put one on. I did the "puff out your shirt and hope that no one notices move" on my sweater. Oh goodness... But my worry about that lasted just as long as it took me to smell bacon, eggs and sausages. I snapped out of being tired and started smiling hugely. Garrett put his hands over my eyes and walked me into his room down the hall. The yummy smells of breakfast got stronger and then Garrett sat me down on the couch in his room that I knew had a little coffee table in front of it. Garrett took his hands off my eyes and I looked at him and I immediately hugged him. I could feel that he was shaking a little bit and could feel him laughing  when he said, "Aren't you going to look at what I made?" I let go and because of how the couch sits lower than the table a little, I saw the bright red and yellow Ring-Pop as soon as I looked at my plate. I put my hands over my mouth and Garrett got down on one knee and asked me if I would marry him. I looked at him with his eyes that were glistening and his love for me written all over his face. I most definitely said yes! The crazy thing was though that I didn't cry when he got down on his knee! My whole life I thought that I would be the kind of girl to cry as soon as she realized she was getting proposed to. But I was surprisingly calm. I felt so full of happiness and content. I did tear up  when he asked me to marry him and when he put on our song afterwards when we were hugging each other. The thing I will remember the very most about the whole morning though was when Garrett asked me, "So are you going to take the ring off that sausage and put it on yours?" To explain... I kind of have thicker fingers than I would like and had quite often been told by my family, in the most loving manner, I have "sausage fingers". I laughed hard when Garrett asked me that question and he slid the greasy ring onto my ring finger. I couldn't have been happier with his ring selection:) He had actually gone the extra mile and had gotten the Rasberry Lemonade flavor of Ring-Pop, the same flavor as a pair of chapstick we had bought together. We sat on his couch hugging and just loving each other while we drank out of the miniature Martenellis bottles that Garrett had pulled out. I was in Heaven. This boy whom I had been loving almost from the first moment that I met him had asked me to be his wife. 

We ate the delicious breakfast he made, still holding hands, and then when we went up stairs to take our dishes, Garrett's parents were up there getting ready for the day too. Garrett had gone down stairs but I went to his dad and showed him my ring and just smiled, still a little teary. He smiled back and gave me a big hug. I went to show his mom who I caught doing her make up but she put her things down immediately and gave me a hug too. I saw Grandma in the hallway and she too gave me a big hug. I told them a little bit of what happened but hurried so I could get back down to Garrett. We hadn't realized what time it was and we had bought tickets to go see Les Miserables that day with the family. We hurried to get ready and we told everyone what happened. Both of us got happy hugs from his other siblings and when Angie and Hansen came over, Angie and I freaked out together. We were finally going to be sisters for real!! The movie was very good, though really long! Afterwards we had a great rest of the evening. 

I think it was Sunday evening when Garrett and I were going to go back up to Bountiful to spend New Years with my parents. Well... How was I going to tell them I was engaged now? And Garrett hadn't been able to ask my dad officially for my hand yet... January started out with quite a bang! 

Last Bits of December

10. Last Bits of December

We left off last time with finals ending and a list of the next weeks' events. Oh! Side note: I hope ya'll are checking out my husbands Side Two blog for a second side to our whole story! It's very entertaining and has lots of things that I forgot to include in my own account of events! Anyways, back to December. I'll try and list the event of December chronologically for this post. 

1. Home to Bountiful. 

After my last final, Chemistry, I went to the salon here at BYU and got my nails done with Angie before we met the boys for bowling. I had gotten a gift card for the manicure from my amazing roommate, Alexis. It had been part of the gifts we exchanged as a room for our Christmas party. Starting the beginning of the week for finals and ending on the last day we were all together before break, we had pulled out all of our mattresses and fit them in the living for the ultimate Mega-Bed. It was a blast! One of the days that week, we got up early and made breakfast and only after we were done with our breakfast could we open our presents that were waiting beside our paper Christmas tree on our apartment wall. My roommates, Alexis and Caroline, played on the fact that I was getting married: I got a handy wedding planning book, the manicure from Alexis (so my nails would look good when Garrett proposed! Which I thought was coming at any time at that point...) and finally, I got a package of diapers... Very funny Caroline! My roommates that are on their missions are requesting that I be in my last trimester of pregnancy when they get back so, first, they can see me like that, second, they can baby sit, and last, I can be a teen pregnancy statistic... Not sure that's happening! 
 After Angie and I got our nails done (and decided that we probably wouldn't get them done at the same place again...) and after bowling, I got home and crashed. The next day I cleaned up for my part of our apartment's cleaning check before break and then got ready to go to the midnight premier of The Hobbit. I hadn't been able to get a second ticket for Garrett that night but we hung out for a little bit before the movie and he was sweet to drop me off at the theater. The movie was amazing!! I nerded out with my also nerdy roommates and a couple other friends. I was so excited to go see it AGAIN the next day with Garrett.  
The next day I squeezed my stuffed suitcase in the back of Garrett's car and went to see The Hobbit. Right after the movie, we made the drive up to Bountiful.  Garrett was starting to realize how often we were driving up there... I feel really bad we've put so many miles on his car and not to mention the money he had to spend filling up the tank! However, every time we would go to see my family, my dad would try and give Garrett or me some money for gas or food. Garrett tried to decline the  money every time (I accepted it because I knew I wouldn't win the exchange with my dad:). My dad has a philosophy that if he helps college kids pay for little things like gas or just give them a $10 every so often, it's an investment in their future. Garrett doesn't like to take money from anyone but the times he did from my dad were very much appreciated! Even though sometimes the money didn't go right to gas, it still went towards things that made us happy and usually provided something for a date. Or a Winco candy/food trip....;)

The drive from Provo to Bountiful is actually only around an hour. But sometimes, when you're already really tired, especially after a  brain-burning week of finals, you just want to crash after you get to your destination. Both Garrett and I were pretty burned out. When we got to my parent's house I got a lot more energized with the greeting from my family members and my two cute pups that were so excited to see us. After things calmed down, Garrett and I sat on the couch and pretty soon, I could tell that given the chance, Garrett would go fast asleep. Haha, Garrett felt bad that most of the weekends that we went up to Bountiful he was so tired. For some reason that we both can't explain, Thursday nights were usually the nights where he would play Xbox late into the night or stay watching movies with Martin and Martin's brother, Duncan. 
As Garrett was starting to dose off that night on my couch, I started feeling a strong impulse to tell my parents everything. I can't tell you why I felt like I needed to tell my parents about Garrett's and my desire to get married THE night I got home from school. But... It just felt right and I was given a good opening of time. I think my parents knew too. I remember after my dad had made a comment, something about me, Garrett responded in a way that hinted about us getting married. I looked at him like, "Garrett! Why did you say that!" After Garrett started dozing, I went down the hall to my room to put some of my things away and on my way back, I ran into my dad. He gave me his amazing, "I love you and never want to let you go", hug but this time it felt more like a "I love you and I never NEVER want to let you go. Especially because I can kind of tell I might have to", hug. My dad and I have a special connection that whenever we hug, it seems like every feeling, thought and worry we both have, we can both feel it. I started to tear up and hugged my dad back just as hard. I felt then that my parents knew what I was going to tell them sometime soon. I knew they didn't want it to be true... but they still could tell. I had been feeling guilty about not letting them know about everything the whole time so I thought to myself, "enough is enough! Let's do this." 

My dad and I came out of the hallway together and he suggested to my mom that they should go to the store and get a couple things. I looked at Garrett on the couch and decided to let him sleep. I told my parents that I wanted to come with them. There was a weird feeling during that time from Garrett's comment till the night was over. I felt... protected. It's hard to explain the feeling, but I felt completely open and ready to explain everything without getting scared of my parents reaction. I felt confident. I needed to tell my parents and I felt assured that my decision, even though it may not be accepted right off at first, would be something that they supported.

Lots of tears and discussion were shared by all during that grocery-shopping trip. My parents had slightly different reactions than I thought they would have. My dad was surprisingly calm which was really awesome and made me feel more steady too. It broke my heart a little how my mom cried more than my dad did (I now believe that my dad was under shock and therefore didn't cry very much:). My mom is rock and doesn't cry that often but when she does, you feel your heart ache too. I do admit that I was a little scared of going home after telling my parents and what my dad might do to Garrett in his helpless state of sleep on our couch... But I felt that it had all gone better than I had thought it would. I knew that I would have to keep explaining Garrett's and my intentions and plans in the next days and months. It would all work out in the end however. 

My parents and I talked a little more and then they decided that they were pretty ready for bed. I was pretty darn tired too! Crying and emotional stress can take it out of you pretty quick. But I wanted to tell Garrett about what had happened. I needed to wake him up anyways so we could make his bed for the night. I sat on the couch with him and told him what had happened and he was pretty shocked! He asked me the details and I told him that it had gone better than I had expected and no, they didn't want to hurt him. I went to sleep that night realizing that this was it. This was the real deal and I was getting married at 18... I was OK with that. I felt that Heavenly Father trusted me in my decision to move forward and that he had provided this amazing opportunity to me at this time for a reason. I prayed really hard that night for my parents to feel good along with me about this decision. I felt that things weren't going to be easy but they would all be OK. I think the love that my parents and I share and our relationship brought me the most confidence and hope to move along with my decision. 

2. Trip down to Provo for the Interview and Meeting Garrett's family.

Garrett left the day after I talked with my parents so he could get home and get enough sleep for work the following day. One thing that I absolutely love and appreciate about Garrett is how hard of a worker he is and how he takes almost no thought for himself about it. I know that he will always work for the benefit of our family and for others. I say this because during the winter break, where a lot of college students take the break off from work and worries, Garrett was up on roofs from dawn till dusk in the cold and snow earning money for school and for a certain Christmas present for me. 

Even though I was going to miss him, I was actually looking forward to the time I was going to have with my family. And I did enjoy the time we had even though it was sometimes tense. I wanted to be open about the subject of marriage and not make it a Taboo thing. I got annoyed when my parents treated it as a "not to be named" thing but I'm pretty sure I would do the exact same thing on their end! I wanted to be understanding but I also wanted them to just be happy about it. Haha, that's a lot to ask for so quickly I know! But we had a good week and I was able to see my other family from my mom's side. For the weekend I had already decided that I was going to go back down to Provo to interview for a job I was interested in and also to see Garrett's family. I left on a Friday afternoon and had arranged it so Garrett could pick me up after his work at the train station. 

The train ride was pretty interesting! I sat down and put my head phones right in and kept to myself. On one of the stops, an older looking gentleman boarded the train and walked down the aisle slowly trying to find a seat. I looked up and smiled nicely, cordially, and after walking past me a little he turned around and sat down across from me. I was turned away from him a bit and still had my headphones in when he started to talk with me. I hurried to take out my headphones and I chatted with him for a little bit. He was very nice! He asked me what I did for work and if I was a model. I laughed and told him no, but he kept being very complimentary and flirty in that old-man way. He asked me if I had a boyfriend or if I was married, and I told him that I did have a boyfriend and I was actually going to visit him that day. He told me that if I would've been single and he would've been younger he definitely would be trying harder to flirt with me! I smiled and laughed with him. I kind of thought at this point that our conversation was over but just as I was putting my headphones back in, he started telling me about himself. I tried to be attentive and respond in the right way for the rest of the ride. He lived a very full and exciting life! Even though it was fun to talk to him I was pretty happy to get to my bus stop. I waited for a little bit for Garrett then I learned that he had just been sitting there in his car waiting for me to notice him! 

I had scheduled my interview for 5 and by the time Garrett picked me up it was cutting it pretty close. We got to the BYU campus and I hurried to get my heels and nice jacket out of my bag in the car trunk (why I decided to wear heels is a mystery...) I rushed in as quickly as I could in my heels which was much slower than usual on account of the ice that covered the concrete. Yeah... I was pretty terrified I was going to slip on my toosh right in front of Garrett sitting in his car! I got to the building I needed to in one piece however and got to my interview. It went really well! I was informed that my job uniform would be a bikini and I was actually pretty excited! Yay! An excuse to get a new swimming suit! Oh! Sorry, to explain: I was interviewing for a job as an art model for BYU art department. I had realized that for next semester I would need to earn a little more money for school as well as for my prospective wedding. So I had been looking for jobs on campus and had already had had contact with the director of the art department modeling. You're supposed to have some crazy experiences in college right? I thought it would be fun to try out being an art model: something I'd probably never do anywhere else! I was given the job but after some thought I decided that the hours and being on-call for the job would be hard with my school schedule. I felt that I would be given another opportunity for a job later. 

After my interview, Garrett and I went back to his house. I got in comfier clothes and we made a grocery-store run. I love grocery store runs! We have fun going to stores and checking out the sales. I often have to try and keep Garrett from buying too much food... I usually love what he cooks with the things that he gets however! I was unable to keep him from buying some Monster energy drink this time and then laughed as he got more hyper and bubbly as he drank it. We got back home and just relaxed for the rest of the night. I fell asleep watching It's A Mad Mad Mad World, much to Garrett's dismay, but after that I was ready for bed. The next day we were going to be cleaning up the house and getting ready for Garrett's family to get there in the afternoon. In the morning, Garrett came to wake me up (I slept in Martin and Duncan's room while they were back home in Delaware) and we went up stairs to get some breakfast. I got help/learned how to make yummy french toast from Grandma. I got a little nervous when Grandma left me to make the rest of the batch (A big batch!) and Garrett and Grandpa went to go fix something in the house. After burning myself a couple times I'm happy to say I successfully made some good french toast! Even if no one else had liked it, the fact that Grandpa Facer did was enough to make me proud! 

After Garrett and I cleaned up breakfast for Grandma, we got to work on cleaning/arranging the house for his family to get there. I was down stairs vacuuming when all the sudden I heard a whole bunch of voices up stairs and then right after that I head the door to the top of the stairs open. Just a second later Garrett's two younger brothers were right there and without even a thought I went over to them and gave them hugs. Hugging is kind of my default when I get surprised to see people. I was worried for a second that I wouldn't remember their names but they popped out of my mouth when I hugged and said hi to them. It was crazy! It felt so right to hug them and act like I'd known them forever. I'm so happy to have little brothers now!! I always wanted one growing up and now I have two. James and Cannon are both really fun and were really awesome to get along with right off the bat. I went up stairs to see who else was there and saw Garrett's parents in the kitchen. Again, after saying hi in my characteristically high voice, my default/instinct and went over to give them both a hug. I was surprised by how tight Garrett's dad hugged me back! It was the best! After hugging both of them and talking for a minute we started getting everyone all settled. I stayed over that night in the same room and Andelyn, Garrett's younger sister, slept in the bed next to me. OK... I was really nervous to meet Andelyn! She and Garrett are best friends and she is a very important girl in Garrett's life. As a little sister myself, I know that a little sister's opinion of their brother's girlfriends are very important! It was also a little intimidating that we were pretty much the same age (Yeah... that freaks out Garrett whenever he thinks about that:) But the first night we slept in the same room, we had girl-bonding time. Nothing like talking about boys, relationship and romance for a night of girl-bonding! I had really missed having girl talk like that. We talked for quite a while and when we finally got to sleep, I remember smiling and feeling again that it was very natural to talk to Andelyn like she was my sister. 
The next day we all went to church with Grandma and Grandpa Facer. Hansen and Angie came too and we all together took up one pew. It was fun to be all together and to enjoy the Christmas program in sacrament meeting. The choir sang beautifully! Afterwards we went to all the meetings and in Relief Society when we were asked to introduce ourselves, Mandy, Garrett's mom, got up for all of us and introduced us. I felt really good to be included as a part of the Facer family. 
That evening we were all together in the family room when I got a call from my dad. We talked for a little bit and then he told me he was on his way to come pick me up... I just kind of sat there and asked him where he was. He told me that he was half way to Provo by the point of the mountain. I asked him why he was coming to pick me up and he told me that he had understood that I was having a hard time finding a time for the train to go back up to Bountiful and he thought he'd just come get me. Well... OK. I laughed a little and said I'd see him in just a bit. It was hard to act annoyed-surprised because he had sounded happy!  I hung up and Garrett was looking right at me and he guessed pretty quick what was up by the expression on my face. He asked me almost immediately, "You're going home aren't you?" I just nodded. I was bummed! We had planned on going to play games and eat dinner at Garrett's aunt's who was a really good cook! But at the same time I felt kind of OK about it. When I told Garrett's parents who were sitting across from us, Garrett's dad and Garrett's uncle who was sitting next to him both said that they would do the same thing if their daughters were in my position. Pretty soon my dad got there and I started to get excited to introduce him to Garrett's awesome family. I thought that maybe meeting them would help him see a little more getting married to Garrett wasn't such a bad idea! I introduced my dad to everyone and the Facers invited him in to talk. I was smiling across at my dad as he chatted with Garrett's parents and then with Grandma and Grandpa Facer. My dad loved talking with Grandma Facer. She is such an angel and my dad immediately saw the same thing and loved talking with her. After a little bit I could tell that we needed to go. I was still bummed.... I wasn't going to see Garrett for a whole week (said sarcastically;) and I was still perturbed that my dad had come to pick me up. I felt a little like a kid who's parents came to pick them up early from a fun party...

But I tried not to let myself get too annoyed. I did understand why he came. I also felt loved. 

When I got home I could tell my mom was ready for me to be upset that my dad brought me home and I was a little, but I didn't want to make it a big deal. I'm sure I said something about it so she knew how felt (Silly...) but it was alright. I was going to be seeing Garrett that following weekend after Christmas to say goodbye to his family and I was starting to wonder exactly when I was going to get my certain Christmas present... 

*I know I said I was going to tell the engagement story this time around! But I feel like it deserves it's own post! 

*Also! I apologize for the length of this entry! A lot of it is for me to remember the little things. It's like my journal... But you're invited to read and relive these things with me! 

December, December

9. December, December

After Thanksgiving Break, Garrett's and my relationship grew and became something sweeter. We had a lot of fun finding activities to do together that brought us closer together; Sometimes just us or with our family/friends. I have to say, writing this, I can't believe that we only dated for around 3 months before getting engaged! Wow...I am pretty sure that spending every day together, and nearly all day together, made the time seem to go by slower in a way. On the other hand, I couldn't believe when December came, finals were looming, that I was already about to finish my first semester her at BYU! Garrett helped me through the stress and worryings I tend to have about school and helped me stay somewhat sane. He was also a great study partner with Chemistry... OK maybe we got a little distracted and when I got home at night, would then continue to study... But it was still fun to work together!

That winter we continued to have the Tuesday basketball/girl-nights and bowling Wednesday bowling night. But we then added hot-tub Thursdays! Whenever we all had time to go together, Garrett and I, Hansen and Angie and Martin would go to an apartment complex here in Provo and go hot tubing. It was really fun and very, very cold! Every time, I undressed super fast and tried really hard to dry off and dress as quickly as possible when we were done. We'd go inside the activity room of the building and play ping pong, stand by the fireplace or play on the piano until we got warm enough to go outside and head home. Usually this was followed by a Wendy's stop or getting pizza. I'm pretty excited for winter again just for hot-tub Thursdays! 

Garrett and I continued to add to our movie collection. I can't remember (Garrett probably will) when we started buying movies together, but at that point I'm pretty sure we knew that we were going to get married and so were more willing to buy movies together. Who wants to deal with trying to divvy up awesome movies that neither of you would want to get rid of in a break up? While we were at Target, Walmart or other stores just walking around, we'd look through the movie bins and search for the diamonds-in-the-rough. There are some really interesting movies in those bins... but you gotta push those over and if you're lucky, you'll find great combo pack of great movies or a copy of your favorite girly movie! We found some good ones and invested in them for the sake of our collection as well as a date night activities. There were lots of movie dates between us two. I LOVE movies! So I didn't mind at all being able to cuddle, watch a movie and spend time with Garrett. 

Garrett continued to be his charming self and surprise me. Just randomly, he will plan a date/activity or take me somewhere. He'd ask me if I knew what he was doing and waited eagerly to hear my guesses. Although he'll say it isn't true, sometimes I guessed right but in order to keep the integrity of the surprise, would keep my guess to myself. The surprise dates: going to a movie, making/going out to dinner, buying my favorite ice cream and lots of other things, made me love Garrett more and more (Not to say those are the only things that increased my love for him of course:) Actually, the first moment that I realized that I wanted to marry Garrett, we had just started dating and were on the couch in his downstairs doing homework together. Garrett sat on one side and I was laying down on my back with my head on the arm rest and my feet on his lap. I was reading out of my textbook when all the sudden Garrett picked up my feet and went to his room to get something. He came back just a second later with his bottle of Jergens lotion and started to give me a foot massage! I sat there looking at him and smiling. I said thank you, and he replied saying "you're welcome" and how he'd noticed that my feet were kind of dry so he thought he'd fix that. As I was looking at him, thinking about how sweet that was of him to just spur of the moment think to take care of me like that, I had a thought that he would always want to look for ways to take care of me and help me. And right then and there, though I tried to push down the thought, I knew that I wouldn't mind marrying that wonderful boy. 

Another funny thing that started happening after Thanksgiving was the "what if" game. It started one night Garrett and I were just hanging out after a long week of school and tests and were making some hot chocolate. I remember he was stirring his drink, I was working on some laundry I had brought to his house (I know... I mooched off their washer and dryer sometimes instead of paying to use the ones at my apartment... I felt guilty!) when all the sudden Garrett looked at me and said, "What if we did this kind of thing every day?" he said it like "how crazy would that be!" I smiled a little knowing smile and asked him back, "Yeah, what if?" Sometimes the game would be about something cute and exciting, or the question would bring up daunting financial/stressing discussions. No matter how the game would go though, it didn't change our minds that we wanted "to do that kind of thing every day" together. 

Alright, so while all this was going on, I was still stressing out about how to bring it all forward to my family. I had been talking with my sister Lindsay a little bit about everything for the same reasons I talked with my other siblings: 1, I wanted more practice for when I told mom and dad that Garrett and I wanted to get married and 2, I wanted advice on how I should tell my mom and dad. Blah... I just have to "tisk, tisk," myself when I think about how handled all that. I didn't mean to, but I ultimately went behind my parents back. When I told them that I thought Garrett and I were going to get married, and they found out that I had talked about it with my siblings and friends more than I had with them, they were hurt. I felt so incredibly sorry. I know now that asking for advice and sharing with them what was going on was good, I should have also relied equally or more on my parents. Next time... Or I'll just tell my kids about how I feel and hopefully they'll be smarter than their mom! 

I remember the week before finals, calling my brother Eric. I was feeling really confused. I talked with my parents often but it was so hard to only tell them a little and be wanting to them everything. It was a day where I wasn't sure if I should marry Garrett. I wanted to, with all my heart. But I was young, just in barely college, and had lots plans that seemed like they would change quite a bit if I got married. I was scared and needed to talk to someone I knew could understand and help me figure out what I needed to do. In lots of ways, my brother Eric and I are similar and I know that he understood how Ii felt to have plans change, and  how to talk with mom and dad; especially dad. I was completely honest about how I was feeling and he was completely honest in his advice. He helped me resolve my thoughts, asking me important questions, testing to see if I was willing to "give up" things that I had planned on doing in my life. He listened as I vented/explained and waited when I got choked up. I felt way better after talking with Eric. I can't remember if it was that evening or the next day, but his wife Ashley, called me to talk with me about it too. I love Ashley!! She is one of the best, if not THE best, listener. She was also honest in her concerns as well as in her excitement for me. All of my siblings are amazing. They all weren't very surprised that I was getting married... still don't know if I should be worried about a character flaw I had that made it so unsurprising... but they supported me and were excited for my decision. 

Finals came, I didn't sleep much, I had fits of frustration and tears, and then BAM! It was over! I was so happy to be done and was excited for the long break between semesters for Christmas. A lot was going to go on those next couple weeks:

1. Garrett's parents were coming up for Christmas and I was going to meet them in person! I had met them on Skype so that was good, but I was still a little nervous to meet them in person.

2. I was going to interview for my first job in college. I didn't end up doing it.... but I was going to interview to be an art model for the art department! I was really excited and felt actually pretty good being rebellious against those who thought that it was a scandalous job... Hehe. I like being a secretary just fine now though! No self-consciousness! 

3. The reveal with my parents the  night I got home from school. Yeah... didn't quite plan on telling them THE night I got home but it just flowed that way. There were tears, questions, concern, tight hugs (the "I won't let you go ones" that dad's just automatically know how to do just right to make you cry) and.... grocery shopping. To be explained next time....! 

4.Dealing with way too much advice and "help" from every direction I could think of. Too much of it going on at my own house. I won't go into the specifics but it was a big part of that Christmas break and slowly waned (thankfully) over the months till I got married. I want to say again though, "I LOVE MY FAMILY!" but it's their job to frustrate you sometimes.... 

5. And... GETTING ENGAGED! The full engagement story! Even though I was still tired, the smell of eggs, sausage and bacon woke me up just fine;)

Oh! And just so you know, January is pretty crazy too! We'll finish up December next time:) 

Happy Thanksgiving!

8. Happy Thanksgiving!

Now the great season of Thanksgiving rolled in. Talking with Garrett about the holiday break, we decided that I would stay with him and his family in Provo the day before Thanksgiving. Because of flights and other commitments, they decided to do Thanksgiving dinner the night before the actual day of Thanksgiving. It worked out really well for me and my family celebrations. After dinner with the Facer clan, Garrett and I would drive up to Bountiful and stay with my family for Thanksgiving day. 

The day of the Facer Thanksgiving was very nice! I was able to sleep in which was very much needed. I spent quite sometime deciding what to wear that day. I was going to see almost every member of Garrett's extended family! I wanted to make an impression! So again, after trying on my own outfits and finding them lacking, I went into my roommate's closet to see what I could wear there. We had a system of where, as long as you washed it before you gave it back, everyone's closet was pretty much free game. It was a fantastic system! I got an outfit that I liked and was ready to go. I had packed all of my other things before getting ready so all that was left to do was to pack things up in Garrett's car when he came to pick me up. 

We got the car stuffed with my stuff when Garrett got to my apartment and headed over to his house. We were still fairly early and not everyone had arrived at the house yet. But considering the fact that the house is pretty small, it got packed fast! I went into the kitchen with Angie to see if there was anything that we could help with. At first there wasn't anything but I felt awkward just sitting and not trying to help. I waited and finally was given a job! Garrett's aunt teased me about my eagerness to help but hey, if that's what she was able to tease me about I think that's alright. It was really cute too, as I was cutting up some vegetables, Grandpa Facer came to my side and happily wrapped his arm around my shoulders and gave me a side hug. He went to Angie also and gave her a hug. When I told Garrett, he seemed shocked! He told me that he and Grandpa had only hugged maybe once in his whole life! (Little did I know that I'd get one or two more hugs since then as well a little bum-tap! Don't worry - I asked one of Garrett's Aunts and I guess that's just something Grandpa does. I laughed so hard!) 

When Grandpa and Grandma were pretty sure everyone who was going to make it was there, we started the feast. There were so many people and so many names to remember! I was in heaven though. Because I'm the youngest on my mom's side of the family and second youngest on my dad's, my older cousins had all been married and moved away when I got older, so our family's didn't get all together very often. Garrett's big family being together reminded me of the big family parties I'd had with my dad's side of the family. I felt very much at home. I loved everyone too! They were all happy faced and open to talking. They also were shocked when, after asking my age, I told them that I was still 18. I still hate saying that.... The shock I get in return makes me feel a little better however! At least I seem older. 

We ate a great dinner and chatted with everyone we could. It was so fun to see Garrett interact with his family. It was especially great to see him interact with his baby cousins. I think every girl will agree, when a guy is good with kids and when they play with kids, your heart melts! That maternal part of you melts to and tells you that yes, he would be an awesome father of your babies! Jumping a few steps in the relationship process yes, but I couldn't help feeling that way when I saw how good he was with little kids and how much he loved them. We said our goodbyes when Garrett and I realized that we needed to head up to Bountiful. I was so excited to have Garrett come stay with me at my house! I couldn't wait to show him off to more of my family. 

When we got to Bountiful, we spent sometime with my parents again and got everything situated on the couch where Garrett was going to sleep.  It was so nice to have him at my house and being able to show him around where I had grown up. He had told me other times before that I was kind of a closed person. I had never thought of myself that way before but after thinking about it, I realized I liked listening to his stories much more than sharing my own! So showing him my house and other things from my life helped me feel more open and free to share more. We hung out with my mom and my little niece, Ginger, for a bit then hit the hay.   

The next morning Garrett was going to play Football at my home ward's annual Turkey Bowl. This is probably my most favorite Thanksgiving tradition: watching my dad, brothers, and their friends play football on Thanksgiving day. I had always loved to come down with my mom and sister to hang out with the other spectators early in the morning. This time I was a lot more excited to see how my boyfriend would fare in the sometimes rough ward football game. There are those times where they don't mess around! Our family itself has had it's share of Turkey Bowl injuries. I didn't need to worry in the end though. That guy knows how to play football! One of the first things that I learned about Garrett was that, since he was little, he had been playing tackle football. When he was in high school in Texas, his school had been a nationally ranked team. He was one of the star's at the Turkey bowl for sure! He played quarterback for the first little bit even though his actual position is Strong Safety on defense. I was sitting on the sidelines, trying to keep my toes from going numb, in my camping chair as proud as could be. When I was worried about him getting hurt, I should have been a little more worried about him hurting someone else! He was pretty aggressive and got himself kind of an enemy, a kid in my ward whom I'm sure thought that because he played on the high school team he was going to be the star of the game. They had another collision and Garrett got hit in the eye. My dad checked on him and Garrett was fine. I knew he'd never stop playing if we was really hurt anyways. That's not how he rolls. In the end, I can't remember who won but the whole group of guys just had fun playing. It was really great to see Garrett interact with my dad, my brother Ryan and a couple of my other "brothers" (my oldest brother's friends who I grew up with), Armstrong and Nate. It made me feel all warm inside seeing them get along and look like family together. 

After football, we all headed home to help my mom and brother-in-law get things ready for dinner that night at my Grandma's. We got showered up and semi ready and then went to work get food ready (I remember that even with the mustache, Garrett looked really good in his nice jeans and blue and white stripped button-up shirt!) Jack and my sister Lindsay, with there awesome little girl, Ginger, were staying at the house too for Thanksgiving. For dinner, Jack was making his delicious authentic spring rolls (Jack is from Taiwan so ya'll can trust he cooks some really good spring rolls and is good at making pretty much any kind of food. We're lucky to have a chef in the family!) Garrett was really excited! He loves Asian food and was very willing to help make them. We all sat at the dinner table and using egg wash, filled and sealed the spring rolls that Jack would then fry.  Garrett got into it and made it a competition with himself to make sure he wrapped each spring roll perfectly. I love his perfectionism in things that he does. Makes my perfectionism a little easier to deal with knowing he's the same way too!

Garrett loves Ginger. It was so funny, the night we got to my house, Lindsay and Jack had come to the door area to meet Garrett. Lindsay was holding Ginger and I told Ginger, gesturing to Garrett, "This is my friend Garrett!" She was all smiles and said in her cute voice, "Hi Uncle Garrett!" Everyone laughed and looked a little like how I felt, "well that was slightly foreboding." How right you were, Ginger-pie! That night and the next day, Garrett and Ginger would play together and she was totally fine with sitting in his lap. The night before, Ginger, while refusing to go to bed, came out and sat with Garrett and I to watch TV. My mom was sitting at the table talking with us too waiting to take Ginger to bed when she was sleepy enough. Garrett asked Ginger if she wanted him to tell her a story. She smiled and nodded, "Yes!" She kept smiling and giggled as Garrett told her the Three Little Bears story. Again, I was beaming and happy inside seeing him with Ginger. After he finished the story, my mom asked him if he knew any kid's stories in Norwegian. He started to tell Ginger a story in Norwegian which to me and my mom sounded really awesome! But to Ginger... She lasted only so long not understanding him then turned her attention to the TV watching one of her shows on Nick Jr. 

After getting our part of the Thanksgiving dinner ready, we headed up to Granny's house. My mom's side of the family is a little smaller than my dad's and mostly everyone still lives in Utah. So all but I think one family was there at my Grandma's house that night. Garrett got off easy! He had way less names and faces to remember than I had had to try to the night before! I introduced him to everyone and of course, the questioning began again. What are you studying? What do you want to do? Where are you from? Where did you serve your mission? Garrett answered everyone and had good conversations. He is really good at talking with people and loves sharing about things he loves like his mission as well as his hometown, San Antonio Texas. My Aunt Ann had been really excited to meet him. My Aunt Ann and Uncle Kent are like my second parents; they took care of me many times when I was little and took a very active role in my life in the way they supported all of my activities and goals. Because we were so close, they both needed to give their opinion on what they thought of Garrett. My Aunt Ann liked him! My Uncle Kent liked him too but like my dad, didn't voice it outright and teased me about it a little. They ganged together that night and talked about the whole thing and teased me. Garrett being Garrett, impressed more of my family when he helped doing dishes and clearing off tables without being asked or waiting to feel obligated. His southern charm, "Yes, ma'am" and "No sir", impressed my grandma I know that! Afterwards everyone went in the living room and at the request of my Granny, I played a few songs on my violin. Looking over at Garrett, I realized that he started drifting off! He hadn't taken a nap after football and had had a head ache from the pain from his eye getting hurt. I just kept playing but laughed a little bit seeing him try and stay awake. 

When we could, we said our goodbyes and left a little earlier so Garrett could get medicine for his headache. But I could tell that everyone there started to see what my parents had been seeing: I was serious about Garrett. From this point on they'd ask my mom about how we were doing, anxious to see where things went. They love me very much, just like my parents, and like my parents, were also concerned about my decision. They would support me (some begrudgingly) but they were worried that I might be heading toward a path where all that I had worked for in school, including my potential career goals, was going to go out the window. They trusted me, like my parents, but they saw the little life experience that I'd had and wanted to help me realize the choice I was making by sharing advice and their own life experiences. It was hard for me to accept the help and advice even though I know it came with every good intentions. The thing was was that I was getting advice and "help" from too many directions and was getting really frustrated. It's all good now though! Everything really does work out if you work hard, stick to what you know is right despite all that may tell you you are wrong. You'll be blessed if you stick it out and hold onto faith and for me, if I held onto the love I know I had for Garrett that was more than just momentary. 

Garrett spent that night at my parents house and then had to leave in the morning. I was sad to see him go but I was only staying a few more days then I had to go back down to Provo for school the following Monday. It was really nice spending time with my family and being able to have them know more about Garrett. 

As soon as I got back down to Provo, I let Garrett know I was home at my apartment. He rushed over to pick me up and took me over to his house. He told that he had a surprise for me and went into his room to get something. He came out with two movies that I could choose out of. I don't remember the other movie, but the one that I chose was Sleeping Beauty. He was so cute, and knew that I loved that movie. He seemed really excited to have me home! He went down the hall for a minute to get something from the basement kitchen and after a second, popped back out and looked at me for a minute while I was sitting on the couch. He smiled and ran over to me and tackled me, hugging me really tight and giving me kisses! He confirmed that he had missed me a little bit. We watched our movie (for the most part... hehe) and afterwards we just cuddled together and talked. We started talking about life and about us. Getting into the more heavier subjects... I had been thinking about those things more and more but I hadn't said anything about it to Garrett yet. He hadn't seemed quite on the "same page" as I had been... But that night as we started talking, everything changed. We started talking about different temples and looking at pictures of the San Antonio Temple. We talked about logistics of how we'd get family down there, when would be a good time, deciding that maybe that wasn't the best option and then deciding that the Salt Lake Temple was the best idea. Wait... had we just decided where were going to get married ? Holy crow. I remember, even though it was late (between 1-2:00 am) and I was fading out, my heart was beating really fast! I was so excited to tell my roommates, tell Lindsay and oh wait... what was I going to tell my parents. In my head I told myself, "Oh its nothing, its not for sure yet and I don't want to make them worry more about it. I'll tell them later." Well... All ya'll who have parents that your close to, that you know are concerned about you and love you very much, even though you know they will worry more, I found for me that it would've been better to let them know SOONER than LATER. I learned that the hard way. Instead of telling my parents things that happened all along and asking them for advice, I talked with my siblings, my friends, and worried the whole time about hurting my parents or making them worry more when they already had so much going on. I know everything all worked out, but if I could go back, I would've given my parents more of a heads-up by personally telling them how I was feeling, progressively. 

Garrett and I talked a little more and then we both realized how late it was. He took me back home and we hugged and kissed goodbye. I couldn't believe it. We just talked about where we wanted to get married!! It felt different between us in the best way. I felt that we were on the same page and that we were heading towards something wonderful together. After meeting his extended family, I had felt very much that I wouldn't mind being a part of the Facers. I didn't know how he felt about my family for sure yet, but I know that he loved me and liked the members of my family that he'd met. Looking back, I really couldn't believe what was happening! It felt so right and yet so much of my life had changed! All of my plans and thoughts about the way my life would turn out, were changing in a blink of an eye. And it all felt so right! Scary, yeah. But right. I never felt real doubt about what lie ahead of me. Just moments where the scary, unknown part took the best of me. I could feel every time I prayed about it, that Heavenly Father trusted my decision no matter where that took me. I made the decision to keep dating Garrett and I knew it felt right. 

December. The next month was a big month. I could feel that something big was going to happen... 

Some things I forgot to mention!:

1) **There's two sides to this story that I've heard! You may want to read Garrett's view of it when he writes it on his blog that I have a link to** The day after Garrett got home,after going shooting with some of his family, Garrett was sitting by Angie and Grandma when Angie pointed out an add in a newspaper about a sale on wedding rings. She did it as a joke a little bit but Garrett looked at it and told them that the rings that were on sale weren't the kind I had said I wanted. He told them that I wanted a pearl ring.He looked at the price on the advertisement and asked if they knew how much pearl rings were because the price of the other rings were more than he'd expected. Haha I remember Angie telling me the story (me sitting there the whole time, "Really?! Really?! No way!") and telling me that she hadn't expected him to react that way. She was impressed that he remembered the kind of ring I wanted and seemed serious about asking about prices. 

2) During another talk with Angie, I learned that she was crucial to my still dating Garrett! One time when he was with Angie and Hansen, he had been stressing out about the fact that I was 18 and wasn't sure what he should do about still dating me. Angie stuck up for me like a champ! She told Garrett that she knew, and knew that he did too, that I wasn't like your average 18 year old girl. She told him that my age wasn't something that should be something to stop dating me for. He listened and agreed. So thank you Angie!! You may have been the reason why we got married!

3) Pretty sure it was after Thanksgiving... But one Tuesday night, basketball night for the boys and a girls night for Angie and I, we wen't to the mall. We were looking at shoes and talking about how things were going with Garrett and I as well as how crazy that would be if we got married  After we walked out of the store, Angie excitedly asked if I'd want to go look at wedding dresses at a store in the mall. "Yeah!" I agreed while inside I was a little nervous! I wasn't engaged yet and I felt like if Garrett found out, he'd be creeped out! But she confidently walked by me, arm in arm, and after a little pause she told me that probably the only way that they would let me try on the dresses was if I was actually engaged. She pulled off her wedding ring and put it on my finger. It was one of the strangest feelings I've had. It was almost like I could feel that her ring was entirely her's and Hansen's. I wanted to take it off and give it right back to her! But we walked in the store together and Angie told them that I was there to try on wedding dresses and that she was my future sister-in-law. All true now of course, but when they started asking me specific dates of my engagement and wedding I had to lie through my teeth! I felt guilty because the helpers at the store were so nice and very congratulatory. Trying to act more normal, I started to let myself think that this was for real and lived up the congratulations. I pretended and fantasized about if Garrett and I were actually engaged right then. I tried on a lot of dresses! It was the best to have Angie there to give her opinions and to be there to tear up with me when I found one dress that I really loved and thought was THE dress. It didn't end up being the one, but it was still super awesome to have that kind of "This is THE dress!" experience in a bridal store. We talked about how I would do my hair, what jewelry I'd wear and all that! My store assistant was the best, and talked animatedly with us too. I still felt mildly guilty... but I had fun pretending! The assistant was so sweet and gave me a gift of some pearl earrings. Angie and I left and when we were far enough away started laughing together. I know that after that night she felt guilty for taking me because what if Garrett and I didn't get engaged and she had gotten my hopes up? Well no worries! We did get married and going dress shopping with her was one of the best girl nights ever! Oh by the way, Garrett did find out about our adventure, and no he wasn't creeped out... he just laughed:) 

Meeting the Parental Units

7. Meeting the Parental Units

So Garrett was going to meet my parents for the first time in person. My parents planned on coming down to a game on a Saturday in November and were the ones to suggest, that Garrett come over so they could meet him. My parents were so nice and bought my roommates and I Zupas that evening for dinner. My roommates, my parents and I all ate in my apartment together and had a really good time. When it came time to let Garrett know he could come on over, my dad started wigging out a little bit. His teasing increased, he started pacing a little bit and, as he was laughing, he would shake his head and put his face in his hands. Yeah... No way did my dad necessarily like his little baby girl, his sidekick, and little best friend for more than 8 years, dating an older boy in college. Mentioning the fact that they didn't like that I was dating a return missionary is true... but it was more about the fact he was 4 years older than me which meant he could be dating me for more than just fun... 

I didn't want to have to all meet in my small, crazy apartment so I had my parents wait in my floor's activity room for Garrett and I. I had been laughing at my dad and his reaction in my apartment before I went to go get Garrett who was waiting outside (We had card-swiping doors so he couldn't let himself in except at the front of the building, which wasn't near my apartment). Before I left my dad turned to my roommates, and semi-jokingly, "This is your girls' fault!" They all laughed and nodded unabashedly. I want to say that through all of this my mom surprised me.... When I thought she would be the one to question my decision, which has only happened with the decisions I either already knew weren't exactly the right ones or the ones that turned out later to have bad consequences. But I think she had a feeling through all of this that I was still making a good decision. She didn't call me out on my decision like many others did. She asked like any concerned mom would do, checking with me to see if I was still happy. We had our moments, don't get me wrong, but they were OK. She and my dad both trusted me more than I think sometimes I deserved but I also knew in my heart that I wouldn't ever do anything that would hurt them or that I knew would hurt my trust with them. They realized this was still true in my dating Garrett. 

After I got Garrett, we went to the activity room and introduced him to my parents. He was so funny. He was wearing his Norwegian snow hat, the shirt/jacket we had gotten at the DI and had his nice blonde mustache (didn't like that thing. His beard is much MUCH better). I could see my parents smile a little bit putting the whole picture together but as they got talking to him, they were smiling at the kind of man Garrett is. Garrett, being from Texas, is very polite and the, "Yes, ma'am" and "Yes, sir" seems to win over people when talking with him. I have to say, that it is very attractive how polite he is in his southern way. Especially nowadays when we watch Duck Dynasty and afterwards can kind of hear his accent... love it!  

My dad and mom took their lines of questioning where a father or mother usually would: my mom asking about his family and details about his mission; my dad asking him about his career ideas as well as details about his mission. Garrett of course was more than happy to talk about his most favorite place in the world, Norway, and a few of the many experiences he had there. He also was happy to answer my dad's line of questioning. They talked about engineering. Garrett was trying to decide whether or not to go into mechanical engineering, the field my dad graduated in, because chemical engineering hadn't panned out. I laughed at how similar they were! They are both very much engineer minds. Recently, seeing them work on different projects at my parents house, I really noticed the similarities as they both tried different avenues to get a job done in the quickest, most ingenious way possible. 

I could tell my parents liked Garrett. Especially my mom who told that he indeed was very cute (I had shown her Facebook pictures of him and she had gushed about him too!) Both of my parents weren't completely comfortable with him, I could see that, but I could also tell that he had also made a good first impression. I hoped that they had realized that he wasn't trying to steal away their little girl. We talked a little more and when we looked at the time, my parents realized that they had to leave and get back home. As always, I was sad to see them go. My sadness never meant I wasn't happy where I was every time  but that I wished I was able to see my family more. Being The Three Amigos with my parents for 8 years made us really close! We hugged goodbye, Garrett shook my dad's hand and gave my mom a hug. We went back inside my apartment for a little. My roommates wanted to know how it had went. I was happy to give a good report! Garrett and I made our exit and went to his house to hang out for the rest of night. 

When we got to Garrett's house I asked him what he had thought about my parents. He told me he really liked them and could see how much I was like them. I knew that one meeting wasn't going to be enough to have my parents be totally OK with Garrett as well Garrett being  able to get to know my parents and get to know them. So! At the next break in school, Thanksgiving break,I  invited Garrett to come up for a few days and meet more of my family. I thought to myself, "Well, we'll see how this all goes!" I also was pretty darn excited to have a "sleep over" with Garrett.