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.

"I love you."

6. "I love you."

The first kiss with Garrett was nearly the stamp of officiality on our relationship. The weekend after our first kiss I was planning to go back up to Bountiful to visit with my family. The day before I left, Garrett and I had been hanging out, and when he was about to take me home, he paused and asked me, "So should we make this official?" I looked at him to see if he was joking around (he had said in his almost-joking voice)... Psh, It was official! I had kissed him and spent every day with him! I laughed and said yes I would. He told me that he didn't want me to go back home and have my mom think we were just kissing and hanging out. He wanted me to be able to say that we were in a relationship! I was totally fine with that plan.

I had a thought though. Wow... this had happened rather fast... By this time it was around the middle of October. I had been in college for almost 3 months and I already had a boyfriend. I was shocked with myself actually. I admit that there were many times where I wanted to convince myself that I was just caught up in the experience and that I needed to cool the jets with dating Garrett;that I wasn't thinking right, wanting to be his girlfriend so soon. Then, again, I'd feel in my heart that everything was fine. I prayed about it many times. Every time I could feel it, the answer was simply an impression that my Heavenly Father trusted me and my decision. I had to have faith that only if I absolutely shouldn't continue dating Garrett, would my answer be to stop being dating him.

The day that I left to Bountiful Garrett came over to my apartment after his classes to be with me. Something about Garrett that I love is that a lot of the time he doesn't have to tell me how he's feeling. I could tell by the he acted when he came over that he was going to miss me while I was gone for just a few days. I would miss him too! We were most definitely in that Honeymoon stage that everyone talks about when you first start dating. But the interesting thing is is that I still feel that I never want to leave him! I still feel crazy head-over-heels for him! We sat on my living room couch talking and cuddling when, all the sudden, Garrett got up to look around our kitchen. He then asked me if I had ever country danced before. I hadn't. We got out my computer and he taught me how to do the 2-step country dance. We danced around my small apartment kitchen for quiet a while. I was in heaven! I was so twitter-patted with this Texas-boy who I now found out knew how to dance! We were still dancing when some of my roommates came home and noticed what we were doing. I smiled and we both said hi. They thought it was the cutest thing ever. I love my roommates (I'm probably going to say that a lot throughout these entries! They always got so excited for me when things would happen!) They texted me later about how adorable they thought Garrett and I had been and that we looked so in love;)

After a bit we stopped dancing and just hugged for a minute.  When Garrett asked me where my stuff was for going home I finally remembered: I had been so distracted that I hadn't even packed yet! I hurried as fast as I could to pack up my stuff. I got done and sat with Garrett for a little bit more. Both of us still having fun kissing each other and relishing in the newness of it. (Oh wow, this all sounds so sappy! I guess it's just the way these things go. You gotta admit it!) He walked me over to my friends apartment whom I was getting a ride home with and we said our goodbyes. My friend, Heidi, is the friend that was also in the same chemistry class with Garrett and I. We all sat together every day. She had been there from the beginning and had seen the hand-holding and flirting in class. She was awesome though, and didn't mind the PDA. She was always there to listen to whenever I had a relationship or chemistry question! We headed up to Bountiful and I got more and more excited to see my family. Only a little disappointed that I couldn't spend the weekend with Garrett.

When I got home I got to talk with my brother, Eric. I told him about Garrett and asked him what mom and dad would think about all of it. Of course I hadn't kept my parents completely in-the-dark with everything that had been going on, but I also didn't want them to get concerned with the fact that Garrett and I were now officially dating/in a relationship. I was hoping that my brother could help me get better prepared for how to present my parents with the new development! My parents and I could talk about anything and everything really easily. But now that I was in college, for some reason, talking about dating and all that, it wasn't as easy. 

I didn't want to beat around the bush about my dating Garrett, though. I was so happy! I wanted to let them know how happy I was and that they would feel better about how I was dating Garrett. My siblings were happy for me and, even though they teased me about dating so quickly, a couple of them said that they weren't surprised! My parents weren't surprised that I had started dating either, but they were surprised I was in an actual relationship so quickly. My dad and I didn't have the greatest discussion about the whole thing. And for some reason, when I am in a strong "discussion" with my parents, I tend to get emotional at some point - to my dismay... I got on the defensive and anyways, it didn't end super well. I also have a habit of after I get to the emotional point in a discussion, I feel that I need to vacate the premises  I get embarrassed that I got emotional and realize that I am past the point of thinking clearly. So I just left the room. 

My mom, , came down to talk with me. She is amazing. She's the one that will always come to me when I am especially emotional and illogical and she'll deal with it. I tried hard as a teenager to not do that to her or my dad but then that would lead to built up emotions that would eventually burst. She's the only one that could talk me through what was going on and see clearly again. She let me know that she and my dad were just concerned and wanted me to be sure about my decision. He didn't want me to narrow myself and miss out on other important first year college experiences. It was hard. They trusted my judgement but were nervous. The whole thing was frustrating for both of us for our different reasons. Me: I was really happy with my relationship with Garrett, but I could see why my parents were concerned and it made me have doubts about the decision that I had made.  My parents: they trusted me, knew that I was absolutely free to make my own decisions, but didn't want me to seriously date so quickly and miss out on any life experiences I wanted. 

After talking with my mom and feeling like I could talk with my dad without getting mad again, I came back up stairs. We hugged and decided to put the things we weren't happy about aside and just focus on the good things. They did like what they had heard about Garrett and thought that he sounded like a really great guy. I hoped that they would be able to meet him in person and see more of why I had decided to date him.

I had a really good weekend with my family in the end. I got to spend time with my oldest brother and his family before they left so he could finish his medical school rotations. I went back down to Provo, sad to say goodbye to my family. But I was going back to my great roommates and now I was going back to a boyfriend who was really excited to see me! As soon as I got to my apartment and put my bags down, I told Garrett that I was back. He told that he'd be over in just a minute. Alrighty then! I got that lovey-happy feeling. I put some more of my stuff away and went down to the parking lot where Garrett told me he was. He got out of the car and gave me a big hug and sweet kisses. We stayed hugging for a second and he let go so he could open the car door for me. Wait... I had thought he was just coming over to see me! It wasn't super late but late enough that I thought he'd want to get to bed after he came to see me. I told him why I was surprised. He told me that no way, he didn't just want to say when he hadn't seen me for a few days! I very happily got in the car and he told me that he had a surprise for me. (He still loves doing spontaneous surprises and I gotta say, It's probably one of my most favorite things about him!)

We got to his house and he put in a movie. He had remembered me telling him how much I like Lion King and that I hadn't seen it in years. We "watched" the movie (we watched most of it, I promise... just not the whole thing;) and I was reminded again of how much I was smitten with this boy. He had wrapped me up in his arms, eager to hold me again after not being able to for days. I went home that night so in love and feeling so happy. As well as tired.. But that was a small price to pay in order to be with Garrett for as long as possible!

We passed the next weeks just being in love, being with each other every second we could, and learning more about what made each other tick. The routine became either I'd get home, do homework, then go over to Garrett's house, or we'd walk over to his house after we were both done with classes and do as much homework as I wanted to. There was something about him that always had me wanting to be around him. The first few days that I knew him, I felt that 'something' that was so good and magnetic about his spirit. After some weeks of hanging out with Hansen and Angie as well, we started to get in a grove of hanging out with them. The weekly Wednesday bowling nights, Sunday game nights and also the Tuesday girl nights Angie and I started so we could play while the boys went to go play basketball. Things were going really well. School was driving me crazy a little bit, but then Garrett was there to help me calm down and figure things out. So it was all good. 

I think it was about the beginning of November when we went up to Salt Lake to visit Garrett's other older brother, Seth. I know that it was before Thanksgiving. We went up to check out Seth's new house and hang out with him for a little bit. I immediately loved Seth! He was so warm and friendly right off the bat. I felt really comfortable being around him and saw how much Garrett loved his older brother. It was the best when Seth whipped out his guitar and started playing and signing while we were watching some TV. He's a very talented musician who I am excited to see come out with many songs and CD's (One day,Seth Facer, you'll be famous!) All of us decided that we should go get some food. We went to a really good little diner up from Seth's house. It was fun to sit all together chatting and, for me, getting to know Seth more. We went to the store and walked around just for fun, then went back to Seth's to watch the Jazz game. Garrett and I cuddled next to each other as naturally as we had been for the past few weeks while we watched the game. It wasn't until a bit later that I learned that while we were hanging out with Seth, he had noticed how attached I was to Garrett and that I meant business. I wasn't messing around! However, I didn't know it was that obvious... kind of embarrassed that it was! I had thought I had been being sneaky! (now I have learned I am quite deficient in any gene that would make one sneaky...) I didn't want Garrett to get nervous or feel pressured to feel the same way I did about him without it being on his own. That also covered the fact that I couldn't tell him I loved him yet! I wanted him to be the first one to say it. I felt like he wasn't quite there yet... 

We said goodbye to Seth and started back down South to Provo. In the car, Garrett grabbed for my hand and held it the whole way down. He had sat in the front seat because there was only three people in our car - Angie had met us at Seth's house. After thinking about it, it seemed like something had changed that day. I felt like my going up with him to visit Seth, being with his family like that, had changed our relationship a little bit. I had an idea that maybe Garrett's feelings about me had changed a little bit. 

Hansen dropped us off at Garrett's and we went downstairs to watch some TV. We were both tired from a long day so we just sat there content to relax and watch a movie. After a little bit, we started talking about the day. I had told him how much fun I had had. We were cuddled close when I got a sudden idea that I just needed to be out with it: tell him I loved him. "What? No! This is way more serious than asking him to kiss you!! The kissing rule probably extends to declarations of love too!!", was what started to go through my head. I had just turned toward Garrett so our foreheads were touching, and because of my sudden exclamation in my head, I sat there awkwardly not saying anything for a second. My mind went blank! So to fill some time I just kissed him a couple times (Kissing is a great time-filler while you try to decide what to say to someone!) I don't really remember thinking this next part through but it kind of just came out. And with a lot more courage than I had expected, "Guess what, I have a secret", I said quietly. He asked me what it was. I noticed that 'something' that I thought had changed about him earlier that day. I could tell he was thinking about telling me something too. I answered him and told him that he could try and guess what my secret was even though, honestly, I was hurrying to find something else that I could tell him that was "a secret". Before I made up something, he told me that he had a secret too. I looked at him and asked him if I could know what his secret was. And in the best Donald Duck voice I've ever heard, he said "I love you. I love you very, very much!" Alright, to me, that is probably the best way that someone could have told me that they loved me! I had been pretty nervous/anxious, somehow knowing what he was going to say, so laughing helped me feel a lot better. I was extremely happy, but I couldn't get over the fact that Garrett had told me he loved in his Donald Duck voice! I asked him if he really meant it, (something that I just think girls do, It was an automatic question), and in his real, soft voice, he told me that yes, he did love me. He told me that it was different than what I was probably thinking, though. He loved me, yes, but it wasn't a complete love. He was learning to love me each day still. I was totally fine with that. I could finally respond and tell him that I loved him too!! I was also learning to love him more as we got to know each other better and spent more time together. 

It was the best feeling that night, after we kissed and said goodbye, that I could say, "I love you". That night and for most nights after that, Garrett would tell me/text me in Norwegian  "Good night my sweet girl, I love you." I felt as complete as I ever had after we told each other that we loved each other. Whenever Garrett tells me that he loves me now, I still feel it down to my toes. The best moments are those when, out of the blue and spontaneously, he'll just look at me/pull me in for a hug and tell me that he loves me. I live for those moments! 

We were committed to spending time with each other and seeing where things could go. I still didn't think that I was going to get engaged or married anytime soon though the thought had occurred multiple times in my head. Even though the signs were all there, like big orange, blinking road construction signs, I still didn't think it was going to happen. I couldn't comprehend anything coming up though, that would make me want to break up with Garrett. So... I just decided to keep riding the wave! The next part of that wave for Garrett to meet my parents in person. 

Then after that, I needed to invite him to come stay with my family in Bountiful for Thanksgiving..... ;)

The First Kiss

5. The First Kiss

After a few weeks of hanging out a little more, holding hands in chemistry class and me getting more and more ready for Garrett to kiss me, he invited me to go bowling with him on a Wednesday night. I have to mention that I hadn't waited so long for a guy to kiss me before. Meaning when I actually became knowledgeable of a boy's "likeness" for me, I usually reciprocated it and we kissed soon thereafter. It was what usually happens in high school, "You like me? Well I like you too. Come 'ere sugar!" and BAM, you kissed the person. But this was different! We both knew we liked each other. a lot. ... but no kiss! (I want to give a shout out to Garrett's cousins who were also shocked that we hadn't kissed yet either. Thank you guys for looking out for me!) 

*ASIDE* - One thing that I should've mentioned in all of this is that for the first couple months of college, I was able to be on the BYU lacrosse team. Because of an injury though, I couldn't continue to play the rest of the year. It had turned out to be a blessing in disguise.  Collegiate sports require a total commitment of your time in most cases. But right when I realized I wouldn't be able to play anymore, Garrett and I started dating and hanging out. I wouldn't have had the time I needed/wanted to to spend with Garrett if I hadn't gotten injured. Right before our first date was the time that I stopped playing. 

Another crazy timing happenstance happened when, the night before Garrett first asked for my number, I officially and finally broke ties with my high school boyfriend. I was feeling unsure if that was a good idea until I saw Garrett the next day. I felt those same crazy feelings I always did around him, and then he confirmed my choice by asking for my number/asking me to hang out. The last crazy thing I'll mention that pointed the way towards Garrett's and my relationship happened when I took an afternoon to go the Provo LDS Temple. There I was able to take time out of my crazy life, that at that time was filled with lacrosse practices/training, boys that were driving me crazy, a pressing injury, and a serious question whether or not I should go on a mission. I was done trying to deal with all of it on my own. I needed to get help from my Heavenly Father; and I did. It was a very special experience for me. Instead of one answer or two, I got individual answers to each problem I was dealing with: I knew that my high school boyfriend was going to be fine but we wouldn't date again; the other boys I was talking with would work themselves out, I would heal, and, the biggest answer, I wasn't meant to go on a mission. That was a little bit of a shock. But even when the announcement was made about the mission age change for girls, I had been surprised that I didn't feel a "call to serve" feeling that many of my friends did. My answer that I got from the temple was that I was going to serve a different kind of mission. There was a different kind of experience that I was going to have that would be a mission where I would learn and grow. At that point Garrett was just the really cute kid in my chemistry class. After the trip to the temple, in my head it was almost like I physically felt the other guys paling out and Garrett was the only one left, glowing like always. Sounds a little interesting, I know! But that's the best way I can think of to explain it. So. It's safe to say that from that day on, I had this unconscious attraction/curiosity about Garrett that I needed to pursue. 

The Wednesday that we went bowling was an amazing day. After all of my classes and homework I jumped in the shower. I got all ready and thanks to my awesome roommate, Caroline, I had a great outfit. The shirt that I wore that night became known as "The Date Shirt" and was deemed a lucky charm. Garrett came to pick me up and again, and like every time thereafter, I hurried down the stairs as quickly as I could. Maybe more quickly that night because of this crazy feeling I had that something new was going to happen that night. I felt that there was a serious possibility that we were going to kiss! (There had been a night the past week where we had been studying over at his house and we took a break on the couch. We fell on the couch right into cuddling and there was a moment that I swore we were going to kiss. He even told me in a text that night that if it hadn't been for the garlic bread we had eaten and garlic-breath, he would've!! I never disliked garlic bread so much before...) Garrett opened the car door for me and we met his brother, Hansen, and sister-in-law, Angie, at the Provo-famous Miracle Bowl. Every Wednesday night they have dollar bowling, that when you're a baller-on-a-budget/college student, is a perfect activity! Garrett introduced me and I started talking with Angie and Hansen more about what they did for work or school. At first I was a little intimidated by Hansen, but when he started teasing me like my brothers do, I felt totally fine. I loved talking with Angie. She was immediately so comfortable to talk to and I felt that she was the kind of girl I would've been really good friends with in high school. 

We started one game of bowling and to my surprise, I did really well! I hadn't bowled for quite some time but felt really good that night. I'm pretty sure Garrett still beat me, which he does every time we bowl, but was happy with the fact that it was by a slim margin. Garrett and I sat next to each other and cheered each other on. It was really good to see how he interacted with his family that night. At times during the night I fantasized about double dates with his brother and his wife. They were awesome to hang out with!

After the first game of bowling, a couple that Hansen had invited joined the second game. We all sat at a table  and just talked. Garrett and I sat next to each other holding hands and being pretty lovey-dovey. The couple that had just come, after we introduced ourselves, asked us how long we had been together. "Um....." I had absolutely no idea what to say! I just looked at Garrett and, with some difficulty too, replied and told them that we had been hanging out and  on a few dates the past couple weeks. To my secret satisfaction  the other couple was surprised! They both told us that, by looking at us, they had just figured that we had been together and dating for a while. Garrett and I kept holding hands but we both felt a little bit awkward. Then the couple started to talk about how, when they had only been dating for a little bit, someone told them the same thing. His family immediately liked her and the got married 2 months after they started dating. They told us that it could happen and it felt like they were saying, "Just wait you guys. That's going to be you! We can tell." Garrett and I looked at each other and kind of laughed and I sort of thought he'd drop my hand, but he didn't. He stayed just as close and kept holding my hand. Well... I was just fine with that. 

After we were done bowling we headed over to Hansen and Angie's to play games. Hansen and I were on a team and Angie and Garrett were on a team when we played Cranium. It was really fun to play against Garrett. Its funny... sometimes I get more competitive playing board/card games than I do playing a sport! Hansen and I won and I teased Garrett about it afterwards. It was really interesting though. Almost the whole time we had been at their house playing games, when he'd look at me, Garrett had a happy/flirty look on his face. It gave me butterflies for sure. And when the game was over and we'd talked a little bit, Garrett told Hansen and Angie that we needed to head home. My butterflies escalated. He had said it like he was anxious to leave... maybe that was because he really wanted to get to bed... but that look... We got in his car and started talking pretty seriously. He told me how he had been so open with me more quickly than most people he had known. I had just thought he was an open person. What he said made me feel special. He felt like I was special in the way that he felt really comfortable being himself around me. We talked about other things and, I don't know how, but I didn't really think about kissing him very much! I was really happy and content with how we could talk and be open with each other. 

We got to my apartment building and we both got out of the car. He pulled me in for a big hug. It was an amazing hug! We stayed in an embrace and talked and swayed a little bit. In my head, off and on again, I had the thought, "Don't think about it, Katie Page! No more asking people if you can kiss them!" And i was indeed going to wait for him to make any move. If he was going to follow his rule, when he kissed me, it would mean that I really meant a lot to him. I couldn't ask for anything more than that now that I had thought about it. With other first kisses, they are sometimes out of curiosity/lust and not as much, "you mean a lot to me" feeling behind them. We pulled back a little bit so we could see each other's faces as we talked. He commented on how big my eyes were and started to make fun of how small his were. We laughed together as he tried to see if he could widen his eyes (its really funny, to this day he still can't widen his eyes!) We got quieter and after a few minutes, he told me how beautiful my eyes were. He got close to see all their colors. He pulled back and, after some time and  smooth enough to catch me by surprise, came in again and kissed me. 

It wasn't a soft kiss and it wasn't a passionate, hard kiss. It was a perfectly wonderful kiss. We pulled back and smiled at each other. Without thinking about it, I pulled him back in to kiss him again. And again. We hugged one more time and walked to his car door. Before he left, I made him kiss me one more time. My happy, giddy calm I had been in was very quickly slipping away and as soon as I got in the stair well, I jumped up and dow, whooping. I stopped when all the sudden I heard a door slam upstairs, running feet, and my roommate Alexis call out quietly, "Katie?" I laughed and ran up the stairs and we all (ALL of my roommates and I) ran into each other and jumped up and down yelling laughing. It didn't really occur to me then to ask why they were so excited for me too... I hadn't told them what  happened yet! They grabbed and we ran into our apartment and they put me on the couch to have me tell them the whole story. The best part though was when they quickly told that they had seen our kiss! They had turned off all of our apartment lights, making me think that they were all asleep when Garrett and I had been outside. They had all bunched together at our living room window that over-looked the back parking lot and had watched THE WHOLE THING! From pulling up, to the kiss(es). I love my roommates. I laughed so hard when they told me partly because they had also done something like that when I went on a different date! They were always the best listeners and encouragers. 

After everything had cooled down and I was able to come out of my happy haze and get ready for bed, I realized how much different that first kiss had felt. It was almost like how excited you get to see a flower poke up out of the ground for the first time but know that it'll continue to grow with time. I felt that I'd have many times to kiss Garrett in the future. Still to this day, whenever he's around, I want to kiss him again and again. And hey, now I have eternity to do that!! But getting to this point wasn't always easy and wasn't without it's hard times. Through it all though, we always were able to hang on to how much we loved each other. I was often surprised that despite the obstacles we had to face, Garrett held on to me when it would've been easy to let go. At some points I wouldn't have blamed him! I would've been heart-broken, but I wouldn't have blamed him. 

Pretty quickly after Garrett and started dating, I felt that I loved him. Crazy, I know! I felt like I was crazy! I had that strong feeling inside of me that I could tell him at any moment, "I love you" and it would be completely genuine and true. My logical part of my brain told me that I was crazy. I didn't know him enough to love him yet. Deep down though, I couldn't dispute the fact that I did indeed love Garrett Facer. Even though I was ready and willing to tell him that I loved him at pretty much any moment, it took Garrett a little longer to tell me the same thing... 

Mystery Science Theater

4. Mystery Science Theater

The weekend after the mini golf date, my parents came down for a football game. My roommates and I had bought All Sport Passes and my parents had also gotten them. So every weekend there was a game, my parents came to watch and hang out for a few hours. I loved it - kept the homesickness I'm sure I would've felt otherwise, at bay. I had told my mom that I found out Garrett liked the Mystery Science Theater movies as well. So after saying hi and giving hugs when they came down for the game, my mom said she had a surprise for me. She pulled out our family's favorite Mystery Science Theater movie from her purse. She told me that she had thought it would be a fun date idea to watch it with Garrett. Wow! I was so excited and pretty darn surprised!! First, I knew my parents were happy that I was dating and having fun, but also a little nervous that I was starting to hang out so much with one guy. Second, I knew my mom knew what a movie date meant in the terms of cuddling, hand holding and such. Third, my mom seemed pretty excited for me! I gave her a hug and teased my dad for his reaction: rolling his eyes and joking around about dating. We went to the game and had a really fun time. After the game when I was texting Garrett, I told him about my mom bringing me the movie. I posed the big question, did he want to watch it with me the next week?? 

In fact he did. Because we both were pretty busy during the week, we decided to watch the movie the following Saturday. I didn't know how I was going to wait all week! But thankfully because of how busy I was with school things, the days went by faster than I thought they would. Before I knew it, Saturday came around. 

I got all ready and brought out the big guns: big, curly hair. For some reason, every guy I had met loved curly. I decided it might be a good idea to try it out on Garrett. One of my best friends, Hali, had asked me to call her and FaceTime when I was all done and ready for a "fashion show". She was always my go-to girl when it came to needing date out-fit advice. She approved and we talked about everything like we usually do until I got a message from Garrett that he was outside. We said our goodbyes and I took one last check in the mirror. I remember feeling how crazy it was that I wasn't really nervous. Definitely more nervous than I had been for our first date (I think you're just usually more nervous for the second date anyways).  I hurried down stairs to again find him waiting at my door, again, looking all handsome and such, ready to open it for me and drive over to his house. 

I had learned before that he lived in his Grandparents basement in a house with four of his cousins that was actually just across the street in a cul-de-sac by my apartment complex (this proved to be VERY convenient for those late night hang outs when he was almost too tired to take me home). He and his cousins shared the downstairs and his Grandparents lived upstairs. There had been an issue in the past of letting the grand kids live in the house by themselves. So Garrett's grandparents had to move back into the house. But the grand kids were always taken care of by Grandma and Grandpa which is a huge blessing. His grandparents will keep helping everyone and anyone as long as they're here. They were kind enough to let us live in their basement after our wedding until we could move into our apartment! We love his grandparents and I love the whole family. 

Getting back on track, when we got to Garrett's house we went down stairs and I was introduced to his other cousin, Jacob who was hanging out in the living room. He was nice enough to let us use the living room and TV while he went somewhere else. We put the movie into the DVD player but it didn't work. Garrett had programmed it to play his Norwegian DVDs but it didn't want to take an American disc.We practiced some team work trying to reprogram the player. After we got it working Garrett and I went up stairs to make some popcorn. 

Grandma was in the kitchen making some food and cleaning up a little bit so I was able to meet her. (Not until  later did I learn that Grandma had met her fair share of girls her grandsons had brought home. She has a pretty keen idea which ones will stay and which ones won't stay around too long.) She asked me about myself and asked where Garrett and I had met/gotten to know each other. The popcorn machine was still going and Garrett was checking on it when I told Grandma that we had met in our Chemistry class. She quickly said something like, "Oh really? That's where Grandpa and I met; in our first year chemistry class!" I could feel my face kind of heat up and I noticed that Garrett stood a little bit more still. In my head I was thinking, "Well... That's kind of a coincidence!" I asked her if she had studied more in Chemistry but she told me that a pretty soon after she and Grandpa had met in their class, they got married. I kept thinking how funny of a coincidence that was.

We went back downstairs to start the movie. Now this is the most awkward part: where do you sit? Where do you put your hands? How do you sit?? - you want to be ready for his hand or opportunity cuddle but still be comfortable to enjoy the movie if the guy decides not to do anything at all. I sat down on one end of the couch and picked up the pillow that was there and hugged in on my lap. Well... not the best position for possible hand holding but it was comfortable! The pillow also proved to be a good thing to have been holding onto. Garrett sat down next to me but a little ways away. We started the movie and watched I'd say about 10 minutes of it before Garrett reached over and stole the pillow from me. Ok, so before this I had been semi annoyed because when I sat down, I just had this feeling that he wasn't going to try anything unless I did. Like it was going to be some kind of competition between us who could last longest or a fun test to him how long he could make me wait before I cuddled with HIM. Apparently that didn't work. He stole the pillow and I was still annoyed so I held on. If I couldn't cuddle with him then I wanted that pillow to hold onto! 

I was kind of in an awkward position right then: me holding onto the pillow which he was holding on his side furthest away from me. So pretty much my upper body was in his lap. My stubbornness told me that I didn't care as long as I was holding the pillow to take it back. But after probably a minute sitting there Garrett put one of his arms over my shoulder and with his other hand, put the pillow to the side then held my hand. We sat like that for the rest of the movie. It was the best! Eventually he rested his head on my head that was resting on his shoulder. I was very much content and I don't think I paid much attention to the rest of the movie much. After the movie was over, we talked and he suggested we go to 711 for a slurpie. I had been half expecting him to take me home right after the movie so I was really happy when he suggested 711. 

We pulled up to 711 and when we were walking inside, something made my arm swing forward and my hand tried to grab his. It wasn't exactly accurate... haha I hit more of his hip/butt than his hand and It surprised Garrett. But pretty quickly he grabbed my hand back and we went over to the slurpie machines. He says that he thought it was cute because it was like i was trying to say to everyone around, "yep, this is mine."  I was SOO happy he grabbed my hand back! I was starting to see how many things I did on instinct when I was with him. Things I don't usually do until I know someone for a while longer. But something about Garrett broke all those tendencies. 

Garrett is really good with people. He can talk to anyone anywhere with ease. When we were in line, there was a biker-looking trucker who was buying some cigarettes. Garrett got to talking with him and we had fun joking around with him. I guess we had become fast friends because he invited us to come to his truck so he could get his phone and show us a picture of his motorcycle that he had been telling us about. I was more than a little surprised when Garrett quickly said that yes, he'd love to see the picture! They guy was really nice but we didn't know him and I wasn't too sure about going to his truck. Garrett was there though and I could run fast if anything happened. 

We walked to the edge of the parking lot but for some reason I kept walking towards the big 14 wheeler. Garrett hurried and pulled me back and laughingly told me that it might not be a good idea to go all the way to the truck. I had done it unthinkingly but laughed with Garrett as we waited for the guy to come back from his truck. When he came back, first, his phone wouldn't work. That took around 5-10 minutes to fix. Then he started showing us pictures of his grand kids and telling us all about his kids and what they were up to. That took 10-15 minutes. Then he had to hurry and skip over some "sexy" pictures and finally got to the pictures of his motorcycle. Garrett asked him about it and we talked about it for a little bit. We both were ready to head out of there though. I felt bad a little, because obviously the guy was lonely and was happy to talk to us. Garrett told him that we needed to leave and "meet up with his cousins". We got in the car and started laughing at how random that whole conversation had been! Again, I thought that he was going to take me home but was very happy to notice that he drove right back to his house. 

We went back down stairs and I was able to meet another of Garrett's cousins, Mitch, who was sitting by Jacob on the couch. Garrett and I sat on the other couch and immediately cuddled and held hands (so awesome.) He was so comfortable! After a little bit I had to go to the bathroom. Later I learned that when I left, Garrett's two cousins told him that they thought I was cute and good job for hanging out with me. Hehehe, that made me feel good. When I came back we sat with each other holding hands when Grandma came down and started to talk with us. We talked for quite a bit and the whole time Garrett kept holding my hand and playing with my fingers. The whole time, I had felt a special connection with him and his Grandma; like I felt that I fit there in their home. Garrett then kept bringing me things to show me from his mission and telling me stories. It was so cute and attractive how he wanted to show me all those things and share his stories with me. By this time in the night, it was pretty late. We sat together for a little bit longer until we both felt that we needed to get to bed. 

Ok... now for the fun part: He pulled up to the curb behind my building where he always picked up and dropped me off. He got out of the car to give me a hug. It was one of those lingering hugs! I had had those before and they usually meant the guy was thinking about whether or not to kiss you/how he was going to try to kiss you. I was so excited!! I had a thought that I wanted to be cute and beat him to it though. My way of beating him in a "competition". So when we pulled back we were still holding each others hands and swinging them a little bit when I started to ask him, confidently, "So I wondering if it would be ok if I..." I didn't even finish my question before he quietly/jokingly said, "no." I thought he was saying that because he didn't want to get me sick (forgot to say that he had been feeling a little sick that day). I started to tell him that I didn't mind that at all when he jumped in and told me about "the rule". When he was in high school he made a rule for himself not to kiss a girl until she really meant something to him. So..... my first feeling was, "wow, that's a cool rule! Way to be, Garrett." The second feeling was a good dose of denial. Well. Hadn't felt it like that before! I hadn't ever asked a guy if I could kiss him before!! I was so embarrassed and couldn't quite believe that I had just done that. Geez! As I was floundering to try and act not-embarrassed, Garrett said sorry and sounded like he meant it. We hugged and I went inside my building in kind of a haze.

My roommates were ready and waiting to hear all about the date. I couldn't get over what had just happened!! They got more and more impatient to hear my story as I kept pausing and burying my face in my hands or laughing. But then I stopped my story when I got a text from Garrett. Oh man. I didn't want to read it. He apologized again for blowing me off but he told that that night had been a good start to eventually him feeling that he could kiss me. So then meaning that I could eventually, one day, mean something to him. That made me feel better! Not completely... but hey, at least there was hope!

The next weeks were fun and frustrating at the same time. I stuck to just being patient and waiting for Garrett to make the move to kiss me. I decided to just enjoy our time hanging out and the rest would come in time. And indeed it did. Indeed it did... 

The First Date - Mini Golf at Trafalga

3. The First Date - Mini Golf at Trafalga

After Chem lab one day, Garrett and I were talking and trying to do homework in the library. I was swamped that day and had quite a bit of homework but wasn't to willing to do it while I was with Garrett. I'd much rather listen to his stories and laugh with him than study photosynthesis or the hoard of other things I had to do that day for school. When we were walking to our next classes I expressed how unmotivated I was to get all my homework done that night as well as go home to clean my apartment for a cleaning check (shout out to the infamous cleaning checks on BYU campus in girl's housing). He empathized for me and we said our goodbyes. I was in Spanish class texting Garrett every so often when he asked me if I would make a deal with him. He told me that if I promised to get all my homework done by a particular time that night, he would take me mini golfing; just me and him. Well I was definitely going to take that offer!!

I had two really awesome friends with me in my Spanish 101 class. I had been telling them all about my boy-drama so far that semester with other guys but had recently been able to tell them more about Garrett. I told them about the deal Garrett made me right after I read the text. They were almost just as excited as I was! From then on, they'd ask me at the beginning of almost every class, what other exciting things were going on with Garrett and me. They couldn't wait to hear about how our date went that night - that is, if I got my homework done on time...

I told Garrett that I would meet the challenge and then let him know when I got done with everything. I am not sure that I have yet to do my homework that fast ever again! It's amazing what a person can do with the right kind of motivations! I hurried home from the library to do my part of the cleaning at my apartment. I was realized from my cleaning, I had started smelling like cleaning agent! But that was nothing a good dose of perfume and clean clothes couldn't remedy! I got all ready, with clothing advice from my wonderful roommates. Garrett met me outside again by the passenger side door to his car, ready to open it for me again. He looked really good in his skinny jeans and T-shirt. It was strange how I didn't get nervous for more than a couple moments the whole night around him, though. Something about the way he is makes me feel more brave and confident.

We talked about all kinds of things on our way to mini golfing at Trafalga. One of the moments of nervousness I had that night came when I thought about how long it had been since I had been mini golfing. Even though it had been years since it happened, I pictured the time when I fell into the fountain at Cherry Hill mini golf course. I didn't want to stink at mini golf that night! I just had a feeling that Garrett wasn't the kind of guy to ease up and let a girl win... 

True to form, as soon as I could tell Garrett was getting competitive, I started feeling my competitive side kick in. I don't think I've ever played so well at mini golf! I started out awesome and rarely missed a shot but just when I got a little cocky, Garrett started playing really well. We teased each other the whole time on each shot trying to get in each other's head. It was really fun to be with someone who could be happy/positive while at the same time being competitive. In the end... he beat me by two. I still harbor ill will about that... considering when he beats me at sports now, it's usually by a variable of 2! It was one of the best dates I had been on. One of the other things I remember is that he looked really good in black lights. His white shirt, white teeth and a little bit of his bright blonde hair glowed really bright! I also noticed how much I loved making him smile or hearing him laugh. We talked about sports and school on the way back to my dorm. It was so nice to talk with someone who really appreciated sports! We understood how each other worked in part because we both were sports people. That has been one of the funnest things in our relationship: we can play sports together and be competitive. 

I admit, I was kind of bummed that I had to go back to my dorm right after our date. But I think that was one of the only nights I got back home so early! We had a bad habit while we were dating of staying out a good time past midnight no matter the day of the week. I got out of the car and Garrett got out as well to give me a hug goodnight. I told him how much fun I had had and that we'd have to do that kind of thing again. He agreed and we both were excited to see each other the next in chemistry class. I went inside very happy with my first real date with Garrett Facer. I had a feeling that maybe I should be the one next to offer a date idea. We had talked about both loving the movies/shows by Mystery Science Theater. I had told him about my favorite movie and he said he hadn't seen that particular one. The next day I decided that the next date I wanted to have with Garrett would be a movie date. And you know what usually happens during movie dates.... you eat a lot of popcorn;) 

Crayon Art

2. Crayon Art

The exact date of the next time Garrett and I hung out is a little fuzzy now that I'm thinking about it. But I'm pretty sure that it was either a week or two later that Garrett asked me to hang out with him and his cousin, Martin again. After a Friday night football game with my parents and roommates, I went to the store with my parents to get some groceries to take back to my apartment. I got a text from Garrett while we were walking out of the store, "What are you doing tonight?" I looked at my parents, and don't get me wrong, I actually really love hanging out with my parents! But I was pretty happy when they said goodbye sooner than I had thought so they could get home while it wasn't too dark. I told Garrett that I was free for the night and he very quickly told me that he and his cousin were coming to pick me up. I hurried fast to get ready! Well... I guess I had enough time to change my outfit quite a few times and to gush with my roommates as well. This pattern: me hurrying to find the cutest outfit I could and taking longer than I think; Garrett waiting for me outside, is still existent in our relationship to this day. At least now he can come and personally hurry me up in our room or in front of the mirror!

When I was finally ready I hurried as quickly as I could down the three flights of stairs to the side door to my dorm. I saw him by his car and man, I was reminded again of how attractive he was. And impressed with the fact that he opened the door for me. Wow!! How was this guy interested in hanging out with a little freshman like me? I didn't know, but didn't spend any more time thinking about it. I got in the car and despite feeling a little awkward having it just be me, Garrett and his cousin with out any of my roommates to accompany me, I decided to think of how it was when I'd hang out with my brother's and their friends. I started to feeling more comfortable talking and joking with the guys.

We got to Martin's friends apartment where we were going to do a really fun art activity: crayon art. It was something that I had always wanted to do! I was really happy that we were going to do an organized activity instead of just hanging out! Garrett and I sat next to each other and bounced ideas off one another of what we wanted to do with our crayon designs. I (being the perfectionist that I am) started to make a semi-elaborate design. Inside, I was secretly hoping my "mad" art skills would impress Garrett. I was surprised to see Garrett being just as particular and precise as I was. He was very into the project and I was the one to be impressed with his art skills! I also started to notice that he is his own tough critic. He made a cool picture but downplayed it. He also didn't hesitate to throw the picture away a few weeks ago when he found it again! 

I gotta say, I was impressed with my picture in the end. Garrett had started talking with Martin and one of his missionary friends who was there and I was at a loss of what to say to get in the conversation. I also didn't know what else to say but silly small talk things with Garrett sitting right by me. To hide my awkwardness/frustration at myself, I just went to town on my picture. Garrett was really complimentary when one of the girls we were with pointed out how she liked my picture. I also saw a little bit of his competitiveness when he saw that I was good at art too. 

We stayed a little longer to help the girls', whose apartment we were at, clean up all the mess. I was again very impressed with how Garrett, without appearing to even think about it, started to clean a lot of the mess. 

We said good bye and Martin said good bye to his mission buddies (sorry, I forgot to say that those were the people we had been with - Garrett and I didn't know any of them which made it kind of funny.) The boys dropped me off at my dorm but not without Garrett getting out of the car to give me a hug. I was giddy! As I'm writing all of these things I can almost feel the way I did when all of these things happened. To put it simply, whenever Garrett hugged me, it made me feel like I had wings and out of reality. I was starting to have this growing urge to kiss him whenever he came close to me.... I needed to control that before it got me in trouble!

We said goodnight and when I got inside, as I was getting ready for bed, we were texting each other. After talking about the night a little bit, he told me that he had thought I had looked really beautiful. Oh man, I was ecstatic! I was beginning to feel that when Garrett Facer gave me a compliment, it was very genuine and honest. Still now, when he compliments me, it means the world. I know that in his eyes I am the great things he tells me that I am. I'm working on feeling like I deserve the compliments, but they do make me feel very special and loved. 

I wasn't sure if Garrett was going to ask me out on an actual/legit date where it would be just me and him. I felt confident deep inside that he liked me more than on a just friend basis. Maybe a little bit more confident from the fact that he had told me that he thought I looked beautiful the night of the crayon art. But time would tell! A short time later I did get asked out by Garrett Matthew Facer. The way he asked me, and the way our first date came about, was pretty awesome too. 

Courting Garrett Matthew Facer - The Bonfire

Well... While at work typing up an old LDS youth transcript, my mind is left to wander. For the past few days the thoughts that have most occupied me are those reminding me that I have yet to write anything about my wedding! I try hard to think through the wedding week, and I can't believe the things I've almost forgotten! The thought came to me that as soon as I got home, I would whip out my journal and start writing it all down.  Unfortunately I like writing and expounding too much (as you'll probably see) about every little thing! I feared that if I were to write all of it down I'd fill up my whole journal!  So I've decided to take the leap and make a blog. Alrighty! Here I go. About to start blogging!! 

First Things First: Courting Garrett Matthew Facer

1. The bonfire

I came to BYU ready to have a fresh start, meet new people and reinvent myself. I had just broken up with my high school boyfriend. We were going to different schools and decided that instead of trying to do a long distance relationship (Logan to Provo), we'd break up and see where things were when summer came. I knew I still had feelings for my Ex, but I decided I wanted to challenge myself to be more brave and talk with different guys and try to take the leap.... flirt. In high school I didn't go out of my way to flirt very often. I thought I was bad at it and I felt weird trying to be like the other girls I knew who just didn't sound like themselves when they flirted. I realized though, I could still be myself and talk to a guy to show him that I was interested without changing how I acted. So, I put on my big girl pants, and decided to go out of my way to talk to the kind of guys in high school, I would've been way too nervous to talk to. Garrett Matthew Facer was just that kind of guy.

My biology professor decided to let us out early from class and I went straight to chemistry to get a good seat. The big auditorium classroom filled up quickly and unless you got there fast, you had to climb over people and very full backpacks - NOT FUN!! (Its my biggest pet-peeve :p) when I got to class I saw I had almost the whole room of seats to choose from. I wanted to sit close to the front, so I looked toward the seats I wanted and saw a very, very cute guy sitting in the row. I hadn't noticed him before, and even though the semester had just started, I would've noticed his very bright blonde hair! He almost glowed under the bright lights of the class! I thought again about the deal I made with myself about being more brave, and went to sit next to him. What did I have to lose? In my head I said to myself, "Ok. Game time!" The first thing I noticed was his smile. Oh man, I thought he was cute! We did the usual college introductions: What's your name? Where are you from? What are you studying/what is your major? Where do you live? After talking a little through class I still thought he was cute. I also noticed that he thought he was pretty cute too... He was confident! Because our class was so big, I didn't think there was a good chance I'd talk with him again. I logged the experience in my head as a nice start to my new college experience! I had also found out the day before that he had served a mission in Norway, which was very impressive! And... a little scary! I had talked to a return missionary... I had been warned about those guys.

The next day in the lab class I saw him sitting there in a blue shirt that made him look very, very handsome. I was surprised to see him again! I was nervous that if we talked, I wouldn't be as brave as I was the day before.  But from then on we walked and talked together from that class to the library to do homework/study together. For the first few days, I was confused as to what I should do. Should I keep talking to this guy?? He's a return missionary and probably looking for a wife and ready with a ring at any moment! As we kept talking I saw more and more that he was very down to earth, fun to talk to and that we had a lot in common. I decided that I'd take my chances with him; he didn't seem like he was looking to get married anytime soon!

 One day in October after studying, we were walking out of the library to go to our next classes when he asked me what I was doing that night. He then asked me for my number and if I'd like to come to a bonfire that his ward usually did on that week night. I was SOOO excited!! I remember thinking how surreal it was! "This guy actually wants to hang out with me! Outside of school! He likes me!!" My roommates were also very giddy when I told them the whole story. I asked them to come with me to be my wing girls that night. Two of them came with me and stuck with me as we were flirted with by the other guys in Garrett's ward. Some of them were very charming and complimentary...  But didn't leave me a lot of time to talk with Garrett. I was getting pretty annoyed not being able to talk to him and was still mad that we didn't get to sit by each other. Some of the other guys had us move our seats out of the bonfire smoke but away from Garrett and his cousin Martin! I was very glad when he and Martin came over and asked us if we wanted to leave. They  took us with them to 7/11 to get slurpies. After us three girls realized that none of us had brought any money,  Garrett wouldn't let us leave with out getting a slurpie. The boys dropped us off and we headed inside as fast as we could. As soon as we got in our apartment we burst!! We gushed about how cute he was and how cute his cousin was! We stayed up late that night picking out the perfect outfit for me to wear the next day to get Garrett's attention in class. Hahaha, the first of many late nights with my awesome roommates.