Today is Thursday.

I love today.

Best. Day. Ever.

So glad this happened...

My wife = my best friend!

Although Lindsey is my wife, she is actually much more than that. Perhaps you are wondering how she could be any more than a wife to me, because that in itself is a huge undertaking, so let me tell you why. Lindsey fulfills every role possible in my life to me, not because I am incapable or incompetent (although, when compared to her in some things, that isn't far form the truth), but because she loves me endlessly. She is my editor, my cook, my smile, my warmth, my laugh, my postman, my health consultant, my email adviser, my calendar, my reminder, my high-five, my crush, my lobster, my radio (she knows every song ever written by heart, if you want to see something amazing ask her to act the entire Music Man play out and she can do it, from beginning to end!), my Valentine's candy heart, my Easter Bunny and the list goes on. She satiates my intellectual needs, my curious questions, my profound ponderings and completes my thoughts. She would argue me on these points, but what I am saying is absolutely the truth. She would do anything for me anytime, anywhere. She would even follow me all over the world in chase of my dreams. Most of all, she is my best friend. I can't imagine my life without her, and to be honest, I am not sure how I even managed without her. Lindsey, you deserve a standing ovation from the world in my eyes! Thank you for being my best friend! Thank you for your endless love! I love you!!

Chin Chin and Muck Muck

Our V Day weekend was fantastic.

How could it not be when it started out on Saturday with a little of this from my sister.

This is what sisters are for. For those of you who don't get along with your sisters and don't understand what sisters are for, I'll help you... this is it. This is what they're for. I'm so happy I have one who can appreciate these things and feels the need to call me THE INSTANT she discovers something truly this fantastic. "Two tickets to that thing you love... I'm on a horse."

Friday was an ordinary day with work and studying. Saturday started out pretty ordinary too with a lot of studying, laundry, grocery shopping, and getting everything clean so we could enjoy the weekend (I'm a Saturday morning cleaner). As the evening got closer, we started getting ready to go out for sushi and to the symphony (thanks to my wonderful parents who gave us the tickets). Scott was in heaven because he loves sushi. I was in heaven because I love Dvorchak. We had a great time.

After the symphony, we went home and celebrated Valentines Day the best way ever... by being together! Things have been so crazy lately that neither of us can remember the last time we were able to really spend time together. We're always together, you know, but we haven't been able to sit together and really spend time together lately without reading or studying or making lists. Scotty and I had a $20 limit for our gifts this year. I got Scott a harmonica, along with a book on how to play it and a capo for his guitar. I love hearing the lonesome sound of the harmonica in our apartment. It's so fun to watch him start putting songs together. It'll also be fun to take the harmonica on river trips and hikes and stuff. I'm so grateful Scott is so musical! Scott got me a couple beautiful rings and a bunch of songs on itunes from my favorite singer. And the romantic part of the evening was dancing to a Devendra song called "Chin Chin and Muck Muck (I do not endorse the lyrics, just the tune... as usually is the case with Devendra. The guy's a creep)." Man, I love this kid more and more every day. We spent the evening playing a bunch of our favorite songs on violin and guitar with martinelli's, chocolate covered strawberries, and delicious popcorn Hannay stove-top style.

Sunday morning was consisted of a delicious breakfast of oven-french toast... that was so sweet that we both could barely handle it! Neither of us sugar people, and this was a little much. After church we spent the evening at my parents' house celebrating Nick's birthday and Valentines Day. My parents were so nice sending us home with flowers, chocolates, and of course delicious leftovers. They take good care of us. It was so fun to watch some of the Olympics too. What could be a more romantic V Day than mocking the outfits of male figure skaters?

Thanks to the fancy counter at the bottom of our blog, I found out that Scott and I have been married one year... one month... one week... and one day! Wow. What's that anniversary? Copper? Should I give Scott a penny?

Four!

I guess V Day weekend means engagements! Congrats to my four fabulous friends and their new fiances!

Sarajane and Richie! He took her skydiving to propose! Both these friends went to East (Soj and I are ward buddies). They've been together for a long time! I can't wait for their wedding!


Natalie and Josh! I've haven't met Josh yet, but Stucki is THE COOLEST person! A river guide friend from day one. I can't wait for their wedding either!


Heidi and John. Heidi was one of my favorite hall-mates from freshman year. I haven't met John, but he's a lucky guy. Heidi will keep him laughing all the time.


Cameron and Suzanne! I don't know Suzanne, and I haven't actually seen Cameron in about a year (high school friend), but I've always thought the world of him. Suzanne's a lucky girl and I'm excited for them!


Congrats to all the February Engagements! I love seeing my friends so happy!

In other news, Scotty and I had a wonderful V Day ourselves. I'll have to catch up on all that a bit later. Time to head to work!

Thinking about Vee hee Day hay.

I associate every holiday with Charlie Brown and Snoopy. The Great Pumpkin... the Christmas Story.... Happiness is finding a pencil.

You know, Scott was Charlie Brown in "You're a Good Many Charlie Brown" as a kid.

On to my announcement.

I've had unusually good luck with V-day. Consider:

Last year, V-day 2009, Scott and I had a romantic V-day complete with Slumdog Millionaire and Cinegrill... with my parents. :) He he he...

V-day 2008 An old boyfriend and I broke up about a week before. My roommate Janelle had also broken up with her boyfriend a week before. We had one of those classic girl V-day evenings with all our friends... PF Changs and the episode of Friends where Rachel, Pheobe, and Monica have a boyfriend bonfire for their V-day celebration and end up spending the night with the cute firefighters (The one with the Candy Hearts).

I was thrilled when Lindsey, one of my greatest friends, came home to my apartment that night after getting engaged! I knew from her boyfriend that it was coming, and I tried to prepare for her with my camera, fondue, and martinellis in fancy glasses. She came in the door looking engaged and gorgeous, and I was there in my sweats and my black spider fleece with pancake batter caked onto the front (I think it still is, two years later)... a excellent visual contrast of our current relationship statuses.

V-Day 2007 This is a favorite. I was a little overwhelmed this semester in school guy-wise. I had come into my apartment complex and ward mid-year after a semester in London, and I was going out a few times a week. With the additional expense of six months in London, I bet if I check out the finances from that semester back, I probably broke even for the year because I didn't pay for a single meal that semester back. I was having a lot of fun getting to know people, and dating is a fun way to do that, but I wasn't interested in getting serious with anyone or finding "the one." I was just dating to date. There were a couple guys who kept persisting, even though I had told them that I wasn't going to be getting serious with anyone, which means I wasn't going to be kissing anyone, which means if they wanted to keep taking me out, I'd say yes, but I'd also be going out with other guys as well. I wanted to be upfront about that so they knew.

There was a guy named Phil who I would have dinner with every Tuesday night. It wasn't supposed to be a standard date or anything. We just had a class together on Tuesday nights, and he had about a thousand Costa Vida free meal coupons. I don't know how he had that many. So every Tuesday after class he, his buddy Johnny, and I would go to Costa Vida. Once we invited our professor and he met us there and gave us each a dollar towards our meal (which was free, so we each made a buck that night.)

So V-day fell on a Tuesday during this fine 2007 year, so in class, the week before V-day, I suggested we call our dinner off so everyone could tend to their V-day plans. None of us actually had V-day plans, so we all figured we'd have dinner together anyways. That Tuesday I showed up for class and Johnny wasn't there. Hmm... What about dinner? Oh, he's meeting us after class, says Phil. Good. I didn't want to be suckered into a V-day date with a guy I liked hanging out with, but had no interest in dating. After class we walked to Phil's apt like we always do, and his roommate Johnny's not there. He's meeting us at the restaurant. Okay (doubtful). We start driving and go straight past Costa Vida. Oh, Johnny suggested we go somewhere different since its a holiday. Okay (I see right through you, kid). We end up at some restaurant, nicer than a Costa Vida, surrounded by V-day-loving-couples on all corners. Oh, and Phil had reservations. How thorough. "For two?" the hostess confirms. Phil looks at me awkwardly, unable to pin this on Johnny anymore.

Awkward date. Awkward night. Awkward couple getting engaged at the table next to us. Awkward dinner. Tiny portions. Weird sauces. Drives me home. Nice guy. Thanks, but no thanks, Phil. I just think it would have been a more successful attempt had he just asked me out instead of tricked me into a date. That was also the end of our Costa Vida nights. In fact, I kind of put a hold on Costa Vida altogether. A year later it gave my cousin Kyle, my roommate Janelle, and me terrible food poisoning. It took a lot to let pork barbacoa back into my life.

As soon as a got home that night. There were roses waiting at the door. "To Lindsey" and some sort of V-day note that was vague, including no personal references that would indicate that it was intended for me. And we didn't know if it was intended for me, because my roommate's name was Lindsey too! We laughed about it all night. The next day I got a phone call from a very nice fellow asking if I got the flowers he left for me. He showed up later that night to bring me some cookies he baked me. He showed up just as I was hanging out with a boy who had stopped by to confirm our date for that weekend. This wasn't a V-day where I was somebody-less... there were just a few too many somebodies in the mix. For the record, most of these boys ended up being my very good friends down at school and laughed with me about it all later.

V-day 2006. A great one. Really. It was a great one. I got to spend the night with a very good friend eating Wisconsin mac-n-cheese, snowshoeing and eating chocolate fondue from a camping stove. It was just a few days before he left for his mission, and it was a perfect way to spend some time saying a real "goodbye for now." Still one of my closest friends today.

But as I went home that night, sad that I'd be sending him off so soon, I found this delightful little email note reminding me that my prospects were good, and that someone new would sweep me off my feet shortly.

Date: Mon, 13 Feb 2006 21:33:43 -0700
From: ----------------
To: binz86@hotmail.com
Subject: From Hans (You Know, Trevor's Friend)

Dear Lindsey,
I think you are a very lovely girl. The purpose of Saturday's date was to make you feel so, but I forgot to say it. My bad. I repent me that I did not do it.
Happy St. Valentine's Day,
Hans
P.S. Looking you up was a bit of a trick, so I hope this works..."

Oh, Hans Shmutz. Seriously one of most enjoyable dates of my life. And while setting me up with him on that triple date (with my good friends and hall-mates Laura and Rachel) was designed to make me the butt of some joke, I had one of the MOST ENJOYABLE dates of my life. It wasn't a joke at all. That's another story for another day.

While we didn't ever have a follow up date... I always think of him when I see the card game "BANG!" or hear the word "Stinker!" (or more specifically the phrase, "You little stinker!"). And good news, our association remains: he just found me on Facebook last week. :)

Oh my V-Day success!
I'm actually serious though. I've had serious V-day success. I've never understood the self-induced sadness that single people partake of on V-day. Sure, eat chocolate. But not because you're alone. Eat it cause you want to! I'm happy that, while I've never had that earth-shattering Rod Stewart singing "Isn't it Romatic," pearls, La Caille (I'm so unfamiliar with this restaurant I don't know how it's spelled. Is it La Calle? The street?) kind of evening on V-day, I've always been blessed to spend the day with people I love. My family and best friends from some of the greatest years of my life. I'm a lucky girl!

This V-day 2010 will be no different. It's wonderful to know that for the rest our my life, I will be spending V-day with the one person I love most in the world! What could be a better V-day gift than that? I'm so grateful for Scott. It's so nice to married to the love of my life because I never think anymore about what I'm planning on doing, just how grateful I am for who I'm doing it with. I love doing everything with Scott! And I don't plan on ever getting sick of him, either. Although I may need to by him some ear-plugs for our 2nd anniversary next year. I look forward to years and years of V-days, even with kids and casual nights. Nothing big and fancy.

We fought the urge to take advantage of Presidents Day to go climbing or some other adventure, and we're spending our V-day weekend here at home... studying! We'll have an awesome V-day together at home and then Sunday dinner with my parents, sister, brother-in-law, nephews, and niece. Happy Valentines Day!

Oh... and I'm celebrating this year with Pygme Marmosets for all! What could be better. Check out my last post if you've missed this announcement.

Hawaii

Key characters in the following story. From left to right:

Rob (a fabulous Rob, but one that is actually irrelevant to our story), Scotty, Me, Rob (the Rob of whom I speak), Kelley

Last night Scott was making his Sunday night call to his family, and he thought about giving his buddy Robbie a call to see how he was doing, having heard he had just had an interview with the fire department in SB.

Scott dials Robbie’s number…

Robbie: “Scott! Where are you?”
Scott: “I’m right outside your window, watching you.”
Robbie: “No you're not. I’m outside!”
Kelly in the background: “If you were watching us, you’d see my big rock!”
Scott: “WHAT? Your big ROCK? Robbie, did you just propose!!!”
Robbie: “Yeah! Like ten minutes ago!”

Lindsey and Scott: Common sounds of freaking out.

(conversation above may or may not be word-for-word accurate)

And then we hung up, so as to not rob them of their moment. But after checking out this blog, I see someone else robbed them of their moment before we did.

We are SO SO SO SO happy! Scott couldn’t stop talking about it until we went to bed. Looks like we’ll be headed to the LA temple or San Diego in July! Unless, of course... they want to get married in Hawaii!

One YEAR!

I know that coming back to Salt Lake has it's downs... Scott going back to work... Lindsey trying to find a job... church callings... a schedule in general. But I have to say that the week we've been back had WAY more ups than downs!!!

The entire week was seasoned with the anticipation of Kirsten's new baby! Sarajane Evans joined our family on Friday (January 8th), and she is darling! I'm so excited to have a niece! And she'll definitely learn how to hold her own against her brothers. I went up to my parents' house on Friday to watch the boys while Keek was up at the hospital. Scott was so great and joined me right at the perfect time. I was wrestling one boy who didn't want to leave the tub and another who didn't want to go to bed. In comes Scott (these boys love Scott... especially Ben). Scott was a huge help in the bedtime process. He even was alright with giving up our pre-planned night of climbing for some babysitting action. He's the best.

That night he told me that we'd be celebrating our anniversary Saturday (our actual one year was on Sunday) on the slopes! We've been dying to head up there, but we've been waiting for the perfect storm. We're still waiting for that storm... but storm or not, we had a fabulous time! It felt so good to ski! I loved being in the mountains and trying to keep up with Scott. It was also miraculously the only time I can remember skiing (besides spring skiing) where I was the perfect temperature the entire time. I was so glad Scott chose to go skiing for our anniversary because it's something we've both been dying to do for a while. It was my first time at Snowbird since I was little (I guess we did a half-day there last year)... so it was fun to revisit the runs. Scott was the one showing me around. Didn't bring the camera.... hmmph.

From the slopes we went to the hospital to see Kirst, Nick, and Sarajane! It was fun to sit and visit with them. I loved holding Sarajane and remembering how little newborns are. It's been a while since I held one (my 2 1/2 year old nephew was the last). It's so much fun to live close to my nephews and niece because I get to be there for so many special moments. I wish I had pictures... but alas.

From the hospital we went to dinner! A quick change in the car and a blindfold on my face stood between me and the mystery dinner. I had guessed about twenty-five places, but Scott is really good at keeping surprises surprises. We ended up at Market Street Grill! I love this restaurant, and I felt so special going somewhere so nice. It was also one of those nights where I was just IN LOVE with my dinner. Delicious tomato blue cheese salad, ridiculous red top sirloin, and delicious cheesy potatoes au gratin or something like that. It was amazing. The day, the food, the guy... I had the best anniversary ever! We had a wonderful anniversary, and Scott was so amazing with all the wonderful surprises and plans he had made. I'm staring at some beautiful roses right now.

Sunday morning, it felt incredible to sleep in. Really sleep in... till nine! Even in Santa Barbara we were only sleeping in till seven! I am a pretty happy girl. It's tough to celebrate an anniversary to the fullest on a Sunday. We had meetings, church, lessons to prepare, and a huge list of things to do. But we had a nice night at home with Thai chicken and coconut rice (one of our favorite recipes from the Grand Canyon river trip) and time together to play board games and just talk. (My parents were so nice and brought me some cold medicine.) It was so great to let life slow down for just one evening... since this morning the madness started all over again! Tonight there has been talk of sushi with Scott's co-workers. But we are hitting Momentum tonight either way! It'll feel good to get a good climb in.

I can't believe we've been married for a year already! I am so lucky to have Scott in my life. Every day is filled with a lot of laughing, and I'm so grateful for that. I love being married to someone who doesn't just laugh at me when I'm being a dork... but joins in and is a dork right along with me!

TODAY I HAD THE THOUGHT...

(I actually have this thought often). But if I had gone out with Scott when he asked me to go climbing in 2007, we could have been together for almost three years by now! To clarify, it's not that I didn't want to go out with him... it was just bad timing (I unfortunately wasn't single)! We both could have cut back on some unneeded dating relationships... he could have been a river guide WITH me... we could have graduated together. As Scott pointed out today, we both love the way it happened... I love that it took the Rogue River to finally get us together (what a BEAUTIFUL place to fall in love) after wanting to date for so long. But sometimes I wish I hadn't wasted all that time.

Scott and I have so much fun together. We are a lot alike, and we are truly one of those couples that just love being each other's best friend. I have been known to have a lot of "best friends" throughout my life. Friendship is important to me, and I have been blessed to have some amazing friends that I love spending time with today. Scott jumped to the top of my list pretty quick.

There were so many little things that I first noticed about Scott that impressed me... going clear back to before we were dating when we lived next to each other on Condo Row. My first memory of Scott (I didn't realize I was feeling reminiscent!) was before I even met him (that's right I had HEARD about him before I met him in person. The fall semester of 2006 was the semester I'd be going to London, and several of my closest friends moved into a building on Condo Row. Before leaving for London, I was visiting these friends, and thumbing through their directory of everyone who lived in their building and the building next door, I saw Scott. I thought he was cute; but I was told that everyone had a crush on Scott Hannay. Of course now I can totally see why that was the case, but my dorky sophomore self thought it was pretty funny and that this guy probably thought a lot of himself. I don't know why I resorted to being judgmental. For some dumb reason, I decided in my head that I wouldn't have a crush on this guy because everyone else did. Non-conformism?? I don't know. Not that it mattered anyway... I'd probably never actually meet the guy. I went off to London after that and had a lovely London time.

While in London, I got an email from a friend telling me that a friend of mine was dating Scott, so I immediately reversed my petty little judgment and decided that he was probably an awesome guy because I respected his girlfriend so much. I didn't think anything of it after that until I came back from London just in time for winter semester 2007. Scott was still dating my friend, and I met him through her shortly after I had moved back. From that semester until I left BYU, I basically moved in and out of Scott's ward boundaries every semester, but if I didn't have a bed at Condo Row, I'd sleep on the couch. I spent most of my time in that area. I met Scott on Condo Row when he pulled up in his truck and I was attempting to long board on the sidewalk. I thought he was nice and cute (but unavailable) and again, didn't think much of it after that.

I started seeing Scott around campus, and we were now acquaintances who could say hi to each other when we bumped into each other in the terrace, the quad, or the LRC. We were both LRC studiers, and I saw him there nearly every day at the same time each day (I later found out that after Scott and my friend broke up, Scott would sometimes take advantage of my predictable schedule and fabricate some of these accidental meetings). We always noticed each other, we always were excited to see each other, and we always enjoyed talking when we could. I remember walking home from campus one day when we started walking together. I was on a literary overload and for some reason decided that discussing "The Book of Disquiet" with the poor guy who didn't even know me very well would be a good course of action. What's even stranger is that he liked that. Our conversation impressed me, and I really started having a lot of respect for Scott, even if it was from a distance. We didn't hang out, though we had so many mutual friends, but I had a high opinion of him. I knew he enjoyed the outdoors like I did, and always thought he'd be a lot of fun to hang out with.

Lucky for me, Scott felt the same way. When he was in between girlfriends he would say to his friends that he was looking to date a girl like Lindsey Petersen (isn't that cute!). It's pretty lame that we lived next door to each other for a year by this time, and we hadn't ever gone out. Why? Because Scott and I were NEVER single at the same time. In the Fall of 07, Scott came to the Law School where I worked, walked right up to my desk, told me he'd like to get into climbing, and asked me to go climbing with him that next week. I wasn't exactly single... I was kind of getting into a relationship, and we were just past the point where I could say to the guy that I had a date with someone else. Had he asked me one week earlier though, and... (herein lies that psychological anguish... the "if only" feeling). I wasn't very upfront with Scott. I didn't feel comfortable saying "I'm dating someone" because I wasn't sure if that was really the right way to say it. Lindsey made a bad move, and Scott ended up thinking Lindsey was pretty flaky.

The next year consisted of Scott, me, and our terrible timing! By the time he was single, I wasn't... by the time I was single, he wasn't... I moved to Moab to be a riverguide. He talked to friends about coming to Moab to ask me out (cute huh?)... and then was surprised to hear that I had opened my mission call on the river and was leaving for my mission to Texas that Fall. Scott, in my head, was one of those guys I would have always liked to date, but I kind of missed my shot (or blew my shot!) while we were in college.

Luckily Scott's buddy invited me to join them on the Rogue River in Oregon. I admitted to Scott later that I was really excited he would be there. After a summer of river rafting romance gone bad (especially while trying hard to focus on my upcoming mission), I was excited to have a laid-back-last-time-just-for-fun-random-college-friend-trip before I left. I had a good time with everyone. I laugh at how dumb I can be, though. Remember when I was a sophomore and decided I didn't like Scott just cause everyone else did? I got the feeling when we were in Tahoe that maybe Scott wasn't interested in me any more than the other girls on the trip... so I decided I wasn't interested in him! Clearly I was, or I wouldn't have been thinking any of this. I kind of made a special effort to give Scott less attention than the other guys. I think the professional term for this is "playing hard to get" which I wasn't at all! If Scott didn't have me by the day we left Tahoe, he had me by the last day of the Rogue. Scott won me over in Tahoe at first by being interested in everything I was doing. I found a mandolin in Jim Gribble's basement and started playing around with it in a corner to see if I could play anything that sounded decent enough to justify bringing it with us on the river. Scott had brought his guitar and joined me with my mandolin, and we spent that night looking up chord charts and songs we could learn to play together. I remember thinking how easy-going he was, and he made me feel easy-going (which I sometimes am not), and I got a good feeling as I sat with him and played music. This is something we still love to do together, and we especially loved playing songs together on fiddle and guitar when we tackled the Grand together last summer. I felt like Scott was mature and kind. He was very inclusive and just impressed me all around as I watched him with other people.

He won me over on the river because he is so adventurous. This river trip was just FUN. After a summer of being a commercial guide, I felt a little shaky on a private trip. But I loved not being the guide! I loved spending time with old friends and new friends, engaging in conversation, taking time to write and appreciate nature, and just slow down and contemplate my upcoming decisions and life. I didn't have to entertain! I didn't have to tell river guide tall tales about the legend of Castle Rock or what exactly did happen to poor old Larry who thought he skipped the gap when he really drove his car right in to the river. Even cooking was fun because it wasn't for a hundred-something people, I knew I wouldn't be doing ALL the dishes myself, and there was such a gorgeous variety of food (as opposed to 1st day... burgers; 2nd day... spaghetti; 3rd day... chili.... repeat)!

K... that was an irrelevant tangent about the joy of a private river trip. I was just so happy to be on the river and to feel like I was most myself. I was in a good place in terms of my physical health, sense of self, and spiritually, and I felt that this time on the river opened me up more to God's beauty in creation. It was one of those times in life where I had come home to myself.

Also... this post is getting to point where it's too long for me to read through after I write it. Hopefully everything I'm writing is making sense.

But this is the part where I fell in love with Scott... so I'll write about that. Anyone who knows Scott knows that he is adventurous and capable. I loved watching him tackle rolling his kayak in the rapids (I had never hard-shell kayaked... so I was impressed and a little jealous).

Since then, though, I've learned how to roll, and as soon as a Lindsey-sized kayak of decent price comes around, Scott and I will hit the kayaking hobby hard.

There were just so many fun moments that we shared that added up to create a fast and fulfilling friendship.

I loved when we picked blackberries off the side of the river. There were thousands! I got up on Scott's back to reach some of the prime spots, and we used some of the sub-par berries as war paint in anticipation of the accomplishment of our goal that day to take Nelson Trichler to the water, as he had never been pushed out of a boat he has captained. Sam, Scott, Nelson, and I fastened a torpedo raft out of two duckies. I remember rowing hard as Nelson called the shots, and I loved trying to show Scott how tough I was... in reality, I was really lucky I kept up!

And we did end up taking Nelson down... but of course he took ALL three of us down with him. So I don't know if we'll chalk that one up to a victory.

I fell for Scott more and more as I began to realize that he was always aware of me, and I could tell. If I dropped something, he picked it up before I realized it was missing. He'd get extra treats from the snack cooler and hand them to me throughout the day (Scott learned early on that my happiness depends on a steady and constant dispersal of treats, and that he should always keep treats on hand to whip out at a moments noticed. And what a smart guy! He figured that one out on his own! I didn't even have to tell him). In water fights, he'd never take me down. I appreciated that. I never could stand it when guys thought the best way to flirt with you was to smash your head into something and then pull you by your hair underwater, pushing your head down, kinking your neck, and grinding your chin into your shoulders until you could no longer breathe. Guys physically hurting me in a pool never exactly left me wanting more interaction with them. I appreciated that Scott was attentive to me, but kept his distance at the same time. I thought it was a sign of maturity. And I had been done with the immature factor in guys for quite a while.

Scott would paddle his kayak near my boat as I rowed, or near my duckie, always game for a good conversation. I had so many talks with Scott that also facilitated our fast friendship. I kept thinking, "I have wanted to be friends with this guy for so long! Why have we wasted so much time!" After hikes, long, high-energy river days, and conversational nights, I felt like Scott and I started making up for the time. The foundation for an awesome relationship was already there, and we built it up from the day we left Provo to the day Scott dropped me off in Sacramento.

The last night of the trip was the night Scott and I really sat down to talk about this friendship that had formed and how we both felt about what should come next. I remember having the distinct feeling that while I had to be cautious since everything had happened so quickly, I knew that Scott was supposed to be in my life at that time. He wasn't a distraction. I knew that we were building something that the Lord wanted us to have and develop. In the months to come as we approached the difficult choices to come, we did so as partners who knew that we were both acting on the impressions and guidance we got from our Heavenly Father. I remember thinking that there couldn't be a better way to start a relationship and a better test for us as a couple (especially if this was going to turn into a marriage).

Which it did! Six months later! And as we come up on one year of marriage, I am so grateful that I have married someone who still treats me the way he did when we were dating, who is still just as exciting to talk to as our first conversation, who is up for any adventure any time, who loves my family and appreciates them as his own, who tells me he loves me constantly throughout the day , who is aware of me constantly, who will add to my long list of things I want to do and help me check them off, and who has made my life a part of his just as much as he has opened and shared his life with me.

This ended up sounding so lovey dovey... but I do love Scott, and I've really enjoyed thinking today about how this fantastic life of ours started. We have a wonderful friendship and a wonderful life together! I seriously have so much fun with him. He handles being married to a sometimes-acts-like-she's-five-years-old spaz who (let's be honest) never stops moving her mouth (or in this case, my fingers on the keyboard). It means so much to me to know that I get to share everything in my life from this point on with Scott, as we still try to catch each other up on the the 25 years and 22 years that came before. I'd hate it if I had a ton more adventures I had to tell him about... it's so nice to know that he'll just be there having the adventure alongside me!

THIS WEEK and ELEVEN!!!

I came across this quote yesterday, and I enjoyed thinking about it throughout the day. "You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body (C.S. Lewis)."

On a different note, Scott and I are already hooked on climbing again. We missed going last night since I had to go to Young Womens.

On a different note from that... I can't wait to get up in the mountains this weekend. Depending on the snow, we'll either use one of our ski passes or we'll just play around on snowshoes or our skis. It's hard to find the time these days, but this is what winter is all about! I have heard so many people complain about how cold Utah is in the winter. And it is cold... yes... but there is a trade off. The reason to put up with zero degree Wednesdays is the Saturday ski. The reason to put up with 5 mile-per-hour freeways is the Saturday ski. The reason for keeping spare socks in your car for when you step in snowbanks trying to get in it is the Saturday ski. (The reason to waste away your Friday night doing homework at the Law Library was for the Saturday ski.) I had a lot of wonderful friends at the Y who would gripe as soon as winter rolled around but refuse to set foot on the slopes! That's what makes winter worth it!

This past week all I can think of (besides the necessary Modern Poetry) is Christmas...



climbing...







skiing...









...and how I get to share all of these things with my wonderful husband (eleven months as of today!!!) and best friend! I am such a lucky girl. I have so much fun with Scott, and I know I always will!!!

SCOTT...

...brought me a pack of skittles when he came home for lunch today! He is wonderful!!!! These little things absolutely make my day!!!!

TEXAS

Yesterday marked the one year point from when I was supposed to leave for Texas. Don't get me wrong, Scott and I don't celebrate all the many many anniversaries for every little moment.... the first time we held hands.... our first date.... our three week anniversary.... etc. But this is kind of cool to think about, and strange. One year ago from yesterday I was leaving for Texas. When I think about how much has happened since then, I can't believe it's only been a year, but then it also feels so much more recent. I just want to say again how much I love my husband. I can't believe how everything worked out exactly as it should, as it has. We are having so much fun living!


Although I am a little sad I never got to go see Lubbock's famous Buddy Holly museum. This is where we should have gone for our Honeymooon.

EIGHT MONTHS!

I've been married to this guy for eight months today! Aren't I lucky?















































Scott and I have had an amazing first eight months. I AM very lucky! I'm lucky to be married to someone who always has fifty original ideas in his head of something fun to do. I'm lucky to be married to someone who is always up for spontaneous adventures. He loves music. He loves the canyons. He loves pictures and mountains. He loves hard work and jamb-packed Saturdays. He loves to wash his car. He loves snow and he loves sun. He does EVERYTHING well. He loves to write. He wants a dog. He loves to learn. He loves to read. He eats dried seaweed (which is a little weird and really gross, but I love that about him). He makes up songs in the car. He loves to travel. And he loves me! Scott is the best at showing it. I remember giving Scott a book while we were dating and I wrote on the inside cover, "I cannot wait to be with you for it all! I can't wait to know what "it all" will be!" My life with Scott so far has been even more fun than I thought it would be, and I had very high expectations. We have so many adventures and spazzy moments ahead! He's the best, and I love him so much!