How We Met

My friend Jamie had a great idea for everyone to post stories of how they met their spouse. She plans to link them all up on her blog and I've enjoyed reading a stories from other friends so far. So, I decided to add my own. WARNING: this story is really long. I put in a lot of the detail as I remember it because I realized I have never written it down before.

In April 2003 I graduated from BYU and moved home to Vegas. While I loved my college years, I was glad to leave Provo and be back in a "normal" city. I found myself at the local singles ward, hanging out with the same old crowd that was finally starting to thin out. I had big plans for myself involving horses (show jumpers) and law school. However, I was off to a slow start seeing as how I had no summer job to occupy my time. I decided it would be worth my time to find new friends and do new things. I decided to go for all the activities, parties, dates, etc. that I was invited to so I could meet new people.

Well, I had one friend in particular who I had known all the way back from sixth grade. He was, to say the least, in his own category. He invited me to go to the lake with some friends and I really had to struggle to say yes to this one...I kept reminding myself that other people would be there too and that I loved going to the lake. I agreed.

We drove out to Lake Mead early in the morning to meet up with everyone else. That's when I met Josh. It was Josh's boat we were taking out and he was friends with my special friend too. (Ok, I'm being somewhat harsh. He is still a good friend to Josh and I.) So basically the first time we met we were in swimsuits so we can talk about that first. I thought Josh had a pretty good body. He was thin and nicely cut. He was very athletic and, of course, had a boat. I think a little bit of interest was definitely peaked. I've asked Josh what he thought about me when he met me, but of course he just says he doesn't really remember but thought I was cute. I think he secretly thought I was totally hot but is too cool to say.

Several people had bailed out on the lake trip last minute, so there were just 5 of us total. It was pretty fun and I got to show off my sweet wakeboarding skills. (I could stay in the wake and go straight for a long time.) There was one other girl with us who was a friend of Josh's from highschool and I could tell that she liked him. Josh claims that it isn't true, but girls can tell when other girls are into someone. Josh played the part of "I have friends that are girls and I take them on dates, but I can't decide who I like the most and want to be my girlfriend." I think I was intrigued and wanted a chance because I could make him pick me.

Moving on, Josh and I were in different singles wards so we didn't really see each other after that. I had a friend that was new to Vegas and didn't know many people so I went with him to his ward. It was Josh's ward and I saw him again that day. Josh and a friend came up to me after sacrament meeting and said they tried to call me to go to the lake with them again but they didn't have the last digit to my phone number. Ummm, that's kind of strange but I bought it and gave them my number again.

I had mentioned to Josh that I was training my aunt's horse for the summer and he told me he liked riding. We ended up going out to ride the horse and had a lot of fun. I'm sure I impressed him with my horse-riding abilities, but once again Josh claims not to remember what he thought about it/me. I was sure at this point that Josh was interested, but he was very hard to read so I wasn't quite sure what to think.

Josh later had a party at his house that I wanted to go to because I was still interested in Josh and trying to decide if he was worth pursuing or not. I dragged my friend Lindsey P with me to his house where I later thought I might not have a chance with this guy after all. He was in the hot tub with about 5 other girls. They were all his "friends." Right.

After one other meeting to play tennis at Angel Park, I started to think he might be interested in me after all. By the time we were done playing tennis the sprinklers were on and we ran around playing in them. I know, that sounds really dumb. But Josh was finally being flirty with me so I liked the attention.

Josh called me up for another lake trip in August. At this time we were both a little interested, but I knew he was going out with other girls too so I wasn't very confident if he liked me or not. That ended up being the dreadful day where I sat on the boat watching Josh show off on the water skiis. He took a huge jump and caught the edge of one ski when he landed. His leg flew out to the side and he was down. Josh dislocated his hip. It was hard watching him yell in pain as they pulled him onto the boat and held his leg up in a twisted position while we slowly headed back for the dock. The ambulance was waiting, and off went Josh to St. Rose Hospital. After loading up the boat we all headed down to the hospital to see how he was. We were in the waiting room with his mom when we heard that he hadn't broken any bones and that his hip was finally set while his dad held him down and another doctor pushed it back in. Poor Josh!

I was so distraught because I felt so bad for poor little Josh. Well, as it turns out Josh had a date lined up for that night and didn't want to cancel it, so he went out anyway with his brother as the chauffer and Josh in a giant soft leg cast. I didn't know about it at the time. I made Josh cookies and took them over the next day to see how he was. If you know Josh, you know he doesn't like to sit still. He had to quit his job at the golf course and got really bored. I wasn't working at the time either, so we ended up hanging out every day. He couldn't drive so I always had to pick him up or his brother would drop him off. All we did was hang out at each other's houses since it was such a hassle for Josh to go anywhere. Soon flirting turned physical and yes, we finally held hands. One night when cuddling Josh told me I was probably wondering why he hadn't kissed me yet. He informed me that he wasn't going to kiss me because in a couple weeks he was going back to school and he didn't want to kiss anyone unless it was going to be serious. I was a little crushed but knew he was right. We didn't have time to get serious.

A few nights later we were on Josh's trampoline star-gazing. Josh was unusually quiet so I thought he was going to tell me we shouldn't hang out anymore since he was going back to school. Instead he told me he wanted to kiss me but was scared. I guess I was just too irresistable folks! That was our first kiss. About a week later I drove Josh up to Provo for fall semester. During the car ride I waited for him to bring up our situation and tell me that it would be over. Instead, he told me he wanted to be exclusive and try a long-distance relationship. I was shocked , but excited. We took turns visiting each other on the weekends and were engaged a few weeks later, married on November 22, 2003.


This picture is from a BBQ the weekend I drove Josh back up to school. He was still on crutches but didn't want them in the picture.




This is my favorite picture from our wedding. I loved the photography style.


I can't believe we're getting close to 4 years!!! I still feel like I'm 22 and got married yesterday.

Splashing Around

To beat the summer heat we've been spending a lot of time in the pool. This is a clip of Josh singing the "motorboat" song that Macie loves. I think Macie was a little too dizzy to wave to me at the end. And yes, Josh ALWAYS wears those goggles.

The Best Kind of Work

I am very excited to announce that I've added a new format to my repertoire: kickboxing! I think most people who read my blog know that I'm a part-time group fitness instructor with 24 Hour Fitness. I've been working there for 2 years now and absolutely love it. I really wanted to add an additional certification to my credentials, so I became certified through Turbo Kick. Not only is to a killer workout, but so much fun too. Try it and I know you'll be hooked! For you local 24 members who want to give it a try, don't be shy. I want to see you in my classes!

And We're Off!

So let's face it, I've been really bad about blogging lately. But I'll be honest, I have no time. When I'm in town I spend my time getting ready to go out of town again, worrying about my mom, and worrying about having enough time to do everything else I need to. Not to mention Josh and I were asked to speak in sacrament meeting this last Sunday, which actually wasn't that bad because time went by so fast it was over before I knew it. I'm also planning my sister's baby shower next month which will be a lot of fun, and yes, there are gracious people helping me out. Also my younger siblings will be coming to stay with us next week for the summer since they're out of school and my dad is always traveling back and forth to Salt Lake. I was stressing about them too, so I found it easier for my dad to just send them my way. I already know that I am a high stress person, so I'm really trying to take deep breaths and slow down lately. I really don't want Macie to pick up on my anxiety. She is such a good little girl, I don't want to screw her up!

So tomorrow Macie and I are heading back up to SLC, which I am really excited about, to visit my mom. She has been going through some tough times these past few days and has had to be put on pain medication that is just stronger than morphine for the sores that have developed in her throat. It sounds extremely painful, not to mention the other side effects she's dealing with. Luckily the doctors say that she'll be out of the worst parts in the next few days. It's so hard to see my mom going through all of this. She is such a strong woman and a great fighter. She continues to keep the doctors pleased with her progress through all of this which is amazing. All we can do is take things one day at a time.

This is just a cute picture of Macie because, well, I think she is so darn cute.

BEEP BEEP!

Macie is really into noses and belly buttons right now. She likes to pinch noses and poke bellies. We thought it was cute to make a funny sound everytime she did it, so now she does it to everyone to see what they will do. And yes, she tries to do it to strangers (like the poor lady sitting next to us on the airplane) as well. Here Josh was trying to take a nap and she just wouldn't leave him alone.

Transplant Update

Macie and I got home from our trip to Salt Lake and it really did a number on us. Lack of sleep plus stress got me a cold. Macie picked up the runny nose too. It has taken several nights, but Macie is finally getting back on her old schedule. The problem with being sick is I can't go back to visit my mom until I get better. Her immune system was completely wiped out so she can't be exposed to anything. Even completely healthy people have to wash their hands outside her room and then put on hand sanitizer before going in. Thankfully, everything seems to be going well so far and the doctors are pleased with her progress. They actually said they are optimistic, which was a first, and really lifted our spirits. The transplant took place on the 31st, but we really won't know anything for about another week. It takes that long for the stem cells to get into the bone marrow and then we can see if they start producing on their own and what kinds of effects it will have on the body. Right now she is dealing with the after-effects of the chemo, but she handles it well and is very positive. She is really a great example to me! It is such a stressful time just waiting and waiting. It seems like we have been waiting for a year and a half for her to get better, so we're praying that this will be the cure of it all.

Macie actually did fantastic when we were at the hospital. We went everyday and she was way better than I expected. Of course she was busy, but she didn't get into things she shouldn't and she was very entertaining for my mom. Macie likes to sing songs (more like do the actions), dance, read books, and go on walks. She waved and blew kisses to all of the nurses and other people in the hallways. She definitely had her moments, and it was hard staying on track with her naps, but overall she was very good. She even learned how to jump while we were at the hospital. My dad found an empty wing on the floor and let her run around and laugh and play. He taught her how to jump and it's really cute. She squats down then pops up on her toes, sometimes one foot completely coming off the ground. She thinks she's jumping, and gets really excited about it. I'll have to post a video; it's just too cute!