Part 1 here
Part 2 here

Up until this point, blondes weren’t really my thing. Whenever I daydreamed up my one and only, he was always your classic case of tall, dark, and handsome. A Prince Eric type of guy, but a bit more rugged.

Alex couldn’t be more the contrary. Except the tall and handsome part, oops. How odd to be swooning over this blonde-of-all-blondes. But yet it was happening, and happening fast.  

Soon every free second was spent together. We’d study, go to the gym, play cards, lounge at the pool, go on hikes, make smoothies, and stargaze. It was turning into the best summer ever.

Believe it or not, some of these were taken with a disposable camera. I don't know why...

However, let the record show that this boy took forever to kiss me. He sure took his sweet time teasing away, and that was smart. Really smart. There were endless moments when I was positive “it” was going to happen, only to not happen at all. His arms would be around me and we’d be talking so close that our lips were practically touching. It went like this for at least a week, which is a long time when you spend practically 24/7 with each other. I loved that about him.

That first kiss finally took place in the back of his truck (so country, I know) while stargazing. Mid-conversation he unexpectedly leaned over and planted the most gentle kiss. I was in shock by it, and romantically (nawt) sat there like a limp noodle. “Did you just kiss me?” I said like a dummy. He responded with a little more:)

The best part for me was that neither of us felt the need to DTR (if you aren’t from Provo this means Define The Relationship. Also known as the most awkward encounters of your life.) For the past month and a half, we were simply having fun. Why bring in unnecessary pressure? I liked him, he liked me, and that was just fine.

Until it started to get a little hairy. Everywhere we went people would ask, and we would just laugh and sidestep the question. Coincidentally one of Alex’s friends wanted me to double with one of his buddies that weekend. My sister Ashley also had someone in mind, and she wanted to set us up before anything became official with Alex and I. Of course I had no desire to go, but what was I supposed to say? Alex wasn’t my boyfriend, and even though we spent more or less every free moment together- he could be dating other girls for all I knew.

I brought it up in the most nonchalant way possible. “So..Clay wants me to double with him this weekend. He has a friend in town.” We were driving on 100 North by Smith’s, and I kept my eyes firmly on the road. Without skipping a beat he said, “That’ll be fun! What are you guys going to do?”

I was silently furious. Seriously?? Show a LITTLE concern! Twinge of jealousy, interest, denial, anything! “Well I don’t really want to go,” I said a little later. He was quick on his feet that day, “Ok, then don’t.” The conversation ended there, and we happily went on to other topics. The inevitable would have to wait yet again. I told Clay I was sick.

My sister Hilary was getting married that summer, and right before the wedding we planned a weekend getaway to the Bahamas. Alex was driving me to the airport, and as I finished up last minute packing, my roommates were putting the pressure on big time. “Come on, Alex. What are you guys? You two are together all the time.” I heard bits and pieces of his clearly uncomfortable responses from my room, and was secretly thrilled. For the first time ever, I was ready for this to be a real relationship.

When I came out, I pretended like I hadn’t heard a thing. We hopped in the car, and he drove while I ate cantaloupe. (Side note: I love to eat it by cutting the melon in half, and carving the insides out with a spoon. No bowl or plate necessary.) It wasn’t long until Alex awkwardly began the dreaded DTR. But now, it wasn’t so dreaded.

I let him talk while I happily munched away. In the most roundabout way possible, it finally came out. “I really like you. And I’m pretty sure you like me. So we’re like... together, right?” I grinned shamelessly at him squirming in his seat, clearly not sure how to go about this. “Yeah, I’d take you for a boyfriend.” I went back to my cantaloupe, and that was it. Pretty easygoing, just like it had always been.

We took this picture right before I went into the airport, after the "DTR"

Murder Mystery

Last weekend we had a murder mystery dinner/surprise 30th birthday party for my friend RaKae. We found a plot that was a 30 year high school reunion- so it fit like a glove.

For the decorations we made a photo collage, a red velvet "bloody murder" cake, hung up photoshopped pics via yearbookyourself.com, and of course the obligatory reunion balloon arch. Thank you for the ideas pinterest! How did we ever do it before you?

I have never been to one of these before, but it seems like everyone else has and it sounded fun. Alex was the stereotypical jock, who was now coming back as a coach. I was the previous head cheerleader. Rounding up costumes in a country where Halloween isn't celebrated allows for a little more creativity, I guess you could say?

As I was teasing my hair ahead of time (which never ended up getting big), I had no idea what to expect. Well, everyone delivered! The costumes were hilarious, but seeing everyone get into character was over the top. We will definitely be doing it again! Especially with this group- having good friends make the biggest difference when you are far away from anything familiar.

 

 

Because

Because you can't have enough pictures of a (practically) naked baby in a bumbo

Or clothed. We love this thing!

Sleep beautiful sleep

I've never been one of those people who does just fine with little sleep, in fact less than 7 hours and I likely turn into a pumpkin. Maybe I'm just one of the lazy ones? But seriously, sleep has always been pathetically important to me.

Allow me to give some background. As a little girl, I was famously known for my "pee-wee fits". Never having a structured bedtime, us kids would fall asleep all over the place. And my dad had the lucky job to wake us up,  carry us to our rooms, and make sure we went to the bathroom.

Unfortunately, this would unravel the beast in a normally quiet, well-behaved little girl. I would scream, kick, and hurl things for hours- refusing to go and hating everything about the world. The next morning my voice would be raw and hoarse, only to be repeated yet again. {I'm not being dramatic one bit.} One night I ripped off all my clothes, tore out out of the house and down the street screaming my guts out. As a dad, what do you do in that moment? The odds most definitely aren't in your favor.



There was also one morning when my older sister Erica, after repeated attempts to wake me up (i.e. first gently prodding, then taking my blankets away, turning on the lights) resorted to pouring water on me. I was beyond infuriated, and yelled every swear and bad word I knew. Which for a 6 year old, wasn't very many. So I repeated them many, many times. As punishment my mouth was washed out with soap shortly after. I still cringe thinking about the chunks of soap caught in between my teeth, and the taste seemed to linger for days.



And so, I tell Alex on a regular basis, "I was born this way". We (aka me) have established time and time again that I am in no way responsible for the things I said when I was half asleep. Which are unfortunately quite cruel. (I.e. the usual "go away and never come back!!" Luckily he finds it funny.)

For good reason, this was probably what frightened me most with having a baby. Getting up in the night...multiple times? To CARE for someone, let alone an infant? A serious recipe for disaster.

Turns out, becoming a mother is magical in a lot of ways. Something kind of like 6th sense comes along with it. So far, there have been no pee-wee fits (to Liam anyway), and thank heavens no running around the apartment complex naked in an angry rage.

But yet, how I dearly, DEARLY miss sleeping more than a 4 hour stretch. Liam wakes up 2-3 times a night, which is actually a huge improvement from a month ago. However, last night was a umm.. horrible and he essentially pulled an all-nighter! Liam, I adore everything about you. But this sleep thing has got to improve.

pretty please?