♥ My Valentine.

Last Thursday was one of my favorite holiday's of the year.  I like to call it "Love day" because that's what it is: showing the people you care about how much you love them. 

I was, of course, spoiled.  Brooks and I were too anxious to exchange gifts so we opened each others at 12:01 to some movies, flowers, chocolate, and of course, inappropriate Valentine's cards, because it wouldn't be Valentine's day without them.

Is it obvious that I'm kind of obsessed with my dog?

Brooks spoiled me a bit further the next day with chocolate covered strawberries delivered by the girls in our ward, a gift from Forever 21, dinner, and a movie.  I was definitely a happy girl.

My favorite part of the day was when we drove up to Salt Lake City with a baggie full of Valentine's and Dove Chocolates to hand out to the missionaries, including my sister Natalie! 

It was  f r e e z i n g  outside so we ran into the first building we saw on Temple Square and as luck would have it we saw Natalie standing RIGHT at the doorway talking to some people!! I had to stifle my scream and stalk her from a distance until she was finished, and then I ran and tackled her of course.  It was so fun seeing her and bringing her some valentine's!  I am really going through some sisterly withdrawals, and June 12th couldn't come sooner!

Now in honor of  l o v e  I decided to dedicate this post to our "Love Story."

(I love this quote.  I feel like this is exactly how it happened with Brooks & I.  One day I'm claiming I won't date again until I've graduated college and then BAM I meet my brother's roommate.  Life is funny I guess.)

Now, I recently saw on my friend Jamey's blog a Q&A style post on their "Love Story," and although I'm a little behind as it technically isn't "Love Week" anymore, I'm always glad to share some love, and especially remind everyone of how Brooks and I fell for each other.

So basically, what I did was ask Brooks some questions to answer, and answered the same questions on my own, to see our own version of how we fell for each other, and this is how it turned out:

Where and How Did You Meet? 

B: I met Christie at the Carriage Cove apartments in Provo.  We met because she was visiting her brother Brad, who also happened to be my roommate at the time.

C: Ditto.  I had recently graduated High School early, and was in the need of a little "getaway," so my mom suggested I visit my siblings in Provo and check out BYU campus.

Our first pictures together.

What Were You First Attracted To and Why?

B: I was sitting on the couch, minding my own business watching TV when Christie first walked in.  I instantly noticed that she was extremely pretty, but when she smiled and said "Hi" my heart literally skipped a beat.  I don't think I even said anything back, and I'm sure I looked like an idiot just staring at her.  I didn't realize she was Brad's sister at the time, so I assumed she was just a friend, and I remember thinking "Man, I really need to hang out with Brad more."

C: The first thing I was attracted to in Brooks (besides his obvious good looks) was his maturity.  He just seemed so cool and collected, not obnoxious and inappropriate like most guys I'd dated.  Also, he wasn't awkward, a major plus during the "flirting" stages.  He was fun and he paid attention to me, but was respectful and kept his distance, something I wasn't used to.  I was absolutely positive he was out of my league.

How Did You Make Your First "Move"?

B:  Well one night while Christie was visiting, we stayed up all night talking.  One thing we talked about was movies, and we ended up making lists of movies we wanted the other person to see.  The day Christie was to leave back to California, I was upset and nervous.  I didn't want to cross the line, being that I was in college and she was still 17, but I really wanted to pursue her.  I remember we were sitting on the couch and Christie said she was sad to be leaving, and she gave me this look, like she really meant it.  It was then that I decided to go for it, so I asked for her list of movies, pretending I needed to write down another one I had thought of (which I definitely hadn't, I ended up writing down a movie she had already said she loved and owned... whoops) and wrote my number down at the bottom, telling her to let me know if she watched any.  I definitely put the ball in her court, since I really wasn't sure if she wanted to go out with me or not.

 

C: I'd have to say it was the same moment Brooks mentioned.  I had literally had the best weekend of my life, and did not want it to end, but I was so intimidated by him.  I really wanted to just grab him and kiss him, but I honestly didn't even know if he liked me or not, so the best chance I had was to try and "show it."  I sat as close as possible to him on the couch, and looked him straight in the eye, saying "I really wish I didn't have to go," and didn't look away.  It was obvious, sure, but effective.

Picture from the first time my parents met him.  I was so nervous I couldn't even touch him in front of my dad.

What Was the Hardest Point in Your Relationship?

B: The hardest part was being apart.  We were in a long distance relationship for about 6 months.  She was in California and I was in Utah in school for a couple of months and Arizona at home over the summer. We were only able to visit each other a couple of times, so we had to resort to talking on the phone a few hours every day... and night. It was amazing to finally be able to date in person after such a long period of being apart.

C: I'd say the hardest part for me was my age.  I was still just 17 when I fell for him, and I had always made fun of "those girls" who got married so young, and knew I would be treated the same way.  I would cry about it to my mom, fearing I would miss out on life experiences if I got married so young, but one day I just decided to grow up, and accept it.  I knew I was supposed to marry Brooks, so I decided that instead of worrying about what others would think, I should make myself happy, and I knew I couldn't be happy without him.

One of our reunions at the airport before my Upstage tour.  I was always terrified that he'd see me again and realize he didn't like me anymore.  Haha it was a bit pathetic.

When Did You "Know?" 

B: The first time I really knew I was going to marry Christie was when I went to the temple, just 3 weeks after meeting her.  It was really hard trying to start a relationship over the phone and we were receiving a lot of opposition from Christie's family due to her young age, so I went to the temple hoping for some inspiration and direction.  In the temple I received the strongest prompting of my life NOT to give up, and that I needed her, and she needed me.  I was so shocked and overcome with the forceful answer that I began crying, and it was then that I realized I had met my wife.

C: Honestly, this may sound cheesy, but it really was love at first sight for me.  I'll never get that image out of my mind when I first walked into Brooks' apartment and made eye contact with him.  It was such a strong, immediate connection, and I literally could not stop thinking about him every day after that.  I still can't.

 

How Did You Propose/Get Proposed To?

 B: If any of you know Christie, you'll know she loves anything Disney, especially Disneyland.  When her family invited me to spend Christmas break with them in Anaheim I immediately took the opportunity to plan a proposal at the "Happiest Place on Earth."  I knew Christie wouldn't be expecting a proposal so soon, and that it would be a perfect place to start our lives together.  Now, I knew Christie loved me, and I wasn't worried about her saying yes, but was extremely anxious about how smoothly the proposal would go.  There were over 80,000 people at Disneyland Park that day, being that it was New Year's Eve, and my mother-in-law Connie had spent the entire morning bargaining with the photographer to get him to take pictures of us in front of Sleeping Beauty's castle, something he never did on New Year's Eve just before the firework show.  Luckily, her persuasion skills were successful, (a trait she has passed down to her daughter I've noticed) and we had it all set up.  The only problem was Christie.  She was very oblivious to my desire to stay near the castle and wanted to watch the parade on Main Street.  It was all I could do to not sprint toward the castle the second after the parade finished.  Luckily Connie and the family were all ready to go, and told Christie we were going to take family pictures in front of the castle, but we had to do it FAST, because they weren't going to wait.  We squeezed through crowds of people, and after taking a few quick pictures, I pulled Christie in and told her that she was the love of my life and asked her to marry me.  She screamed "What?!" and said yes and started crying.  The rest of the night was a blur, but I just remember how completely happy we were, and I couldn't stop smiling.

C: Brooks proposed to me on New Year's Eve at Disneyland!  I wasn't expecting a proposal AT ALL yet since it had only been a year of dating, but I of course said yes!! I remember my mom was acting really stressed trying to get us in front of the castle to take pictures, which isn't really out of the norm of something she would do, so I didn't think anything of it.  After the photographer had snapped a few pictures of us Brooks pulled me towards him and began telling me how much he loved me, and I remember thinking "Why are you doing this right now, they're in a hurry," but then he got down on one knee and I screamed in shock, and immediately started laughing/crying and nodded my head yes.  I couldn't believe my whole family was in on it and how natural they had all acted.  Guess I'm not as smart as I thought.

I love our love story.  I love how completely hopeless I was when I was around him, and how nervous and jittery he made me feel, an effect I'd never felt from a guy. He had me from hello.

Alright, well I guess I've had more than my fair share of virtual PDA. Love you guys, or as Brooks would say...

Xoxo.

♥ A Little Bit About Us.

Two posts in two days?  I must really not want to do my homework.  

Brooks and I have been married for close to two years now, and there are a lot of things we have learned about life, love.... and each other.  It's amazing how completely opposite we are in our personalities and how we can still enjoy each other's company and share all of the same interests/humor/values/etc. Here are a few things about us that we have learned from our blissful time together.

BROOKS:

B. Boo. Homeboy. Love. Babe. Stud. Boots. Sparky. Mister.

Whatever I call him, he's the greatest.

He's a hilarious dancer in the kitchen, a hardcore sports fan, an avid History Channel/Pawn Stars watcher (nerd), a lover of Coke Zero, a closet genius, a sneaky romantic, a creative problem-solver, a lover of Mexican food, a respectful movie buff, a spiritual comforter, a terrible liar, a loving brother/husband/son, the cutest guy I've ever met, and my very best friend.

Since marrying this charmer, I've pretty much seen all sides of him... the good, and the not so good.

Good: Brooks is incredibly smart.  He has the most amazing memory, logic, and can ace any test he's given.  Best part about it, he's humble. He will NEVER admit he's as smart as he is, despite how many times his family and I tell him.

Not So Good: He can stress.  Unlike me, Brooks is very responsible and can stress when it comes to things like school, work, and finances.  Now, Brooks has never called me a bad name, or yelled at me. Ever. Rather, when he's upset he takes it out on himself.  He takes all of his stress and worries and tries to handle it on his own and not worry me. Thankfully, living with a girl who is huge on communication, he has gotten MUCH better at sharing his concerns with me and letting me take some stress off of him.

Example of him stressing over taxes.  What a good husband.

 
Good: Brooks is the least judgmental person you'll ever meet.  For those of you who knew me a few years back... I have a past.  Not all bad, but I definitely made mistakes that I'm not proud of.  After meeting Brooks and dating for a couple of weeks, I realized how amazing he was and how I was unworthy of someone like him, and told him e v e r y t h i n g.  I legit aired all of my dirty laundry, and fully expected him to realize he should be with someone who had a cleaner record, someone like himself.  However, once I finished, he thanked me for telling him, bore an incredible testimony of the atonement, and proceeded to tell me how amazing I was.  Talk about a great guy, huh? Seriously, if anyone is looking for a good listener, shoulder to cry on, and most importantly THE most loyal friend, I've found your guy.

Not So Good: Brooks has O.C.D. about cleanliness.  Okay, so maybe this doesn't seem much like a flaw, but seriously, if I so much as leave a cup out on the counter, he can't handle it.  He folds all of his t-shirts because he doesn't like to stretch the neck out. (Not gonna lie, I died laughing at that one when he first told me.) However, I must admit, coming home on a regular basis to a newly vacuumed house with fresh laundry folded on a perfectly made bed... not too shabby.  BUT, I am trying to help him calm down a bit, because heaven help him when we have kids who are anything like I was.  

For example, me as a toddler having fun with Hershey's chocolate syrup.

Good: He's great with kids.  Seriously, I consider myself pretty good with kids, but he's a natural.  Little boys love playing with him and every little girl falls in love with him and wants to sit on his lap.  It's the cutest thing in the world and I KNOW he will be a great dad.

This is Brooks with Shawnie, a girl we babysat for the summer after getting married.  She had two sisters who adored Brooks too. 

Not So Good: Despite the fact that he is good at everything he does, Brooks lacks confidence.  He has often missed out on life opportunities due to the fear of failure.  Thankfully, he took the initiative to give me his number, which according to him, was the bravest thing he's ever done. (which is crazy, because it was quite obvious I had a huge crush on him)  Because of this fear of failure, I make sure to compliment him and build him up every day.  That's been the greatest part of marriage. Despite seeing each other's flaws, we help build each other up without judgment and without losing faith in each other.  Brooks does a much better job at this than I do, but I'm learning.  

CHRISTIE:

 (First off, you've got to admit... we're going to have cute kids.)

 A few things about me.... I'm pretty much the exact opposite of Brooks.  While he is logical and thinks everything through, I'm spontaneous and impulsive.  While he enjoys watching historical documentaries, I enjoy watching the bachelor and game shows.  While he is more reserved and keeps to himself, I'm outgoing and love meeting new people.

I'm moody, emotional, and passionate.  I laugh at myself constantly (because I'm obviously hilarious, and apparently don't have good coordination as I fall/hurt myself all the time), I cry in every movie I watch and book I read, I'm a crazy animal lover, and have the biggest testimony of the atonement and the power of forgiveness.  I'm obsessed with Chinese food, seafood, sweet potato fries and chocolate. I'm a hopeless romantic, a lover of good cinema, and will defend Taylor Swift until I die.  I'm crazy about holidays, despise snow/cold weather, and my feet are freezing ALL THE TIME.  I'm addicted to Pinterest, love jigsaw puzzles, and am a closet bookworm.  I even have a library card on my key ring.

Now, one of Brooks' rules is he will never say a bad word about me.  Ever.  He will never admit I don't look good without makeup, or that I look bloated after a sushi hangover, and as hard as I've tried he won't help me with the "negatives" on this blog.  Oh well, I'll try my best to read his mind.

Good: I'm very loving.  I constantly am hugging, kissing, and saying "I love yous" with Brooks.  I am very open with my affection (as obviously shown through my many social media outlets, which I won't apologize for) and want more than anything for Brooks to be happy.  I like to show the people I care about that I love them, and am a big "note" leaver.  I love jotting down little messages for Brooks to come home to, and leave him multiple texts/voicemails/emails each day, and Brooks appreciates that.

One of my nicknames in high school was "laptop" because I loved sitting on laps.  There are no exceptions when it comes to snuggling with this guy.

Not So Good: Now, obviously, I am a trophy wife.  I cook my husband INCREDIBLE meals including Dijiornos pizza, Honey-Nut cheerios, and occasionally, a grilled cheese with pesto on it.  Talk about fancy right? Okay, so not really, I DO try and do a good job on Sundays though. It's just difficult to come home at 9:30 pm and make a nice dinner or wake up early and prepare something in advance AND keep the house perfectly clean.  So basically, I've gained a huge respect for my mom and every other wonder woman out there.

Good:  I'm very loyal.  No matter how upset I may get with Brooks, (which despite his perfection, I do), I will never utter a bad word about him.  I will defend him until the day I die. I am in this thing forever and nothing will change that.

Not So Good: I'm very emotional.  When I see someone cry, I cry.  When I get angry, I yell and cry also.  I'm also stubborn, which isn't a good combo. I don't always think things through, and I always want to comfort people when they're sad, even if they've hurt me.  When it's that time of month, the time my family all dreads, not only does Brooks stock me up on some peanut M&Ms and gives me Sonic to cuddle with, but he also puts on a sad flick to get all my "crying" out, so I can avoid a meltdown later.  What can I say, he is a saint. 

Enough with all that though.  Despite our differences, Brooks and I surprisingly have a lot in common.  We both LOVE movies, and have become quite the movie buffs and collectors.  In fact, we are called upon quite often from friends and family to borrow a movie.  We also love to walk together.  Whether it's in the mall, taking Sonic on a walk, or just a quick trip to the mailbox, it's one of our favorite pastimes. It's a nice break from everything in our lives and we can just talk.  Another thing, we love "Pillow Talk." Despite how tired we are sometimes, Brooks and I can stay up all night talking about everything from coworkers to politics.  We have the same viewpoints on life, same sense of humor, and same beliefs.

One of our "Movie Tuesdays." We love going on Tuesday's because of the weekly discount.

We've learned a lot from marriage, but possibly the best lesson has been to be selfless.  It's hard, but when we spend more time thinking about how the other person is feeling versus always trying to "win" the argument, we appreciate each other SO much more and fall more in love with each other every day.  We really are lucky in love.

 

Anyways, I think I've put my homework off long enough, and probably gone into WAY too many details about our lives, but hopefully that doesn't turn you completely off from reading this blog.

Until next time, Xoxo.