Smile & Be Happy

new blog

2010-07-23T14:15:00.001-06:00

www.meganarratives.com

Beautiful Day

2009-09-12T18:10:00.010-06:00

Fall is by far my favorite season. Nothing can compare. Don't get me wrong, the other seasons have their place it's just that Fall is such a beautiful time of year. It represents crispy weather, family gatherings, and the start of a wonderful succession of favorite holidays, beginning with my birthday.

I know it's not officially Fall yet, but it is to me and here's why. Last week, I had to turn the air conditioning off in the car because I was so chilly. Yesterday, I noticed the Halloween decorations popping up in the grocery store. And on the way home, I spotted pink and red hued trees on the mountains. I can't help but get excited.

Today, Dave and I took advantage of the beautiful outdoors. We drove up the canyon to Bridal Veil Park. We skipped rocks and dipped our toes in the freezing snow melted water. We ate turkey sandwiches, carrots, and apples. Finally, with our bellies full, we laid on our sleeping bag and enjoyed doing nothing. Romantic picnics along Provo River are the best.

On the way home, we drove past my favorite fruit stand, which is now open for business. Driving home with an overflowing bag of fresh peaches definitely marks the start of Fall for me. :)

Freezer Burn

2009-08-03T23:19:00.005-06:00

I had a little accident with a can of Diet Coke. In an upscale boutique in Park City, these pictures might be considered art. Maybe I'll keep it up for a while. ;)

Romantic Graffiti

2009-08-01T00:41:00.006-06:00

Dave and I took a romantic vacation over Memorial Day Weekend. We decided somewhat last minute to pack up the "green bean" and head south to Zion's National Park. We felt so spontaneous.

It was so fun to just pack up and go on our first little road trip. As I am an experienced road tripper, I made sure we had plenty of fun snacks and treats for the road and organized our little backseat hotel. We jammed to The Carpenters and Elton John and only stopped for a bathroom break five times. We even made fresh butter in a jar on the way.

We finally got to Zion's around nine that night so we had to set up camp in the dark which was an exciting adventure. Dave got a stern talking to from a park ranger and some park wood confiscated. Because our trip was so spur of the moment, we were unable to reserve a tent campsite but we got a last minute opening in the RV section of the park. It was funny to see RVS fully equipped with hot showers, swamp coolers, and generators. We much preferred the cozy trunk of our minivan minus some seats.

The next morning, despite some warnings from some pampered RV campers and one sissy park ranger, we decided we were going to at least look at the Narrows. It was the reason we drove down. It took a 45 minute bus ride to get there. The park was beautiful in the daytime. The canyon was stunning against the dark clouds and the breeze on the bus was quite refreshing.

When we got to the Narrows, I wanted so badly to just get my feet in the water. We had come so far to see it after all. The water was freezing and the current rushed by at a scary pace. I promised Dave I would only walk around for a few feet and then come back. I really wanted to keep going so after promising Dave we'd hike for at least half an hour, he reluctantly got in.

We ended up hiking for at least a couple of miles, through rushing water up to our chests and passing groups in wet suits who looked at us like we were insane. The scenery and adventure made it well worth it though. I felt like an explorer and I couldn't believe how fun it was to hike in cold, rocky water in a pair of bad shoes.

One of my favorite parts was watching "Ranger Dave" guide group after group over a tricky ledge through the deepest portion of the river. My feet were bleeding and my legs had gone numb hours earlier but I just smiled with pride as I watched him help others cross. People were asking how many times he had hiked the tricky Narrows as it was obvious that he was an expert. "Yeah, that's my husband," I thought.

After a soaking wet one mile hike from the river bed and a forty five minute ride with a possibly slightly intoxicated group of college freshmen, we finally made it back to our little van. We spent the afternoon napping, eating foil dinners, and drinking Diet Cokes.

The next day, we set off to our second destination. The Foote Family was kind enough to let us join their family weekend at their ranch a few miles away. The ranch was beautiful. It was like a privately owned piece of the park. When we got there, we all decided to go for a hike I'm not a big outdoors person to begin with. Remember, a two mile hike in a river was an adventure to me. But, I thought, I love to walk and hiking is really just glorified walking, right? Besides, the beauty of the surroundings could make anyone crave the outdoors.

We all hopped onto the four wheelers and drove off to a little canyon. We started walking through brush and rocks. Not a good sign. Eventually we made it to a huge rock with a slippery slope. "Okay," I thought, "Too bad. The hike is over." My stomach turned as I watched everyone, one by one, hop up the rock as if there were some invisible staircase that everyone could see but me. I was highly impressed to say the least. However, I was not about to be the party pooper so, with help from Dave, I slowly made my way up and across the rock.

So, we kept hiking until we made it to an even larger rock, no boulder and I saw a rope hanging from the top. My first thought was, "How did a rope get up there?" my second, "I'm going to die here." I seriously considered turning around and running. I also considered locking my knees and fainting so someone could carry me back over the slippery rock. It took me a good fifteen minutes to make my decision.

Maybe it was my river adventure from the day before. Maybe it was the encouragement from everyone else. Perhaps I mustered courage from my stubborn pride. In any event, I decided to attempt but with tons of help from people above and below, I tearfully made my way to the top.

After a thrilling moment of sheer accomplishment, I came to the horrible realization that I must somehow get down. My heart literally sank. I wanted to get it over with. I had made it to the top, not to continue with the hike, but to say that I did it. Now, it was time to get down. So once, again with the help of others and once again, tearfully, I slowly made my way down, smashing poor Dave's pinkie against the rock.

Finally, down the rock, and done with hiking forever, Dave and I made our way back to the four wheelers. I think I could be on a four wheeler forever. I don't care for driving them but I don't really care for driving cars either. I love the feel of the wind and the beauty of the scenery sitting behind Dave.

I don't think I could trust anyone but Dave on a four wheeler. They kind of scare me to be honest. But with Dave, everything was okay. I was safe and secure and taken care of. Since its too loud to talk on a four wheeler, I spent a lot of quiet time thinking about this. It really wasn't just the four wheeler that made me feel that sense of security. I realized just how much I had taken that feeling for granted. I feel it whenever I see Dave walk into a room or hear his voice on the phone. I love it. I knew this post is a travelogue and not a tribute to Dave but I'm just recording my thoughts.

So, the last night at the ranch, I drove one of the Rhinos to a cave like sandstone tunnel that went under the highway. It was dark and scary and the sand felt cool between my toes and under my feet. The whole interior was covered in carvings. So Dave and I found some rocks and began to make our own mark on the graffiti mural.

We also found this random hole that looked like a pig nose.

The weekend was wonderful. We had such a great time at the ranch and we were so grateful that the Foote's shared their weekend fun. They were so generous and welcoming. It made our spontaneous weekend even better.

I guess I should wrap up this horrendously long post before it gets any more verbose. Unfortunately it's feast or famine when it comes to blogging for me. I'm working on achieving a more balanced approach.

Plant Babies!

2009-06-14T20:09:00.006-06:00

I've never been much of a greenthumb. I never could get into gardening, not even on tv. I am captivated by the lowest of budget cooking shows and I often even find myself glued to the tv during the carpentry shows that follow the low budget cooking shows. PBS lost me, however, when it came to the gardening. It looked like dirt and sweat and hard work for not much payoff.

I guess I should start from the beginning. Dave and I threw a pizza party one Friday night. We invited our friends and set off to Macey's with a $25 gift card to buy the fanciest pizza toppings we could find. I headed straight for the pesto only to find shock and horror when I read the price tag. No three once jar of pesto should cost $7, I thought. The culinary cost of living in Provo, I guess. No big deal, I could make my own. Homemade always beats store bought anyway. I had a full bottle of nice extra virgin olive oil at home and all I only needed pine nuts and basil. The cost of those two ingredients alone added up to more than the cost of the jarred pesto. Sadly, the pizza party had to go on without the pesto.

Throughout the next few months, there were several times I wanted to cook with fresh herbs but could not stomach the cost. So, I decided to start my own herb garden. Seeds were cheap and with a small initial investment, I would soon be harvesting my own fresh aromatics, right? Well, not exactly.

Dave and I carefully planted our little seeds and measured the plant food to make sure the seedlings were well fed. Then, we put them inside to protect them from frost and we never touched them for weeks. I warned you I wasn't really a greenthumb.

Assuming the seeds were dead, I put them outside to throw the dirt away later. Little did I know how close they were to the sprinkler system our neighbors would soon activate.

A few days later, our little seedlings sprouted and our beautiful plant babies began to grow. Now I look at them every day. I finally understand why people can become so involved in gardening. Don't worry, I'm not talking to the plants or treating them like little people, but I feel fulfilled when I see how big they are getting. Who knows, a few more years and maybe they'll even be big enough to use in the kitchen! :)

Nerent

2009-04-17T20:05:00.003-06:00

To everyone who kept getting on my back about blogging (and you know who you are), "NERENT!" and "RAAR!" Yes I am blogging again. Seriously though, life has been very very busy. Getting married, student teaching, and graduating are all very important things. However, now that student teaching is done I have had more time to peruse other blogs, I am somewhat saddened by the fact that all those memories that could have been recorded are now blurred by the haze of forgetfulness. As I find it extremely difficult to maintain a journal or diary and scrapbooking is too expensive, I have a new found respect for blogging and a renewed commitment to at least electronically record some memories. In an attempt to make up for time lost, I will periodically post events from the past three and half months as I try to keep the blog updated. Pictures to come soon... And by soon I don't mean three months. :)

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T16:07:00.005-07:00

2009 is finally here and I'm really excited about it. First of all, I have a strange fondness for odd numbers, so 2009 is good. I'll be moving into a new apartment to start the year and will be making a considerable upgrade in my living accommodations. On January 6, I change from Geography student to Geography teacher. Oh yes, I also graduate with the Brigham Young University Class of 2009. I remember, as a freshman, thinking that I would be Class of '09 and feeling that 2009 would never come. This means never having to take an Economics test again, which makes me giddy with excitement. But really, in all honesty, I am most excited to be getting married. :)

With the wedding almost two weeks away, we have been very busy with preparations. The latest accomplishment was mailing the announcements. My mom and I bought some invitations that we could print and assemble ourselves. We knew they would be a bit more labor-intensive than most but we severely underestimated how much time and effort would go into making them. We started Tuesday evening at around three in the afternoon, knowing that we would probably be up past midnight. So, we set up a very efficient assembly line (Dad even stuffed envelopes) and got to work. Thirteen hours and ten Diet Pepsis later, we had printed, assembled, stuffed, licked, sealed, and stamped over 150 announcements. It was a lot of work but we had fun and it was exciting to be sending out announcements.

This was at about five in the morning when we were finally finishing.

Yay! Announcements! Yay!

I am so excited to be getting married. It was nice to get the announcement done and in the mail. I also can't wait to get back to Dave on Monday. It's been difficult to be apart during the holidays and I miss him a lot. :(

Dave's Christmas

2008-12-26T17:56:00.003-07:00

Christmas was nice. It was hard to get in the Christmas mood with my work schedule and with Megan being gone. The great part was that my family was in town. I was the first one up on Chritmas morning and couldn't believe the time. It was 8:30!!! On Christmas!!! Who sleeps in that late on Christmas!?!? So I ran into my parents room and jumped on their bed saying "its Christmas its Christmas!!!" They smiled and told me to leave and to not wake anyone up...."Right!" I went and layed down for a few minutes but then Dallas woke up... not my fault and then he and I went into the girls room and woke them up. The only one left was Dallin, I tried to act all excited saying Santa had come (he actually had) but he did not like being woken up! That boy was grumpy! Well we finally got him awake and all got ready to go downstairs to see what we got for Christmas. It was fun watching the kids be so excited and having so much fun. I got some great gifts and got to talk to Megan on the phone (that was great). We spent the day hanging out around the house just relaxing.

This Christmas was diferent for me, Christmas used to be so exciting and fun getting all the gifts and eating lots of candy but this year I just wanted to watch the little kids be happy and make Megan happy. I'm glad that I have someone to take care of and to make Christmas special for. I cant wat to share my own Christmas with Megan and to one day make Christmas special for our kids and watch them enjoy it like my parents have always done for me.

December

2008-12-21T01:38:00.002-07:00

Well, finals have come and gone...still waiting for the results. I'm not sure whats worse, having to take them, or the suspense of waitingto know how you did. I had it easy though, I only had two finals and poor Meg had 5!

My family came to the states on the 12th this month. Its really nice to have them around and for them to finally meet Megan. It was fun showing her off and I know my family was surprised that I was able to snag Megan. We spent a couple nights with my family playing cards, eating, and just talking. It was so much fun to see how the little kids keep growing up!

Like I said, Megan stayed pretty busy with her finals which we happened to have the same week that my family came into town. Anyways, Megan's last final was on thursday the 18th and she left for home almost immediately after that. Thursday came and it was super snowy! I didn't know if we'd make it to the airport in time and gt me back to work. (there was a little mishap with the work scheduling) Lucky for us my dad had just taken my grandparents to the airport (who were flying out to Houston as well) and was on his way home. We met up with him and he took Megan most of the way while I went in to work.

Boo! Now its only been a couple days and, of course, like the little love sick couple that we are, we think it stinks. Megan will be in Houston till the 5th of January! I guess it will be nice for us to get some time with our families before the wedding but really.... it stinks.

Besides that, everything is great. I recently got a promotion and am now managing a fitness equipment store here in Provo. Megan is finally done with classes.... as a student anyways. Next semester she gets to start student teaching fr a semester and then she'll be graduating! Man, I cant even imagine that! I thought it felt great to be done for the semester... i cant imagine being done completely. Anyways, I'm proud of her and am excited for her to start student teaching.

Christmas is coming, its been fun getting ready for it and enjoying this season, even if we ae apart. Oh, and being the guy that I am, my gift for Megan probably wont get there by Christmas!!! How horrible is that!?! Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Quick Update

2008-12-09T12:48:00.004-07:00

Well, our Thanksgiving week passed by way to quickly and now we are back at school getting ready for finals! Things are really crazy for us so i thought I'd hop on and do a summary of what has been going on in life since we last wrote.

While in Houston, we went to Galviston and hung out on the beach. After eating crab for the first time,

we walked up and down the beach while Megan's mom took pictures of us. They all turned out really well!

When we got home that night we had planned to go to Target to start registering for the wedding but we were tired and worn out.... but of course the excitement of registering took over and we went anyways. I loved watching Megan go around looking at all the "cute things" we could use in our apartment. Lucky for me Megan has a great skill in making things look good together, the bathroom colors and kitchen appliances.... even us! She definitely catches the eye and stands out as beautiful and because "she" stands out so much it makes "us" look good. :)

Thanksgiving dinner was great! So much good food, followed up with a turkey bowl. I had no idea that Megan was so skilled on the field!

We had to leave early the next morning for our flight, again, we passed out on the fold down tables, and slept most of the trip. Megan's dad was in Salt Lake at the time so he picked all of us up and took us home.

That Saturday a funeral service was held for Todd Winn's(Megan's dad) father. I wasn't able to attend the service but I heard it went well. I was able to see the extended family and observe them working together in preparation for the funeral and then again after it was all finished. What a great family, I enjoyed watching them interact and get through this time together.

We spent the next few days relaxing in Park City at the Condo. "The hot tub is no longer drained!!!" I always enjoy being at the condo because it gives me more opportunities to show off my superior card playing skills. :)

Thats about it, like I said, we are busy busy busy getting ready for finals, we spend every night in the Tanner building trying to cram. I'm recruting a Math Homework Task Force and if anyone is interested in an assignment, let me know. (ha ha)

Just over a month now till the wedding. I'm really excited and still feeling so lucky that Megan and I are engaged.

Pizza Party

2008-12-01T18:20:00.021-07:00

This past summer, we had a few hurricane scares in Houston. This was no new experience for us, but this summer, the storms actually caused all local businesses and schools to close. Staying at home all day waiting for rain gets kind of boring and sometimes a little scary, so my family started having pizza parties. As our enthusiasm for homemade pizza grew, the ingredients multiplied and the pizzas became more deluxe. When we found out that Dave would be coming to visit for Thanksgiving, we knew that no trip to Houston would be complete without a hurricane party and homemade pizza.

Emily, Lauren, Chad, and my mom making pizzas.

Yay! Pizza! Yay!

Dave's Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T12:00:00.004-07:00

Well, I just finished my first Thanksgiving with Megan, It was a ton of fun, we are a bit behind on our blogging and haven't reached the time to blog Thanksgiving yet but I wanted to jump ahead and briefly express my gratitude for Megan(with out her knowing).

Megan is the most amazing person ever. I think some of the things I'm most grateful for about her is; the way she treats me, her constant care and concern, and her winks(always at the right moment). The constant wanting to make me happy, her desire to do what's right, and how she makes me want to be a better person and to live right. She's always willing to listen and she's sincere about it, which, for me, is a good thing cause I can ramble! I love the way she has a sixth sense as to what I need. She is so nice to everyone and is so much fun to be around. When she's around there is a brighter atmosphere. She really is such a wonderful and special person, I'm just amazed at my luck and good fortune in getting her to love me for who I am. She is constantly overlooking my flaws and shortcomings, reassuring me of her love.

I know most of you are saying, "blah blah blah" and don't care about what I'm saying but I would feel ungrateful if I had this great blessing in my life and didn't express my gratitude on Thanksgiving. Megan, thank you for everything you are. I love you and hope you know how much I treasure you. You're my best friend and escape from the world. xoxo Happy Thanksgiving Meg.

Football Fever

2008-11-26T22:26:00.004-07:00

I went to the U of H football game on Saturday with Megan's dad and grandfather. It was really fun. When we got to the stadium we made our way to our seats and on the way we fell a little behind Megan's grandfather. He was power walking off in another direction not even looking to see if we were keeping up. When I finally did catch up to him he had a U of H t-shirt for me that they were handing out at the game. Good thing he's quick on his feet cause he got the last shirt available.

At our seats I met some of Brother Winn's friends, Steve and Mike. Mike had an awesome foam helmet and a matching jersey. The game was like a rollercoaster, first we were doing well and then it was horrible, we were getting our behinds kicked. It wasnt until the fourth quarter that things really got crazy. I could go on with the details of several fumbles, interceptions, missed field goals, and 100 yard returns but I'm pretty sure it's mostly women who read this blog stuff so I wont bore you ladies.

Anyways, my favorite part of the game was when "grandpa" wanted to get on the big tv. He got up and started dancing, not wanting to dance alone, he hit Mike on the head and got him up and dancing too. I'm not sure how the camera men could have missed his mad skills but unfortunately, he didn't make it.

The game was awesome, I had fun talking with "the guys" but my mind was wandering elsewhere. Pretty much all I could think about was that while I was sitting there, Megan was out trying on wedding dresses!!! I can't wait to see her in her dress! I can't even imagine how good she'll make that dress look. Man, am I lucky or what. I wish I could give you the details on the dress but everyone around here is so tight lipped and won't leak any hints about what it looks like. January 16th can't come quick enough.

Wedding Dress Shopping

2008-11-26T01:28:00.001-07:00

On Saturday, Dave went to the UH football game with my dad and grandpa so I could go dress shopping with my mom, sister, and grandma. I was excited to go but definitely not expecting to find a dress that I would want that day.

My grandparents walk the mall every morning and my grandma had found the "perfect" dress for me and she just needed me to try it on so we could buy it. Let's just say that the dress was probably more perfect for the mannequin. I stayed to try on a few more dresses but we ended up leaving a bit discouraged.

Next, we drove out to Katy to a boutique that specialized in modest formal and wedding gowns. I fell in love with the second dress I tried on. I can't describe it in detail before the wedding but I will say that I absolutely love it and can't wait to pick it up and wear it again. :)
Lauren was a great maid of honor. Some of those dresses had a lot of buttons and I needed her expert fashion advice.

We tried to take some candid shots of our dress shopping experience. Some were less candid than others.

Shrimp Boil!!!

2008-11-26T00:43:00.003-07:00

I guess if you're in Texas you say "shriiiiimp bole". Anyways, we're here in Houston having a great time and like I mentioned before, eating great food. We had a shrimp boil on Friday and it was so yummy! I feel officially welcomed here in Texas, Sister Winn had a "Buc-ee's" t-shirt for each of us (only Texans will relate). I guess Buc-ee's is the gas station of gas stations and here in Texas they love it. I don't understand either so if you need to know why, ask Megan. It was lots of fun, and was really nice talking with Megan's family getting to know them better. It was the start of a great week.

Leavin' on a jet plane!

2008-11-24T16:08:00.001-07:00

Megan and I are spending Thanksgiving in Houston with her family. Our flight was scheduled for early Friday morning so naturally we waited till about 2:00 am that morning to go our own ways and start packing. We needed to be up and leaving at around 4:00 and so sometime between we started packing and when we had to leave we each got a little bit of sleep. 4:20 rolled by and i heard my phone ringing, I picked it up and saw that Megan's mom was calling because she couldn't get a hold of Megan. As I was walking down the hall to her apartment my parents called to wake me up. Good thing they did because we had both slept through our alarms and were going to miss our flights. Our parents had been calling us over and over again and surprisingly we didn't even know. We hurried and got ready and were off to the airport and made it with plenty of time to spare.

Airports are funny, I like seeing all the different people and wondering where they are from and what their story is. I also like looking at how all the airports are set up. While I was looking around I noticed a picture of a wild cat, I couldn't remember what it was but I was pretty sure it was a bobcat. I asked Megan what she thought it was and she said it was a mountain lion. If you know Megan and I, we always get into fun bets to see who is right about what we discuss. Well when we couldn't get it cleared up I asked a man that was sitting next us, "I think its a lynx" he said and Megan turned to me and said "I told you!" The man then added, "I think a lynx is pretty much the same thing as a bobcat." I sat back smiling; victory is sweet.

I think they must have made an error in the dimensions when they designed airplane seats because I don't know anyone who fits in those chairs. We spent the first 15 minutes of the flight moving and shifting the way we were sitting trying to find a way where both of us would be comfortable and where we could fall asleep. After they gave us our drinks i plopped down on the little fold out table and Megan laid on top of me and we found out that it was more comfortable than anything else we had tried. So there we were, I'm not sure what the flight attendants thought when they passed our row and saw both of us slumped over on our tables sleeping but oh well.

Next thing I knew we were there. I was so excited that I'd be spending all this time with Megan and getting to know her family better. Yay, our first Thanksgiving together! I'm really excited about this holiday and all the others that Megan and I will be sharing. Great food, no school, and Megan, what more could I want for the holidays!

Finding our apartment

2008-11-17T20:39:00.000-07:00

With all the wedding plans in full swing, it's been a bit difficult to focus on anything else. But this weekend, we realized that we really needed to find a place to live. So, I spent hours Saturday coming up with a list of prospective apartments and started my search this morning basically from the moment I woke up. Which was interesting because I had class. My day started at eight when I called every number on my list only to find that no one was open that early. When I finally got through to someone, a mean lady answered and yelled at me that the office wasn't open yet. I'm not sure why she answered the phone if the office wasn't open. I was a little nervous to call the rest of the list but I did and discovered that every complex was full. I still had a few privately owned basement apartments to see. The first was a duplex which was somewhat scary. And I wasn't expecting much. It was just creepy. Then I went to a complex which was up the mountain at the base of the Y trail. At this place, the landlord began my tour by asking if I would be living alone. Then he wanted to see my ID for contact information. It was an odd experience. So finally after work, I checked online one last time to find an ad for a two bedroom basement apartment in Orem. I called the owners to schedule a time to come by and take a look. They said I could come over anytime. So I drove down, not expecting much, and was pleasantly surprised by a newly built house with a beautiful yard. The owners showed me the "basement" apartment which was actually above ground. It was perfect. The rooms were huge, the carpet was new, and the whole place was just beautiful. Then I found out that utilities were included in the monthly rent and the cost was less than we had originally planned for. It was perfect and I knew it; I just needed to get Dave's opinion. I couldn't wait. The minute he got home from work, we went back and he loved it. It's the perfect place for us and I'm so happy that we found such a great place. I can't wait to make it home! :)

"Our Story" according to Megan

2008-11-17T15:14:00.000-07:00

Dave and I met the weekend before school started. It was a Saturday and I was getting ready to go to the football game. I really needed to do laundry but I had just gotten out of the shower and I looked really bad. My hair was wet and I wasn't wearing any makeup but I was having a laundry emergency so I decided I would risk possibly running into potential dates. I remember thinking that there probably wouldn't even be anyone down there and the probability of meeting cute guys was somewhat slim. So I walked down there as fast as I could, absolutely determined not to talk or even make eye contact with anyone and, of course, there was Dave. He was putting laundry in the dryer and all I could see was Guatemala on the back of his shirt. My little brother, Jack, had just been called to serve a mission in Guatemala and my mom was really apprehensive about it. I figured that he had probably served a mission there and would have nice things to say about it. I couldn't miss an opportunity to investigate for my nervous mother so I broke my vow of silence to ask him. Besides, I thought, this guy probably isn't even in my ward and I'll most likely never see him again. When Dave turned around I was stunned by his good looks and he had the most perfect smile I had ever seen. I don't even remember what he told me about Guatemala.

The next day was fast Sunday and I went to my new ward. Our ward had a break the fast meal after church. I went with my roommates and we were sitting in the stairwell eating spaghetti off of our laps when Dave and his roommates walked in. Unfortunately, he didn't see me and I tried but never worked up the nerve to talk to him.

Later that night, my roommates and I were hanging around the apartment making banana bread and we heard a knock on the door. It was Dave and his roommates who wanted to meet some people and just happened to knock on our door which wasn't even the first one in the hall. I was so excited that he was in my ward and finally actually knew my name and that I was wearing makeup this time. :) Tuesday was the ward opening social and I almost didn't get to go. Luckily one of my coworkers covered my shift and I was able to get off work a little early. We started playing volleyball and Dave and I ended up on the same team which made me happy. I'm possibly the worst volleyball player ever but Dave appreciated my "raise the roof" move. My roommate and I took a break and left for a while to get Slurpees and on the way back noticed Dave driving away. Somehow we stopped him from leaving to get his swimsuit. We stayed and played games outside and then went back to his sister's apartment to swim in the hot tub. Later we decided to go back to my apartment to play cards and order pizza. Even though I beat Dave by a lot in every card game we played, he was a good sport. ;) The hours flew by and soon it was 4 am so we reluctantly called it a night.

The next day at work, I was just getting ready to leave when I got a text from Dave and I couldn't help but smile. After texting back and forth several times, I came up with the excuse that my internet wasn't working (which was true) and I couldn't do any homework with out it (which was somewhat true) so Dave invited me over. Of course we didn't do any homework. We watched The Office and talked and Dave played guitar and sang for me. I was amazed. He was smart, funny, nice, sweet, amazingly attractive, and could play the guitar. And I had really only known him for twenty four hours. I thought he was too good to be true.

But lucky for me, he wasn't. And lucky for me, he thought I was okay too. After the night of the ward social, Dave and I never went a day without seeing each other. I thought about him all the time. I hated saying goodnight and waited with eager anticipation to see him again. I loved every time we were together and I fell in love with him quickly. Soon Dave became the person I wanted to tell everything to. He became my best friend and just being in the same room with him made my day instantly better. I knew I wanted to be with him forever.

One Wednesday afternoon, I had to go on a field trip with my geography class to a copper mine. I was telling my mom about it that morning and she was asking about my plans for later that night. I told her that Dave had mentioned going geocaching but I thought it would be too dark to go by the time I got back. "No!" she said, rather quickly, "It will be fun in the dark. It will be like a treasure hunt. Take a flashlight." I didn't even think anything of how insistent she was that I go. The field trip took a lot longer than I expected and on the way back, Dave started texting me. Before I could respond, he texted again and before I could respond to that, he called me wondering where I was and when I would get back. Still, I didn't expect anything. I just thought he was really excited to go geocaching. He called again when I got back to the school and met me in the parking lot when I got back to our apartment. So we hurried to start geocaching and started looking in a spot next to the Provo River. It was a really pretty trail that was kind of set back from every thing else. Dave pointed out where he thought the box would be but I was pretty sure it was in a different location. I searched for a long time before finally deciding to listen to Dave and I finally found it. I was pretty impressed with myself. Little did I know that he had hidden in there an hour earlier. We opened the box and Dave started pulling things out. I was reading a note that we found in the box when he found a ring box. I looked down to find him on one knee telling me how much he loved me. At first, I thought he had just happened to find a ring box in there and thought it would be funny to pretend so I asked if he was serious. Finally, I realized he was being serious and I immediately got butterflies in my stomach. This took me completely by surprise. It was hard to believe that it was happening but I couldn't have been happier. Everything just felt right.

I am so excited to be getting married to Dave. I feel like I've known him forever and I absolutely love the person he is and the way he makes me feel. I can't believe that this is just Chapter One of Our Story.

"Our Story" according to Dave

2008-11-17T15:09:00.000-07:00

We first met August 30, 2008. We both lived on the bottom floor at the Glenwood apartments and were in the same ward. I was in the laundry room moving my clothes into the dryer when Megan walked in. She looked amazing and out of my league so i just kept doing my laundry, trying to make sure it wasn't too obvious when I looked at her. I was wearing a soccer jersey from Guatemala, Megan noticed it and asked if I served my mission in Guatemala. (I was surprised that she talked to me) I explained that my family lived there and she told me that her brother was going to Guatemala for his mission. Not much else was said and we didn't even get each others names. So I finished my laundry thinking of this beautiful mystery girl I thought I'd never see again. Then I headed back to my apartment and she went off to a date. The next day after church a couple of my roommates and I decided to go knocking on some doors introducing ourselves (mission skills do come in handy). Of course we went straight to the girl's side of the building and randomly chose a door. Guess who happened to be in that first door that we knocked. Megan! Making some delicious smelling, funky looking banana bread. I finally learned her name and was struck from that moment on. We all talked for about ten minutes and then my roommates and i took off. The following Tuesday was the Ward Opening Social, it was tons of fun but pretty crowded. There was football and volleyball and lots going on. Well, I made sure i followed her around and tried to get on the same teams (I know, I know, how childish). But then she left with some of her friends to go get slurpees. My sister and roommate wanted to leave to go get our swimming suits so we could swim and since Megan was gone I though "sure why not". But then as we were pulling out of the parking lot, she walked past the car and asked where we were going... anyways.... I came up with whatever excuse I could to just stay and skip the swimming. It worked. We ended up staying and playing games in a small group and had tons of fun, after that we went to Tina's hot tub and hung out that night. Since that night we have hung out pretty much every night since. The first few weeks we would stay up playing cards till early morning. After some time and with my roommates telling me many times how obvious it was that she liked me I built up the courage to hold her hand. Yay! We kept spending everyday together hanging out with our roommates but before too long it ended up being just the two of us. We have lots of great times; beating her at cards, watching her volleyball skills, and watching movies. From day one things were different with Megan, I love playing guitar but hate singing in front of people. One of the first times we hung out i explained how i felt about playing and singing at the same time and then next thing I know playing the guitar and singing away. I guess that's probably when I really realized she liked me because she still wanted to be around me even after I sang. My family still hasn't met Megan but everyone i introduce her to loves her. Once she is out of earshot the comments start coming, "ooh, I like her!"..."she is so pretty!"...."she is so nice"... "don't mess this up, you'll regret it!".... Tell me something I don't know! Megan is amazing, throughout our experience dating she has been so much fun and kind to me. I still have a hard time getting over the fact that I got someone as pretty as her to date me. It got to the point that all I wanted to do was be with her. Last thing I thought of before going to to bed was Megan, first thing i thought of when I woke up was Megan. Every minute that we were both at home we spent together (and still do). I fell in love with who she is, the kind of person she is, and knew I wanted to be with her for forever... but not much time had passed since we started dating. If you know anything about my parents dating life you'll know that dating time doesn't seem to be an issue in this chain of the Robertson family. On October 28th I called Todd Winn (Megan's dad) to ask him for permission to marry Megan... he was out jogging with Lauren his other daughter! He asked if he could call me back in ten minutes... that was the most nerve wrecking ten minutes of my life! Well, ten minutes of pacing and deep thought finally passed and he called me back. We had a great talk and... yay.... I got his blessing. So now I had to ask her.... I don't know if anyone knows what Geo-caching is but basically its where someone hides a box somewhere and then goes online and enters the coordinates of the box, giving others something to go find. Its pretty much a little treasure hunt. There are miscellaneous items in the boxes and when you find one you're supposed to take something out and then put something else in. I hadn't bought a ring yet but had a diamond ring that I got in Botswana and had my roommate go hide it in one of the Geo-caching boxes by the Provo river. Sometimes they can be hard to find but i knew exactly where this one was so no worries there. Well, Megan took forever getting home from a school field trip and it started to get dark, I thought "great, its going to be too dark by the time she gets here to go looking" I thought my plans were ruined. She will tell you otherwise but I only called her once, to see where she was so I could decide whether or not to go through with it that night. Luckily she got home in time and we were able to have a little bit of light. Off we went in search of treasure that she didn't know would be there. After visiting a decoy cache we headed to the "chosen" one. I suggested the area for her to look(near where the ring was) but no, she wanted to look with me where I was looking. So I acted like I was looking around for the box (i could have won an Oscar with my fake search that night), and finally made my way nearer to the tree the box was hidden. Megan eventually "found" the box and handed it to me. I got down on a knee and opened the box and started pulling the things out of the box... a superman toy....dental floss..... a coin..... a spoon.... a ring box! When i pulled out the ring box I looked up at Megan and started pouring out my heart and soul only to be interrupted abruptly by Megan exclaiming, "Dave, are you serious?"..... "yes".... my speech continued.... then again and louder this time, "Dave, are you serious!?!" By this time i was getting nervous. I was surprised at how calm I originally was but her questioning quickly brought on a fear that I did not want at that time. I was also scared I would never get through my little impromptu speech with these interruptions and decided i better cut to the chase. "Megan, will you marry me?"............... "Of course i will!" Things are going great now, we are happily engaged and excited for the wedding which is planned for the 16th of January. I'm so grateful for Megan and who she is. I'm always falling more in love and am surprised every day at how amazing she is. I am happier then ever and still in shock at how lucky I am in getting Megan. I guess "lucky" is an understatement.