Seems as how we just celebrated out 7 year engagement anniversary I figured it was about time I shared my own love story on the blog.
Graduation is always such an exciting time in you life. The world seems so big and exciting. So many options and possibilities. I would be starting college in Pocatello, Id at ISU starting in the fall of 2011. That summer I was trying to make as many memories with my friends as I could knowing that many friendships would be changing once we all started going different directions. My parents were not thrilled with the on again off again guy I had been dating my senior year. My mom asked just a few weeks after graduation if I would be willing to date anyone else since that other boy would still be in high school one more year. I was up for the idea so she took it upon herself as good moms do to find someone else. She visited with her friends and they found someone they thought would be a fun date.
I had heard of people meeting their spouse on a blind date and I always thought how cool it would be. Logan has fireworks for the 4th of July every year. I had got a phone call from Levi asking me to go with him and a group of friends. Thanks to Facebook I stalked his profile and figured out who this guy was. #professionalfacebookstalker He picked me up, we went to the fireworks with his friends Justin and his date, and Chase with his date. It was fun, we all had a good time, but I didn't plan on continuing going on more dates with him, and neither did he.
I got a text a few weeks later from the same lady (Angie) that set me up with Levi asking if I was free Saturday night of rodeo weekend in Preston because Justin was wanting to ask me. (You read that right. The guy's friend that I was first set up with.) I text her back telling her that I didn't want to be someones pitty date because they hadn't been able to find anyone else ha Justin and Angie worked together at the time at IFA and he had just gotten tickets to go. He had asked his buddy if he was planning on taking me out again and when he said no asked if he could ask me out. I am extremely allergic to horses and had only been to two rodeos in my life but decided it would be fun. I took lots of benadryl to help me make it through the night but we had a fun time!
I remember thinking how polite, considerate, and easy going he was that first night. He was easy to be around and made it seem so comfortable and relaxed.We continued to date long distance while I was going to school (I'll save that for another post) My roommate, Tennille, and I would always talk about our futures and I remember the day I was cleaning out my closet and I said " When I marry Justin" instead of IF I marry Justin. I knew that I wanted a guy like him in my life forever and wasn't willing to risk not having the kind of guy I had pictured since I was a little girl. I still read my list that I made in young womens at 17 years old of all the traits I wanted in a husband. Justin was all of that.
The list reads :
-Trustworthy
-Humor
-Preistood holder
-Good kisser
-Hard worker
-Good with kids
-Honest
-Kind
-Best friend
-Clean (Justin is actually way cleaner than my OCD self ha)
-Makes me happy
-Stable
-Likes to have fun
-Good with money
-Honest
I knew I was young being only 18, but I knew he was the one. I am a huge fan of chick flicks and had thought until I met him that guys like that were only in the movies. Real life wasn't like that. It had only been 9 months since we had first met, but when you know, you know!
Tennille and I had an impulse to dye our hair for a Kelly Clarkson concert we were going to. I had a nasty chunk of red in my hair that had faded to bright orange. My mom was in on Justin's plan and went to the local grocery store to pick up some hair dye to dye my hair before the next night when she knew Justin would be popping the big question. (Thanks mom!) All the while Justin and his friends were spray painting the inside of a train car (don't call the cops on him, please) to say " Will you marry me!?" just a few miles away from my house.
He had planned a surprise date and picked me up at my parents house the next night. He blindfolded me and took the long way to the train car he had ready and said we were meeting up with his friend Stetson and his girlfriend. I had no idea what was really going on! We had talked about marriage only twice before but I had been telling my family and friends for a couple months that I would marry him one day. We hadn't gone ring shopping but with the help of Pinterest he knew what kind of ring I liked. He had gone into SE Needham and made a stunning custom ring that was everything I wanted in a ring.
We used to play 20 questions all the time while we were dating and once we got to the train car he asked if we could play 20 questions while we waited for Stetson to show up. (Stetson never showed up, it was all just part of trying to get me not to guess what was going on) And guess what his first question was?! "Will you marry me?" He said other really nice romantic words too, but #momlife hit and I can't remember all of it. Those cute squishy babies of ours take up all my memory space now that I used to remember that kind of stuff. I was shocked! And so excited! And of course said YES!
April 14th went down as my favorite day in history from that time on and it just keeps getting more and more special. Our 5 year engagement anniversary we welcomed our sweet little boy Vince to our family and this this year we got to celebrate by blessing our new baby boy, Walker, and celebrating Vince's 2nd birthday.
I'm grateful to get to do life with you Justin! Thanks for proving to me the guys in chick flick movies can be in real life too! Love you!