28 August 2014

throwback thursday- a love story part dos

Well, he moved to Salt Lake, and we didn't stay in touch much. I've never been good at that.  He would text me every once in a while, but usually Katy or Kati got the same text (I assumed), so I didn't put much stock in it.  Around the end of October, Dal took a trip to New York with his family.  He texted me while he was there and said that he wished that I was there with him, but I figured he'd sent that text to everyone (he didn’t), so I sent back some lame response. 
I didn't think much about it until the next week, when we were talking online and he said that he thought we should date and give each other a chance at something more. Thanks to Google chat’s archives, I know that the exact words he used were this: “Um, I was thinking we could get together for real because I think it would work out with us.”  I remember being pretty floored that he wanted to date me, but I was at work and he was at class so I told him to give me a bit of time to think about it and I’d call him later that night.
So we talked about it a little more once the shock that this SUPER CUTE guy wanted to date me! wore off and we decided to go out that Friday, November 14th.  I think we talked a few times before then. I surprisingly wasn't super nervous about the date because I already knew him so well, but I did stress out about what I would wear.  I ended up wearing a flannel plaid puffy vest (Hahaha, and I promise, it was way more stylish than its sounds!) and Dal wore a black short-sleeved button down shirt. We went to Ottavio’s for dinner, an Italian restaurant on Center Street in Provo (which has since closed down) and then we went and saw Quantum of Solace, and then we went back to my apartment and just talked. It was really nice to not be nervous and to just be comfortable.
Dal had made it pretty clear that he was interested in dating, and since I had had a good time, I called him up the next day (Saturday) after work to see if I could come up and see him and said that would be great. So I drove up to Salt Lake to his house. His mom was gone, but his dad and Kira were there. His dad had on these tomato print pajama pants, and Kira was eating colored marshmallows. The four of us watched Hot Rod together and laughed our heads off.
And then the rest is history! From the very beginning he was very clear that he wanted to date exclusively and I always appreciated how upfront he was about things. I never had to guess how he felt. There were no games involved.
On our next date, he kissed me for the first time at Mill Hollow Park (which is where he ended up proposing to me, incidentally), and after that, we hung out as much as we could. On the day after Thanksgiving that year, I went on a hike with him, his mom, and his dad. It was great to get to know his parents more that day.
 
from our Thanksgiving hike
Dallin lived in Cottonwood Heights and going to school in downtown Salt Lake, and I was  in school, working, and living in Provo, so we only saw each other 2 or 3 times a week. But we talked on the phone and texted a lot and things progressed pretty quickly. In early December when we went to see the lights at Temple Square, he told me he loved me for the first time. When we went to see Bryan Stokes Mitchell perform at the Tabernacle Choir’s Christmas Concert, we talked about getting married. January 2nd, when Steve and Alana got married, we decided on a date and Dallin called the temple the next day. He officially proposed with a ring on February 21st.
On May 1st, we were sealed for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake Temple. 

Marrying Dallin Floyd Barker was, hands down, the best decision I ever made. I love him so much and I am grateful for him every day.


i love him




21 August 2014

throwback thursday- a love story part uno

I thought it would be fun to share the story of how Dallin and I met, fell in love, and got married. Dear readers, get your tissues ready. You are sure to cry at this story of everlasting love. (Don't roll your eyes at me, I can see you from here.)



Pictures from our dating days

The first time I saw Dal was in June 2008-  He doesn't remember seeing me at all, but I remember him.  Probably because he was the one new guy and I was one of several new faces to him.  Me and a bunch of friends were having a dance party in one of our apartments. Most of the lights were out and the music was loud. One of our guy friends came over with a new guy in tow.  He was cute.   
The first time we talked-  This was probably a few nights later.  I went over to his apartment.  His roommate, Dustin was famous for his smoothies, and he was making them that night. So I went over and the new guy was there, talking to Ash.  I had her introduce me and there was a little small talk.  Dustin brought me a smoothie and I drank that as we all talked.  Don't worry, at some point, a big chunk of smoothie came out of my glass a little too fast and landed all over my face and shirt!  Everyone laughed, and I ran for a towel to clean myself off.  I was, of course, super embarrassed! Our conversation didn't progress much that night, obviously, but I was intrigued and desperate to have a real conversation with him.
The first time we laughed and had a real conversation- I was over at his apartment again, probably a few days after that, probably drinking smoothies again.  There were two couches scooted right up against each other, facing each other, and I was sitting on one side facing him.  This time we talked and laughed and had a real conversation.  Dal said something about how we should hang out again. 
The next few parts of our story- The 4th of July was coming up in a few days, and I was planning on having some friends over to my parent’s house so I invited him to come with. We all drove a few cars over, and we ate, played volleyball and then Dal left. As it turns out, he had a girlfriend and went to hang out with her. I still thought he was cute, of course, didn’t want to get in the way of anything.
But over the course of the summer, we became good friends. We did a lot of things in a group setting and spent a lot of time just laughing and hanging out with friends. I found out from a friend that Dal wanted to break up with his girlfriend, but figured he still wasn’t interested in me.
One night for FHE, he invited me to go with his group up to Sundance, to see A Midsummer Night's Dream. We laughed the whole time. On our way down the mountain, Dal took his blanket and put it around both of our shoulders and just kept his arm around me.  I fit perfectly under his arm, and he kept me nice and warm. 
In August, we went for a scooter ride, you can read more about it HERE. (It's pretty hilarious if I do say so myself.)
One day, at the end of summer, I had taken the day off of work so that I could get ready for school.  My plan that day was to clean my room out really well, buy all of my books for my classes and get the notebooks and things I needed. I had a few other errands to run also. Well, midway through the morning, Dal gives me a call and says that he is in Provo for the day and wants to know if he can stop by.  Of course, I say yes, and he comes over a few minutes later.  Dal hadn't been able to find a contract to stay in the ward for Fall Semester, so he had moved home, back up to Salt Lake to take classes at the Salt Lake Center.  He'd come to Provo to get his scooter and help someone move. 
When he got there, he told me that he'd finally broken up with his girlfriend and that he felt great about it.  We proceeded to hang out all day.  We went to J-Dawgs for some polish dogs, we played guitar hero, we watched a movie, we talked for hours, and I think we even fell asleep on the couch at one point.  He left around 4:00 pm or so to go back to Salt Lake. 
I remember that being one of the best days I ever had.  I was convinced that we would never be more than friends, but I loved how he made me feel. When I said my prayers that night, I prayed that I would be able to find someone like him one day. I wanted to find someone who made me laugh like he did, and someone that I could talk to for hours, just like I could with him. 

To be continued...

19 August 2014

being in a different country

being in a different country than your spouse is not all sunshine and daisies. (i know, you're shocked.) and luckily for Dallin and I, this separation is only temporary. i totally feel for those couples who have to do this regularly, whether it be for military service or jobs, or what not. it is not easy.
google hangout-ing
here are some of the things that are hard for me:
- there is a 7 hour time difference between salt lake city and edinburgh, scotland. that means that the only overlapping hours that we are both awake (unless someone wants to stay up really late- hint: not me) is from 7 am-3 pm for me (or about 2 pm-10 pm for him)
- when you are used to sleeping next to someone every night, it's hard to sleep when they aren't there!
- the girls and i just miss him terribly. when we talked to Dal on the computer today, deaun just clapped her hands and said his name over and over and over again because she was so excited to see him, but then she got sad because she couldn't walk over to him and grab his face.
- i'm lacking in the motivation department. it's hard to get through my list of things to do when he's not here to remind me or help me get them done.
- we have been so spoiled this last month, because Dal wasn't working anymore, so we got a whole month to just hang out together all the time, and now that he's gone i'm having serious withdrawals! i just miss hanging out with him!
talking with Daddy and eating
here's what he said about what is hard for him:
not having you around. not being able to call whenever i want to make sure you're okay. also i miss not having you here to share these experiences with. you help me out a lot. more than just helping me get things done, but also help me emotionally.

luckily for us, this is a pretty temporary situation. the girls and i fly out to meet him in 5 days, and i have a lot i need to get done before then. and since we are living with my parents, we still have them around to help out with cooking and watching the girls.

however, that said, i can't wait til these 5 days are up so that i can see him again!

15 August 2014

one down, four to go

We dropped Dallin off at the airport yesterday and he got on a plane bound for Edinburgh, Scotland. This was the last picture we took before he left. The twins were very sad that he was leaving and were worried that he wouldn't be their daddy anymore. We assured them that he would always be their daddy. And we promised them that it would only be 11 days until we saw him again, and that helped calm their tears. (Well, that and the Chick-Fil-A we drown our sorrows with after we left the airport.)

Dallin arrived safely in Scotland today. He is exhausted, but after a short nap, he went out to the store for a bath towel and some dinner. He came back with dish soap and dinner instead. Ha. Poor guy. Now that he's there and it's too late to change anything, we are both wondering what on earth we were thinking when we sent him there 11 days ahead of us! He is worried about me having to watch the girls without him, and I'm worried that he will just be bored and lonely without us there. But we will manage and we will see him soon!

He says the apartment is small but nice and that Edinburgh is cold but beautiful. He says we will love it here and I believe him. I am anxious to get out there and see it for myself.

But I'm nervous too. Here are a few things that I worry about:
1- Laundry. I've heard from other expats that the clothes drying situation is awful. It sounds like we will be hang drying everything, although how that works indoors, I'm not yet sure...
2- All the rain! And where is the sun hiding? And my glasses! I'll either need to wear a hat or wear my contacts more often if I don't want to be looking through a rain spattered windshield constantly. And will I just walk around soaking wet everytime it rains? I will just have to adjust and teach myself that rain doesn't kill and it's okay to let the kids play outside even when it's wet.
3- What if I can't understand anyone?! What if no one can understand me?!
4- The food. What if I can't find any Mexican food? What if I can, but it's awful? I'm not sure which would be worse. Will they have a good selection of produce? Why does the food have to be so expensive over there?!

5- Friends. I'm pretty introverted until I really get to know people. And talking to strangers is difficult for me, so I worry about the girls and I making new friends. I guess I just need to put on my big girl panties and go talk to that person that I don't know, okay?



Despite these worries, I am SO excited for a lot of things too:

1- The scenery! Castles, rolling hills, lochs, buildings that are hundreds of years old, all that green! I don't know if my eyes will even know what to look at first.
2- We get to experience and learn about a totally new culture. We get to give our children an international experience! (Sure, they probably won't remember it, but I say it still counts.)
3- We have always lived really close to both of our families, and that has been a huge blessing. But now we get to have this experience where we have to really rely on each other for everything and become closer as a family.
4- We have always had great church congregations where we have lived, but I think it will be a new experience living in a country where all our neighbors don't share our beliefs or go to our church. I am excited to experience the LDS church in another place and come to be friends with a new ward family.
5- We are going to be living SO close to so many other countries. The travel options are endless. I don't know how we will ever narrow our travels down to a reasonable amount of places to visit.

The next few weeks have a lot in store for us as I pack up the rest of our belongings to either bring with us or store for the next year, and as the girls and I hop on a plane to "cross the pond!" Wish us luck!

07 August 2014

Roundup

I thought today it would be fun to round up some my favorite past blog posts. A "Throwback Thursday" if you will.
It makes me think about how Dal and I used to be so funny. And now we mostly just feel tired... Haha

Here are my top 5:

1) We should have our own cooking show

2) A note on the fridge

3) Backyard gossip

4) Why I don't always volunteer that I have twins

5) Fat

Enjoy. And maybe laugh a little.

Have a good Thursday!