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




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