that beautiful day in June

Our wedding day was perfect. Everything they say about being a June bride is true! The weather was gorgeous, the tulips were in bloom and there was a summer breeze in the air. Most importantly, we had all of our loved ones surrounding us. For the past two years, Aaron and I have been trying to decide which wedding photo to enlarge for our bedroom. The frame has been hanging on the wall empty-- just waiting for us to make a decision. A couple of months ago, I realized that no picture is more important to me than this one..


When I look at this picture, I am reminded how much love and support Aaron and I have been given. We were both fortune enough to be raised by goodly parents who mean the world to us. Each one of our amazing siblings was at the temple and that's pretty incredible. Our closest friends, many who flew long distances to celebrate with us are in this picture and I just love looking at all their smiling faces. I was such a happy bride and I felt so much love and support.


On the way to the temple, Aaron's parents were following us (and were driving with our marriage license and recommends). Somewhere along the way, they took a wrong turn and got lost. We made it to the temple and crossed our fingers that they would find their way. (the days before cell phones were so frustrating!) We sat for about 20 minutes in the waiting room of the temple and then decided to go outside to find them. Just as we hit the elevator, Aaron parents came walking out. His mom was crying, holding our temple bags and recommends. I couldn't tell if she was frustrated or happy to finally make it-- but I think it was a mixture of emotions. Having sons of my own, I can slightly imagine how emotional it would be to walk into the temple on their wedding day. I can guarantee you I will be crying-- either out of happiness or frustration (depending solely on the bride they chose to marry.) I love my inlaws so much and I am crossing my fingers that Aaron looks as great as his dad in 30 years... something tells me he will.


Getting ready in the bride's room was special. I believe there were 120 brides at the temple on June 16. But because my wedding was so early, I was the only one around. The wrinkly temple attendants made me feel so special and beautiful. It was a quiet morning in the temple and I was getting anxious to see Aaron. We finally were able to spend time together in the Celestial room before the ceremony. I was hoping my anxiousness would subside when I sat down next to him, but it didn't. I had a lump in my throat and I felt sick to my stomach. Aaron was smiling at me so sweetly and whispered something to me about how pretty I looked. I smiled back at him and said, "I think I am going to throw up." He responded with, "I will untie the back of your dress and pretend you didn't just say that to me." True love, it was.

romance at JB's

Dating at an LDS school in Rexburg, ID doesn't exactly give you the "opportunity" to create a lot of romantic moments. Not that we were going to do anything crazy, but we really didn't have the freedom to be alone. Many people (my mother in law, for instance) would say this is a great thing because it keeps you chaste, but I disagree. People who want to have sex will find a way... all I wanted was a quiet place to talk! Aaron and I lived four hours apart and when we finally got to see each other, it was frustrating that there were so many people around! My roommates (love them to death) were party animals... and there was never a quiet moment at home, so we had to go elsewhere.

On February 4th, we found a more romantic setting than where we were the night before. One step up from the Clark building on campus was JB's restaurant. We didn't want to go to one of the "happening" spots in Rexburg-- we wanted to be left alone. We made ourselves comfortable in a booth at JB's and our waitress quickly realized that we were going to be there for a while. The night before was a serious conversation, but this was a whole new ball game. This is where we had the mother of all serious discussions.

Our DTR included changing summer plans, wedding dates, birth control, how many kids we wanted, where to go to school, where to live, career paths, financial matters, future goals.... you name it. By the time we left this restaurant, I believe we had covered all the bases (without leaving first base, if you know what I mean.) Sitting inside the restaurant discussing such important issues should have freaked me out, but it didn't. I let my guard down... and I was very comfortable, completely at ease. As anti-marriage as I was (especially at my young, fragile age) Aaron was the right guy and I knew it was going to be okay.

During dinner, Tim MacGraw's "My Best Friend" played three times and it became our song. Neither of us are huge country fans, but it fit and ten years later when I hear that song, I think of our booth at JB's. Who knew JB's could be so romantic? Out in the parking lot, the sparks flew. Before he opened my car door, Aaron kissed me and I felt it all the way in my toes. After the kiss, he put his forehead to mine and I said, "I'm going to marry you." Aaron smiled and said, "Not if I marry you first." I was officially swept off my feet.

first kiss

Aaron kissed me for the first time on Feb 3, 2000. (Our #2 son, Luke, was born exactly 3 years later.. ahhh.) It wasn't a typical environment or place for a first kiss. It was a Thursday night about 9 pm. I had to go on campus to prepare for something the next morning and we were sitting on a bench in the hall of the Clark building. I'm not sure how long we were there talking, but probably a couple of hours. Up until that point, Aaron and I had always been comfortable talking... but this night was different. I would never have admitted it at the time, but I was really nervous. Not necessarily to kiss him, but because I knew everything was going to change and I wasn't sure how I felt about it. Somewhere in the middle of our discussion, I said to him, "How long are you going to wait to kiss me?" Although Aaron wasn't shocked by the fact that I said what I was thinking, he didn't think it was the most romantic setting. But he planted one on me anyway. Fireworks didn't go off, but there was plenty of time for that to happen later.

I remember one very significant part of the conversation that night and it had nothing to do with our first kiss. While sitting there in that hallway on that uncomfortable bench, Aaron pulled out his wallet and showed me a picture he'd been carrying around since he was twelve. It was a worn baseball picture of his friend, Patrick. Aaron moved around a lot when he was younger. About every two years, his family picked up and moved... typically it was to a new state. Aaron talked about how hard that was for him, how hard it was to make friends. In 1989 his family moved to Texas and the first friend he made was Patrick. They were in the same class at school and attended church together. Patrick was also new to the area. He and Aaron had the same goofy sense of humor and they instantly became best friends. Patrick's dad owned (or managed) a local hotel and on the weekends, Aaron and Patrick got a room all to themselves to hang out and watch movies. One particular Friday night, Aaron packed his bag after talking with Patrick on the phone... they were heading to the hotel later that night and Aaron was looking forward to it. But just after the phone call, Patrick was hit by a truck while riding his dirt-bike in front of his house. Aaron's dad was available to give Patrick a priesthood blessing after the accident, but it was too late. They believe he was killed on contact.

This was a really significant event in Aaron's childhood. Going back to scouts, church and school was extremely difficult for Aaron after Patrick's death. He remembers the first day he went back to school after the funeral. He sat down in his desk and looked over at Patrick's empty desk and just started sobbing. Thankfully the teacher changed the seating chart the next day. Aaron kept Patrick's picture in his wallet and has never taken it out. It is still there today... When Simon was born, we struggled coming up with a middle name for him. After talking about it for a couple of days, we knew that Simon Patrick sounded just right. After Simon was born, I asked Aaron if he wouldn't mind writing about Patrick so we could have it for Simon's baby book... he may eventually get around to it, but even after 20+ years, it's still too emotional for him.

So today, I am writing my version of the story... the first time I heard about Patrick. It happened to be on the night of our first kiss, but it was also the first night that I realized I loved my husband. Listening to him talk about such a difficult time in his life was really special for me. We had been friends for a long time and during that time, Aaron had seen me cry a dozen times. But this was a side of Aaron I had never seen before. And I liked it. The more I got to know him, the more I wanted to know him better.

anniversary countdown

I had this great idea to do a TOP TEN countdown of funny, memorable stories from the dating/newlywed archives of Janet and Aaron. We're about to celebrate our ten year anniversary and I wanted to share stories that I love, but ones that aren't significant enough to be written in my journal. I was going to start on June 6th and post one story every day until our anniversary. Well, June 6th came and went and now it's only 8 days until our big day. Maybe I will do a top 8. Maybe I will do a top 3. Hopefully this won't be the only one.

This past week, I had one of my most embarrassing moments ever. My cheeks are flushed and my heart is beating faster just thinking about it. I would write about it here, but I just can't. It's too soon... and I would ruin my impeccable reputation. What I will say is that I was on the phone with my husband seconds after it happened. I tell him anything & everything. He laughs at me, but he doesn't judge me. We have a good thing going, he and I.

From the first second I met Aaron, I felt incredibly comfortable around him. In fact, I probably felt too comfortable. It took me a long time to realize what we had was LOVE because it was nothing like I had read about in books or seen on movies, and it was far from anything I had experienced from dating relationships in the past. I never felt nervous around Aaron. I didn't need to impress or try to be someone I wasn't. I believe that I fell in love with him gradually, until one day I realized that being with him meant that I was the best version of myself. I could talk to him about anything.. and honestly, this was the #1 reason I was afraid to take our friendship to the next level. I needed him in my life and I would have been devastated if I jeopardized our relationship for a 2-week romance.

One thing that set Aaron apart from any other guy on campus was the random conversations we had in between classes. We never had a class together and didn't really meet up to study or hang out-- but we ran into each other often. I loved randomly bumping into him. He never had books or a back pack. He usually had a pen behind his ear and he wandered around without a care in the world.. (some things never change.) But from the beginning, our small chat was never small chat. We didn't shoot the breeze talking about the weather. We got into the habit of sharing random bits of information that, if pieced together, would never make sense to anyone else. I grew accustomed to expecting the unexpected from him and he made it easy for me to express my random thoughts.

Although there are hundreds experiences to share (many of them written down because we emailed often) one random meeting sticks out in my mind. I had known Aaron for a few short weeks when I ran into him off campus. It was a crisp afternoon in the fall of 1998. I was on the way home from a jog and he was hitting the tennis courts just behind my apartment. I saw him across a busy street and he motioned for me to slow down. I waited for him to cross and I thought to myself that there was no way I had a crush on this guy... if I did, I would be stressed about my sweaty hair, my grungy outfit and my lack of makeup. But I wasn't. I was genuinely happy to run into him and I could tell he was happy to see me too.

As I jogged in place, I remember Aaron telling me how much he loved tennis and how he wished he could do it for a living. This led to him talking about his high school experience on the tennis team, which led to the time he was 12 (or so) living in Texas where he met a kid named Sparky. I still can picture the expression on his face as he told me about how he and his friends would stay up all hours of the night playing ping-pong until they could play no longer... and they would drink so much Tang that they would make themselves sick... and then they would lay down and listen to the Tang swish back and forth in their bellies. I have no idea what I said in response to this information, but I distinctly remember jogging away from the tennis courts, waving goodbye and shaking my head in bewilderment. I was smiling as I said to myself, "WHO is this guy and why on Earth did he just tell me that story?"

Years later, I find myself listening to random stories by this same weird guy. Sometimes we are jogging next to each other. Sometimes it's while at the park with our kids. Sometimes it's next to him in bed-- and it's SO ridiculously late that I curse him for being a night owl. Sometimes it's over dinner at a quiet restaurant. Sometimes it's while loading the dishwasher together. Most recently it was on the way home from a fun, spontaneous road trip. Oh how I love taking road trips with him-- it's hours of guaranteed good conversation.

Ten years of random stories can really teach you something about someone. The more I learn about him, the more I love. He continues to surprise me and he always goes the extra mile to get a reaction out of me. I often find myself shaking my head in bewilderment and asking myself, "WHO is this guy and how did I end up with him?" And then I smile because I know that I'm so lucky I did.

fun with Cindy Lou

Summer has officially arrived... and we are having way too much fun in the sun. Cindy has been here for a week and we've been busy playing games, cooking, watching movies, swimming, hitting our favorite museums, etc. I've said before that the reason why I blog so often is because I am lonely-- it's my way of reaching out to my family members who live so far away. But with a sister here, I don't feel so lonely anymore. Aaron had a busy week at work and called a few times to say, "I'm sorry... I won't be home until late." And I reply happily, "What do I care? Cindy is here to keep me company!" We'll see how long it will take before she gets sick of us.