TBT: Engagement Pictures!

Today's TBT goes back to our engagement photos last winter! We had them taken just after returning from Guatemala. I looked around for a photographer on Cache Valley Classifieds. I found an awesome photographer offering a promotion. Ruth Cozier with Developing Bliss Photography was amazing! She gave me a few outfit tips, and she knew exactly where to take us to get a backdrop matching our style. It was a wonderful afternoon, and I am so happy to have the beautiful photographs she took :) I highly recommend her to anyone in Northern Utah or Pocatello area! She is reasonably priced and gives you the disc with printing rights! It doesn't get much better than that :)

 

 

 

"So how was prom?" ---how Janae' & Vanny became Josh & Janae' the high school sweethearts!

**Warning! This is a long story :) **

Our first picture together :)

I have been thinking about this post a lot lately, and I just couldn't get it off my mind. I was planning to wait until Thursday to post it as my next TBT, but I guess I will have to write something else :) I am not sure why this is so heavy on my heart lately, but I was just checking Facebook. I follow "The Duggers" from TLC's 19 Kids & Counting. Michelle writes blog posts responding to fan's question, and Guess What!?!? Today she wrote about her and Jim Bob's first date! I guess that was the last sign I needed that it was finally time to write about this moment. I have a million titles for this post, but "So how was prom?" has become our "pick up slogan". Josh and I have been together for nearly 6 years. I was thinking back on all of our memories together last night, and I suddenly realized we are exactly where we are supposed to be. Never in my wildest dreams would I think I would live in NC for any period of time. I especially didn't think I would live here..with my husband..for his schooling to be a Park Ranger. I believe that everything happens for a reason. God is in control of this crazy thing we call life, and whether or not we choose to accept that, he will put us where we need to be. That being said...I guess I should tell the story of how J & J went from Janae' ... & ... Vanny..... to Josh & Janae' the high school sweethearts! 

I had a tough time in junior high and high school. I am sure everyone feels that way, but of course hormones played an important role in my fate. I had a lot of up and down friendships. I basically "grew up" with the same 4 or 5 girls in my class since kindergarten. Living in a small town and attending a small school means you take what you can get when it comes to friends. I don't mean that in a bad way. I am VERY grateful for the friendships I have both long and short. What I do mean is that when my best friend didn't like me that day...my life was hell. Yes, my day and mood was based solely on who the popular girl would pick to be friends with that day. Of course she could only have one friend at a time! Anyways I finally found myself and decided I just needed to make new friends. I was miserable, and I wanted nothing more than to feel like somebody wanted me rather than me always begging for their attention. My sophomore year of high school I started hanging out with a new group of friends. Lexi & Amy came to my rescue in a sense. I finally had girls that accepted me for who I was. I didn't have to beg for their attention like I had previously. Also in that group of friends was Vanny (aka Josh), Briggs, Grant, and a few others that were in and out from time to time. For the most part it was the 6 of us that spent most of our time together. Briggs' house became the hang out for practically half of the high school, so we spent most of our time there. I had a crush on Vanny for a while, but he was the popular, funny kid. There was no way he would have an interest in me! However, as soon as Lexi & Amy found out, they came to my rescue. We suddenly started pulling little tricks to get Vanny & I closer. One day we were hanging out at Briggs' and we decided to all walk to the store and get ice cream. In the store the three of us girls decided we would link arms and "skip". Lexi & Amy would each grab Grants & Briggs' arms so that Vanny had to grab mine. It worked! We all walked arm in arm for a half a block or so, and then everyone dropped their arms and kept going... except Vanny! Ahh my dreams had come true! We just stayed arm in arm for the entire way home. We both talked about it later saying our arms were so stiff but we didn't want to let go! It was also prom time in West Yellowstone. When you are in a small school, prom is for the entire high school; 9-12th. Also, 8th graders can go if they are invited by a high schooler. (Yes i attended prom 5 times!) I started hinting to Vanny that I would like for him to ask me to prom. I would bring it up constantly! I finally decided I was getting no where, and flat out asked him if he wanted to go. Not in a serious, formal way. Just in conversation. He said no! He didn't like prom. He thought it was crazy expensive and just awkward because you had to dance with people you didn't like. I was devastated! I was banking on him being my prom date, so basically everyone else was already paired up! Thankfully one of my classmates wasn't. He asked me to go as a friend last minute, and I gladly accepted. (Even though I already had a dress...there was NO WAY I was going alone!) So, for one last move I asked Vanny to come to the Grand March. (The couples are announced in front of basically the whole town as they walk down a grand staircase. It's kind of a big deal in West!) I told him I really wanted him to see me all dressed up. (How could he resist me then! :) He agreed, and that was that! After my date and I walked down the stairs, he came over to say hi. He gave me a hug and said he liked my dress. We never let go of our hug. We stood with one arm around each other for the rest of the time! I felt really bad for my date standing awkwardly next to us, but I didn't care enough to want to let go :) The next morning I woke up to a text from Vanny, "So how was prom?" AHHHHHHH So he liked what he saw enough to want to talk about it! I was so excited! We talked ALL DAY!! We finally said goodnight around 2 am. Then the next day was the same!
My parents had gone out of town right after the Grand March. When they returned home I knew I needed to tell my mom. Which is really weird because I never told her anything about any boyfriends or crushes. For some reason, I knew this was different. Also, Vanny wasn't always the most well behaved kid ;) I knew if my parents thought I was sneaking around it wouldn't make matters any better. Anyways right when my mom walked in the door, hands full, I told her I needed to tell her something. She goes, "Uhhh right now?" I said, "Yes." So she set down the groceries and luggage. I said, "I have been texting a boy... a lot.... it's Vanny." That's it! I just dropped that bomb on my poor mom! She knew of him, but didn't know HIM. So, she said, "Well for how long? What kind of guy is he?" I responded with the typical... "Well we are just texting right now, and he is awesome! He is like the coolest person in school." I can't imagine what was going through her mind! My lovely big brother chimed in with incriminating comments about Vanny's past! I was so mad! Here I am trying to be honest with my mom, and my brother has to go and ruin it! We ended that conversation with, "Janae' let me just think about this for a while." What was I to do? Should I have hid the relationship from my mom? No! I knew this was something I wanted to be completely honest about. How could I convince her he was a good guy? That was the last of it until the next night. My mom said, "I want to let you know that I called Cindy. (Cindy is my aunt..Vanny and her son Justin are best friends). She said Vanny is a good kid, and that I have nothing to worry about. I am not saying I am encouraging anything here, but I want you to know that I would like to get to know him." Well that was the first step right!? I told her I would keep her in the loop, and if it got serious I would have him over for dinner. Yikes! Well, Vanny & I continued to talk nonstop, everyday for the next month. It was literally one month to the day that we were hanging out at Lexi's house. It was a Friday or Saturday, so my parents let me stay out late. We were watching movies and playing games. Vanny & I kept making excuses to talk to each other alone. Nothing naughty..just a few pecks :) I finally came out and said, "So does this mean we are official?" He said, "If you want it to be." I said, "Yes. I want it to be. :)" That was that! We were a couple! It became MySpace & Facebook official the next day! I was completely honest with my parents and told them about our first time holding hands, our first kiss, and our "official status" each step of the way. I told myself in the beginning that I wasn't hiding anything! After we became "official" my parents said, "OK he has to come to dinner now." Oh man! What was going to happen? He agreed, and it wasn't so bad. Nothing too scary. I think my dad asked what his intentions were but then giggled and said I'm just kidding. I am not sure who was more nervous that night, Josh or myself! Although I am sure my mom felt she should be in the running too :) As I have been thinking about his post for the past week or so, I am not sure what I felt at the time. For some reason I knew this was special, but I didn't know why or how far it would go. I never thought I would marry him! I thought for sure this was just a high school fling, and I wanted to have fun while it lasted. Looking back now, I know God had a plan for us. We are both completely different people than we were then! Neither one of us could have predicted were we would be today :) 

TBT - Our Proposal

I don't ever do Throw Back Thursday (TBT) on Facebook, so I thought I would try it out on the blog! How fun would it be to write an old post every Thursday?? We'll see how it goes! Today I am going to cheat a little :) I wrote about our proposal within days so I could post it on our website. I am SO glad I did! I already forgot some of the little stuff, and I probably wouldn't write it anything like this today! Every time I read it I get butterflies all over again :) I am going to copy and paste it here (it is the italicized section), but I will add a few photos and other memories too :) 

Josh and I had discussed that it was really important for both of us that he ask my dad's permission for my hand in marriage. I had no idea when or how he might ask him, but I knew he would be a man about it :) I remember talking to my mom about marrying Josh one time, and my dad asked me when we were going to get engaged. I said, "I don't know. You tell me. You will know before I do!" That was as far as my knowledge of our engagement went. I would bug Josh from time to time, but he was much more level headed and relaxed about our impending future :) When the time came for Josh to ask my dad, I totally knew it was happening. We were all at my house for Thanksgiving break. My dad and brother had been hunting off and on, but since Josh and I had Utah licenses we couldn't hunt. I kept telling my dad that Josh wanted to go hunting with him even though he couldn't shoot anything. My dad just brushed it off because it isn't too high on his priority list anymore. Finally Josh says, "Robbie, do you want to go for a drive?" (His voice was shaking and he sounded SO nervous!) I was behind the couch, so I couldn't see Josh's face when he said it. I immediately knew what he meant! Josh finishes by saying, "To look for elk." My dad says yeah lets leave around X o'clock. Josh says ok I will be ready. I looked up at both of my parents, but neither one seemed suspicious of any behavior. I decided I was totally reading into it, and I needed to just relax. (I was marriage hungry for quite some time already :) 

I later found out how that drive went! They didn't see any animals, but Josh wouldn't have seen them anyways. He was so nervous! He was fidgety and quite the ENTIRE drive! He kept telling himself, "OK say it now." Finally when they were driving up the 1 mile long dirt road to my house Josh finally says, "Robbie..can I..ask..for your..for Janae'..for your blessing..and Janae's hand……. My dad finally started to giggle and said, "Josh, I would be honored to have you marry my daughter!" Josh just said, "OK, thank you." Josh had this big speech planned out. He was going to say all of these nice things, and be so calm. I guess true love really does rattle the spirit :) My dad later said that he thought Josh was so nervous he might pass out. He knew the entire drive that something was up. He could hardly contain his own laughter, but he knew this was Josh's moment to do as he pleased. Josh doesn't even remember saying anything. He was so glad my dad finally said yes! I wouldn't have wanted the conversation between my dad and Josh to go any differently. It fit both of their personalities so well, and it brings a big smile to my face every time I think about it =D

For those of you who know us well, it will come as no surprise that coffee was involved! We have been dating for nearly 5 years, and we have habitually recognized our monthly "anniversary" date the entire time (May 4th, 2008).  

So, the story begins...

Josh asked me to go out to a fancy dinner for an early "anniversary" date. We love to get all dressed up and act all lovey dovey anyways, so it was perfect :) We went to Elements, a nice restaurant here in Logan.  We had our meal, and decided to order dessert. Josh got up to use the restroom, but he walked towards the kitchen instead :) I had a feeling something special was coming, but I would never have guessed what he had up his sleeve! When he returned he told me he found the waitress to order our dessert and coffee (this was really special since we are usually too cheap to order drinks when we go out!). When the waitress returned, she set down the most amazing chocolate raspberry cheesecake we had ever seen! I was peeking over the tray, and there was no ring on top! I was so disappointed. However, the best was yet to come. She set Josh's coffee down, and then mine. His spoon was on his plate, and my spoon was in my coffee. That is when he got down on one knee :) I pulled the spoon out of my coffee to see "Will you marry me?" engraved, and my ring was hanging on it!!! Josh grabbed my hand, told me he loved me, and asked me to marry him! I started crying and immediately said yes! We hugged, ate our cheesecake, and tried to decide how to tell our parents!

(They all live in different places!) 

In all our giddy, I managed to forget the spoon on the table! We were blocks away, and I panicked. I was too embarrassed to go back in and admit my mistake, so my handsome man gladly stepped up :) 

That is where all the joy, happiness, and crazy whirlwind of spreading the news began :) That is our story, and I wouldn't change it for the world! 

I told Josh I really wanted to tell my parents in person so I could see their reaction. There was NO WAY I was going to wait till they came to Logan in a week 

(I was convinced this would be when Josh would pop the question - I was wrong! He insisted on surprising me…without an audience! He said he was way too nervous to do it with family around hehe)

We decided Skype would just have to do. We raced back to my apartment and got my computer all ready. (Giggling included! :) I called my mom to tell her to turn on her computer…. They were in Bozeman!!!!! I said ok well drive safe and I will just talk to you when you get home. (I was so calm she had no idea I was even calling to tell her anything.) 

NOOOO how could I possibly wait 2 hours to tell my mom I was marrying the love of my life?? So I said ok Josh how about we text a picture to her and then she will call back and I can just talk to her? It was better than waiting 2 hours, but I was a little disappointed that I wouldn't see her face. We took a picture of the spoon with the ring on it, text it to her, and waited…and waited… and waited. I felt like it was taking FOREVER to send!! I knew they would be entering the canyon soon and would lose cell service. I called back right away and said tell dad to pull over right now. I said I have to send you a picture of what I found in my drink tonight, and you will never believe it. I made it sound really gross. (My parents own a restaurant, so it is our "family tradition" to critique every place we go.) 

My mom says ok its not coming through. I said well let's hang up and maybe it will work then. So we did. The waiting begins again! I swear it had only been 2 seconds when the phone rings :) I answer and here my mom screaming OH MY GOD! AHHHH!! Janae' what is this!!! I can't believe it! The half laughing/half crying/half screaming/half whatever other emotion you can hear over the phone continued for some time :) I was so happy I couldn't even breath! My cheeks were hurting from smiling, my hands were tired from squeezing Josh, I can't even describe the joy that was running through my veins! At this point my mom finally turns to my dad to see his reaction, and he was calm and collected :) He was just smiling and so happy that my mom and I were having that moment together! My mom was mad to find out that he already knew it was coming, but then she understood how much better the surprise was :) 

After we got off the phone with my parents, we got in the car to drive to Brigham City. Josh's dad and stepmom live there, and we were so glad to be able to tell some of our parents in person :) We called them to make sure they would still be awake (it was already after 8pm). We told them we missed them and wanted to come over for a visit. As we were driving we called all of the other people we wanted to tell before putting it on Facebook. That was the quickest drive to BC we have ever had! After we told Gary and Raylene, they took pictures of us. I am so glad they did! Now I can remember what we looked like that night :)

A little bit about our lives lately...

This is my first attempt at blogging. I love the concept, love reading other blogs, love sharing my thoughts, what's not to love about blogging? Right? Well, we will see how this goes. I don't know how long or how often I will post, but I am going to have fun with it!

Josh and I are living in Franklin, North Carolina right now. Josh is attending the Southwestern Community College Public Safety Training Program for Seasonal Law Enforcement. Now if that isn't a mouthful! Basically he is going to school to be a Park Ranger :) It is a 4 month program, and he is loving all that he is learning!

Me on the other hand… I am LOVING being a wife and just a wife for right now! We have been SOOO busy for the past few years of our lives, and this was the perfect opportunity to enjoy each others company. Since we are only here for a short time we decided I wouldn't get a job or make any commitments. It has been GREAT! I'm not going to lie, it does get kind of lonely hanging out with myself all day everyday haha but I have done so many crafty things! My crafty side is very pleased with this opportunity :) I have been reading (a lot!), knitting, putting together puzzles, making lots of new recipes (mostly healthy I am proud to say), and best of all…I finally designed and ordered our Wedding Album!!!! I am so excited for it to get here :) I love scrapbooking, but my creativity and patience are not quite that advanced. My solution… digital scrapbooking! I am obsessed with designing Shutterfly photo albums! In fact, our guest book for our wedding was a photo book of our engagement pictures. I plan to dedicate an entire post or two just for our wedding, but here is a sneak peak from a few pages of our album!

 



Now for Josh… He is learning all about being a federal law enforcement officer, so he is enjoying practicing arrests on me :) Lately he has been learning proper technique with all types of guns. That has been his favorite! However, he is NOT looking forward to getting pepper sprayed and shot with a taser next week. Yikes! Maybe I will have to write a special post about that experience :)


I suppose that is enough for now. I have so many posts floating around in my head, we will just have to see how far my creative ability will take me!