L+N

so i've been looking at TONS of wedding stuff online (venues, flowers, photographers, and especially dresses). i started reading a wedding dress shop's blog because they feature brides who buy their dresses.  the brides tell their story of how they met their fiance, started dating, first kiss, etc. and i decided that i didn't have to wait until i'm married to tell my story!

Layton and i met in Tokyo, Japan. so exotic and romantic right? well, not really. we were both serving missions there. i had no idea who he was in the mission until i got transferred into the same area as him his last transfer. i always thought he was so funny, after he went home i would say how much i missed elder checketts because he was the funniest person i'd ever met. i think he loved me the first time i asked him to get me ice cream. he and his companion had come to our apartment to help one of my companion's break down her bike (i know i know, sisters can't do their own bikes?? but it was seriously stuck!). he and his companion decided that they needed to go to the store to buy some more tools and asked if we needed anything. i immediately said 'ice cream!'. i was so surprised when they returned and actually had ice cream! it all plays a bigger part later in the relationship ;)

Layton went back to America and i did miss him, i missed elder checketts and his fun personality that lit up the room and made things comfortable. i came home as well, but didn't think about him even once, until a few months later. i found a memento from that area from his companion that had really made me laugh as well. i looked on facebook to see if Layton and i were friends and i messaged him about finding the memento and how funny it had been. i never expected for him to respond, let alone ask me to do something. when he did, i was really happy! i was living in idaho at the time, he in utah. he asked me the next time i was in utah if i'd be willing to get together to do something. i said i was actually coming down the next day! not thinking anything of it really because people say all the time they want to do something and then nothing ever happens. 

our first date (which at first i thought was just a hang out, but within 5 minutes of being together definitely seemed like a date to me) was to a concert of a band that we both loved listening to on our missions. before we met up for the date, i was excited, but didn't really think anything of it, until i saw him. i hadn't seen him for 6 months. when i did see him, i felt so happy and for me, sparks started to fly :). the whole night was wonderful and i was excited about what was seemingly going to happen. i met his entire family a couple of days later and knew right then that i wanted to be a part of it. 

we didn't really date right away because i was in idaho and he was in utah, but we both really liked each other. we texted and emailed nearly every day and talked on the phone once in a while. i came down a couple of times during the semester to visit him. i remember the first time we held hands, i was so excited!!! we didn't kiss until a couple of months after our first date because we weren't really dating or even in the same place. it was perfect and i'm glad it took a little while. it was at thanksgiving, right after we finished watching a movie. we were talking and then he went in for the kiss. afterwards he asked me if it was okay and i said yes and kissed him again. right after he asked if it was okay for him to say that we were dating and i said yes! 

he came up to idaho for my graduation in december, and we've been pretty much inseparable ever since. we actually talked about getting married before we even said i love you! i remember i had thought i was going to marry him and it finally got brought up. i said that i didn't know, but i thought it would happen. driving home that night, i sort of started to laugh because i realized we had talked about getting married and we hadn't even said i love you! to me it was apparent that we did love each other, and when he told me the next night, i wasn't surprised, it felt totally natural. 

he proposed on february 27, and it was PERFECT. we hadn't even been planning on seeing each other that day, and i found out later that he had decided THAT NIGHT that he was going to propose. i was with his mom and sister and we were all talking in their garage. he texted me to let me know that he wasn't going to basketball and to come inside whenever to talk. i went inside and asked him if he wanted to sit down and talk and he said he was warm and would rather go for a walk. i had to go to the bathroom and i suddenly thought, 'omg, this is it!!! he's going to ask me tonight!!' i knew that his uncle who's a goldsmith had been working on the ring, but i didn't know if it was done or if layton had it, but i hoped so so much that he did and that that night would be the night. we went on a walk and the whole time i thought, i hope he asks, i hope he asks! we got back to his house and were standing at the porch talking. he asked me if i remembered how i had said i wanted a gold necklace with something on it. i said no, i just wanted a necklace, not a gold one. he told me that he'd gotten me one, and pulled out the box! it had his uncle's company name/logo on it so i really thought then, this is it! i opened the box and there was a gold necklace. i was a little disappointed but said thanks! i did like it, but i had really hoped for a ring! i started to pull it out and i realized there was something attached to it underneath the foam, he told me to pull it out! so i did, and there was the ring! he got down on one knee and asked me if i would marry him and i said yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! i started to cry a little bit, and hugged him. i hadn't even gotten a look at the ring, but when i did, tears started flowing again. it was the most beautiful, perfect thing i had ever seen (besides human beings). he then informed me that we would have pictures to remember the occasion and waved to his car on the street. a couple of his siblings got out and they had gotten pretty much everything on camera! they had been waiting in the car for over an hour but i sure am thankful for them!

we went inside his house and all 11 members of his family rejoiced with us!! it was absolutely perfect and a night i will never forget. 

i love him so much and i can't wait to marry my sweetheart in the draper temple on May 17th.