Dustin and Elise: 2009

Super Bowl Sunday 2008 was an unforgettable night for me and Elise and it wasn't just because the Giants upset the then undefeated Patriots with an improbable scramble, throw and catch by the underdogs. It just so happened that Elise and I were with a group of mutual friends watching the game together. I, being the absolute gentleman that I am, constantly teased and poked fun at Elise because her team (the Patriots) were losing and Elise, being the polite and elegant lady that she is, put it right back in my face and insulted my intelligence all at the same time (she is a phenomenal "multi-tasker"). So like any normal young person, I became absolutely intrigued by this gorgeous girl that loved to make fun of me, so when the night ended and I thought I should walk her to the car. It was snowing that night (now for those of you who don't Elise that well she doesn't care much for the snow or the cold, you can say she's pretty much a Vegas girl through and through) and so a couple of our friends that were with us decided to have a snowball fight that ended with Branson and Kourtney awkwardly forcing me to ask Elise for her phone number which she graciously gave to me even though I probably didn't deserve it. We went out that Friday and have talked or been with each other every day since, I was "sold" after that first date.

A few weeks after our first date I realized that I was living in a rice cooker, that's how much pressure I was feeling, Elise and I had been spending a lot of time together each day and we still hadn't kissed yet. Frankly I was terrified, but I had a plan. I had gotten some tickets to a Jazz game from my work that I automatically invited her to, this was when I knew that I was "whipped" over her, anytime a guy chooses to take a girl to watch his favorite team play instead of inviting his brother or best friends, then girls you know that he is into you and I was very into Elise. Later that day I picked her up and with another couple we headed to the arena, unfortunately I don't remember anything about the game, I assume we won (the Jazz always win at home) but for the most part the game was very forgettable. Luckily for us we decided to go to the Marriott in Salt Lake City and took the elevator to the top where our dear friends Stan & Kenz showed us to the roof of the building (we had to enter through a few "Do Not Enter" doors, luckliy the alarm did not sound). Once we got on the roof they showed us to a ladder that took us to the very top where we were standing on top of the actual "Marriott" sign, Elise was obviously very nervous and with good reason, it was quiet a drop to the bottom. After her nerves calmed down a bit we were able to enjoy the view of Temple Square, this where we had about four or five random hugs where I probably should have gone in for the kiss but I chickened out, finally on the sixth try I leaned in and we had our first kiss, it was the best 0.0167 seconds of my life. That's how long our first kiss lasted, to this day I kiss my mother with more feeling and emotion than our first kiss, luckily Elise took it easy on me and a couple of weeks later we kissed again and it definitely lasted longer than 0.0167 seconds.

This is the door that we illegally went through, to get the beautiful view of the Salt Lake Valley.

Our feet dangling over the Edge of the Marriot Hotel

Right before Dustin and Me had our first kiss. What a night :)

Telling the future, the view of the temple in the back.

We continued to spend every day together for the rest of the semester until the end of the April when we both went our seperate ways, I was off to Texas to work for the summer and she went home to spend sometime with her family before she was due back to school for spring term.

After going to the Tabernacle Performance, we headed over to temple square.

Dustin's office in Texas

After the summer was over, his company decided to send them on a cruise to reward them for dong so well.

I was in deep depression because Dustin left me for the summer and I was stuck in Provo going to school. Luckily I had Kina there to keep me company.

During the summer, my family had the opportunity to go to Ryans mission. We spent a week in Portugal and then my parents let me and my brother lose and we went back packing for a couple of weeks. This picture was taken in Venice Italy. It was a fun trip but I really wanted Dust to be there with me.

The summer of 2008 was long and hard as we both tried to manage a long term relationship without actually admitting that we were "in a relationship". The most noteworthy moment of this summer was the "I love you" exchange. I flew to Utah for Father's Day weekend (Father's Day was the perfect excuse for me to get out of work for a day so that I could see Elise) and while there I had the following conversation with Elise Sunday night while we were cuddling on her couch: "Elise I think I'm falling in love with you"..... (no response from her), "Elise, I love you".... her response: "Ohhh thanks Dust". That was it. I was obviously a little devastated that the weekend wasn't quite as "magical" as I would have hoped, but I survived and a month later I told her I loved her again via text messaging and she told me she loved me too in a text message. That summer was a huge growing experience for both of us, we fell in love with each other but we also became best friends and upon going back to school we looked forward to spending lots of time with each other.

This has to be the worst picture ever taken. It was taken on my I-phone by Dustin's little sister Grace, but its the only picture we have of that weekend.

Not a lot happened fall semester just the usual; Elise broke up with me for a couple of weeks, but we still happened to see each other every day and she still wanted to kiss? It was a tough "break up" to swallow. My favorite night of fall semester was the night she realized that we were going to get married. We were sitting in Smart Cookie laughing and being together when out of the blue Elise got real quiet and slowly said, "Oh my lanta.... we're gonna get married." That's all she said. I was euphoric about us getting married and she was slightly depressed. I knew we were going to get married on St. Patty's Day 2008, I just knew it was going to happen, but I also knew that I was going to have to be very patient and let Elise grow up.

After spending Thanksgiving break apart from each other and both of us being pretty miserable without the other, we decided to see each other over Christmas break and I was fortunate enough to be invited to the "Hardy Party" by her family and spend a few days in Vegas. It was an absolute pleasure spending some time with the Kelly's and being brought into their home during Christmas break and being able to spend New Year's with Elise. My only regret of that trip was not taking Sister Kelly's advice and staying an extra day, I was dumb and determined to drive home on schedule and got stuck in a snow storm. Sister Kelly I should have listened to you (brownie points? I hope so).

Elise and I both knew that we were going to have to spend another summer apart and that the summer of 2009 would be a major struggle but we decided to have as much fun as we could before we would have to part ways again.

We all love Dustin so much, that he has now officially been added to the Vegas Night Dinners.

Isn't Dustin just so cute!

January-March went by exceptionally fast as we were both out of town almost every weekend with trips, work, and school activities.

One day, Dustin decided that he wanted to go to Italy. So he went.

Dustin loves to go off on adventures :)

Weekend trip to Vegas.

Valentines Day

By the time we finally had some stress free time to ourselves we decided to get engaged on Friday April 3rd. the help of Lisey's family friends, I was able to surprise her up at Sundance in the middle of a snow storm, with her wedding ring and some chocolate on hand I proposed and she accepted, up until now that has been the happiest moment of my life. The rest of the night I spent watching Elise, as she played with her ring and kept talking about how excited she was to get married, a lot had changed since the night at Smart Cookie.

A few short weeks later I went from the happiest day of my life (proposing) to probably the saddest, saying goodbye to her at the airport as she left for Jerusalem. I cried more that day than I did the day I left my mother's womb, it was an emotional rollercoaster that I wasn't quiet ready for.

Since then we have both been blessed with opportunities to grow and learn. She is learning of our Savior and of His life in Jerusalem for the summer, I am in Milwuakee for the summer learning about breweries and bratwursts. We are both extrememly excited for the next few months and what they will bring about as we prepare for the wedding, pictures, showers, etc. We are also looking forward to the infinite future and the blessing we will have to spend it with each other as sweethearts. For those of you still reading this, thanks for your interest and love; for those of you that quit after the first couple of lines, no worries, you probably had something better to do anyway. We look forward to seeing you all soon.