Stickers

I have a funny story from today. In my spare time, I like to go look at the Navy boot camp website to see what Jacob could be up to. I was surfing along today and I came across a "Guide for Families" and decided to read it. They devoted a section to "Writing to your Recruit" and I read that as tempting as it is, you should NOT put stickers or notes on the outside of the envelope because the drill sergeants hand out the mail, and tend to be a little hard on people who get stupid stickers on their envelopes. Well, guess who has sent out about 5 letters complete with stupid stickers and notes on the outside of the envelope. Yep. That would be me! I felt HORRIBLE! I'm so scared Jacob will get made fun of or something. It is pretty dang funny when you think about it, but I sure hope they don't give him too hard of a time, poor guy. Needless to say, I will be ditching the stickers from now on....

The One where Jacob and I run up the hill to Lowell Observatory

There were probably about two weeks left in the semester, if that. Jacob decided we should go for a run, and I was excited/scared to accompany him. I mean c'mon people, the man was at NAU on a track scholarship...I usually only run if there's an enticing dessert dangling on a string in front of me. Anyway, I pretty much kept up, and Jacob was even a little impressed, until we got to the hill. That's when Jacob decided to run circles around me and be obnoxious with my camera...

Trust me when I say, that hill is a lot steeper than in looks.

At the top! I have to say I think we look pretty dang good for just finishing running up a hill.

The One with the Easter Pageant

Last Easter Jacob, Gabe, and I went down to the temple in Mesa for the Easter Pageant.

I will never forget the drive down there. It was super snowy and the road was icy, and in an attempt to change lanes we slid on the road not once, not twice, but four times! Luckily we ended up right where we needed to be and Gabe stayed calm through the whole thing. When we got to Mesa the trip was more than worth it! The pageant was a great experience and it was fun to hang out with Jacob since we liked each other by then. The funny thing was, only Gabe knew. So we would act like boyfriend and girlfriend around Gabe but anytime we saw someone else we would act totally normal. It was so fun having a secret.

We snuck in a kissing picture in front of the temple. I love this picture, but I think it's funny that you can tell we're both still a little awkward. Ah, new love =]

This was from the same weekend as the Easter Pageant, I just thought it was funny. It makes me laugh when Jacob acts like this. He starts to get really ghetto on the phone with his brother.

Cleaning

Today I cleaned my room for real. Cleaned, organized, vacuumed, dusted. Everything. It looks so amazing. I should have taken before and after pictures...but I didn't think of it soon enough. So, just enjoy the after...

I love living in a clean room. It feels so good, and I always want to put everything right back where it belongs. I'm going to do my very best to make sure my room stays this clean for a long time.

Might I also add that I organized all of my bride magazines by title, and then by date. I find joy in simple things =]

The One with General Conference

Some would say this is where it all began. Others would say it was a long time coming. But no matter what anyone says, this is the weekend I will always remember the idea hitting me. The idea that maybe I liked Jacob more than the best friend he was quickly growing to be, and I could definitely tell that the idea was hitting him too.

On the way to Utah everything was pretty normal. I wanted a thousand pictures, Jacob put up with it because he loved me..."in a little sister kind of way"...

Jacob being his typical self. He was actually great to have at conference though. He got us amazing seats and explained everything to me.

So, Jacob and I had this thing where we could not let the other one remain too peaceful for too long. It somehow always resulted in a wrestling tournament of some kind. As seen here, Jacob usually had the last say.

This next bunch of pictures are by far one of my favorite Jacob memories. We'd been having a good weekend, but we decided to stay home on Saturday night while everyone else went out. The following are just a small selection from what ended up being about 75 - 100 pictures of our most ridiculous, and usually hideous, faces. We laughed for hours playing this game...

Tell me those were not attractive. I love that Jacob and I can entertain ourselves so easily.

Another fun little game of ours...pinch whatever fat you can find. Well played Jacob, well played.

By the time we had to leave Utah it had become clear to everyone that Jacob and I were pretty much inseparable. Were we still denying everything? Of course we were.

On the way home we found some cool caves to explore. We're still pretending nothing is happening. Clearly, it's love.

This picture has become a classic favorite of ours. We took it kind of as a joke and if our faces weren't blocked by the sun, you would be able to see me laughing and Jacob half laughing because I just blew a booger out my nose. We found this road a little outside of Page and it was basically carless except for us. We took the opportunity to stop and have a photo shoot.

That weekend at conference will always stand out as one of my fondest memories, which is why I dedicated so many pictures to it. And it's still not enough to show how much fun it really was. I always loved Jacob, he had been an amazing friend and was getting me through some pretty rough times. He was my rock and shoulder to cry on. I always loved him. It took Utah to show me that it was actually more that that.

I was in love with him.

It's raining, it's pouring...

Today I woke up to the sound of rain on my window. I can't ever remember that happening to me. I love rain. I love the way it sounds and smells. I'm happy today.

i love to see the temple

Wednesday was Veteran's Day so we had the day off school. I went down to the Valley with Amanda to hang out. It was good for me to get out of Flagstaff! We got to go to the temple while we were there, I love temples! They are always so beautiful and it is so peaceful to be there and just think about things. It was so fun to take that random road trip in the middle of the week.

When I got back today, there was something amazing in the mailbox...my first letter from Jacob!! I was soooo excited. He graduates from bootcamp on January 8th. I can't wait to go to Chicago and see him. Also, now that I have his address, I can send the 7 letters I had written. =] Hearing from him was exactly what I needed today. Even though the letter was mostly information from the Navy, he got to write me a few lines. He said he is doing great!

Today I also got two other things that make me very happy...

This air freshener makes my room smell AMAZING. Haley introduced me to it, and now I'm obsessed. My room smells so nice.

Sharpie pens! Most fabulous pen I've ever written with. I am converted. Shout out to Amanda for sharing the love.

It is so crazy how fast this semester went by. There is only 2 weeks until Thanksgiving and then 2 weeks until winter break! Then the semester is over! I'm excited to go spend some time at home with my family and plan some wedding things.

Now, for my Jacob memory of the day...all of these pictures are from my 19th birthday party.

These pictures make me laugh. Jacob and I always seem to be ridiculous like that. I think our relationship, even now, shines through in this picture.

The One With the Formal

Classic Valerie and Jacob picture

These pictures are from a formal dance that we went to at the Institute...Funny story about that too! The formal was going to be on my birthday weekend, and all of my friends had dates. So I call Jacob up to ask him to take me because we're friends and I didn't have a date and it was my birthday. Well guess what he said...NO! Yup, he definitely told me that he refused to take me to the formal, even though it was my birthday! He said they were stupid and he wasn't going. Well, long story short, I ended up finding a date, and Jacob ended up going to the formal anyway, with one of my really good friends, Kilie! (She's engaged now too!) We still had a lot of fun, but I like to remind him about it anyway.