Four years ago...

...Shem and I went on our first date together. :)  It was a Monday (1/15/2007)  and it must have been Martin Luther King Jr. Day since we had the day off from school.  Our day started with some Racquetball with his roommate Paul and Paul's brother.  Shem thought that I was flirting with Paul's brother and I'm sure he didn't think much of that, but I was probably just trying to look cool because I was crazy nervous!  I'm sure Shem wore his old man tennis shoes with his red shorts that I hated, but apparently that didn't stop me from seeing who he really was.

After Racquetball they took me home and I worked on some lessons and later that afternoon my roommates and I were invited over to play Settlers of Catan.  Paul pretty much killed all of us in that game.  The conversation turned to FHE and Shem and I both expressed our dislike of the ward's FHE activities, so we decided to ditch...together. :)  I think Paul thought we were sinners at that point with the look of horror on his face from our lack of support of FHE.  His face was more hilarious to us than convincing since we still decided to skip...guilt free. I knew Paul from the BYU-I 21st ward and we went on a date once. The boy just couldn't jay walk for the life of him!  He made us walk another minute in the freezing cold just to use the crosswalk!  Yeah, he was that obedient to all of the laws of the land.

Anyway, I have no idea how we, Shem and I, came up with our alternative date idea, but we ended up taking his car (which, at the time, would die at random times) down to Provo to go and explore the library on campus.  I love libraries and maybe Shem did/does too, so we found ourselves there looking at some old books on the shelf and just talking.  We rounded a corner and I was face to face with him and I remember looking up at him (because he's about a head taller than I) and seeing his super blue eyes for the "first" time.  It was one of the moments that we could have kissed, but didn't because it was our first date for heaven sakes!  I do remember getting that warm and fuzzy feeling and maybe he even put his arm around my shoulders.  I don't know.

So, after exploring the library we went to eat at Leatherby's down the street. The car died, Shem didn't freak out (like I would have), but instead decided that since we were there we should enjoy our time and eat and worry about the car later.  We had a similar experience with his car dying in Salt Lake on the night we had our first kiss on temple square about two weeks later.  Yes, we kissed in front of the Salt Lake Temple and then we busted up laughing because it was sooo "Mormon" of us to kiss in Utah in front of the temple.  We still laugh about that and I still feel weird about our very non-unique and totally "mormon" first kiss.  It was a good kiss though. :) 

Back to Leatherby's and dinner.  We bonded over french fries and burgers and Shem asked me about a stupid thing I had done in my life.  Little did he know that I have actually done a lot of stupid-don't-think-before-you-act things in my life, so I kept us entertained with my random stories.  I then asked him about the most stupid thing he had done and he replied with: "I normally think before I act, so I don't think I've ever really done anything stupid before."  Seriously!?  Yeah, I was shocked and a little afraid that he would think that I'm some kind of rebel at that point.  He didn't (and still doesn't) even have a scar from trying to do some kind of crazy trick on a bike or skateboard; however, I on the other hand, have scars from back flips on diving boards, concussions from tricks on bikes, rolling down big hills with big rocks, pains in my knee from trying to do tricks on the ice, and a big ankle from landing on it (instead of my foot) when racing another girl at hurdles in high school (I won that race btw).

For some reason he still decided to like me...a lot and I liked him a lot.  We became the cute and envied couple of the student teaching group, the vulture like girls stopped asking about Shem, and we claimed each other while student teaching in Utah. 

All of this liking of each other didn't happen because we're good looking either, I mean, we are, but Shem didn't think anything of me until the Saturday before our first date.  I made up some lame excuse to have him over the fix my un-fixable computer (which I knew couldn't be fixed :)) and I showed him some pictures of me working on a car and others of me with curly hair.  I told him stories of some of my experiences in life and that's when he decided that I was a cool girl and not just some pretty girl.  I was real, not too girly, and just myself.  He was attracted to just me and I think he still is. :) 

I also love how I took a leap of faith and made up stupid reasons to go by his apartment the week leading up to our first date.  I sat close, very close to him on his couch while using their Internet (Shem noticed how I could've sat a whole cushion away, but I placed my bum right next to his...our arms must have touched. :))  That week was the first week that I have ever had the guts to be so straightforward with a guy in dropping clues that I was interested.  I never planned on being interested in him either since the rest of the single girls in the ward, the student teachers, and the single teachers at work all seemed to have their eye on him.  I guess I wasn't stubborn enough and I'm so glad that I let myself fall for him. :)

So, in recognition of our first date of many, yesterday we took the day off from school work (Shem worked all week late just so that he could have the day free...that was so sweet of him) we hiked Pu Pu (Poo Poo) Point in Issaquah.  I took my preggo body up 2,000 ft of elevation gain and 4 miles of hiking and it was so worth it!  We had fun talking about the baby, his name (we like Asher Jeffery a lot since he is our little blessing and hopefully he'll be a happy kid), our amazing bodies and Shem's new discoveries about energy in the body from his Mom, our plans, and other stuff.  He's my best friend and I love him so much. :) 

Poo Poo Point, Issaquah, WA.  Shem carried the backpack and I carried the 25 lbs of baby weight I've gained! Yikes!  At least I look pregnant and not just fatter. :)