The last 10 year in a timeline. Part 1

Happy New Years!

I am sure that this thought comes to everyone every now and then, "Boy time goes by so fast" With little kids I think that all the time! With this new year I have been thinking about my life in the last 10 years, and how fast the time has gone by. I have also been thinking a little about my personal history (which I have another idea for, come back Friday and you see what I have in store for this new year). In the last week or so I came up with the idea to write down what happened in the last 10 years and a few thoughts in a time line format. So sit back, grab some popcorn and be prepared for a little look into my life, well a little less than half of it anyway.

1998- This was probably one of the most difficult years in my life. I learned more about myself in this year that any other year in my life so far. I was in the middle of my Senior year of High School, and was caught between a battle of rebellion and what I knew was good for me. I was dating a guy named Kevin (I can see my entire family cringing now). He was in the Air Force and lived at Hill Air Force Base. To me, at the time, he was my outlet for the rebel in me. In the early Spring of 1998, before I graduated, I moved out of my parent's house and into a basement apartment with a friend. My parents made me promise one thing before I moved, that I would graduate from Seminary. They knew that would be something that I would never be able to go back and do and they knew that it would make a huge impact on my life. (later I realized that it really did). I did end up graduating from both Seminary and from High School.

I worked at Crossland Mortgage Corp. full time after graduation. I hated the job but with no plans of going to college there was nothing else that I could do that would pay my rent. I even took two weeks off unpaid so I could go to San Antonio, TX. with Kevin over Father's Day. To leave my dad on Father's Day was a decision that I have always regretted. Throughout the summer I spent my time going to clubs, spending time with Kevin, fighting with my roommate and working. With my boy friend's crappy influence I even got a tattoo that summer.

This was that year that I hit rock bottom. My relationship with Kevin was a horrible one and was getting even worse by the day. My friendship with my friend that I had moved in with was over. Her and I even got into a fist fight one morning. I was going nowhere fast. I moved back into my parents house with full intentions on being there a short time and moving back out after the Holidays.

There was one night late September that I had a conversation with my mom and a blessing from my dad (I will have to talk about this experience another time. It is a life changing one, but will take up too much time here.) I decided at that time that I was going to do two things. I was going to apply at Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort for a job. Any job, I didn't care, I wanted to snowboard all winter long. And I was going to give college a try.

I enrolled in one class, a history class, at the University of Utah. I even got a job at Snowbird and started on October 12, 1998. I hated both my first day of work and my history class. My mom convinced me to give my new job one more day. That next day this good looking guy started in the office next to me and I thought that I could give it a little longer (even though I was still dating Kevin.)

Shortly after starting at Snowbird I realized that I no longer wanted Kevin to apart of my life. We broke up and I started dating a few other people. One was that really cute guy that worked at Snowbird with me. We had our first date on December 9th, 1998. After two weeks he was spending Christmas with my family, and I knew I was in love with him.

1999- My new love and I had been dating a short while and were starting to realize the greater things in life. Like our future. This scared me a little. Even though I had been a rebel for most of my life and pretty much inactive from my church for awhile, I still wanted to picture perfect life of being married in the temple and raising my kids in the church. He wasn't active either and I didn't really think that it was something that he wanted. One day I decided to lay it all on the line. I called him up and said "I really like you, but I want to get married in the temple some day. If this isn't something that you want then we need to break up because I am wasting my time." To my surprise that WAS something that he wanted. He had always wanted it, but never had the influence around him to help encourage him.

So together we decided to break some bad habits and to work together to go to the temple some day. With a meeting with the Bishop and some heavy duty goals, our decision was made. We were starting to go to church together and really starting to change our lives. We needed to wait 1 year from the first of February to go through the temple.

The entire year of 1999 was dedicated to spending as much time with my love, and working all the goals that we had set. We did so many fun things together. Hiking, 4 wheeling in his Jeep CJ5, driving up the canyon with friend to have a hot dog roast, and working together. Still a little ruined from my previous relationship I was always on my guard. For no reason though, he was perfect!

9/9/1999 He proposed to me! We were to be married on Feb. 25, 2000. The rest of the year was for making wedding plans for me and for my sister that was going to be married 71 days after me. (my poor parents!)