Part Three

I better write Part 3 here quick, cause then I have some other projects I need to focus on before Christmas--and I wouldn't want to leave you all hanging!

So, to pick up where I left off…we were together every free second of every day, and I was so very very very happy. I remember in particular one night we were going somewhere on the bus, and as we were walking to the stop it was snowing the big, huge, beautiful soft flakes and you could see them in front of the streetlamps, and it was quiet and no one else was out there, and Brett was being funny and we were walking along, hugging every little while. It really was like a Christmas card picture, and I just felt so …happy.

Very soon, we started to think about the future of us. We started to play the hypothetical game, and say “If we WERE to get married….” but we didn’t seriously discuss it. Actually, I remember one night, and I THINK it was the very first night we got back together (but I could be wrong), we sat in the lobby outside Brett’s and Kami’s doors, and we were sitting on the couch talking, and for some reason we started being kinda silly and Brett was talking about when we were married…and he said random and ridiculous things like having a shop where he worked on custom cars all day long, coming home to strawberry-rhubarb pie that I had made, and having a son named Jethro. (Yes, honestly he said something as crazy as that!)

School is funny because that’s why you’re there, but it’s so inconsequential in the midst of being in love. Hee hee. Everyone said we would fail our finals with all of our not-studying, but of course we did not. And we did study. A little. One time Brett and Drew were studying in their room and I was pretending to study on Brett’s bed, and Brett worked out a really long problem and when he checked it and had gotten it right, he jumped over to where I was and started kissing me. He said to Drew, poor Drew, “This is my reward.” And Drew said “They train dogs that way.” And Brett said, “Ruff!” (Although I know they train dogs with rewards, I’ve personally never heard of rewarding dogs with kisses.)

And because I am brilliant, every time I did not know an answer on one of my finals I put B for Brett. Worked like a charm.

And so, after finals, we had to part. I remember Brett helping load a few of my and Kami’s things into Andrea’s car, (we were together until the last minutes, sniff sniff) and him telling me his phone number at his parent’s house, and I swear I had it memorized the second he told it to me. Then we—Andrea, Kami, me, and a friend whose family also lived in the barren tundra of NoDak—drove off. It began well, for I happily told them tidbit after fascinating tidbit about Brett, and then they told me I was only allowed one Brett story per hour (they were a little fed up…I believe it also smarted that it was their YOUNGER sister contemplating marriage). What?!! This was only a 17 hour long drive—which means I would only be able to talk about him 17 times!!! You may imagine my horror. But fear not, I snuck in a few extras when their defenses were down—like when they were fighting over what kind of music to listen to.

Being home for Christmas was fun, and yet the highlights for me that year were every time Brett called. Brett normally does NOT talk on the phone. But he talked to me a lot during that time, so I know he really loves me.

Now, my mom knew about Brett, but tried to deny that he existed, or at least that we were really going to get married. She said that I had promised to come back one summer, since I had left early (skipped grade 12), Lindsay, unbeknownst to me, was exceedingly sad that I was leaving her, but my dad took down the calendar and started planning the best day for us to get married. He did have an “interview” with me first. It went like this.

--How old are you?
--17.
--How old is he?
--21.
--How many boys have you dated?
I didn’t know to what extent he meant, like just gone on A date with, or actually gone ‘out’ with them, so I estimated somewhere in the middle.
--Do you think that’s enough to give you a good comparison?
--I don’t know.
--Well, is he kind?
--Yes.
--Is he a good guy?
--Yes. (I tried to come up with a better answer in this nerve-wracking interview) He’s very honest and hardworking. (Hardworking was the number one thing I told my mom over and over again. She LOVES work. Actually, I have been told that I married my mom in male-form, for Brett loves work too.)
--Does he have a sense of humor?
--Yes.
--Does he like to read? (You didn’t know this was on the list of requirements, did you.)
--Yeah, I think so. (Actually he didn’t so much back then, but now he reads a ton. I converted him, thank you very much.)
--Who’s his favorite author?
--I don’t know. (I should’ve lied and said Louis Lamour, that would’ve scored some points. Hee hee. Now his favorite authors are Dumas, Dickens, and Tolkien. He likes LONG books.)
--Does he read his scriptures every night?
--Yes. And he goes to the temple every week.
Etc.

Brett said his family was kindof avoiding the subject (at least that’s what he thought), but then one time he talked to his dad, and he said that Brett shouldn't feel like he didn’t have their support and that they knew Brett would do what’s right and no matter what he’s behind him 150%. Awww. And his mom said that she’d always wanted red-headed grandkids. (Sweet!---I knew my red hair would come in handy sometime!)

So we’d talk all night long about a variety of things, like how he’d started a fire in the vehicle he was getting a frame from in the junkyard. One time he was talking about rings, and he told me that he’d once watched a show about making jewelry, and he’d thought it would be cool to make his wife’s ring. I was like, sure sure, not thinking this would ever happen…but five years down the road he really did make me a ring. (It’s the wedding band part. It matches his ring and I love it. Very much. He made it out of a scrap of titanium he found in the shop at school.)

I wrote a lot in my journal over Christmas, because I wrote a lot about Brett, and most days it said something like, “The countdown to see Brett is 12 days. The countdown to talk to Brett is 1 day,” (we only called each other every other day).

One night I was typing an e-mail to Brett and Wyatt and Ethan gagged me and tied my arms and legs to the chair and carried me out to the front room and laughed at me. Rudies. (Oh, and they put that hat and whatever else is on my head on me.)

I went to a party with a bunch of highschool friends and my sister Amy said she’d lend me her wedding ring to wear, but I decided not to. Though it would’ve been wild.

Brett’s brother Blake was just leaving from the MTC to his mission in Germany, and we seriously considered Brett driving up to meet my family, and then me driving back down with him to meet Blake, but we didn’t want to spend all that money.

One night one of my cousins called me, who I hadn’t talked to in ages, and was like “So you’re getting married?!” I thought it was crazy how fast word gets around…especially since it wasn’t at all official yet.

Finally we made our way back to blessed Utah, but we stayed in Bozeman for the night. I awakened everyone at 7:00 so we could get on the road (again, a miracle that I was the first one awake and chipper and ready to go).

We were very happy to see each other. :)

That evening, though he hadn’t planned on it, Brett asked me to marry him and I said, “No way!” Just kidding. I said yes. :)

We weren’t going to tell everyone for a while, but that night, some people invited us to play games and we were playing Catch Phrase. On Brett’s turn, he got the phrase “diamond ring” (isn’t that crazy?) and he said, ‘What I’m going to buy you!” and I said, “A ring?” and he said, “what kind?” and I said, “A diamond ring?” and everyone turned and stared at us.

So that’s it. Then we got married the day after finals. (My B for Brett trick worked again!)

And my grandpa said my sisters had to dance in the pigpen because their younger sister got married before them. I’d never heard of that before, but I thought it was a fun idea.

And yes….my dad had to mail a notarized consent for us to get a marriage license.

Here's a quick summary of the next seven years:

Kid #1

Kid #2

Kid #3