Walking down memory lane

In the last few weeks since my last post, not a whole lot has happened, which is why I decided I'd reminisce a bit.

So, mine and Danny's first actual date: It was the cutest thing ever. He picked me up and said we were going to go out to dinner, which we did, at a yummy Mexican place somewhere in Mesa. I ate too much and my tummy hurt a bit, but I was ready for more when he explained we had more to go do.

Next stop was a park he used to play frisbee golf at with friends and family. By the time we got there, it was actually a little dark and it was getting chilly. Of course, he gave me the jacket in the back of his car (this jacket has since been donated to D.I.--he'd had it since he was 15!). The frisbees? Coolest things ever! They GLOWED in the dark. I didn't know they made them like that. I know, I'm real caught up with the times. We got started on our game of frisbee golf, and being me, I managed to over-toss one of the frisbees into a dark abyss somewhere in the park. We looked everywhere, but the downside to glow in the dark frisbees is that they need to be recharged with light to glow well (at least I thought they did). Frisbee lost, game, continued. It was actually a ton of fun--I'd never played before, so I didn't know what to expect.

Danny was such a goof: he had paper in his backseat to make paper airplanes as soon as we got bored with frisbee golf. My airplane looked awesome! And... well...it didn't fly well. Danny's looked pretty simple and, as you might guess, it flew straight. It was super cool to alter the designs of the planes and try to make them fly in different ways. I think Danny got one to loop the loop. Yep, it was great.

Now, quick note: Our first date happend the week AFTER we went to Sunday dinner at his family's house. And thank goodness it did, because we both feel very strongly that without that Sunday dinner, we may not have begun dating as quickly as we did. Here's how it happened:

During sacrament meeting in early December/late November--don't remember which--Danny happened to overhear me telling a few other gals in the ward that I had a choir concert way out in Phoenix and was trying to figure out how I'd get to my home in Gilbert after I was finished. Being the gentleman that he is, he offered to pick me up from the lightrail station and then take me to Gilbert to have dinner with my family. It was in the direction he needed to go anyways.

Hours passed, my choir concert finished, and this handsome guy in a blue Honda shows up at the lightrail station to pick me up. A little while later, he had his brother Jimmy in the car and picked me up from my dorm to go to Gilbert. I had my laundry with me, which was a bit...weird feeling to say the least. He opened the door and almost hesitantly, asked if I would like to come to dinner with him at his family's house in Queen Creek. It was Fast Sunday, I was hungry, and hey, I wanted to get to know him a little better. What better way than around his family?

Now, he'd told me about all his siblings, but when he invited me to come with him to family dinner, I certainly wasn't expecting to drive up to a gigantic home with at least 5 other vehicles parked around the driveway. When he said family dinner, he literally meant the WHOLE family! Talk about a shocker!

Danny would say I took it all in a stride, and learned all the nieces' and nephews' names in a single sitting, and for the most part he's right. But I didn't feel like I had to try to fit in with them. Everyone was easy to talk to, funny, and best of all, I got to see how phenomenal Danny was as a brother, an uncle, and a son.

A little while later, Danny told me he felt prompted to ask me to come to dinner with his family. Thank goodness for the influence of the Spirit. It certainly helped us. I'm so grateful for a wonderful husband, and amazing family and friends. I know the gospel is true and I know that Danny and I are strengthened every day because of our testimonies.

Stay tuned for more!