Proposal Story!!!!

Her side: When Ryan and I met in 2013 it was the very beginning of college(September 23rd, 2013) and I ended up on his floor in his dorm building and he invited me to wait in his room for a friend, so I accepted. He asked me lots of questions about my life and what I was studying in school and really seemed to care about my answers. I thought he was cute but didn't think much of it after I left.

I know, I know, I have been SO BAD at the whole blogging thing lately, but there have been so many moments I want to remember and I'm nervous that if I don't write them down I won't remember them, so any way, I'm going to start here and try to catch up. This is mine and Ryans versions of his proposal story, we wrote this up for our wedding website, so I just felt like it would be easier to copy it over.

His side: Near the beginning of college, about 3 weeks in, there was this cute girl waiting outside our door for her friend across the hall. I invited her in while she waited for her friend. We talked for hours about how college has been going so far, where we were from, our lives back home, etc. Her friend never came back to his room so after a few hours she headed back to her room. I made sure to get her number before she left.

Her side: The very night I met him he got my phone number and invited me to go get pizza the following day, He continued to pursue me and still asked me lots of questions and really cared about my answers. He listened so intently to everything I said, after our pizza date I started to get a bit of a crush on him,

His side: The very next day I texted her to see if she wanted to go get pizza. So politely she said yes and we had our first date. We had take-out pizza because we both lived on campus and sat in the grass getting to know each other better.

Her side: We continued to spend time together after our pizza date and a solid 9 days after that he kissed me in the library and asked me to be his girlfriend. I was so smitten, I had to say yes! Since that day he hasn't stopped listening to me or kissing me.

His Side: About a week later we had still been talking and seeing each other in-between classes. On October 3rd, 2013 I asked her to dinner with me again but this time we were going to see a movie afterwords. After two hours of drawing circles on each others hands with our fingers we headed to the library since we were both a month into college and never stepped a foot inside. In between the book shelves on the second floor of the library I kissed her and asked her if she would be my girlfriend. She said yes.

Christmas Photos

Long time, no see, eh?

Honestly, I haven't been feeling the whole blog thing lately, mostly because I neeeeed a new blog design! Like real bad, I have been talking with a girl who has an ahh-mazing blog design and is super affordable but I guess I was just waiting to after the holidays to pursue it. Anyway I'm rambling and my point is that I haven't been feeling like blogging but I really needed to post our Christmas photos some where, because they are so cute and I'm obsessed!

We printed like a million of these and framed them and gave them to basically everyone as Christmas gifts, Ryans Mom, our grandmothers, and then my step-mom and anyway, just printed a lot of these!

These are the ones that we used for our actual Christmas card, I'll have to upload it because trust me, it came out super cute!

 

Ok, super random... I saw these pictures on pinterest and I really wanted them, so I made our photographer (and my freshman roomie) Raven take like a million of these cutesy pictures and I have been to nervous to post them on instagram! Haha... typical.

These one's are just so romantic! Ugh, I am just so obsessed with these! I'm so happy with how they all came out :)

dear high school best friends

last but not least Nicole & Taylor and although they are the most unique and kind individuals, they are being put together because the three of us, were always put together the better part of senior year, but they'll each get their own letters :)

dear Nicole,

Remember last year when I called you crying from my bathroom floor? Yeah, well to me that was the epitome of our friendship. You are such a support and anchor. For whatever mood I'm in, you get excited with me over what ever, a new job, a good grade, getting asked to dances, you let me complain and cry and you always always have my back. I can never ever thank you enough for all that you were and all that you are through the many seasons of our friendship, it's so weird to think where we are now but it's such a blessing that you were and influence on my life. I love you always and forever!

Oh Taylor,

You have a way of understanding my sense of humor better then anyone. You brought your camera EVERY WHERE and I love that our adventures were documented, you were with me on all of my opinouns and we always agreed on things and it was good knowing I always had someone on my side and you really understood my stress and we shared a love of DP and your mom always adopted us all and loved us all :) 

p.s. you're still planning on photographing my wedding right?!

I can not even begin to describe how lucky I am for the two of you to support me and love me through the awkward stages of high school and taking such good care of my after Corinne's new years eve party and loving me the whole time even when I messed up big. For sharing a tiger town bond with me that no one will ever understand. All the people in my life now have you two to thank for helping teach me to be a good friend and human being, for learning how to do make-up. 

(Honorary mention: Melvin)

high school best friends

You guys, high school has the ability to really really suck.. You read in my last post about my bff Erin being by my side through all of high school, I ended up having an ahhhmazing group of friends in high school who were all so wonderful and supportive and I continue to keep in touch with but the one girl who I became close with towards the beginning of my high school career, that has literally seen it all is my dear friend Heather.... who didn't even go to my high school.

dear high school best friend,

Oh Heather, I have so much to thank you for. From the first day we met when you didn't hate me for being on a date with your soulmate (haha, well not really) to last week when I talked for 12 minutes straight and you listened to me vent the whole time. You are literally the most genuine person I have ever met and high school was such a time for change and decisions and you made such a huge impact in shaping me to who I am today, high school was a time where I needed endless hours of support and encouragement and you came through every time, you listened to everything I was struggling with and was so supportive, I think back on my high school self and boy was I dumb. I think and said the silliest of things and you still made me feel like the coolest person ever. You have always helped me to uphold my standards and remind me of promises I've made to myself and we all need a friend like that. You understand my crazy family better than anyone (probably because yours is crazier) and you are someone always constantly there for me, Sam and Jess, all at the same time. Now that's what I would call worlds best multitask-er. How, did I get so blessed with you as one of my very best friends. You were so perfect for that stage of my life and every stage after that! Thank you for being my rock and loving me no matter how weird and selfish I am.

love, Tessa

to the girl who made me not hate this state

If you've ever moved as a kid you know its basically the end of the world until someone comes around that makes you really like the place you've moved to, even if they don't hang around for very long you and your childhood self owe them a big THANK YOU! for me that was Erin (well Kim but mostly Erin) so this ones for you.

dear Erin,

remember the first time we met?! I do. I hated az, you wouldn't have known that because I was trying so hard not to hate it and I was trying to be friendly but I hated every second of it. We had the same phone one of those phones that slides up and has a full key board so you can text so much better, the ones that were all the rage, I remember those phones but I don't remember who said it first either way one of us said "hey! we have the same phone" and we started looking through each others pictures and you had a picture with Misty and you both had really cool socks on and we bonded over our love of socks. Then you invited me over for memorial day and we went swimming in your pool and you decorated the dug outs of our church softball team for my birthday and gave me a sprite flavored lip gloss (this must have been before we established that we were both coke lovers) you have been such a good friend to me all these years from the first time you invited me to your house to swim in your pool and bake cookies the the time you helped me move into my first apartment (wait that was like 2 weeks ago)! After we got over jr. high you became my best high school friend, as I began to get more confident ad comfortable and make my own friends, you were still always by my side! Through it all, and even though we have grown so far apart I still always am and will be so grateful the universe (more like your mom forced you) created this friendship and brought us together & so grateful you are now moving up to my favorite town to live so close to me :) and we will continue to party (and by party I mean binge watch netflix and force Ryan to bring us pizza)

love, Tessa

dear first best friend

[This will  be the first instillation on my best friend letters, as I am reflecting on my life and the friends that have helped me grow to who I am today, I won't to document a personal note to how each of them have shaped me. Just hang on, it'll start to make sense :)]

Dear childhood best friend,

For me it's Emma. I can never ever repay you for what you've done. You invited me to your twelfth birthday party and it was a sleepover, I'm gonna be real here, I was 11 years old... I had never been invited to a sleepover before. Yep. Everyone else in our grade has far surpassed me, they were having sleepovers since kindergarten and I had never even been to one, let alone a sleepover birthday part!!! I was so nervous. I so badly wanted to make friends and be cool. It was bad. I thought I wouldn't make any friends and then, I was invited to your sleepover birthday. I remember being nervous and excited... the day came and as soon as I arrived at your house you introduced me to your other friends that how I met Hannah and Clara, Janet and Becca... you shared all your friends with me. Included me in every single game, movie discussion, everything that we did that night I felt included. Not only that but you continued to be my friend passed the sleepover party, you still continue to be my friend 9 years later. You continued to invite me out, your friends became my friends, they started to invite me out and I finally felt cool, I probably wasn't very cool but I sure felt it, my nervous little 11 year old self finally felt accepted. When I found out I was moving to Arizona I was devastated, I finally met friends and they were being ripped away from me!!
Then you became my pen-pal, you experienced life with me!! You were the first person I told about the new friends I was making, my first kiss, when Ryan and I started dating, all the first in that relationship, college, my dad getting married! You have been the most faithful penpal and friend. You have shown me what true friendship is, have supported me through every season of life and will always have such a special place in my heart because you were the very first person to show me, people are just people and they shouldn't make you nervous, and all the possibilities there are if I have a little confidence! Thank you for inviting me to your twelfth birthday party and continuing to do every thing right.

I love you penpal. 

Love, Tessa

What they don't know

Alright you guys, so I've heard a lot of questions lately that I could have taken very offesivley and to be honets, I just need to vent...let me give you some examples:

"are you guys planning on getting married or are you just wasting time?"

(like excuse me, I didn't realize dating was such a waste of time.)

"You better get a degree before you get married..."

"You know you'll never make money with that degree, right?"
(why thank you, for informing me that I will have a total of $0 as an adult)

"what are you even doing with your life?"
(actually nothing except eating entire cheese pizzas and netflix marathons)

Ok, let me give you some backround I have made some major changes in my life some of which I've been pretty open about and some, I haven't.
I switched from NAU to a smaller, local community college to pursue an asociates degree instead of a bachelors, Ryan and I have moved in together, I quit my job to become a full time nanny for the summer and don't know what I am going to do when school starts in the fall, but all these questions I'm getting there is so much these people don't know and I honestly dont think it's their place to ask or judge, I guess it kind of defeats the purpose of this blogpost by putting it all on the line like this but i believe in being raw and honest, so that's what I'm doing.

What they don't know is the level of commitment I have in my relationship, the discussions we have about our life and future and the fact that we are the only people that can make descions for ourselves because we are the only two involved.

The fact that school is so difficult for me and I have been working so hard and honestly been doing really well, and that I'm putting myself through school with my own money and I am damn proud of all that I have accomplished in my education and they should be proud too!

The fact that I work so hard at my current job and every job, I've ever had and I can honestly say that I have always been truly happy with my jobs and if I ever started to hate it, I would quit because never will I do something I don't love.

I crave a society where our success isn't based on income, education or relationships because I am so happy with where I am currently at and where I am going with my life, if I get married before I graduate college, so what?! If I never get married or never even graduate so what to that to? I am successful and happy and honestly, that's all that matters to me, so that's all that should matter to you to. The end. Happy day. I hope this didn't sound to rude.