Kenneth's Birth Story... One Year Later

Hello All,

I figured sharing Kenneth's birth story with you one year later, was better than never! It was the most incredible day of my life. One of the BEST DAYS EVER!

His birth story.

When Dr. Corry checked me weeks before my due date I found that I was already dilated to a 2 and 80% effaced. Dr. Corry had planned his family vacation around Kenneth’s due date and was going to be gone the following week for it. Dr. Corry was a little worried about me going into labor while he was gone, so he introduced me to the back up doctor. I was totally freaked out. Especially because I was still working full time and I was still commuting every weekday from West Jordan to Provo. YUCK! So, I went with my friend Stefany Hiatt to the American Fork Hospital immediately after my appointment to register and get familiar with the hospital so that I could find my way there on the big day. I was both nervous and excited. I talked to my boss and the HR lady (Linda Stringer) about my situation and told them I could go into labor at work.

Well, weeks went by and NOTHING HAPPENED. I was slowly dilating and effacing the rest of the way but NO BABY! I finished out work and then was home the last 11 days waiting for him to come. It was awful to think he would be coming early only to have him arrive LATE! Talk about build up. I was so swollen by the end. My ankles were nonexistent. I always wondered what I would look like as a pregnant person. Now I know, I was BIG. I spent those last few days sitting on the couch, cuddling with Stig and wondering “what if I am in labor and just don’t know it because I am just that strong?” More ridiculousness… let’s blame that on the pregnancy brain.

Kenneth’s due date was September 11^th. I actually hated telling people what his due date was because, its obviously associated with a terrible tragedy. So anytime I told people his due date I would say September 10^th. Another mistake. I should have gone with September 12^th. So September 10^th came … and went. September 11^th came and went. And that bring us to September 12^th.

On September 12^th we decided to go to a Korean Fusion restaurant with my siblings that live in Utah and their spouses. Bumblebee BBQ. Benson ended up knowing the owner and they hooked us up with some free samples and such. The food was spicy and delicious. After dinner we volunteered to babysit my nephew so that my brothers and their wives could go see Guardians of the Galaxy. Because it was just that great of a movie. Janson came and went. That evening Benson gave me an amazing massage where he used the pressure points his mother suggested, to help me go into labor.

I went to bed that night. I was currently sleeping in our guest room on a partially deflated blow up mattress. I liked it because it contorted to my ginormous belly. I highly suggest this for others. I actually got a tiny bit of sleep. Then around 2 am I woke up to the most intense sensation (we will use this work instead of pain) I had ever experienced. I screamed for Benson to come running. I was like “something is happening or something is wrong!” Benson was so out of it that he was not freaking out like I was. The intense sensations were coming every 5-6 minutes and we knew they were contractions. My water had not broken yet but since our doctor’s office is all the way in American Fork we decided it would probably be good to go in soon. So we waited a bit, collected our things and got into the car. THAT WAS THE LONGEST DRIVE OF MY LIFE!

I had been so worried that I would go into labor during rush hour that going in the middle of the night was a dream come true. There was no traffic and we flew to the hospital. The contractions became slightly closer as Benson would keep track of how often I said “Owww owww owwwo ww … oh babe!” I called my mom and dad. I wanted my mom to be there when I had him if possible but we decided that she would just get up and start driving as soon as I went into labor and just get there ASAP because labor takes a long time (usually). I then called my doctor, who said “ Ok I will meet you there”. Yes, I called him on his cell phone at home in the middle of the night and he came to my rescue.

I need to go on a tangent for one moment. I had the most incredible doctor on the planet. After my mission I was in a great singles ward with a great bishop. I was able to serve close with him as the relief society president and after leaving the ward we stayed in contact. When I found out I was pregnant, one of the first people I called was Dr. Corry. He came to my rescue so many times. I had pneumonia right after I found out I was pregnant and it was a Sunday. He checked me out on a SUNDAY! And helped me get better! So many times I would call or text him (and still do) and be freaking out about some weird pain or whatever and he would easily calm my fears. The first few weeks after bringing Kenneth home I was terrified of everything and he was always there to help me figure things out. I cannot express what a blessing this was and still is. He will forever have a special place in our family!

Now back to the nitty gritty. So we got to the hospital and checked in. I insisted on walking to Labor and Delivery. None of this wheelchair crap. The nurses checked me and I was dilated to a 7.5 and completely effaced. They asked me if I wanted an epidural as soon as possible and at this point my contractions were 4 minutes apart and I told them “No, I think I want to wait and see how much I can handle”. Yet another mistake! They took me to my room and we waited for Dr. Corry to arrive. He arrived shortly after and checked me again and decided to break my water for me. What a rush. … HAHAHA. I guess that’s only funny if its happened to you. A warm rush. Then Dr. Corry left and said he’d be back in an hour or so to see how I was progressing. He was gone for maybe 15-20 minutes and just walked by to see how I was doing and probably noticed how terrible I looked. I had a hard time talking because the contractions were so often and so strong. He decided to check me again and I was dilated to a 9 already. That baby was ready to come out! I then asked for an epidural because I felt like I was not going to pass out and miss the whole thing. But because I had said no earlier the anesthesiologist was busy juicing up two other ladies before me. So we waited and then he FINALLY arrived. He set me up and Benson held my feet as I hunched over. I don’t know why but Benson holding my feet was like the best thing ever. It was the only thing that gave me any relief. The anesthesiologist said he would wait to give me the epidural in between contractions so that I could relax my body a bit. But then he quickly realized that they were constant. So I tried my best to relax and he gave it to me. We waited I don’t know how long for it to settle in. It helped tremendously with my contractions. I could still feel them but I was able to talk and breathe still. Benson played Bill Cosby’s Natural Childbirth for me. Then I had the urge to push. The doctor and the nurse came in to assist and get me ready to have the babe.

The pushing part is kind of a blur. I just remember the nurse saying “Push like its going to come out your butt” and “push like you are really constipated”. I was lucky enough to get a nurse who had been doing deliveries for over 25 years, so I guess she just knows how to speak to women in labor. I am not sure how long this part lasted. I remember the nurse saying “ok we are going to stop pushing for a moment and give you time to rest”. I looked up at her and said “Are you serious? I cannot stop. The urge to push was way more than a urge. I could not stop myself. That baby wanted out and my body wanted him out too! So I pushed and I pushed and then all of a sudden, Dr. Corry said “ STOP PUSHING!” and I did not see this part but Benson said he came out VERY FAST! And at 7:21 am Kenneth Benson Tanner III arrived weighing in at 7 lbs 9 oz and 19.5 inches.

Now this next part I remember very vividly. I had such a rush. I kept saying “Is this for real?” and “This is so crazy”. I think I said it so much Dr. Corry kept laughing at me. I even asked him “Is that really my baby? Did that really come out of me?” He was mine. HE WAS MINE! I MADE HIM (with help). I was so in shock. I was so in love. I know he was growing inside of me and I had a ginormous belly to prove it but it wasn’t truly real until he came out. They gave him to me and I cried. I happy cried. He was perfect and he was mine.

I had been so terrified of labor because I did not know what to expect. It was the most incredible thing I have ever experienced. I felt closer to my Heavenly Mother than I ever have. I felt closer to my own mother too.

Dr. Corry thought it would be cool to show me the placenta. Benson thought it was cool, I just didn’t know what to think. Ew. The doc started sewing me up. He noticed that I was reacting to his needle and asked if I could feel what he was doing. And I said “yes” and at this point we realized that my epidural did not work all the way. It didn’t have enough time to make its way down. This was a surprise to me. The nurse told me that with the epidural I should still feel the urge to push and such, but I remember thinking wow this feels like way more than an urge. I am very VERY grateful that I did not know the difference because I probably would have been a lot more freaked out. Sadly I tore really badly and so it may have been nice to not feel all that fun but it was incredible to feel the process too.

Because of my quick labor my parents did not make it in time but once they did arrive I started crying again. Families are so important. They are a bond that cannot be created in any other setting. My mom has a favorite quote that she shares with us often that I love.

““Our family is a circle of love and strength. With every birth and every union, the circle grows. Every joy shared adds more love. Every obstacle faced together makes the circle stronger.”

I am so grateful that everything went so smoothly. I am also grateful that I was able to have Kenneth. This past year I have had many friends and family members who have not been able to conceive, lost babies or had children with major medical issues. I hope that I have not offended any of them or others by sharing me story. I have learned so much from their examples and their faith. I am not sure I could handle the difficulties they have faced. You are my heroes.

So now that we celebrate Kenneth’s first birthday. I can say that this year has been the greatest of all I have experienced. He has brought so much joy into our lives and I still often ask myself “Is this real? Is this really my baby?” He is bubbly, and energetic. He is sweet and spunky. He loves his dog and his mommy and daddy. I love him more than I could have ever imagined and the best part is, it just gets better everyday!

Happy Birthday Kenneth! 

Bahhhhh Blogging is HARD!

HOW DO PEOPLE HAVE TIME TO BLOG???

I see people who post all the time and I can barely get one every 6 months!

Well it actually seems like a lot of people do but I am not one of them. I am proud of myself when I have time to actually cook a real meal. I currently have 3 "pending" posts that now have little meaning since the events they were about were a long time ago. They were titled "Thanksgiving Tenderloin", "Surfing in Provo" and "The Satan Stone". If you already know what they were about WAY TO GO! If not... just make something up because that will probably be more exciting than what I was going to write anyways! :D
Well I did take a picture of the satan stone... so here it is:

So small... but o so painful.

ANYWAYS.... Life has been flying by and I seem to be constantly busy but somehow I feel like I am not accomplishing much. Why is life that way? Maybe I should start saving all my to do lists, so that someday if I need proof that I did things I can pull them out and say "SEE... There is a check there! I did something!!" Yes, the check may be next to "make my bed" but sometimes that's hard to remember to do! ...Hmm maybe I wont after all.

So I will make this blog post my proof. Proof to myself,  and proof to the world of unbelievers (in my doing things) that I have indeed accomplished THINGS! So without further ado here is a list of things I have done in the last few months:

Man I love lists...


#1. Left the BlenderBottle Company to work at LDS Philanthropies!

So this is probably the biggest change that has happened since I last posted. (Sorry to those of you who were hoping for a baby announcement, that's still waiting for approval.) But this is HUGE for me! While I was still at BYU, I worked at LDSP as a student caller at the Telefund. I was made a student supervisor soon after I started there and I LOVED IT! I started there right after my mission and so I loved the fact that I got to talk to people and ask them to help in building God's kingdom by making donations to BYU or one of the Church's many other donating avenues. And the people were AMAZING. The Telefund hired people who were good at talking on the phone... so that translates into people who like to talk in general, which... lets be honest is exactly what this Chatty Cathy needs! I remember when Benson and I were first dating and we would walk together on campus and I would say hi to all the people I knew as I walked around campus and there were lots. Benson mentioned once that he wished he was as "popular" as I was. I just giggled and said something like "O ... stop!" when in my head  I was thinking ... I know all of them from the Telfund and they are just the type of people that go out of their way to say "hello". But Benson didn't need to know that at the time cuz it felt o so good to be popular. hahaha

The point is, I was sad to leave the Telefund after I graduated. I actually applied for a job that was WAY ABOVE me right after I graduated at LDSP because I just wanted so bad to stay part of it. The funny thing is the job I applied for then was given to the guy who is now my boss. Little did he know the great competition he had when he applied. :D But soon after that I got my sweet job working at BlenderBottle. I loved it there and was so sad to leave because of the GREAT people I worked with. I also miss the noise there. During the day my office is so quiet. Sometimes I talk out loud just so I can her a voice... :D

I was at BlenderBottle for almost a year when I got a call from my previous boss Sarah Killen, telling me that somethings were changing around and that she was moving up and that she wanted someone as her assistant that she could rely on. I agreed with her and told her she should find someone just like that and wished her luck in her pursuit. But she wasn't finished. She explained that she wanted me. ME??? What? I have a job. NO WAY. I told her I would get back to her because I had some big time thinking to do. Benson and I prayed about it and Heavenly Father let us know that LDSP was the place to be. I was super nervous to tell my boss at BlenderBottle that I was leaving but I knew that she would understand because she was so AMAZING! So I put in my 2 weeks notice and made the switch!

So my official title is the Telefund Staff Assistant but I am pretty much the assistant manager. I get to work with around 70 student employees, along with a huge full time staff at LDSP. I have to say it is a wonderful thing to wake up each morning and know that I get to go to work for the Church! I get to help build The Kingdom for WORK! Be jealous! IT IS THE BEST! We start our week with a devotional and prayer as full time employees and then at the Telefund we start each shift with a prayer and devotional. It does not get much better than that!


#2. I have THREE siblings on missions now!!

So two of them were already gone when we last blog-spoke but we now have a third!! With the new age minimum for missionaries to serve there has truly been an influx in missionaries. It is such a great time to be alive and means we need to work even harder to find people who want to hear the Gospel. However all three of our siblings would have gone out at this time regardless of the age change. It is really cool though!

Kevin Tom Wadsworth (my cute little brother) is serving in Omaha, Nebraska and will actually be home in November. I am super DEEE duper excited for him to come home so he and Benson can be best buds. They had only met a few times before Kevin left. He is a STUD. He is currently the zone leader in his area and sends us super funny emails. He has always been witty but now he is spiritual AND witty. SO great.. .so so SO great!

Megan Tanner (Benson's younger sister) is serving in Richmond, Virginia. She had a tough few first companions but she took it like a CHAMP! Now she is in a great area with wonderful companions and so shes doing even better! She sends the funniest birthday cards. I am so proud of her!

Jake Tanner (Benson's younger brother) recently left to serve in Des Moines, Iowa. It was so cute when he got his call he said sounded out Des Moines phonetically, making it sound VERY exotic! Which I am sure it is! He has only been out a couple months but is loving it. He even sent us a picture with his shirt off to show how he is growing muscles! :D 

Benson got to see Jake at the MTC because he is a teacher there! 

#3. I have a new niece! 

Baby Raegan Linda Wadsworth was born on November 17th to Kyle and Lauren Wadsworth. She is named after my beautiful Aunt Linda that passed away from cancer about 7 years ago. Unfortunately they were living in Kansas at the time and so I still have yet to experience that whole "look at the baby through the window" thing you see in all the movies. Someday... So Raegan is my first niece  I now have a nephew, the ever adorable Janson Dale Wadsworth and now A NIECE, Raegan! 

I loove love love watching Benson hold and play with babies. We first got to meet Raegan when Kyle and Lauren brought her to Vegas for Christmas. She was barely a month old and so she did not smile much yet but Benson, whom we call the baby whisperer (that used to be me ..sad) got her to smile and I captured this gem:

Yea... She is smiling :D

She is super adorable and I am so glad she is part of my family. Here are a couple of my favorite pictures of her and yes I did buy her the cute outfit on the right:

#4. I have started working as and ordinance worker at the Provo Temple

Benson and I decided that this would be a good time in our lives for us to work at the temple. I go to the temple straight after work and work until about 10:30pm. It makes for an exhausting day but I LOVE IT! I love the things I learn and the Spirit I feel. And... I LOVEEEEEE THE OLD PEOPLE I WORK WITH! Yea they are just the cutest. 

#5. I have two bearded dragons.

Ok I have had them for a bit now but they are just so AWESOME that I wanted to show you. I may be a crazy lizard lady to you but just FYI... it could be much worse. Their previous owner told me she used to take them to the grocery store with her. YUMMMY... not. I have taken them to Petco with me and all the little kids LOVE to run up and meet them. So at least the children don't judge me.

Picasso (AKA Tre): He lost a leg after a bad fall with a previous owner so he only has three legs (hence the Tre). He loves, pineapple, baths, bugs and Sunny.

This video is just cute.

Sunny (AKA Digger): She loves snuggling (ok its digging but I like to pretend she is trying to cuddle), cucumber, yams and her own reflection (much to Picasso's dismay). 

#5. Yard sale season has started again! 

I don't think many people understand how excited this makes me. I love a good deal. I will try and post a compilation of my best finds throughout the summer. Be prepared to be wowed. I just got a Vera Bradley tote for 5 bucks today. I think I should start teaching yard sale-ing classes. I learned from my mother who learned from a yard sale-ing pro and so now after years and years of doing it. I WIN! 

Well thanks for reading this. Hopefully it wasn't too boring. I just want you to know. We're doing things over here!! :D 

Kaitlyn 

BIRTHDAY BENSON BESNON BIRTHDAY

November 10th is an important day (Its also a day that was about a month ago..sorry about the delay).

Benson turned 23 on November 10th. He was lucky enough for it to land on a Saturday this year so I got to plan a whole day of partying!!! And party we did.

I had a lot to live up to this birthday since last year I surprised Benson with tickets to go see one of his idols, Bill Cosby in Vegas.

Our buddy Bill was sooooooooo funny. He was a lot older than I remembered him ever being. He should be stuck at the age he was on the Cosby show right?? lame. Anyways, needless to say I had to make Benson's birthday and especially his birthday present REALLY great or he would probably leave me.... haha KIDDING. Honestly Benson is so easy to please. He is so gracious about whatever he gets. :D
LOVE HIM.

 So here is how it went down:

Houston (Benson's best friend) and I had been orchestrating a plan to get Houston to Provo to surprise Benson for his bday. I realize from this experience I am not super skilled at being sneaky. At one point I left my cell phone next to Benson when Houston and I were texting and he saw the text. BOOO! Then I had to hide the key so Houston could get in and I didn't know how to do it smoothly so while we were watching TV I jumped up and said "DID YOU HEAR THAT?" and ran to the door, slipped the key under the mat, and then came back inside and said "Hmm that was weird". Benson looked at me like I was crazy. Which I am pretty sure I was at that point. :D

So Thursday night after our shift at the temple we came home to Houston washing our dishes. Benson was super surprised and really excited. Until we realized his car was getting towed. Luckily Benson was really nice to the tow guys and they ended up letting us go without the typically RIDICULOUS fee. TEMPLE BLESSINGS!!

Then on Saturday Benson went to work and teach the missionaries Korean. Then he came home and I gave him his gifts!! :D I was so excited. So I got him some Ferrari cologne and told him that although he can't have a Ferrari at least he could smell like someone who should. Then he unrolled the papers you see rolled above, read its contents and jumped up and down and giggle like a girl!

What the Groupon says is "1 Hour Ferrari F430 Experience"  So he gets to drive a really fast car. Pretty much his favorite thing. Other than me of course! :D He is so happy he can't even keep his eyes open. 

Then we had lunch with my brother Jason, his wife Brittany and our nephew Janson. Benson asked me to make Cafe Rio style pork salads. This is quite a feat for those of you who have never done it because you have to make all of the following: 

• The pork
• Pico de Gallo
• Tomatillo Dressing
• Cilantro Lime rice 

 And you have to warm the tortillas and build the salad. The best part was that I had to wake up early to put the Pork in the crock pot and because Houston was sleeping on our couch (yea we only really have two rooms in our apartment) I had to be really quiet as I cooked. So at one point I took the marinade I was putting together into our bathroom with a hand mixer and plugged it in where I typically plug in my blow dryer so I wouldn't wake him up. Weird I know.. but it worked.

Sadly this meal ended up being more eventful for some of us then I wanted it to be (more to come later in story).

Then Brittany and Jason took us out to get cupcakes at the CoCo Bean Cafe. Love that place.

Here are Janson and Benson bonding. :D Two very cute boys! :D

Then a little bit later we tried to go out to eat at one of Benson's favorite places to eat: PF Changs but the line was too long so we just walked around the mall together. 

Then we had some of Benson's friends over for cake and ice cream. I brought out my BlenderBottle Box that I get to give away to friends and family and let everyone pick a bottle. Nothing like going to a birthday party and getting a present instead of giving one! LOVE IT! 

 Anyways it was a great day and Benson is sooo excited to go drive the Ferrari when we go to Vegas over Christmas Break.

Sunday evening however me, and my brother and his wife got MAJOR food poisoning. I felt really bad because I think it might have been the dang Pork Salads I slaved over. I've never poisoned someone before. Guess there is a first time for everything. However just to ease anyone's fears of ever eating my food we shared another meal with them Sunday night and so it could have been something from there or a bug because half of the other people who at my Pork Salad did not get sick at all. *SIGH* whatever it was I will not be eating Cafe Rio for a really long time. There is nothing like sitting on the toilet while tossing your cookies into a garbage can in your arms.


And on that lovely note I will leave you! UNTIL OUR NEXT ADVENTURE!!

Kaitlyn!

Were married! Howd that happen?

Well wonder no longer! 

Below I have all the answers about when and where this love adventure began. (Sorry for those of you who saw it on my other blog that I used in my single days, but now that I am so much more mature and fabulous... I decided to get a blog upgrade!)

huh?

So at the start of Fall semester  last year, I moved into a new complex that I was less than happy about moving into... lol. But I felt like that is where I needed to go... so I did. I met some new people at the start of the semester. One of which was Megan Tanner, my next door neighbor whom I knew I would be friends with. We were buddies in no time. Then she introduced me to her brother, Benson, at church. I thought he was cute but figured I was too old for him and didn't think much of it.BUT THEN...
the next week or so he came over to play games with us and man... I fell right then and there for him. He was so attractive and so cute I could barely keep myself from asking him out myself. But I didn't... instead I told his sister that I thought he was adorable and I think he and I should get together. She liked the sound of that almost as much as I did.... YESSSSSSS!

So the next day I saw that Benson was doing homework over at Megan's apartment and I was like ... o man I really want to be here with him. So... I got my homework from my apartment and made up an excuse about my room mates being to loud or something so I just NEEDED to do my homework over where he was.So he and I along with Liz started on our homework party. I donno how much homework Benson got done but my "reading" was not very effective. We ended up giggling and enjoying each others company. The night got later and later and I was done with my homework but Benson was still there. (I even remember when the clock hit 11:11 I wished that he would ask for my number.) I didn't want to leave him alone with another girl so I tried to stay up as long as I could but soon I was too tired to take it any longer. So I gave up and said I was going home to sleep. Right as I said that Benson jumped up and was like. "Yea me too!" So as he followed me out I asked him if he wanted to see my new bike, and so he followed me the few steps to my door. Then after a few more random conversational questions he asked for my number!!! What??? O man I about died with excitement. I was so giddy that after he left I went back to the other apartment to tell Sara and Liz. Then before I went to bed I texted him this:    :)     Yep thats it. He text me back about how much fun he had had and so it all began with a :) (smile).

The very next day we text a fair amount and then we ended up hanging out again at Megan's apartment that night. Then to my excitement the same process that had happened the night previously occurred again. He left when I did and followed me to my door. This time however he asked me out on a date for Saturday night. Of course I said yes and then proceeded to jump for joy!! I even text my mom multiple times telling her about these experiences so ask her ... she has the proof.

So we saw each other everyday up until our date night and talked a lot. This happened to be Liz's birthday so we were going to dinner for her bday already and Benson tagged along. I told him that I would pay for him to come to dinner, since it wasn't technically part of his date plans. But in my head I really just wanted to pay for it so that from that point forward I could tell people that I took him on our first date. Once we were at the restaurant he realized this threat to his manhood and when the checks came he literally knocked me over to pay for it. It was pretty funny because one of Liz's bday cakes had one of my finger prints in it because of this. Anyways we watched the BYU football game with Liz and her bday crew and because space was limited Benson and I had to share a chair... O YEA! Already snuggling...!! Woot! So after that we finally got to go on our date. We went to Classic Skating. I was soo nervous because I knew that I liked him so much and I just wanted to be cool but me and skates... do NOT equal cool. The announcer at the rink said that the next song was a couples only song and that you could hold hands. I was really excited for this. It felt soooo good but I knew this wasn't real because it was just cuz we were at the skating rink. I was so nervous about the whole situation that I ended up giving myself a stomach ache. We took this picture in the arcade on our way out.

Attractive eh? 

I remember on the drive home even though I didn't feel good we were blasting something silly like Avril Lavigne and dancing and singing to it in the car. I just felt so happy and so good at that moment. I knew this was the start of something great. Later that night we watched a movie and held hands (in front of his sister and her boyfriend... no big deal)! I was so happy I thought I might die from the happiness.

After our date we saw each other everyday and kept in contact through mostly text the rest of the time. There was one day where things weren't quite as awesome as they had previously been and I was soooooooo nervous he had decided he didn't want to hang out with me anymore. I couldn't eat at all that day. Man I was FREAKING out! Then that night he brought me some leftover sushi to me at work and asked if he could pick me up. He did and that night we talked about what was going on and Benson told me that he wanted to be with me. What a relief. I was still a little shaken up but we decided to be "official" and not date anyone else. Then as he was leaving my apartment he gave me a big hug. I knew he was going to try to kiss me but I was not sure if I was ready for that yet. Then he grabbed my head and gave me the sweetest first kiss I have ever had. I was sooo glad that he had kissed me too!

So from that day forward we were together everyday any time we were not at school or work. So although we had technically only been dating for 4 months, it has been non-stop togetherness the whole time. So we got to know each other really well in a speedy matter.

A while into our relationship my parents were coming into town to do some shopping for my little brother Kevin who was leaving on his mission soon. So Benson got to meet my family. They all fell in love with him. They too could see that there was something truly special about this one. I remember one night we were playing the game Scene It on Jason's XBOX and it was my whole family, minus Kyle & Lauren and it just felt so right. Benson fit in so perfectly with my family. I have dated some interesting characters in the past and so I had been a little nervous to introduce them to my family but with Benson it wasn't scary at all. I was really just excited for them to see how wonderful he really was. That night we drove home from Lehi to drop Benson off back at home. We sat and talked for a little bit in the car. We had this little thing we would do when we were talking to each other where I would say "Tell me something" and he would tell me something about himself or his life that I didn't know. So that night I did just that and asked "Tell me something" and he kinda hesitated and so I added "The first thing that comes to your mind". Benson then got a really big smile on his face. He grabbed my head and put his mouth to my ear and whispered "I love you". I was both shocked and excited. Luckily he kissed me right away so I didn't have to respond yet but then I quickly told him I loved him too! It was a REALLLLLY REALLLY GOOD NIGHT!!!

We continued to date and see each other constantly. I found myself so happy. I just felt so good about our relationship. We made a couple trips to Vegas and to Boise so that we could get to know each other's families more. I loved his family so much. I felt so comfortable with them. I didn't feel judged or unwanted. I LOVED IT. It all just felt so right.

Right before my brother went into the MTC we all went to the temple together and Benson came too. It was such a pivotal and special day for Benson and I. I won't go into details because its so personal but long story short we knew we were going to get married. Now the waiting game began. We were both pretty poor so I didn't think we would be able to get engaged anytime soon. But I guess I was wrong. So when Christmas break came around Benson and I had to be apart for the first time really. This was a rough 9 days. We missed eachother soooo much. I was really excited to fly to Ogden to be with Benson and his family who were staying at their grandpas house. It was my birthday and I got way more than I expected that day!

So here is the story from Benson's perspective.


So.. Kaitlyn left for Vegas and I knew I had limited time to get all my ducks in a row to get this thing ready for her birthday. I know a jeweler that used to be in our ward, so I chatted with her and she hooked me up. I had Kaitlyn fly up and we met in Ogden and had dinner at this restaurant, similar to Texas Roadhouse. I had been sending “hints” that led her to believe that I hadn’t bought a ring and it would be another few weeks until I had… But I talked to the waitress, gave her the ring and had her bring it out with dessert. Kaitlyn thought they were coming to sing to her… little more than singing :D. Anyways. I was really nervous, like, the whole time. I remember enjoying the food, but I ate soooo fast because I wanted the waitress to hurry and bring our dessert.



Back to me:
I was pretty surprised. I didn't even know what to do with myself for probably an hour. But I must say this will go down in my personal history as the best birthday EVER! I could not be happier. I am going to marry the most amazing man EVER! He seriously makes me feel soo good about myself and feel so loved. I am so excited about our future together. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. For a long time I wondered if I would ever find a love like this and really be happy. Now I know it can! I am so excited for the next few months. ITS FINALLY MY TURN!!

(Just in case I have confused you, I wrote the previous paragraph when I originally posted this during our engagement.)

FLASH BACK TO NOW:

We got married on May 5th in the Las Vegas Temple. We were surrounded by our families and closest friends. I still get chills thinking about how strong the spirit was in that sealing room. I have no doubt in my mind that Heavenly Father was smiling down upon us as we made the choice to be married for eternity. SIGH.... AREN'T WE JUST PRECIOUS?? :D

Yesterday marked our 6 month anniversary. Can that be called an anniversary?? I donno what you technically call these last 6 months but I call it HEAVEN THIS IS AWESOMENESS! There is nothing like being with your best friend all the time and sharing everything: the good, the bad, the ugly, the stinky, the awkward, the wonderful, the spiritual, the painful, the difficult and everything in between.

We are looking forward to the next 6 month and the next 6 million months together. 

MARRIAGE ROCKS!

-Kaitlyn