Life is Beautiful (Part 9)

(Just as a side note to those reading this only on my blog, Steven's side of our story can be found— along with mine, too—at eliseandsteven.blogspot.com)

YSA Conference! Woohoo!

So, it was really, really stormy that weekend. At least in the Augusta/Aiken area. I got back from work, started throwing stuff together and trying to get ready to go.

When Steven arrived, it was pouring, and we were both kind of tired. It would be a long drive to Savannah, as well as one that would be fairly dangerous in the terrible weather, and we decided we'd rather just spend the night with my family in Aiken and leave in the morning when things cleared up a bit. So, we called the Criswells to let them know we wouldn't be there that evening, and then spent our evening making dinner, eating dinner, playing games with my siblings, and just having a nice, mostly quiet evening.

We made breakfast again in the morning, but by the time it was cleared away, it was just about lunch time. I think I worked on helping around the house with Saturday chores, but I don't remember for sure. Steven went out with my brothers and Dad to work on Quinn's PVC pipe bow and arrows. I love that Steven loves my family and enjoys spending time with them. And I love that they love him in return! There is beauty all around when there is love at home.

By mid-afternoon, Steven and I thought about maybe just not going at all, but we had said we'd go, and so eventually we did get on our way. I had a great time on that 4-hour ride, and I think I'm safe when I say Steven enjoyed it, too. We only got a little bit lost one time, and I'm proud to say that it was Steven's idea to stop for directions. Take THAT male stereotypes! Haha :D

So, once we found our way to Savannah, I managed to get us pretty well turned around within the city itself. Eventually we found the church building. We got there just as dinner was ending and the dance was beginning. The theme for the dance was luau, but I didn't have too much by way of luau attire. But whatever.

I'd been looking forward to dancing with Steven for a long time. I was kind of nervous, because I was pretty sure he was under the impression that I'm some master of ballroom dance, when really I've just taken some classes and enjoyed them. Then we started dancing and I realized Steven wasn't a dance master, either, and we just had fun. :)

Steven makes funny faces at the dance :)

After the dance was over, we had to figure out where we were staying and how to get there. We had fun trying to follow Audrey around to Waffle House, then a grocery store, and eventually out to where we were staying.

Steven and I opted to wait in our car while the people in Audrey's car went into the grocery store.

 Steven drove me out to stay with the girls from our stake (the better part of an hour from the church building), and then had to try to find the way to his host's home (same travel time, but in the opposite direction from the church building), but ran into all sorts of obstacles and ended up staying in a motel room. I felt so bad for keeping him so late the gates were closed on the gated community the house was a part of. Then in the morning, he was back to outside the house I was staying at before I was even really awake. I was amazed. (Even more so later when he safely drove us back home again, all four hours, on such little sleep.)

We made it back to the Bainbridge house (my house) from Savannah in time for Sunday dinner. Mm-mmm. Steven fell asleep on the couch, he really needed it. Then we headed briefly to YSA FHE, it was our last week there, after all, and back to the Bainbridge house again. When we got back, we started helping Kylie finish up some last minute stuff to prepare for the first day of school in the morning. At one point Dad went out to the back porch for something, and Steven followed him. Oh boy, I thought, here goes. I was pretty excited when Steven came back in with a look of relief on his face. He tossed me a small slice of PVC pipe, leftover from the bow, and asked me to try it on. I think he was mostly kidding, but I kept it on because it was clever: a token of his becoming a part of our family. Not to mention the practicality for a pipe stress intern. :) It was my unofficial engagement ring!

Steven and I managed to help finish one of Kylie's homeworks, and we started to try to help with another, but we were both pretty tired. I went back and crashed on the bed, and Steven rested for a few hours on the couch. He came and knocked on the bedroom door to say goodbye in what felt like the middle of the night, but it was closer to 5 o'clock.

 The knowledge that I had less than a week left with my family and with Steven was becoming impossible to ignore anymore. But, that imminent sadness was eased because Steven was going to be able to stay until my birthday, after all. :D Woohoo!!

So, the next week... is as much of a blur as the entire month. I know I did a lot of baking for work goodbyes this week... Steven helped. :) Tuesday after Institute, I started by baking a whole bunch of loaves of banana bread. I think I made 15... I dunno. A lot. I didn't sleep much that night, just every 45 minutes of every hour while each rotation of 3 loaves baked. Then Wednesday, after work, I made cinnamon rolls. Mm-mm. On Thursday, my last day, one of my coworkers noted that everybody was looking a little heavier since I started working there. Ha! :)

Thursday was my birthday dinner, held on Grandma and Grandpa Taylor's beautiful new back deck. Cake, song, families, presents. Steven being wonderful. Best birthday yet!

Here is a sampling of the pictures, for those of you who didn't see on Facebook:

Family is the best!

A very accurate capture of the awkward moment when everyone is singing "Happy Birthday" and you just have to wait for them to finish

Steven and I are both foodies, we're going to have so much fun using that Pyrex!!

Twitterpated

Yes, as a matter of fact, I did have to include this one. ;) It's a favorite of mine. 

Friday, August 24th I turned 19! Woohoo!... It doesn't feel any different from 18. I went out with Rachel Roberts to Noble Breads for a delicious birthday sandwich. Mmmmmm, so good! And I got to catch up with Rachel, which is always good. :D Steven met us there, and got to try a sandwich, too. For anybody living in or visiting Aiken, I highly recommend you go try a Noble Breads sandwich. They are so good!  

Anyway, Steven and I headed back to the Bainbridge house before too long. It was strangely quiet with all the kids back in school again. Before I knew it, it was time for Steven to go. Funnily enough, Mom cried more than I did at first. 

I was up all night packing, and the next morning there were many sad goodbyes. Kylie drove me to the airport, we got a little turned around but got there eventually and I didn't miss my flight. 

Melinda picked me up from the airport, and I got to retell our story to her and to all the Baros cousins, and then some of it again at the Hammond family cookout that evening in the canyons. ^_^

Already I was missing Steven immensely. My comfort was the pillowcase he'd given me, because it smelled like him. Thankfully, I knew I'd be able to see Steven between the time he flew into Salt Lake and the time he boarded the Salt Lake Express bound for Rexburg. Or so I thought. 

I'd never rented a car before (actually, I still haven't successfully rented a car) and the plans I made to get a car to drive up to Salt Lake on September 6th to see Steven all fell through. I even started tearing up a bit. I was so frustrated! And I felt terrible for my friend who'd tried to help me book the car. Neither of us knew how it was supposed to work, and we'd apparently missed some steps. Mercifully, Melinda once again was able to help me. I owe her so much! By the time we made it to the airport, I had about ten minutes with Steven. But that was enough, because the bottom line was I did get to see Steven. 

Meanwhile, busy classes, busy work, and lots of flirting via text, phone calls, and the various methods of the internet. :)

Next time: My trip to Rexburg! :)

Life is Beautiful (Part 8)

So, datewise, we're up to... August 6th. Wow. Really still only in the beginning of August? I guess I didn't realize how long our story really was.... Ohwell. :) Thanks to those who are stickin' it out with us. We'll get to the official proposal eventually.

So, going back to how Steven had originally thought he'd be leaving around August 10th. August 10th was coming fast, and I don't know all of the conversations between the different involved parties, but the YSA Conference down in Savannah, GA was coming up at the end of the next week. And, we reasoned, because Steven was the Augusta, GA Stake YSA Liaison, it was part of his calling to be at the conference. Because Steven and his parents would be driving out to St. Louis, where Steven would fly on September 6th, they did have some wiggle room. So, Steven was going to be able to come to the YSA Conference! My birthday was only a week beyond that, and eventually the date of departure just got pushed back another week for that, too. (I don't know that that was the sole cause, I don't think it was, but I'm so glad things worked out the way they did!)

I was really excited. I'd bought shoes to dance in back in July when we were planning the YSA dance. (They were the same shoes I ended up wearing to the temple and the zoo that one Saturday. I guess it's just as well I didn't dance in them.) That dance fell through to make way for the conference, but there was going to be a dance there. I was pretty excited about that, and sort of nervous. Despite what Steven might tell you, I'm not actually a incredibly gifted dancer. Don't get me wrong, I'm not half bad, but I need a lot of practice. Lots and lots and lots and lots.

So, it's getting really difficult to keep the timeline in order for all these days in the middle of the week. Steven and I were together somewhere doing something pretty much everyday. I think only a couple of days passed when we didn't spend time together. I recorded our text messages in my journal to try to help keep the timeline straight, but we talked so much in person about plans that the texts are more lovey-dovey flirting than the details about date plans. A lot of the dates were spontaneous, anyway.

Monday, August 6th might have been one of those days I didn't see Steven. It depends on if I stayed home to do FHE with my family or went with Steven and his parents to Fort Gordon. I switched it up to try to do one week with my family and one week with Steven.... I think this Monday I went with Steven. We made date plans with people there for Wednesday, I think.

Tuesday was Institute, and afterwards Steven and I went to Sonic. I remember we were most definitely in the Buick. Buicks are great for sitting close together while you eat out at Sonic (or whenever) because they have a 6th seat in the middle of the front instead of a compartment. Just in case you ever wondered about that.

Wednesday night Steven and I went on a triple date with Kevin, Vanessa, and a couple from the Fort Gordon branch to a delicious pizza place, whose name now escapes me. The pizza was excellent, the company delightful, the conversations amusing, and the whole time Steven kept picking up my left hand to try to measure my left ring finger. I can't remember exactly when it happened, but by this point Steven had already asked me to marry him. Several times. You know, for practice, and just checking to see if I'd give the right answer. The first time he asked me, we were riding in a car, he was driving, I'm pretty sure it was a Sunday... and I said yes. And he asked me if I'd prayed about it. Yep. Definitely. It's only one of the most important decisions I'll ever make, if not the most important decision I'll ever make, you better believe I prayed about it, long and hard. I guess maybe he was a little taken aback. So we practiced a couple more times to work on the inflection of my answer. Hah, I love that goofball. :)

He asked me again outside YSA FHE one night, and another time when we were just sitting together, and another, and another... and he still does it, every once in awhile. I think it's because he likes hearing the same answer every time. ^_^

After the pizza date (going back again) Steven, Kevin, Vanessa, and I headed back to the Farrar place, and while Vanessa and Kevin headed off again pretty quickly, Steven and I started to watch the first part of Moulin Rouge. I'd never seen it before, and it's (I think) Steven's favorite musical-movie. We only got through the first 10 minutes or so, and then it was really late and I had to go home.

When I got home... well, it might not have been this night, but one of these nights somewhere in this week, I told Dad that Steven was going to come talk to him soon, and to play nice. Dad, being the completely wonderful Dad that he is, said okay, and that we shouldn't worry about that. :)

Thursday I don't think I saw Steven. Wow. That kind of sounds really clingy. But we knew we were going to spend the semester apart, so I guess we were just enjoying being together every moment we could.

Friday, instead of going to the Fort Gordon Institute, I think I was really late getting to Steven's house, and Steven and I finished Moulin Rouge, instead. It is such a sad movie! I curled up tight under Steven's arm and shed a couple tears. Steven sang to me ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBxh3gjIrpY ) and held me close. Perfection.


That Friday night was also the night I met Steven's brother John, John's wife Karen, and their two sons. When I first got there, I was caught a little off guard because I didn't know they were coming so soon (but I'm pretty sure I knew they were coming), and I think John was the one who opened the door for me. Oh. Hey there. UHMMMM... I think I'm going to marry your brother, can I come in? ...Yeah, I was definitely caught off guard.

Saturday.... I think this was the first night Steven spent at our house. There wasn't a YSA activity because of the conference next week, and I had persuaded Steven to come to come to our ward again and then I'd go with him again. If I remember correctly, my argument was that I'd go pick up Steven Saturday night, bring him back, we'd go to our ward, then drive the Prius to the Fort Gordon ward, stick around for YSA FHE, and then I could drive the Prius back to Aiken so Dad didn't have to come get me again. AND it worked out because there was an extra bed in Quinn and Ammon's room upstairs that Steven could stay on. So, Saturday was spent cleaning up their room, and then I took off to go over to Augusta.

I stopped and met Audrey at Waffle House for a bit before I went to get Steven. We had a pretty good time, I think. :) I'm so glad she was our middleman to get us going! Without Audrey, I probably never would've asked Steven for his number. I might never have even really talked to him. And I remember that moment I asked her to ask Steven if I could have her number, because I could feel sort of a turning point. It's like... a Sternstunde. In my German class Winter 2012 semester, we read Momo, by Michael Ende. It's a story about time, and Meister Hora (Master Hour) has a Sternstunde clock, that tells when these very special moments of great potential happen. It was just like that. A moment that was noticeably different, but not recognized for its true momentum except in retrospect.

Eventually I did get to Steven and picked him up. :) He's amazing, the way he just fit right into our family. Mom later said it was like deja vu. I definitely agree! Quinn and Ammon especially had a blast having him sleep over, too. He did eventually sleep, and I don't think it was too late. I went fell asleep relatively early, I think. Then I woke up early that next morning and tip-toed upstairs to ask if he preferred pancakes or waffles, and when I peeked in, he was sleeping so peacefully. So I tiptoed over to the bed and sat on the edge, and gently said his name while I shook his shoulder a little, and he shot straight up like he was being attacked. Ha! I yelped a little at his sudden response. We somehow managed not to wake up Quinn or Ammon, though. They're Taylors, what can you say. We can sleep through an awful lot. :)

Anyway, we ended up making waffles together. It's so much fun making delicious food together!

This week in Priesthood, Dad announced I was keeping company with Steven, and everybody looked around at him.  (I think it was this week, not the previous week. Pretty sure, we weren't at the Aiken ward for 3rd hour the previous week.) People definitely knew about us as a couple after that!

That night, after both wards and YSA FHE and everything, I was back at the Farrar house with Steven, and it was time for me to go (again), and we paused in the downstairs living room to look at the piano John said looked like a coffin. The coffin was against the wall, and there was a couch facing away from it just in front of it, offering a very tempting seat. I thought that thought out loud, and Steven encouraged me to do it, just for fun, and so I did, and then he did to, and the couch suddenly tipped backwards, and Steven kicked off the piano to right the couch, sending us both over the back of it in one entangled heap. Just after having done this, John walked into the room. IT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE I PROMISE! Steven and I started laughing a little, and John went and got a picture of Christ and put it on the mantel right in front of us. Thanks, that's a really good place for it... No, really, it is a good place, I'm not being facetious. ...Anyway, Steven and I untangled ourselves and made our way out to the car again without much delay.

The next week passed much the same, but this Monday I stayed home with my family. :) I have the best family ever. Wednesday and Thursday I spent just with family, too.

Friday, the plan was that when I came home from work, Steven would come pick me up and we would drive down together to Savannah for the YSA conference. Stay tuned for the story of what happened instead! :)