Episode 29: In Which Jessica Goes on a Long Drive and Sees Many New and Exciting Places

Well, I have returned from the magical land of Washington/Provo. Provo is only magical because that is where my fiance lives, Washington is magical just because it is. :)
I kid you not, its truly magical. I have never seen anyone as happy to be home as Andrew was It made me happy to see him happy. Does that sound lame and cheesy? Well too bad, because that's just how it is. I love Andrew and I love seeing him happy. :)

So yes, after getting in on Thursday and having the biggest and best surprise of my life, we ran around town doing little errands to get ready for our trip to Seattle the next day and then had dinner at Tucano's. Too bad my tummy is in its little stage now. There was so much meat and all of it was so delicious...but I still couldn't eat very much. I tried hard though! I am totally going back someday...Grilled Pineapple is the most delicious sweet thing ever invented by the way.

That night, Andrew and I went to bed early...well...he did. I stayed up til like I talking to Stephanie, one of my mission companions who is getting married soon. I didn't know how to tell anyone about my engagement cuz I knew they wouldn't be surprised so I told Stephanie in a very awkward way (for her). Andrew had dropped me off at Emily and Stephanie's and we were talking before he left. We weren't standing close together at all and so when Stephanie introduced me and Andrew to her roommate and called him my boyfriend I told her he wasn't my boyfriend anymore =P

She was kind of nervous and apologized so I quickly told her he was my fiance. It was rather funny. Everyone else just got the standard "I'M ENGAGED TEXT!" Texting took so long that between texting and talking to Stephanie, I didn't sleep much. I would have TOTALLY overslept but Emily came home from work early and was like "Aren't you supposed to be up now?" About then, andrew texted me and said he was at the apartment. Oops. I got dressed real fast and we were on our way by 6am.

The drive was about 14 hours. Andrew drove the whole way and I kept him entertained by talking, taking random pictures, and generally being me. It was easily the best car ride of my life. We didn't use the radio once because we were so busy talking. I was losing my voice by the time we got to Seattle.

Andrew was such a good tour guide. He pointed out all the points of interest for me as we drove to the ferry. The first thing we saw was the spire for the Seattle temple rising over the trees. There is something about seeing the spire for the temple that is just so incredibly moving. It's literally like seeing a piece of heaven on earth as cliche as it sounds. I just feel the Spirit as soon as I see it.

We crossed the floating bridge from Mercer Island to Seattle and I texted Tim to tell him I was totally crossing the floating bridge. I would have texted Eric but I didn't have his number. That has been an inside joke for years now when Eric one day randomly said "Ever crossed the Seattle Floating Bridge? I don't THINK so!" Well now I have. I am pretty darn proud of myself. :)

When we arrived in Seattle, we had catch the ferry over to Bainbridge. We just missed the 7:20 so we had to wait a little bit. We got out of the car and walked around the piers for about 15 minutes. It was kind of cold but it was nice. The sun was setting and the sky was only partly cloudy. Actually the weather was pretty nice there all weekend...not much rain. Surprising? Perhaps. It IS Seattle after all =P

When we got to Andrew's house of course I had to tell everyone how Andrew proposed, then we said family prayer and sat around talking and laughing...usually at stories his mom was telling me about Andrew as a child. :) So much fun! Then we went to bed cuz we were tired.

We got up early the next morning and had pancakes for breakfast. Then his dad drove us to the ferry and Andrew and I went and spent the morning in Seattle. We went to the international district, to an asian grocery store and the Kinokuniya bookstore and to Daiso! There is a Daiso in Seattle!!! YAY! We drank boba tea and there was so much tapioca in them that I couldnt finish an eighth of the slush! After that we went to a glass gallery where they have a studio and Andrew explained to me how they blow glass as we watched a demonstration. It was really cool! Finally we stopped in at Magic Mouse Toys...which is basically the coolest toy store I've ever been in. It's got board games, puzzles, and exploratory toys everywhere. I loved it. And the weather was nice and sunny for us!!!

We caught the ferry back to the island and got home just in time to go to the beach with his family and play in the tidepools. We had lots of fun playing with hermit crabs and other tiny crabs as well as poking anemones and hopping on rocks. The beach was pretty rocky, which is just the way I love it. Sand is great...but I love rocky beaches. :) It was a really pretty beach...but then, the whole island is. There are blackberry bushes EVERYWHERE there!!!

That night we went to dinner with his mom and dad and his aunt and uncle. It was really fun but sort of weird for me to be counted among the "couples" and not the "kids" haha. All my cousins are pretty much grown up so we still sit together at the "kids" table at Thanksgiving, so it was definitely different for me. But I felt cool. Yep yep. We ate Thai food...oh man I love Thai food. I love it the more I eat it. yum!

The next day was church, and when everyone really found out we were engaged. For the most part, they heard it from somewhere else before us but there were still quite a few surprised faces. It was nice to surprise someone for once. Everyone was very nice. I had a good time :) I also love that the church is the same everywhere you go so it's always comfortable :)

After church, Andrew and I did homework (I worked on my blog) and then we broke our fasts and had dinner. It was like Thanksgiving! We had turkey and cranberry sauce and stuffing and mashed potatoes! It was so delicious!

At about 5 we headed out for fireworks. The kids were having fun lighting off the little fireworks for hours and I was having fun watching them. It was kind of cold so Andrew brought out a blanket at the request of his aunt and we were able to cuddle up under it and stay warm. His aunt is pretty clever...she totally knew that was what we were going to do. (not that it's hard to guess)

When it got darker, we started the big fireworks. We had TONS of them...but we weren't able to set them all off because after a while, they were all tipping over and shooting towards the houses and stuff. We couldn't figure out why so we just stopped. That's too bad, it was really fun. I like setting off fireworks...too bad you can't do it in Arizona.

Andrew and I had to leave early the next morning so we got up at 5 to catch the ferry and drive home. The drive home was longer it seemed because we were so tired. I talked a lot still...but I also slept and so did Andrew. We pulled over for naps at lots of rest stops and switched drivers occasionally. I drove from the Blue Mountains to Boise which was kinda nerve wracking for me because I haven't driven stick in so long, but aside from trying to shift into reverse twice, I did ok and Andrew got a nice 2 hour nap. He didn't let me drive after that though...he said he liked it better when I talked and I don't talk when I drive. Was he just trying to tell me my driving sucked in a nice way? Who knows =P

We didn't get home until like 12am and we were exhausted. I crashed at Kaylynnes and slept til like 10 the next morning. Then I got up and met Andrew on campus. He went to take a midterm and I called and reserved the sealing room at the Timpanogos temple for 11am on December 21st! I'm REALLY getting married!!!

We ate lunch at the Cannon Center and then went home to do homework. Unfortunatley, we had to reformat my computer so that took a lot of time and Andrew never got to his homework until like 11pm. I stayed up with him, helping him find quotes for his eternal marriage paper and we both went to bed around 3:30.

The next day I headed up to campus and met him before his marriage prep class. We sat out on the lawn drinking lemonade (Simply lemonade is the BEST lemonade ever!!!)

After his class, we grabbed lunch at Cafe Rio and went to a park to eat it. It was a very good way to spend my last couple hours in Utah with my fiance. We were able to relax and talk and almost pretend I wasn't leaving. After we were done there, we went back to his place and played DDR and jumped in the pool. The pool was COLD and so I didn't stay in for long =P Just enough to get wet.

He took me to the airport and we said our goodbyes at the security gate...I'm glad this is the last goodbye I have to make. The next time I see him, I'm not leaving. Totally can't wait.

But now I'm back in Arizona and its hot. That's all there is to be said for it. Stay tuned to see what exciting things come next. In coming episodes we'll see the triumphant return of my best friend and maid of honor, Sister Alathea Hawks! YES!!! FINALLY!!!