The First Time I Saw Charly

I guess it isn't technically the first time we saw each other because we did meet before my mission but we were both young and we didn't even notice each other, so we don't count it.

Here is the real story of the first time I saw Charly.

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It was Saturday, November 20th, 2010.

It was snowing, I was driving to one of my best friends' birthday party, and I was lost.

I had taken the wrong exit and I was trying to find my way to his house through the neighborhoods. I must have hit hundreds of dead end roads. That's how the neighborhoods are in West Jordan but I didn't know that. I was a country boy from Vernal, Utah, just off my mission and out going to college. The dead ends didn't detour me, though. Well, I had to go around them, but they didn't stop me.

I was late but I finally found Jeremy's house. When I got up to the door there was a note on it that said something about the birthday party being at his grandparent's house. I'd been to their house before but it had been a long time and I didn't remember how to get there. Luckily for me there were directions on the note and they were simple enough to follow.

Before getting in the car I made some footprints in the snow to write a phrase on Jeremy's lawn. It said,

"Ben was here."

I smiled at myself, pleased with the joke.

I quickly found Jeremy's grandparents' house and went inside. Jeremy and I hadn't seen each other since before my mission and it was really good to see him. He had some other friends over and a girl that I knew that he liked.

Jeremy's mom Kim got everyone organized and we started playing party games. The first one we played was a game where all the questions were about Jeremy and we had to see how well we knew him. I'm sad to say that after over two years without seeing him I was terrible at the game.

While playing the next game, Jeremy's little sister Brynndi came over and sat down next to me. She was only five-years-old and she was super cute. She had been practically a baby before my mission and I didn't remember her that well. Now she was leaning against me and grabbing my arm and just being a little girl. How could I resist? We instantly became friends and she even started helping me with the game. Little did I know that the friendship I built with Brynndi that night would play a large role in my first date with Charly.

After the game about Jeremy, we started playing a game where you had to stand up and convince people that some story (one that had actually happened to a different person in the room) had happened to you. The game was mostly about lying and I was pretty good at that one. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. Nevertheless, I was good at it.

During one part when I was standing up, the door to the room opened and a cute blonde girl walked in. She was smiling and Jeremy went over to her to give her a hug and chew her out for being late. I just stared at her for a couple heartbeats. She had a huge smile that lit up her whole face and she was exactly my kind of beautiful. I felt my heart tighten in my chest and I wanted to get to know her better.

She looked over at me and gave me the most curious look that I thought made her even more endearing. That's about the time I looked away and started trying to show off for her. I'm sure I impressed her with my lying skills.

Even though I wasn't looking at her anymore, it was like my mind was always aware of her and where she was in the room. I hadn't ever felt that way about anyone before and I would never feel that way about any other girl.

The rest of the party was fun and I even got to see her again the next day. Every time I was around her, though, it was the same thing: I always knew where she was. She was in my head and I didn't want her to leave.

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Now I know this is kind of a long story but I feel that it is worth it. Next week Charly and I will tell the story of our first date. It is super funny and we will be putting up a post in the middle of this week announcing a little more about it.

Charly and I appreciate everyone who reads and comments on our blog. Thank you guys for the support. We really enjoy sharing our experiences with you. We hope you enjoy them and maybe even learn from them too.

The First Spark Between Benjamin and Me

Jeremy's birthday is on November 19th. He held his eighteenth birthday party the next day, a Saturday. Aaaaaand, because he's Jeremy, he didn't tell me about his party until after I had already committed to babysit. 

But Jeremy's my best friend. In the whole world. I couldn't not go to his 18th birthday party. 

So, I told him I would be there late. And I was. I was there very late. 

It seemed that the forces were against me that night ... 
The couple I was babysitting for stayed out late. They didn't get home until after ten. 
When they did finally get home, we had to shovel my car out of the snow. Literally. 
I had to get gas. And almost crashed my car into a tree on the way. 
I hadn't wrapped Jeremy's present yet. So, I had to stop at home to do that. 
And I ended up battling a snow storm in the dark to get actually get to the party. I was terrified.

Before I left my house to drive to the party, I glanced in the bathroom mirror. My hair was in a falling-out, frazzled ponytail after my long, busy day. I had very little (as in, only mascara) make up on. I was wearing jeans and a green t-shirt I'd owned since seventh grade. It was one of my typical babysitting outfits. I thought, before rushing out the door, It's fine, my friends have all seen me worse than this. 

I got to the party, but the blizzard had scared away most of Jeremy's guests (meaning his friends, the ones who were also my friends) away. All that remained was his family and three people I had never met before. One was a girl, Jeremy's latest crush. One was Alex Hill, a junior in Jeremy's seminary class. And one was Benjamin Anderson. 

How in the world does Jeremy have a friend that attractive and I don't know him? I thought, when I first saw him. I didn't say anything, though; the combination of my shy nature and Ben's good looks was too much for words. 

The group was already playing a game when I got there. I quietly sat and watched, content simply that I had made it to the party. The game they were playing required three people to stand in the front of the room at a time. Ben was up when it happened. 

I looked up at Ben just as he glanced over at me. 
Our eyes caught. 
And, I felt it.
The spark. The one that everyone talks about. 
I felt it. 
And blushed, of course. 
And quickly dropped my gaze. 

We didn't talk that night, not really. But that night, I went home with a head full of Benjamin, dreaming. 

Dreaming of a love story with Benjamin Anderson. 

This Picture is Worth a Thousand Words (My Favorite Picture of Charly and Me)

Good thing I have a picture because I don't want to write a thousand words and I know that none of our readers want to read a thousand words.

Choosing the picture for this blog was hard because there are a ton of great pictures of Charly and me together. I finally chose this one and I'm excited to see which one Charly chose.

This is my favorite picture of Charly and I together. It's from one of our first dates. Charly and I are really goofy, well, I'm goofy and I rub off on Charly. We are always laughing and always having fun. I think this picture represents that.

In this picture we were just at the mall trying on random hats and glasses. Charly loves taking pictures and it was a good excuse for me to put my arm around her so we took lots of pictures.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words (My Favorite Picture of Ben and Me)

Ben and I decided we wanted to do a short and sweet post this week, since nothing particularly exciting or funny happened to us since we last posted (unless you count Benjamin pretending to be a dinosaur as he ate his broccoli at the restaurant on date night ...). 

This is my favorite picture of Benjamin and I.

I know, I know, it has someone else in it. But here's the thing. This is one of the first pictures Ben and I took together, back before we were even dating for the first time. Also, the guy on the left is my very best friend Jeremy, who is currently on a mission. 

After Jeremy left on his mission and while I was long-distance-dating Ben, I would look at this picture and it would break my heart, I missed them both so much.

But looking at this picture, that's when I knew where I always wanted to stay.

Right there, between Jeremy and Benjamin. Forever. 

Understanding Women 101

This is a story that demonstrates my progress with understand women. I feel like I'm coming along quite well compared to most men but I also know that I still have a ton to learn.

Saturday was Brynndi's baptism and it was super cool. I love going to baptisms because the Spirit is always very strong. After the baptism Charly and I went over to Brynndi's grandparent's house for some food. They had a chicken salad with tons of fruits.

I. Love. Fruit. Especially strawberries and they had all kinds of fruits including strawberries.

On my first helping of food Charly turned to me and asked, "Can we could eat dinner with my mom, Jon, and Luke at Olive Garden?"

"Sure," I said. I was actually pretty excited. I like spending time with Charly's family.

After finishing our first helpings Jon and I went to get more fruit. We both piled mounds of our favorite food onto our plates and walked back over to Charly.

Now at this point of the story we need to jump into Charly's mind. She is thinking, "I just told Ben that we are going to Olive Garden right after this. He needs to save some room for that." 

But what she said was,

"You know were going to Olive Garden right after this?"

Now lets look at my mind. I'm thinking, "Charly just barely told me that we are going to Olive Garden. Why is she telling me again? Oh well."

And what I say is,

"Yup. You told me that."

After this statement Charly just kind of laughed at me and went back to talking with some family. I, on the other hand kept wondering why she had told me we where going to Olive Garden when she knew that I already knew.

A few minutes later I realized what she was actually trying to tell me and I just started laughing. I don't even think that Charly realized, at the time, that I didn't know what she was saying.

If there is one thing I've learned about women it's that they don't always say what they mean. They sometimes say something else and hope that you'll catch the message.

It's really funny how different we are. Men and women are so different. We can sometimes act the same but we just aren't built the same but that is what makes marriage so much fun and so rewarding.

The Loaded Plates

On Saturday, Benjamin and I went to my cousin's baptism. My mom wanted to take us, along with my brother Jon, to Olive Garden for dinner while we were in town. I talked to Ben and Jon about the plan while we ate outside, making sure it was okay. Then I called my mother while the boys both disappeared into the house. 

"Hey mom," I said. "Do you still want to go to Olive Garden?" 

"Can Jon make it?" She asked. 

"Yeah, he says he doesn't have other plans." 

"What time would we be going?" My mom went to bed pretty early. I checked my iPod; it was a little before four. 

"We're leaving in just a minute, and then we can go. Does that work for you?" 

"Yeah, we'll see you in a bit." 

Just as I was hanging up the phone, Ben was coming out of the house, carrying a plate loaded with food. I gave him a look. 

"What?" he asked, popping a strawberry into his mouth. 

I gave him another look. "Did you know we're going to Olive Garden after this?

"Yep," he said, "I remember you saying something about going Olive Garden." He picked up a piece of watermelon and put it in his mouth. I rolled my eyes.

That's when I saw Jon coming towards us, also carrying a plate. It was loaded with chicken salad. 

I sighed. "I give up."