God Gave Me You

Jared has been in Denver, Colorado since June 1st. It has been an extremely tough summer being away from him, but weekends like this past one make me know that it is all worth it. Jared has gotten to come home a few times throughout the summer, and I went out there with his family at the end of May to move him out there. You would think that saying goodbye the fourth time would be a lot easier than the first, but it never gets easier. Regardless of which one of us has to walk away, knowing that in a few hours you will be hours apart again and can't just run over to hang out whenever you want is the worst part of all. I have come to appreciate this experience. I think that us being apart has allowed us to grow even closer than we were before. This weekend I finally took a trip out there to see him. It had been three and a half weeks since we had seen each other, and because of certain events in my life I could not wait to be back in his arms. I left thursday afternoon and when I landed in Denver he was standing there waiting for me. That began our weekend of adventures.....

That night we did a little shopping, and then because I said I was craving italian we walked all over a good portion of Cherry Creek, Colorado looking for the perfect restaurant. We had a delicious dinner the just two of us.

On Friday we woke up and went to a bagel shop where we ate the best bagels I have ever eaten. Jared then told me that he wanted to go walk around a park. Knowing me going for a walk around a park does not excite me too much, but when we got there I understood why. Every where I looked it was GREEN. All these kids playing, people jogging and biking, and beautiful scenery was like a scene in a movie. We walked through the most beautiful garden of flowers, and then just set down and took it all in. 

After the park we headed into downtown Denver for a some site seeing, lunch, shopping, and then a little people watching. We stopped by the mile high marker on the steps of the capital. 

 Jared is the best boyfriend in the world. He followed me from store to store, and never once complained about having to shop. There are so many things and people to look at. For example this is the scary robot man that entertains on the streets of Denver. A few months ago when Jared and I were in Denver with his family we all stopped to watch this guy. He harassed everyone that walked by, and when we started to walk off he went up behind Cheryl and Jess and scared them. So this time when we saw him I made Jared cross the street to avoid him. This is the picture of the famous Robot Guy. 

On Saturday we went to Idaho Springs, Colorado. We went all the way up to the top of Mt. Evans. Which consisted of 14 miles of twisty roads. All the way up we got to see the most beautiful scenery. Once we got to the top of the mountain we hiked up all the way to the peak, and looked across the mountains for what seemed like miles and miles. 

 On Sunday we got up and headed for Cheyenne, Wyoming to the "Daddy of 'Em All". I have always wanted to go to this rodeo because 8 Seconds is my favorite movie of all time, and being at the arena where he rode for the last time was amazing. I have never been to a better rodeo in my entire life. We had so much fun!

Being apart this summer has not been easy, but I feel that it is all part of God's plan for us. It has truly grown us closer together than we could have ever imagined. I have found the one, and I cant wait to have many more adventures together.

Playing Catch Up

To get my blog started I will give everyone a little preview of where my life is right now. As far as school goes I am going to be starting my junior year at OSU in about a month. I am so excited to be back in Stillwater!! I am living with great girls, and I will finally be back in the same town as my boyfriend. To be back in a town where everyone stays up late, and there is actually somewhere to eat at two in the morning. Gotta love college life! My dad, Ruby, Lendall, Cassie, and Emrie all went and helped me move my stuff in this week so I will be back in Stilly before I know it. 

For those of you who did not know I have been dating a guy named Jared for the last 4ish months. We met four years ago at Super Summer, but we were at two totally different points in our life so it just did not work. I could not ask for a better guy to be in love with. Jared has been in Denver, CO all summer for an internship. It has been a great experience for him, but I am ready for it to be over because this being 11 hours apart and only seeing each other four times all summer is not my favorite. Regardless of where we are we know now that we will not let anything come between us. 

Other than Jared being away this has been a great summer. I have been working for my mom, my dad, at Bravo's every once in a while, and then it seems like when I am not doing one of those things I have a niece or nephew around to take care of. I love getting to spend extra time with my family. Cassie and I have set up a pretty good routine and that is that we stay up and watch all of our many shows every night before bed. I will definitely miss that time once I go back to school. So far this summer I have been to Texas, Colorado, Alabama, and Louisiana. We had an awesome family vacation in Alabama and Texas. I went to Colorado to move Jared in for the summer, but next weekend I will be headed up there for a little vacation time in the Rockies. My trip to Louisiana was for the annual National Junior Brangus Show. It was by far the best week of the summer!! I love my Brangus family, and because of that fact I chose to stay on the board as ex-officio for another year. 

There has been some heart ache this summer. While I was gone to Louisiana my dog Stoney was ran over. It has been a rough week, and not being here when it happened made it even worse. A dog is by far the least selfish thing on earth. It doesn't matter what you do they will always love you. Stoney was my first dog apart from my family. The last year and a half he has been the one consistent thing in my life. No matter where I was living, or who I was with he didn't care as long as he was with me. It has been a hard adjustment to life without him, but I know without a doubt that everything happens for a reason. My family, Jared, and friends have been amazing throughout the whole thing. I really don't know what I would do without them. There really is nothing as important as the people that you love.....