Back to the Beginning...The Story of Darin and Haylee

Aug 6, 2006
I met with Bishop Hammond on this day. He asked me if I was interested in any boys in the ward. I quickly answered no, and I informed him of my “no dating boys in the ward” rule. He said I didn’t have to date any boys, unless Darin Gunnerson asked me out because he was so impressed with Darin. About 3 minutes later I was looking through the Sunday school door staring at the incredibly good looking teacher. I thought to myself “I could marry that guy, and if I do I will always remember looking at him through the door.” Then, I thought “Wow! That was weird! I have never had a thought like that before. But, I do hope that is the Darin Gunnerson the bishop was talking about, because I would like to go out with him!!




Aug 26, 2006
The first time we “met”—we met at the church spice factory on a service project. We shared the same scaffold, and had a really good time together. Then we went bowling and I got the “crush.” I had about 6 people ask me that night how long we had been dating, and they were all shocked when they found out that we had only met that day.



Sept 1, 2006
Our first date! He took me to snowbird for steak and a star show. It was pretty fun, but my first impressions were that his was a “big spender” and I was worried because he “couldn’t keep his hands off me.” (As recorded in my journal).

Nov. 4, 2006
Our third date. We went to Stake Conference together, but came back to his condo, watched Monster house, ate ice cream, and held hands!




Nov. 25, 2006
The famous date at the Melting Pot!!! OUR FIRST KISS!!! I know, I know!! Our first kiss was PDA, but I am pretty sure that no one saw!

---So at this point, things are going really pretty well in our relationship. Liking him more and more! But then, on February 10th (yes 4 days before Valentines day) Darin broke up with me (tear). But don’t worry, on the 17th we were back together—he even took me out for Valentine’s day.

April 9, 2007
I decided that Darin and I should probably break up on this day. However, in my attempt to break up with him he said, “Why don’t we just get married?” To which I replied, “OK.” Now, you need to understand that this “ok,” was in general, but the next day he said, “So I think that we should get you a ring and get engaged this week.”
Imagine my reaction!! I started freaking out! I told him I wasn’t ready and that I needed more time, and he gave me an ultimatum of 3 weeks! Eeek!! I spent the next 24 hours rereading every journal page, talking to friends (mainly Bridget, Lindsay, and Beth) praying, pondering etc. I finally received my answer, and I was excited to tell Darin.
We were over at Mueller Park flying kites. And here is how I recorded the experience in my journal, “As we were flying the kite, I was holding the string and he was holding me. I thought “ya, I could do this for the eternities.” Then, in all my excitement [and thinking this was going to be the most romantic moment in my life] I said, “Ok, lets get married!!” Then he gave me a little squeeze and said something to the effect of “you probably should let a little more kite string out.” Not the most romantic line I was looking for, but it worked!



April 11, 2007
So, this story could get really long, but in a nutshell, Darin got me the ring I had always dreamed of, took me up to Snowbird (where our first date was), had me sit on a rock, he got down on one knee and purposed!







July 10, 2007
Married in the Bountiful Temple. The rest is History!

Cookies make Haylee Cry

The other day I was feeling a little down. I didn't really say anything, and I tried not to show it, but I was feeling "bummed." The house hunt has been a long unsuccessful process. It seems like every time we find a house we like it is either on a busy street, too small, too expensive, or in an area we don't like. I thought we had finally found "the house" but Darin (bless his heart) noticed that it had a poor roof. Turns out it would be very expensive to fix, and with that cost added to what they were asking, put it out of our price range again. A few other things happened throughout the day, slowly raising my blood pressure/stress level.

I went out to go do some things, which took longer than I was planning, which made me more stressed--but then I came home to my favorite things!!! My first favorite thing--I came home to my wonderful husband. Second, I came home to a clean home, which Darin had done while I was away. Third, I came home to some beautiful flowers. So, at this point, I was feeling pretty emotional, but I was holding it together until he said, “I also got you these because I know you like them” and he brought them out--those pink and white Animal Cookies. I lost it! I started bawling (not usually like me) I thought that was so nice! I felt silly that something like that would make me so emotional! I am just glad that I have Darin! He didn't even make me feel dumb that I cried! He always seems to do the right things at the right times! What a guy!

The Dramatic Cut!!

BEFORE:



AFTER:



The hair being donated to locks of love



I cut like one foot off my hair!! I would have never done it without the example of my student donating her hair, her mom, and Breanna! Then, I wouldn't have gone through it without Lara and Amanda's encouragement--and Amanda's expertise! Great job Amanda!

Happy, yummy FHE

On Sunday I made my yummy homemade, whole wheat bread which looked and smelled pretty good. We gave loafs to our mothers and grandmothers for Mother's Day, so we didn't have any leftovers for ourselves. I told Darin I would make more on Monday, but then he came up with a great idea.

Instead of making regular wheat bread, he thought it would be fun to find a bread from a different country that we never had tasted before and make that. So, right after work, we came home and each chose a bread. We wrote down what we needed (including things I had never heard of befor--ghee and a weird spice) and went to the grocery store.

Here is a picture of Darin's Greek Olive Bread, before he cooked it-



Here is a picture of my Missi Rotis



And here are the finish products




I thought that my Missi Rotis was a fun idea--it had onion, coriander, turmeric, and ghee, but I think everyone who tried them would agree that Darin's Greek Olive Bread was the best. Probably a recipe I would even save! It was delicious, and a fun FHE!

Happy cinco de mayo!

Here are the pictures from our fun cinco de mayo! It was complete with Mexican food, red, green, and white decor, and to top it off a little mariachi music! Oh yeah, not to mention our fake margaritas!

Litterally Cheesy!

Lately, Darin and I have been loving the weather. Definitely getting excited for spring! We are big movie watchers, but every time we rent or return a video, or getting groceries, we have just walked instead of driving because the weather has been so nice! Well, for our date this weekend, we went on a little picnic. Darin is a big "romancer" and what he did on our picnic was cute, but very "cheesy"...literally. As part of our dinner we had cheese and crackers, and Darin carved the cheese to say "I love u." We have fun!

Friends + Food = Good times

A few weeks ago, we had a little shower to celebrate the growing belling of my friend Cami! It was so fun to see everyone, and have everyone together again. We played fun games, and I was glad that the food went well. But, as good as my friends are, I have to say the best part was Darin! He was so wonderful to help me with last minute cleaning, decorating, and he actually made one of the salads all by himself! What a guy!

Huge apology!!!

I am so sorry for anyone who has been to my blog lately. I just noticed that the slideshow had music with it. I promise I didn't choose the songs! They must have come automatically, but I the lyrics were TERRIBLE, so if you heard them I am sorry, and I think I have fixed it!

The Long Awaited Florida Pictures!

Here are the Florida Pics!! We had such a fun time with Geoff, Jadi, Kaden, and Kaylee! They are such a cute family! We miss it already! It was so fun! We also had a great time in Disney World! We had a blast!

B-ball and Cooper

Here are some pictures of Darin, Thom, and Nate's game. Sorry, the pics are so low quality. I really don't have a good excuse, just bad photographer! At least the pics of Cooper are really cute!

Happy Birthday!

I came home on my birthday to a clean apartment (again) balloons, streamers, and a cute husband!! I really feel like I lucked out with this one!! I am so lucky to be married to Darin! He also got me an amazing chocolate cake!! What more could you ask for!? We spent the evening eating cafe rio, watching american idol, and eating cake with the family! It was a great day! Oh ya, and he got me trick candels on my cake! FUN!!!

Tag I'm It!

What were you doing 10 years ago?
Lets see, March of 1998, I was in 7th grade at Mueller Park Jr. High

5 things on my "to-do" list today:
1. Print Relief Society List
2. Visit Family
3. Go for a walk with Darin
4. Read Scriptures
5. Go to bed

5 Snacks that I enjoy:
1. Cereal
2. Gram crackers with chocolate frosting dipped in milk
3. Chocolate
4. Chips and Salsa
5. Yogurt

3 bad habits
1. Leaving the cupboards in the kitchen open
2. Not putting things away right when I am done with them
3. Sucking my fingernail (weird- I know!)

5 Places I've lived:
1. A house on 1850 S. In Bountiful
2. A duplex on 2600 S. in Bountiful
3. A house on 800 E. in Bountiful
4. 3 apartments in Provo
5. Our current apartment in Bountiful on Center St.

5 Jobs I've had:
1. Bangeters Farm (1 summer when I was 12)
2. Sarum House (working with kids with disabilities summers for 6 years)
3. Dick’s Bakery (2 summers and holidays)
4. University of Utah (teaching Children’s Science Classes)
5. Newman Elementary (3rd grade last year, this year 1st grade)

5 Things people don't know about me
1. I rarely miss breakfast (and it is my favorite meal)
2. I eat a ridiculous amount of cereal
3. I have always wanted to be the voice of a cartoon (preferably a princess)
4. I have been stung by a stingray and a jelly fish
5. I have stinky feet.

Yummy strawberries!!

These are the SUPER HUGE strawberries that Darin got us for V-day! They were amazing! Not only good chocolate, but the strawberries were incredible!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

I have the best husband in the whole wide world!!! I came home from work today to find a beautiful, clean apartment, a cute guy at the door to greet me, a kiss, and an amazing 2 doezen boquet of yellow (my favorite color) flowers. While I was busy being excited, smelling the flowers and hugging Darin, he said, "look how clean the kitchen is!" And I turned around to find a beautiful boquet of red roses, pink carnations, and white somethings. BEAUTIFUL!!! Then, Darin wanted to show me how clean the bedroom was, and next to my side of the bed was one beautiful colored long stemmed rose! HE IS THE BEST!!! I am one lucky girl!!!

More pictures of the aparto!

This first picture has our new cute gift from Sophie and Ben! Thanks!

Our cute little appartment

These are some pictures of our appartment. I know a lot of people haven't seen it before, so here it is.

Happy New Year and Happy Birthday!

Here are some pictures of a few of Darin's birthday presents (all three plants). This year Darin turned 27 on the 27th!! Yeah! We also have our sweet Chinese New Year pictures! (We ate Chinese--Darin's cute idea!)

Darin loving his plant from Christmas!