History of Love: Part III, or THE FINALE!

NOTE: Any mocking of me in these pictures will not be tolerated. No mention of my eyebrows or my chubby cheeks, either. I can hardly believe I am posting these. Feel free to mock any of the boys, though. These are not necessarily the best pics I have, but they were the first ones I could find. At least you'll get a taste.

So, where were we? Ah, yes. The Mark/Russ saga. Here I am at Junior Prom with Russ. You can see how tall he is. Also, Jake is just below me and Mark is sitting on the farthest right. Yes, I got to have conflicted feelings all night that night.

And you have to throw Jake back in there, because that boy had some kind of spell over me. Even though I was "with" Mark, and we had some real good times together, I just couldn't get over Jake. A guy from high school actually wrote in my yearbook, "I am interested to see if you end up with Mark or Jake." I guess I didn't hide it too well. The summer after 11th, I decided to give up boys altogether. I was tired of it all. But it didn't take long for me to rethink that decision.

Here's Mark and me at Preference, the night we first kissed. Could I have invested in a nice self tanner? Sure. But that wouldn't leave us much to laugh about now, would it?

The beginning of my senior year, an old crush resurfaced. Tyler Campbell, the boy who couldn't come with me to The Sandlot date, was in my Sports Psychology class and he was dang good-looking. Tall (6'2"), dark, and athletic (catcher on the baseball team), he hadn't given me the time of day when we were juniors, so I wasn't too hopeful, but he made my heart race, and I liked it. I went to Homecoming with Mark, but it was pretty much over. My friends and I suddenly became fans of Campbell's soup (Tyler's nickname was "Soup"), and brought it up frequently in our conversations. It seemed to be very one-sided at first, but eventually, he started flirting with me. He later told one of my friends, "I was sitting there in class one day and she smiled at me. That's all it took." Man, if I had known that, I would've smiled at him more when we were juniors...Anyway, we started dating, and were together until he left on his mission the next September. Tyler was the BEST high school boyfriend. Here's why:

• Girls told me all the time how jealous they were that I was dating him. In high school, you know that validation means so much.
• He was an awesome baseball player. I loved going to watch him, and was so happy that he was winking at me between innings.
• He would do anything for me. I know that was true. One Friday, I was stuck at school after a softball game. Heather must have taken the car home, not knowing I didn't have a ride. I was trying to figure out how I was going to get home, when Tyler showed up (he lived close to the school). He said he had been trying to find me and my mom told him I might need a ride home. He drove me home (about 20 minutes away), asking me what my plans were for later that night. I told him I had made plans with some of my girlfriends, feeling a little guilty. He wasn't upset; he wasn't disappointed. He just told me to have fun. What a great guy.
• He was proud to be with me. He made a t-shirt with my number on it and wore it to basketball games (where we didn't have that many fans). He always told me how great I was, even when I wasn't. He was so supportive. He also surprised me by showing up in Heber at an all-star game I was playing in. It was several hours out of his way.
• He was respectful of me. Even though I heard he cussed a lot on the baseball field, I never heard him swear. That meant a lot to me. He also waited about five months before he kissed me, because he knew it scared me (that makes me laugh to think about now--I was so anti-NCMO in favor of an actual relationship that I freaked myself out. I can't believe he put up with me).

He was just the best. Senior year was the best. Here we are at Preference,

Senior Ball (the night he first kissed me),

and Graduation.

The summer after senior year was the best. Then real life started. Tyler got his mission call to Argentina and I left for BYU. He told me that he loved me and hoped I would still be around when he got home (he didn't ask me to wait for him, let that be known!). I was crushed when he left. And lonely. And preemies (Pre-Missionaries) at BYU were safe...

I met Randy Hunter about a month after Tyler left. He was in my freshman ward, living in Helaman Halls. He was so much fun, and took my mind off of being so sad all the time. It was nice not to be alone (I was never one to just play the field, can you tell? I needed to be in a relationship!). We dated from about November to April, with our ups and downs. He knew I had a missionary, I knew he was getting ready to go on a mission, so really there was no reason for any kind of commitment. He told me that he loved me, which left me feeling entirely conflicted, as I couldn't say it back. We broke up in April, and I realized that I was a lot more emotionally invested in him than I would have guessed. He offered to fly me to Oregon (Brookings, his hometown) for his mission farewell, and I decided to go. Here's Randy and me on the Heber Creeper. This was the first time...okay, not the first time he kissed me. That was a couple weeks later.

In the meantime, Jake was getting ready to leave on his mission. He and I had managed to become really good friends during the years, and got really close right before he left. I even went with him and his family the night he got set apart (WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT??). He was sort of dating one of my friends from BYU, but it's obvious now, in hindsight, that he and I had something undefinable going on and I could never quite get him out of my heart. Of all the guys I dated in high school, he was the one I thought I would be most likely to marry. Timing is everything, and we certainly didn't have that. My biggest regret from high school is that I never kissed him. I think it would've been awesome.

Here's a major flashback that should've been in the last post. This is Jake and me at Preference when we were sophomores. Jaesi, I left Paul in the pic just for you!

Okay, back to Randy. I flew to Oregon with no expectations for what was to come, but what else was going to happen? Of course we got back together, I sent him on his mission, then headed back to BYU writing to Tyler, Jake and Randy. What a time that was.

Two months after Randy left, I met and dated my first RM. He was in my ward at BYU. I myself was planning on going on a mission, so I guess that made RM's safe. Jeff was an amazing person, and everything I was looking for in a man. He was smart, like Mark, athletic, like Tyler, musical, like Jake, and fun, like Randy. I just wasn't ready to meet him then. I thought I should just stay single for a while, and not get my heart involved in something else.

Here we are on the couch at my apartment, in our "usual spots." This was long before I knew he was the one, but you can tell it's there (for me, anyway). Notice he let me hold the remote? He still does that.

I failed miserably. I started falling for him. It was hard not to. He was everything I'd ever wanted. Last year, for Valentine's Day, I wrote about our story, so I'm not going to go through it all again here. It took a lot of doing, but I finally realized that I couldn't live without him. I decided that all of my missionaries, and a mission myself, were not much to sacrifice when I had Jeff on the other side. Choosing him was the best decision I ever made. And I honestly believe that all the boys I loved throughout my life helped me to see that. From Kylen to Clint and Brent to Tyler, I began piecing together a picture of what my eternal companion would be like. And so, when Jeff came along, I was able to recognize that he was the one I had been looking for.

I'm sure there will be future posts dedicated to my sweetie (I will dig out wedding pictures someday), but for this Valentine's Day I want to thank all the boys I ever loved (or crushed on), who helped make me the person Jeff fell in love with. I owe you one. Love you Jeff! Seven (plus) years later and never been happier. Happy Valentine's Day all!