Top Two Favorite Dates

 As I've been going through and trying to figure out what to put on this blog I thought it would be fun to reminisce a little bit about when Erik and I were dating.   Last night before going to bed we began going over some of the dates we went on and we both picked our favorites, so I've decided to post them. :)

Lacey's

In order to fully appreciate my favorite date a little background needs to be given.  When I met Erik I had only been home from my mission for two months or so.  Coming home was really exciting, but really hard.  Some things had changed in my personal life that I wasn't expecting, and I often found myself feeling alone, frustrated, and confused.  To wrap it up in a nutshell it was a rather dark time in my life.  Thankfully BYU-Idaho has a great counseling program on campus that is free to students, so I signed up to get an outsiders view and opinion.  (And just FYI I"m not embarrassed at all to share that I have been to counseling before.  It truly helped me through some really tough times in my life, and I will never be ashamed of the help I received there. :) )  Anyways, through talking with my counselor we often discussed my "inner child," a psychological concept that can be argued and discussed, but can't be proven, and how maybe there were some things that I was missing from my childhood and wished I could still have.  Now with that back ground, I will continue with my favorite date. :)

Before Erik and I started dating we were close friends, and already knew a lot about each other.  Erik was aware that I was going to counseling, and when we started dating I began sharing with him what I had learned during my session and what my goals were for the week and so on, so Erik was aware of my "inner child."  One night when we had nothing planned he came over to my apartment and asked me if I had a lot of homework to do for that night.  I said no, and he asked me if he could take me out on a surprise date. I readily accepted, and we were off in my little red car.  As I drove us to Idaho Falls I asked Erik where I needed to be going.  He informed me that he needed to get something at Toys R Us.  I looked at him confused, but he insisted, so I pulled into the parking lot and we entered the store.

It had been years since I'd entered Toys R Us and I'd forgotten how many toys there really are there.  Once we entered I asked him what we were looking for.  He then looked at me and said, "You have thirty dollars, get whatever you want."  I looked back at him, confused, and he replied, I want you to let out your inner child and pick something out for her, something that Lacey Junior would want to have.  I couldn't believe it, someone was actually willing to buy something for a twenty-two year old that could be better suited for a six year old.  I went to work looking at all of the toys.  I went up and down every isle, looking at prices and trying to decide what I wanted.  Finally, in the last isle, I found this.

Yes, it is a very large stuffed penguin!  When I laid eyes on this baby I instantly knew what I wanted.  We checked out, and "Gus Gus" was now my new best stuffed animal friend.  After getting Gus Gus we enjoyed a yummy dinner at Pizza Hut, another one of my favorite places, and headed back to Rexburg.  That night as I was going to bed, with Gus Gus wrapped up in my arms, I realized that there was something different about Erik William Miller, little did I know that that difference was because he was the man I was going to marry.  

Erik's

 I probably should have put Erik's favorite date first because it was our official first date, but oh well. :)  In reference back to how I was before my mission, lets just remember that I was confused, and sometimes did not the smartest of things.  I ran into a boy that i knew before my mission one day at work, we began to go on some dates, and quickly began "dating." I use the quotes because we never really did, but that's a different story.  Anyways, during these few days that I was "dating" this boy, Erik and I were good friends and texting a lot.  I knew that Erik and his roommate were planning a date for the coming Saturday.  I asked him who he would take and he said he had been asking girls with no luck.  Soon Friday came, and I asked again who he had found to go on the date.  He said he asked 13 different girls, and none of them had said yes.  I felt so sorry for him and wanted to offer to go with him, but knew that I had a "boyfriend" and couldn't.  Well that night I was heading out to spend the evening with this "boyfriend" and in the process of going to dinner we talked about our little relationship and decided that we had been dumb, rushed into things, and that we really didn't want to be dating.  It was a mutual understanding.  After dinner and a movie I went home, and instantly texted Erik.  Without a boyfriend I was free, and I wanted Erik to have a date.  Erik readily agreed to take me, so Saturday afternoon he came over and picked me up.  He informed me that we would be finger painting, so I dressed in some old clothes, and it's a good thing I did.  Here's how the date played out.

It started innocent enough.  We were painting, getting our hands dirty, and just having fun, when all of a sudden, (Notice Erik looking at the piece of paper in his hand, fyi, it's full of paint)

BAM! Yes, I got a piece of paper full of paint straight to my face! (Look at how smug and proud he looks!)

needless to say, I was shocked,

but I quickly retaliated, and we had a full fledged paint fight.  he got me, I got him, and in the end, we were both completely covered

After we finished up, we all looked like this

Brad, Erik's roommate, had made peach cobbler for dessert, but it was clear that Erik and I wouldn't be eating in our current states, so we took a half an hour break to shower and clean up.  Erik walked me home where I showered and got all of the paint of my body and out of my hair.  I've never had such colorful water while I showered.  While I was getting ready Erik walked back to his apartment, showered himself, and then came back to get me.  Once we were all clean, we had dessert.

  After we ate Erik walked me back home again and the date was over.  I was going to bed that night I was surprised at how much fun I had on the date.  I was comfortable, felt like myself, and wasn't worried about what others thought of me.  I didn't think much about it, but little did I know that it was the start of the best relationship I would ever experience.

So there you have it, our two favorite dates.  If you made it to the end of this post I'm impressed, because it's long, but it was really fun to write.  Until next time!

Lacey