Meet the Parents...

Okay, today's topic has been one that ALWAYS gets me when I'm dating someone... the dreaded moment of meeting her parents. Now, some say that it's no big deal, and really easy, but sure, I'm nervous, how could I not be? Yeah, yeah, I know it'll be over with soon enough, but man... you wanna make a GREAT first impression. Well, I made that first impression on Laurie's mom last weekend when she came down to drop Laurie off in SLC (luckily, I was in church clothes and we were going to a Mormon Tabernacle Choir Concert... Ding! Bonus points! :). Her dad, on the other hand, I figured I'd be making first impressions on come this weekend. Well, that's not exactly true. Sure... I'll meet him face to face, but apprently I've already made impressions on him. Laurie and I were talking on the phone last night, and I asked her if she had already mentioned me to her dad. Well, as I understand it, she showed him a picture of us two years ago when we were dating. He told her just this last weekend that he remembers me from that picture and when he saw it back in the day, he had a really good feeling about me. He said he was confused when she decided to go on a mission because he'd had similar feelings about each of his sons-in-law. Now, sure, people can look at that and say, well, gee... that's just some funky feelings! Hey, all I know is that it makes me happy to know that I've already made a good first impression on her dad. So, meeting him face-to-face this weekend shouldn't be a problem! Ha!

Laurie and I are surely excited to be with each other again. She texted me early this morning and said "I loved talking to you last night & now i can't get you out of my head"... Excccelent! My plan is working out perfectly! Ha! Last night before we talked I also got a message that said "I hope you know how awesome i think you are and how much i love getting to know you". I know! She suggested that on Saturday morning, we hit a session in the Idaho Falls temple. My friend that's bringing me back from Idaho, Kelli Stowers, is getting endowed in Rexburg that same day in the afternoon, so I suggested (at Kelli's request) that we attend. She readily agreed. Life is good!

So, hey, meeting the parents? No prob! Being with Laurie? Always wonderful.

Up to Idaho!

Well, I did it! I've worked circles around my friends, and figured out how I can go up to Idaho Falls with one friend and come back with another. Wahoo! Another great weekend ahead, I'm sure! I'm so excited to be with Laurie again. She's a babe, and great fun to be around! My day is a little brighter!

Cute girl!

Well, another week passed, and as many of you already know, Laurie came down this weekend. It was a very fun weekend (though awkward at first -- I mean, how do you determine how to act after a fun weekend then time apart and getting back together -- ie: was it all real? Did she really feel that way about me? -- she did!). She said that she feels more affections toward me this time around than she did last time. I feel like it's a much more mature romance. She's such a good girl and inspires me to do what I've known I should do for a long time. Yeah, I already miss her... I still haven't figured out if I'm going to be able to go to Idaho this weekend, but I'm still really working to figure out the details. When I told her that, she said "I truly hope you can come"... I do too!

Oh, a fun little text chat we had yesterday! :)

Dan: My family is all mad at me, and it's your fault! :)
Laurie: How do you figure?

Dan: Because they wanted you to be here!

Laurie: Can't say that I blame them- i wanted to too

Dan: They're all prying me to get married asap... :)

Laurie: And they think i'll take you off their hands?

Dan: You won't?

Laurie: It depends on if some one were to ask me to...
Dan: Someone? Or me?

Laurie: You- it might not be so special if john asked

Dan: We'll see... I'm excited about us... My whole family knows that

Laurie: Mine too

Dan: I'm glad!

Life is good, and man, is she a cute girl, or what?

Success!

Well, Laurie came down to visit this yesterday and today. She came down just to see me... cute, huh? I was a bit nervous, to be honest... We enjoyed getting together and just spending time with each other. It's weird, because we kind of just picked up right from where we left off. Well, I'm going over to dinner at her sister's place in Saratoga Springs today before Laurie heads back up to ID. Nervous about that, too, but I'm sure it'll all be good. She's a great girl with a good head on her shoulders. I don't know how much to say, but I'm sure you'll all be seeing her around in the near future. :) Success!

Oh, I also took my concealed firearms permit class yesterday. Way good! I won't be sending in the application for a bit (money... blah), but I will eventually... Success!

Laurie, Laurie, Laurie...

:) Yeah, we talked on the phone tonight for like an hour. Things are excellent. Let's just say that it's in the open that there are still mutual feelings there. She's a babe! So much to say, but it's late and I have to be up really early tomorrow to drive a friend to the airport. I'm happy!

Mission Calls

John is expected to receive his mission call later today. It's weird, but I'm kind of nervous for him... kinda got that butterflies-in-the-stomach feelin'. It's odd being on this side of the mission and seeing my little brother almost takin' off. Hard to believe! I'm so excited for him!

Laurie wrote on my wall on facebook (great... now I have to get that KABOOM! stuff that Billy Mays sells on TV to get it off). She said thanks for the chat, that it was nice catching up a bit, and that she hopes we can do it again soon. That was Monday, the day after we first talked. Hmm.. was I on someone's mind? :)

Speaking of being on someone's mind, Trisha texted me yesterday at 10 am (kind of unusual for her) and said that she was thinking about me and hoped that I had a good day... well, I did! Wahoo!

Chat with Laurie!

Ha! It finally happened! I chatted with Laurie online for like 45 minutes tonight! It was GREAT! It was so nice to talk to her again after 2 years. We just talked about life, and what her plans are and my plans, what's going on in our lives, etc. She's gonna be moving down in 7 weeks, and says that she really misses Provo. I think we'll have a good friendship. It's exciting! Short... but sweet post... I know

California!

Okay, so maybe this post won't be like the norm, but I thought you'd all like to know what the heck happened to Dan in California! This was a well-needed break from the norm. We spent a lot of time in Valencia at Six Flags... It was a blast! We also played on Long Beach. Maybe I should let the pictures do the talking. They do, of course, speak 1,000 words each... Let's just say I don't want to spend the next 3 years writing about what they can say.

This is me being tougher than Batman infront of Gotham City -
Note the Batman Cutout behind to the left.



What's Six Flags without a little fun with your best Warner's Bros. Friends?

In the Pacific Ocean. Gotta love Beach Frisbee! :)

This all made for a fantastic trip, but it's always so nice to be home. Heck, I even got a little tan (though I know that may be near-impossible to believe! Ha!) What a wonderful trip!