Living in Texas Pt 1

Sam and I live in a town called Humble, Texas. But don't pronounce it like it's spelt, the town is Umble, Texas. Sam and I pretty much slaughter every towns name down here. Texas is really pretty and green. Trees everywhere! It's hard to tell where you are even going. And it's now clear to me I don't know my North and Souths, I just knew where the mountains were in Utah! Now I get so flipped around! Some of the highlights of our Texas summer so far is going out to Galveston. It's a cute Beachy town with a pier and lots of fun tours and things to do. I ate at my first Whataburger and we stopped at a Flight Museum on the way home. The Village of Tiki Island was amazing too. The prettiest homes right on the lake and Sam and I were envious of it all! We also took a temple trip to Spring, Texas to see the beautiful Houston Temple. It was a different experience than going to the Provo Temple but it had the same feelings of peace and comfort just like all temples do. We also went with some friends to an Astros baseball game. It was dollar hot dog day so you can imagine how many hot dogs we consumed. It was fun catching up with old friends and the Astros won! Sam and I have also enjoyed eating barbecue, yummy Texas steak, being near Lake Houston, going on drives and seeing pretty Texan neighborhoods and babysitting the precious little kids we live with on Friday nights! Our summer in Texas is turning out pretty great! 

Disneyland Duo

I had been begging Sam to take me to disneyland and even before we were married he promised me a trip there. So for Valentines Day I was excited to see some homemade Disneyland Tickets. Sam and didn't want to have all the fun, so we invited my brothers and sisters along for the trip. We only got to spend two days in Disneyland so we woke up early the first day and scrambled into the park. Practically running to Indiana Jones, then to Haunted Mansion, and then to Pirates of the Caribbean. Then the lines picked up and we didn't get to do as many rides in a hurry. But we caught most of them! When we waited in line at Space Mountain we played charades on our phones and it turned into everyone around us playing charades too. I get sick if I go on too many roller coasters, so I went on California Screamin only once and Justine waited with me. The others went again and Justine and I went to get fast passes to Radiator Springs Racers. Sam and I enjoyed some ice cream at my favorite parlor on Disney Main Street, and enjoyed tons of other fun rides. Unfortunately Splash Mountain and Tower of Terror were closed, but we still had tons of fun. All 6 of us stayed in a ghetto hotel so we could save money so Sam and I volunteered to be on the ground on a blow up mattress. Talk about style. The third day we went to a beach to try to catch a tan before heading home. Disneyland is so fun but even more fun with my favorite five people. 

A Costa Rican Honeymoon

I didn't dare dream of a huge honeymoon. My whole life I was content with going to Park City or California. So when Sam took my to Costa Rica, I was more than happy, I was ecstatic!!! Our first stop was San Jose. It was a really big and pretty city. We stayed in a nice hotel called Grano De Oro that had a fabulous breakfast!! We then took a baby plane to the other side of Costa Rica to a town called Tambor. We ended up at a resort called Tango Mar. Everyone there was European and older. People probably wondered what is two American kids were doing there. It had about three pools that lead into one big infinity pool that looked right out into the ocean. The beach was seriously ten feet away. Our hotel was a cute tiki hut with a ocean view. By this point I was feeling extremely spoiled. We did so many fun things while we were there. Sam and I went scuba diving, our to Tortuga Island where we laid on the white sand and made friends with a little javelina island Mascot. We rode horses through the jungle and onto the beach, spotted lots of howler monkeys and even took a hike to see one of the only waterfalls that fall directly into the ocean. We saw tons of Dolphins swimming and jumping when we were on a boat ride and saw about five sting rays up from a look out point. One of my favorite days we spent ziplining on a canopy tour that led to a waterfall Sam and I jumped in. It was one of those days I'll never forget! One morning Sam and I woke up early and watch the sunrise. I remember being so full of happiness and gratitude for me amazing husband and this amazing world. I'm glad we did such a fun trip for our honeymoon, because you only get a true honeymoon once. I love you Costa Rica! 

London with my Love

Sam and I had planned a weekend in Hawaii. We made all the arrangements and packed our bags. But because Sam and I fly on standby, our dreams of going to Hawaii was crushed when everyone else had to same idea as us. I got really bummed and Sam and I started heading home. This United Airline worker came up to us and said "why don't you go to Munich this weekend? Or Cancun?" And he was right, why did we have to go home and call it quits? We found an empty flight to London, switched our swimsuits for jackets and took the 8 hour flight to the UK. Sam had never been to London, and this being my third time I felt it was important for me to be his tour guide ;) We went and saw Buckingham Palace, (unfortunately a 5k race stopped the Changing of the Guards from happening) Big Ben, Westminster, rode a double decker bus over Tower Bridge and spotted St Paul's Cathederal and The Tower of London. Sam had injured his foot a few days before but he was a champ and limped all over this beautiful city. The best part of this trip was going home. We wanted to save money so we thought it was a good idea to stay at the airport instead of paying for a hotel. It was 9pm and we took the Underground all the way back out to the airport just to find out that the airport closes and we couldn't stay there. There was a small corner in the airport that didn't close, so we found a chair and got ready to wait there for 12 hours before our flight. Oh what we will do to save some money!!! Let's just say by the time we got home we had gone three days with maybe three hours of sleep. But it was worth it! London is still just as magical of a place and I loved seeing it with my baby love! 

When you date a pilot.. You get motion sickness.

I loved that Sam was going to be a pilot on a big airplane one day. I've always loved to travel and it seemed awesome that I'd get amazing free flights if I married him! I kept bugging him about taking me flying, and reminding him that I hadn't gotten the chance to go flying with him yet, and how he had taken other girls.. And all that annoying stuff. :) Sam wanted to take me and so when we finally decided to go and I was sitting in the very small crowded plane and it didn't feel like there was enough air for me to breath- I got a little bit nervous. It sounds so fun until you realize that Sam is ACTUALLY flying the plane and you are ACTUALLY high up in the sky. Lucky for me Sam is a very good pilot, and takes flying seriously. So I felt like I could trust him. I remember feeling like the plane wasn't going fast enough.. 

it seemed like we were going to fall right out of the sky.

 It was super pretty and peaceful up there and I thought Sam looked so handsome. He flew over my parents house and grandparents house and told them to come outside and see, of course my mom thought Sam was making too sharp of turns ;) 

He later did some zero gravitys. And I was so embarassed cause I screamed. Sam wouldn't forget about that. It felt like we were going to die!!!!!! He kept laughing and laughing. He kept doing them cause he wanted me to open my eyes and watch. But I couldn't keep them open! Once I realized he wasn't going to stop doing them until I watched, I realized my eyelids and enjoyed the view. Until the third time when it hit me that I felt sick. I didn't want to throw up in the small plane and not have Sam be able to see and have him crash into the mountain. (That's how my dramatic brain works). So Sam landed the plane for me and I remember being so glad I was on solid ground. I was still super impressed with Sam and his flying abilities- but I didn't know if I was cut out for going up again anytime soon. I'm realizing the older I get the less I am able to handle motion. I'm still super happy that I married a pilot. Sam is so smart and works so hard at Flying and all things aviation. I'm a proud wife. And it's been a little while so I'm starting to feel like it's time for me to go flying with my lover again. 

Our first AZ trip together.

I had never had a serious boyfriend, so of course I wasn't use to the idea of going on a road trip to meet the family. Sam wanted to leave at 3 in the morning, so of course I wasn't super chipper. He was so sweet and got me all this diet coke and my favorite treats, but it didn't matter.. I was grumpy and not in the mood for a road trip. If anyone knows me well, they know I need my sleep. I tried to sleep on the way down there- but I couldn't. So I intentionally tossed and turned so Sam could see that I was bugged. Because I'm uncool like that! :) Sam wanted to surprise me by taking me to the Grand Canyon to see the sunrise. But when he saw that I wasn't in the mood to be happy he skipped that and decided to pull over and take a nap. He slept fine, and I got squished and was cold. He had told me wild animals were in the area so I just watched out for killing beasts and Sam slept. I was SOOO bugged. Then he couldn't find me a bathroom that late at night and he knew he was in trouble. When we finally made it- we took a nap and I woke up feeling a little better. But I feel like my lack of sleep really ruined me for the rest of the week. I got sick at an Italian restaurant and had a belly ache. I got home sick and laid in bed one day and cried to my mom on the phone. I cried every day to Sam. I told him several times that I wasn't cut out for this. I wasn't ready to marry him and get dragged to Arizona. That was the last thing Sam was trying to do. But I was crazy this week. His mom came down stairs one night and brought me a fashion magazine. She told me that Sam cared about me and that he is a very faithful, loyal person. And I remember feeling how lucky I was. I think I tried to redeem myself the rest of the trip- but I somehow doubt I did very good. I am sincerely surprised Sam stuck around after this. But I kept going to AZ with him and never left, even though I threatened it a lot. I now LOVE Arizona. And Sams family is my family and I love love love them. I am too lucky. Phew! Good thing I didn't do all the crazy things I said I'd do! Some of the fun things we did was go kayaking, off roading in Ali's jeep. Went through the orange groves in the raptor. Walked down Old Town Scottsdale, went shopping, went for ice cream at the sugar bowl, and watched scary movies with Ali in the basement. Sam also took me to the Mesa and Gilbert temple. It was my first time at the Mesa temple, which I fell in love with!

The hike that turned into a run.

After a little while- I got wishy washy with Sam. I wasn't use to things actually working out- and I started to feel the seriousness of Sam Liechty. I remember one day he came and picked me up and we went on a hike. But Sam can't do anything simple and normal. He took me to the top of the mountain and he wanted to blaze our own trail. He was on the hunt for animals the whole time and I kept feeling like I was going to end things but didn't want to get left up here on the mountaintop. We talked and Sam knew I was thinking about not dating anymore. He told me how he felt about me and calmed my nerves. I remember saying a prayer and asking Heavenly Father what I should do, and I decided not to worry about it the very moment. But enjoy the pretty day. I kept hearing thunder but Sam said it was moving away from us. Yeah, right. It started pouring shortly after that and Sam and I started running towards the car that was aways away. After realizing I wasn't going to be able to  not get wet, Sam came and held me so tight. He kissed me and the moment stopped and suddenly seemed so perfect. I felt like life was beautiful and that I felt safe with Sam. Was that storm an answer to my prayer? I believe so. That night we went to Sams apartment and ate pizza and cuddled. I remember thinking that he is who I wanted to eat pizza with the rest of my life. :) This wasn't the only time that my doubts got to me, but I think it was one of the first times I realized I was falling in love with Sam. And I never want to forget that day.

Our first kiss.

After Sam and I had met, we saw each other every day. I was use to getting kissed fast. Not because I was something special, but because that is how it worked in Provo (which is sad and dumb). So when Sam and I had been seeing each other every day I was confused why he hadn't kissed me. He had plenty of chances to.. I was making myself very available 😉 I remember one night he took me out to the Provo Airport on this back road in his truck. And we watched planes come in.. We held hands and he wrapped me up tight in his arms. But nothing.. Nothing. After some time we left the airport and he stopped to show me some horses he loved to go see. I thought this was another very romantic spot, but he just kept talking about owning horses one day and kept wondering if he could ride one bare back. And then we went home. Still nothing. As I waited and waited to be kissed by this perfect boy, I soon realized that it wasn't going to happen for awhile. After a few days I finally asked Sam why he hadn't kissed me yet. He said he wasn't ready to, because he only kisses girls that he is dating exclusively. Ouch. I remember being sad yet hopeful. I knew Sam liked me but was still figuring things out. He left to go to Washington to visit his mission, and while he was gone we would text all day and he'd call me at night. He'd send me pictures and tell me about his mission and the people he served. Finally when Sam came home, he came and picked me up and took me out to Utah Lake. He brought a blow up mattress and a computer to watch a movie on. Sam let me sit in the truck and I waited for him to set everything up. I got tired of waiting and went out to be with him. I stood on the bed of his truck and the lake looked so peaceful and still. He said "come over here" and he grabbed my hands and pulled me down from the truck and kissed me. It was the most perfect beautiful first kiss. The sun was setting and I knew that my single life was setting too. Sam from day one had been different, and I knew this kiss meant he was ready. Waiting for him to kiss me was well worth it. I will never kiss anyone else. 😘❤️

The first picture Sammy and I ever took together. Journey concert. How perfect :)

the day i met my lover.

I remember the first time that I met Sam. He was standing a couple feet away from me and the fire shined on his face so beautifully. he seemed perfect. i remember the first thing i thought to myself was "where have you been all my life" it seems corny, but that is what i thought. haha. sam doesnt even believe me when i say that. it wasnt that long before i made my way over to him and Sam made me a S'more. He even went and got me a drink of water when I got thirsty after. I followed him around the rest of the night. at one point in the night i remember him placing his arms on my shoulders and it felt like the world stopped. I instantly knew that things were different. the whole world had changed. he didnt ask for my number when I left, but that didnt discourage me. I messaged him on good ol facebook and we were hanging out the very next day. i had invited Sam to a fire that night and watched for him to show up. when he did, he sat on a log that was crowded with condiments and hot dog buns. i went and squeezed in next to him, because there were a lot of cute girls and I wasnt going to let them get to him. it wasnt super comfortable, but hey, i was sitting next to a super dreamy guy. who cared? we talked all night and i thought things were going good. but when sam went to leave he shook my head goodbye. seriously, he put his hand on my head and shook it. i felt so friend zoned. i think i went into a mild depression the rest of the night. but the next morning when  i looked at my phone i saw that sam had text me a really sweet text, and i knew that it wasnt over with Sam Liechty (even though at the time i didnt know how to pronounce his last name..). im glad the universe led me to sam that night. i had been looking for him for a long time.

Around the time Sam and I first met. Isn't he dreamy?

oh hey blog world.

the last time i wrote in my journal was a couple years ago, so i am going to try to blog and see if that helps me out. because most likely ill become really old one day and wont remember anything. wish me luck. :)