We met at a ward activity corn maze night around Halloween, and it was completely by chance. One of his friends (Gabe) in my ward invited him to come to the corn maze with the whole group, and all of us met at the church. There were two girls I hadn't met, and I was talking to them, and we decided we'd carpool up to Syracuse together. We yelled out to the large group of people left that we could take two more people in our car, and these two boys, Gabe and Garrett, said "ok!" and hopped in our car. (I mean who wouldn't pass up this fine opportunity to take a ride with 3 cute blondes?) The five of us drove up the 25 minutes to Syracuse getting to know each other. I thought the boys were goofy. The girls mainly talked about their teaching backgrounds, so the boys assumed I was a teacher as well, although I wasn't saying anything. Garrett eventually asked "So Holly, are you a teacher too?" and I said no, I work at the Living Planet Aquarium, and he was like "no way". He was impressed and wanted to hear more about it, and when I told him my LAST job was working at Farmington Bay, he freaked out even more and just thought I was the coolest thing ever (because he loves Farmington Bay, thought it was cool I had worked there and know duck species (since he enjoys duck hunting), and he lives in Farmington). I could tell he wanted to know more about me, but we got to the corn maze and started our adventure.
Through the maze he was so goofy. He reminded me a lot of Chandler on Friends actually. (Who just happens to be my favorite character on my favorite show, I'll have you know.) We ran around the maze, took short cuts through the field, and he was getting cuter and funnier to me as the night went on, falling through the corn. He caught up with me a few times and kept asking me more questions about what I like to do, and when I told him I love the outdoors and backpacking and horseback riding he was like "shut up now!" because he's into all the same stuff. We hit it off pretty good. He told me later that he was really interested in me at the time and that I was being very hesitant with him (I'm not a huge flirt). But he liked that.
Afterward the five of us decided to go to Kaity's house for a movie. When the movie was over, he and Gabe left while I was getting Bella (my dog) out of the backyard. I was super bummed I hadn't had a chance to give him my number or something, because I didn't think I'd ever see him again! But later I found out that he had been good friends with my friend Artie, so I asked Artie if he'd give him my number. He did, and Garrett called me within a day. Our first date was a winter hike up a canyon, something we both had been really wanting to do. It's also a perfect time to talk without sitting awkwardly at a dinner table or watching a movie where we don't even get to talk. It was so fun and we got to know more about each other. He's 6 months older than me, loves the outdoors, animals, and is very much into business, building houses, and green energy. He sells pest control in the summer, and in the winter does construction/remodeling jobs here and there, and works with his brother in their business called Insight Window Cleaning, washing windows, cleaning gutters, and debris, etc. for people. He's very much into service for people, and always finds jobs here and there. He'd love to own a pest control company, since they make really good money, and have a ranch in the country, while continuing to do service jobs for people.
We told each other our life stories, and how I ended up in Utah. How I am a convert of the church, and about his mission in Louisiana. We talked about our families and our parents' divorces, and about animals and backpacking trips. Since that first date, we started doing something every week, and eventually we became inseparable, seeing each other every single day. I can't remember the last day we had that we didn't see each other.
Every day we spend together we get closer and closer and we are very happy with how things are going and the pace that we are taking our relationship. He has a big heart, and we have the best communication. We feel exactly the same about each other, which is so nice! I feel like my other relationships were always more one-sided. But not at all with Garrett. He is also so thoughtful. Last night he surprised me with a dozen red roses for Valentine's Day, and took me to Lava Hot Springs in Idaho (a two-hour drive). It was fantastic and we had a lot of fun and great conversation, as always. Our outings are always an adventure. Last week we went backpacking overnight and snow camped on the mountain, and we go hiking frequently in the snow. I'm so happy we have what we have and am excited every day to see what new adventure we have in store for us.
