i think my heart just skipped a beat

You know, it still doesn't feel real to me that he's actually there. Half a world away from me. I mean, these pictures are obvious proof, but I think I'm still in denial.

Either way, my heart just about jumped out of my chest when I scrolled down the blog post to find all the pictures he was in. I'm so happy for him.

His mission president and wife have a blog. If you want to see the post, look here.

kortrijk, belgium

Even though his flight from London to Amsterdam was cancelled due to fog, he made it to his destination safely! I am so happy that he made it there in one piece. He's probably dead tired after 24 hours of travel, but I know they'll put him to work quickly and he'll adjust.

He is so incredibly excited to get to work. He is a dedicated young man that will do everything he is asked with strict obedience. I am so proud of what he has accomplished so far! And I can't wait to see what he will do on his mission.

But I'm FREAKING out. I mean, my best friend is halfway across the world. Living in a different country... on a different continent. I can't help but fry my brain thinking about "what's he doing now?" "what's he saying?" "is he okay?" "how was his first day knocking on doors?" "who is he talking to and associating with?" How do I know he still exists with all these questions in my mind? I guess this will have to do for now:

I love you Elder Stoddard!

well well

Today was a rather... interesting. It goes like this:

9:00 -- wake up, help mom frost cookies for a wedding, shower, get ready.
11:20 -- get picked up for a date with Tyler Johns (age 21), Jaclyn Johns' older brother.
12:00 -- finally head down to Provo after picking up another boy and his date.
12:30 -- lunch at Zupas.
1:30 -- head to BYU to watch The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in the planetarium. Yes, the planetarium.
3:30 -- drive home and find out he wants to ask me out again in a few weeks.
4:30 -- arrive home, touch up, change top, fix hair, etc.
5:15 -- get picked up by a family friend whose children will be babysat by my little sister because her and her husband are taking me out on a date.
5:30 -- arrive at Chili's. To meet him. Yes, this was a blind date. First one of my life. We ate at Chili's for about an hour. Hardly talked to each other but fortunately I went with people I knew and he went with his brother and sister-in-law. So it works. His name is Richard and he is 23 years old.
6:30 -- head to Jack and Jill's for some bowling. Lost twice.
8:00 -- start leaving but realize that we wanted to try our luck at winning an iPad from those machine things. We tried probably 15 times.
8:30 -- make it to Orem where we doorbell ditched 3 cardboard cutouts at his friend's apartment and then ended up stealing one of his friend's cutout and replacing it with Tiana from Princess and the Frog.
9:00 -- stop by his apartment in Provo to pick up a video game.
9:30 -- go to his brother's house and play Just Dance and Fruit Ninja on the Kinect.
11:30 -- head home. Doorstep scene was an exchange in numbers and a hug goodnight. Again, keep in mind I had just met this kid tonight.
12:00 -- he texts me: "Hey Vanessa thanks so much for going out with me tonight, it was honestly one of the best dates I've ever had! I know it's kind of close to Christmas and probably super busy but would you like to do something next week?"

I said sure. This date will entail dinner and seeing Sherlock Holmes.

Two free meals and plenty of free entertainment in one day is something I'm not gonna turn down! So all in all, I had a fun day.

Just didn't expect to get another date (or two) out of it.



Don't think I'm quite ready for this yet. But here goes nothing.