Guess what!??!?!?!!!

No. We're not pregnant. And I don't think we ever will be. In Vegas, we took one of those morph pictures of what our children might look like. Apparently, our child will have a horrible haircut and look more like Cindy Lou Who than either of us. And where did the brown eyes come from? What's with that hair? Did Mr. Snuffalupagus die on our daughter's head?

They should stop having high school kids take care of eggs or bags of flour or those new robot babies as a form of birth control, and just make them take one of these photos. Yikes.

Let's hope genetics will triumph over science yet again. In our defense, Tracie had trouble posing for the picture, as I was still in the booth and she couldn't match up in the right spot, (they take them so fast) and the machine cost 5 bucks. A face only a mother could love. And if any of you say it looks like us, you're out of the will.

We're BA-ACK!

We're back! Our trip was awesome, I'll make several posts (or just one big one) detailing our trip. But I just got home after a 6 hour drive and a 2 hour class, and I'm tired and smelly.

I mean more so than usual.

Rhapsody in Blue

** I flipped this, because it was taken on our Photobooth which flips everything. So the final picture is now the right way. :)**

Here's my Art History Project on Rhythm. I selected "Rhapsody in Blue," by George Gershwin, to do, as I think it's one of the best and most beautiful music pieces of last century, or ever. below it are it in progress, and some preliminary sketches. I'm off to Vegas!
I promise next time I won't show every step on the way. Think of this as a lesson on the process of an artist! So, what do you think? reminds me a bit of "Starry Night"!

Part VI. The End… And the Beginning

A long courtship (14 months) deserves a short engagement (3 months). We were married on June 30, 2006. Many wonderful things have happened since then, because of that day. Tracie, I love you more today than ever, and I am so excited to be with you forever, talking, kissing, sharing every moment with each other, and making each other laugh forever and for all eternity!

Part V. This is Serious

After our trip to California, we kept dating, kept falling in love, and kept cracking each other up. An award-winning combination, just so you know. Tracie had already met my family that summer, (minus Ammon & Lynette’s branch) and they liked her and she liked them. So, they paid for us to fly to Texas for Christmas. While there, she finally met Ammon & Lynette & their kids (the cutest on the planet, fyi) Carly & Wesley. Everyone loved everyone, so I got the thumbs up to marry her. Not that I was waiting for it, but it’s still a nice gesture. I don’t remember a whole lot of what we did in Texas that time, except for one thing. My parents live near a lake. Actually, across the street from it. It’s a manmade lake and my friends and I used to fish in it. The subdivision is one of several with a lake. I took Tracie to one where in the middle is an island with a gazebo. There in the moonlight I knelt down and “practice proposed” to her. I don’t remember what I said, which I’m kind of sad about, because it was completely spontaneous and sincere. But part of me is glad I don’t remember, because the magic of that moment can’t be duplicated. She said yes. Now all I needed was the ring.
We had prayed about it and both of us received our answer. (Tracie needed some help from both our Bishop and the Stake Patriarch, but once she knew, she knew.) I didn’t want to go into debt for the ring, so I waited for my tax return to return so I could pay for it in full. I cannot express the stress and excitement and agony as I waited for the return to come. Once it came, I realized I didn’t know how I was going to propose. As I’ve said, I’ve always tried to give Tracie my best. She deserved the best proposal. And I didn’t know how to do it.
I asked everybody. A lot of people gave suggestions and ideas, one offered to buy us dinner, but I give my cousin Justin the most credit, because I actually used his idea.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to surprise her. I tried though. I really tried. But Tracie isn’t the easiest person to surprise, and I’m not the best person at surprising. While on my way to work that day, (I proposed on March 4, 1 year and 2 months after we first started officially dating.) she asked me, as she had for about a month, if I had gotten my tax return back yet. I couldn’t think of the answer. I hesitated, then gave her a very weak “…no.” So she already knew something was up. Like I said, I was calling around and asking everyone what to do. I figured my best shot would be to be ambiguous, because that way I wouldn’t be caught in a lie, but Tracie wouldn’t know. Well that plan backfired. We got into an argument because she thought I was just messing with her. Finally I told her, “do you want me to tell you when I’m going to propose?” she said, “yes, I want to make sure I look nice.” So I said, “then look nice.” (real romantic, I know.)
I took her to the park by her parents house where we had a picnic courtesy of Kneaders. I then told her to close her eyes. I then left a trail of rose petals to the playground.
(Warning! Extreme cheesiness follows. Those with weak stomachs or gag reflexes may want to skip this next part. But it was a wedding proposal between two very cheesy people, what do you expect? Ok. I warned you.)
I told her to be my wife, you have to pass several tests. First was a test of balance. I pushed her on the swing for awhile, and told her she passed. Her reward was the movie “Walk the Line” which we saw in the theaters and just loved. Her next test was a kissing test. Well, you know it, I know it, Tracie knows it, she aced it. So I gave her a pack of Hershey’s Kissables, one of her favorite candies. I don’t remember what the other tests were, but they involved things on the playground, and each one involved a gift. The gifts were an expansion of the Sims, one of her favorite games, the board game mousetrap, one of her favorite games as a kid, and finally, I told her the last test was to go down the slide, the Corkscrew one. So she did, and as she came to the bottom, there I was with the ring, on one knee. I don’t remember what exactly I said, but I remember she cried, and of course she said yes.

Part IVb. I’m going to Disneyland!

Ok. So it’s not tomorrow. So sue me. (I'm doing this to cheer you/me up, and also so I can have the complete story done by tomorrow. Though Tracie wants me to edit some, rewrite and add more details, but I'll do that when I get back.)

Tracie and I don’t remember the exact order of this trip, but we remember it was fun. It was honestly some of the most fun I have ever had in my life. We were at the serious part of our dating, (serious meaning we thought we would probably get married, not serious like unfunny. Hopefully we’ll never get there. Shudder.) And we decided to go on a trip to California. We took time off work and loaded up my old faithful Neon and drove. I learned quickly that 12 hours is a long time to drive when the longest you’ve ever driven before is about 2 hours. First we went to Northern California to visit with Troy & Jen,
Tracie’s brother & sister-in-law, and their kids, Maddie & Eric. I think it’s a rule that to be our nephews & nieces, you have to be cuteness incarnate. Maddie and Eric fit the bill. (Though, admittedly, they weren’t yet my niece & nephew. Yet.) We had a fun visit with them, it was nice to get to know them better & have fun in Madera. Not the funnest town in California, but Troy & Jen & kids made it awesome.
We then ventured south to my grandparents in Stevenson Ranch, California. (Near Valencia). We went to Carpinteria Beach, not the prettiest or coolest beach, but my family has been going there for YEARS, and it was fun. We built the biggest sandcastle I’ve ever built or seen. We didn’t get sunburned, except on our lower backs. Apparently, we forgot to put sunscreen on the smalls of our backs, probably because they’re so small. Also, we were leaning over most of that day because of said sandcastle.
The next day we drove down the Coastal highway, it was a beautiful drive, except I got lost somewhere in Ventura. But, obviously, we found our way back and went to the J. Paul Getty Museum, probably the coolest museum ever. We saw an exhibit of Rembrandt portraits, the $50 mil. Van gogh “Irises”, and other beautiful works of art. Of course, the most beautiful sight for me that day was Tracie. Aw. How sweet. But it’s true. So there.
The next day we went to… DISNEYLAND!!! Definitely the most fun I’ve ever had at the Magic Kingdom, (sorry, Mom. The time you & I went is second). Tracie found this program online called “RideMax” that has all this data of what rides are busiest at what times from all these matrices of years of people going. So, you type in what rides you want to go to, when you want breaks, and it figures it out for you. In one day, we went on 21 rides, the longest wait was 31 minutes, the average wait was 5 minutes. We also had a 3 hour break for shopping, a lunch & dinner break too. It was a blast and a half. No. Two blasts. Loved it loved it. Plus, I got to spend it with my future wife! (She didn’t know it yet, but I did.)
The next day we went to Magic Mountain. (which I’m glad we did, as I heard the park closed down. What???!!) It was a lot of fun, though Disneyland kind of spoiled us. But we still loved it.
The following day we went to Santa Monica, stopped at the temple, I told Tracie that was where my dad proposed to my mom (hint hint) and left it at that. In retrospect, I hope I freaked her out a little bit. Then we went to Santa Monica beach, a little nicer than Carpinteria, but not by much. I think we just wake & boogie boarded there, got a little sun, & buried each other in the sand. Oh, and we collected shells. No, that was at Carpinteria.
The next day we drove home, I again was grateful for cruise control, as well as a girlfriend who was fun & easy to talk to. There’s our California trip.

Part IV. Giving it a Try: Ups and Downs

A bit of a rewind. Nearly all the girls I had dated prior to princess Tracie had been (at least) a step back for me. I chose girls who were “safe” and “not as attractive or interesting as someone I thought I deserved” because I didn’t want to aim high & get shot down. (disclaimer: except for my first girlfriend, who we’ll call Suzette, because she’s my sister-in-law’s sister. She is a wonderful person, but we were just NOT compatible. But her husband is a lucky guy and I feel blessed to have had her in my life when I did.) But the rest were all less than ideal. Some were losers, some were a “what the he-- was I thinking?”
Then I met Tracie. I didn’t know someone as beautiful as her existed, let alone someone as smart, fun, quirky, creative, original, who got along with me as good as she did. She was a gorgeous package of everything-Austin-needs-and-wants all rolled into one. Well, when I finally convinced her to be my girlfriend, I did everything in my power to show her I loved her and that I was a good boyfriend. In retrospect, I may have gone a bit overboard early on in my affections. The “World’s Best Girlfriend” trophy aside, I came on a little strong.
But I was crazy about her, and I knew she was it. If I didn’t marry her, no matter who else I married, I’d be settling for less.
I bought her flowers every month on the 4th for our anniversary. Valentine’s was more work than I’ve ever done, or more money than I’d ever spent on someone. (I’ve already blogged about that, remember?)
We went to Las Vegas together with friends, had a lot of fun and didn’t gamble a cent. All the money they took from us they took legally.
Tracie’s birthday was both an extravaganza AND a hoopla. Not that once we started dating, everything went smoothly. Her family didn’t approve of me, (probably because I stayed over a trifle late occasionally) she still had feelings for Vapid, (had invited him to the birthday party. Not my happiest memory), I had accidentally read her online journal. (Ok, I didn’t want to discuss this unpleasantness, but I feel I have to. Because right now you’re all at home going “sure, Austin. Accidentally read it. Uh-huh. We understand.” Then your eyes all roll. So here’s the scoop. Tracie had shown me Her Live Journal, something similar to blogging, and you can control who gets to read your entries. Well, one night I decided to comment on it, say something like “I like your journal, you wonderful girlfriend, you.” Because, as I said, you can control which entries are visible to the general public. I don’t want to go too much into it, but the journal entry wasn’t very favorable to Austin, it was very ex-boyfriend Vapid-centric. (This was before her birthday party, pretty early on in our courtship.) It was probably one of the times in my life I really wanted to crawl under something and die. I was hurt and felt betrayed that she’d write this stuff about me to strangers, she was hurt and felt betrayed that I had read her journal. But, as I said, she posted it for the world to see, and I’m in that demographic, and I saw it. Fortunately, we stayed together even after the Night of the Living Journal.)
Man. I didn’t enjoy reliving that. Let’s move on to a happy memory. As I’ve said, we had a lot of fun together, but probably none so much as when we went on our trip to California, which, as you may have guessed, deserves another blog entry. See you tomorrow!