Engaged!

Just like our photos, our story is a little cheesy :) Like Rachael, I had pretty much given my answer two weeks before Mike officially asked. In January he walked me around the Provo temple and told me about a conversation he had with his dad and his dad told him to think about "What if I were to marry, April." So on Valentine's Day when he told me to think about if I wanted to get married I thought he was a little slow. If I was going to be scared away that would have happened at the temple the month before. So I looked at him and said I had been thinking about it, "But you still haven't asked, but when you do I know my answer."
About a week later he joked that it would be funny to plan a big date that felt like it should be a proposal and then not propose. I didn't think much of his sense of humor (still wonder sometimes).
On March 3rd there was a dance on campus. We went out to dinner (T.G.I. Friday's) and then to the dance and he was kind of silly all night and kept bursting into a big grin (so I was suspicious). But when the dance was over about 11 at night and he still hadn't asked I was tired and decided he was following through on his joke idea. But he took me back to my apartment and asked me to change into something warmer and go for a walk. He took me down to south campus where we had our first walk together in September and then behind the President's house in the garden where he sang to me (Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton) and then asked me to marry him. Funny thing is neither of us remember me actually speaking my answer. I was so tired by the time I got back that I think I fell asleep on my roommate's bed. She had stayed up to hear the story.

BTW I got in trouble having to write this story because I couldn't remember the details. Including the date!

Happy Mother's Day

Thanks for everything, Mom! You always made me feel loved and wanted and appreciated. The best things I am as a mother are because of the way you always made me feel.
I find myself saying to my kids the same thing you said to us, "I'm so glad Heavenly Father sent you to me." I don't know what you thought about as you said those words, but for me it serves as a reminder to my children and to me of where they come from and that this is a precious stewardship.
You taught me to pray and to trust my feelings as answers to prayers.
You taught me that every child is different and that they don't all need the same things.
You gave me many opportunities to learn and develop and experience things. You were right. It's always the experiences, not the things, that make the best memories and the best gifts.
I love you, Mom. I'm glad Heavenly Father sent me to you.

I am the Luckiest . . .

When Dave proposed to me we had been unofficially engaged for three weeks. He wanted to make his proposal a complete surprise, but I had already told him my decision (we had been praying about it) and he hadn't told me his . . . I was impatient and insecure not knowing exactly where he was at (especially after I had revealed where I was at), so I basically teased it out of him. We were both really busy with school and work - Dave had a hard time finding a minute to go ring shopping, and then finding a little bit of time to get together for him to propose was also hard. As my story makes pretty clear - between my memory and my schedule it was HARD to get it officially done. Just to explain some of the conflicts, I was involved in a dance project, and being a guest performer for a piece in a different dance company. The names mentioned were the directors of those things (Pat's a man, just to be clear). This post is taken almost verbatim from my journal, dated 12 November 2004:

We [Dave and I] were supposed to meet at 2:30 yesterday and I thought that I had until 5 when I have rehearsal with Caroline. But I had forgotten until 11 a.m. yesterday that I had showings for Dancensemble [that afternoon, too]. Pat insisted on going in show order, and the piece I'm in is in the second half of the show. Dave and I met at 2:30 and I told him [the situation] and he seemed more distressed than he usually is by that kind of info, so I knew something was up. [I did try to get Pat to change things up after I'd met up with Dave and observed his unusual reaction to my schedule change, but I couldn't explicitly tell Pat that I thought my boyfriend was going to propose. What if I was wrong? Not sure that Pat would have been sympathetic, anyway.]

Anyway, so since I had at least forty minutes until I had to go [for showings], Dave and I drove around for awhile just talking, and wishing we had more uninterrupted time. I felt so bad - he let me know that he had planned a picnic or something and I was just like, "Can you consolidate your plans into an hour?" So Dave dropped me back off, I performed my piece and I finally got to leave at 4. We went to Wendy's for some food . . . we took the food to Rock Canyon Park and found a picnic table. Dave had a CD player with him and he played The Last of the Mohicans soundtrack (which was not his original intention, but the CD he wanted wasn't with him). I thought it was good. So we were just eating and talking by ourselves there.

Then this cute little family showed up with their model airplanes and soccer ball. They were cute. I totally suspected a proposal was coming at that point and so I wondered how that was going to work with the family there. [Kinda wondered if Dave would just abandon his plans] They left eventually though.

Dave changed the CD to play a song . . . called The Luckiest by Ben Folds. He just held me and looked at me sweetly during the song. It was tender. Then when the song was finished he fished in his coat pocket and got down on his knee and said, "Will you marry me?" and I said, "Yes!" then he put the ring on my finger, a ring that he chose himself.

I needed to go to rehearsal, but had to call the parents before I went so they could be the first to hear the official news. I was subsequently late for rehearsal, but it was super fun to make the announcement. All of the dancers seriously swarmed me for a group hug. :) Also, I specifically chose to post my entry today because it marks the anniversary of mine and Dave's first kiss - not only with each other, but ever for both of us. Eleven years ago. Angela's birthday helped me remember. haha Happy birthday, Angela!

Of Grilled Peanut Butter, Paddle Boats, and Canals

Well, most likely everyone knows that High School was not my most favorite place to be in the world. I still managed to get out with a couple great memories though! So I have three...mostly because having three made the title more fun.

Two of my stories relate to organizing dates for Kaiti's birthday (in case anyone forgot, Kaiti has been my buddy since second grade). For her sixteenth birthday I planned her a rockin' first date. The night before I went with a friend and taped up these huge signs on her house that Amy helped me paint. They said, "Happy Birthday, Kaiti" and "Sweet Sixteen, Dating Machine!" plus there was a cute cartoon of a boy and girl holding a birthday cake that Amy painted. So she woke up to that on her house. It was pretty epic. For the date we did a photo scavenger hunt. I had mom take pictures of places and we had to figure out where it was, then go there and do an activity. We went to the park and played laser tag; to Foster Reservoir for lunch,swimming, and playing on the banana tube; home for ping pong; and to that spot by the big willow tree and the canal on the golf course for dessert (those delightful raspberry truffle brownies!) While at the canal we ended up swimming in it! As this was unplanned, it was the most fun part! :) It had a sort of small waterfall that we kept going down. It was seriously awesome.

The next birthday date I planned for her we took the paddle boat to Foster, paddled across the lake and built a fire on the other side. We then cooked tin-foil dinners over the fire and swam around a bit. I am an incredible date planner, what can I say? We did forget to bring the box for the matches though, so I ended up trying to strike the match on my pant zipper...awkward. I think the boys finally managed to strike one on the wood.

Third fun memory was I think during my Junior year. Kaiti and I got creative with lunchtime. We started bringing weird stuff to eat for lunch and eating on the floor with picnic blankets. It was super fun! The one I remember most was when I brought one of Mom's grilled cheese sandwich makers and we put peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in it. We got some weird looks, but it was super fun. Also, they are surprisingly good grilled. Fun stuff! Those are my favorites I can think of. :)

From Julie

Note from Rachael: Julie emailed this directly to me, which totally works. To email directly to the blog, you really do just exactly the same as for an email. Just email your post to rareeallred1.robinsonshavingfun@blogger.com. And having just had a baby at the end of March, I'd say Julie had a very valid excuse for not getting this to me until now, don'tcha think? :)

Please forgive my silence on this in April; it's been a busy month here.  And thanks for the reminder, Andrew.  I didn't want to miss my chance to share some things about some of my favorite people....

My first memory of April was when Ray and I were dating.  The details are a little sketchy, but I think he brought April, Rachael, and Sarah with him on a Sunday and we all went to church together with my family (?).  The thing I remember is that they were every bit as pretty as Ray had described them, plus soft and kind and witty.  My mom used them as a confirming witness that this match was meant to be--I can still remember the intensity of her expression when telling me what nice girls she thought they were.  Surely a family with girls of this caliber must be worth marrying into, maybe some of their greatness would one day be manifest in Raymond! :)  April has been a loyal sister/friend from the start... Living next door to her and Mike was a true tender mercy of the Lord.  She has taken care of me from day one and there are too many kind deeds to list, but a sampling could include helping me pull off Susan's green egg and ham birthday party, babysitting while Ray and I went on dates (now she knows what a gift that was!), driving me to the hospital when I was in labor and couldn't reach Raymond, a four-tiered, four-colored sherbet birthday cake, enlightening conversations, a sympathetic hug as I bemoan my lack of homemaking/mothering skill, Princess Academy cross-stitching instruction... Like I said, too many to list.  But I will love her forever!  And will aspire to be more like her in service, learning, boldness, loyalty, and care.

My first memory of Amy is seeing her perform with incredible expressivity and depth.  I then got to have her in my technique class and daily witness her connectivity, artistry, openness, and core strength.  Of course, to know her is to fall in love with her.  But my greatest memory of that class was watching her and Nathan glide across the floor side by side doing Graham triplets--their synergy was astonishing!  They were just meant to dance through life together!  Their courtship and wedding was a delightful ride for everyone in the family.  And now what a gift to see how Amy uses her artistry in creating her home and family.  With her talents, she could have excelled in whatever arena she chose--art, dance, fashion, calligraphy, history, comedy, music, design, photography, teaching, social work--but she is deeply devoted to the Lord and has consecrated her talents to blessing the lives of her husband and children.  She creates magic for them daily.  And that magic extends to all of us.  She is full of love and understanding--never failing in expressions of love and testimony that touch and sustain me.  She is truly a kindred spirit.

And Rachael, your prompt for May is great, but with Angela's birthday this week, I must instead include some thoughts of her.... My first memories of Angela come from the summer we both fell in love and got married, even within days of each other!  It was so fun to share that special summer with her, even dressing together in our wedding dresses for our joint open houses in Jerome and Boise.  Angela is a special person, pure of heart, without guile.  She has always loved and accepted me as a sister, and I have never felt a hint of judgement or ill will.  She seems incapable of it.  She loves as the Savior loves, and I feel rather in awe of her.

April, Amy, and Angela have each deeply blessed my life through their sisterhood and friendship.  Rachael, thanks for the chance to reflect on them and their gifts to me.
--Julie

From Andrew - it's a gem :)

Note from Rachael: I didn't even think to check for drafts. Guess I will this month to make sure I don't miss anything. Later I'll change the post date to April, but for now I just want to make sure no one misses this one!

Well... I was a little young to remember very first memories of all three. No wait... It's coming back... Julie is in her wedding dress looking down on me and I said something like goo goo gah gah. Yes yes that's right. Haha. Just kidding. My first prevalent memory of Julie is actually of her skiing. :) not many details but I think I remember that she was trying out single skiing for the first time or at least she was new at it. I don't  remember how successful she was, but I'm sure I remember her being determined and very... Brave about it. :)

One early memory of Amy was at her... I don't know whether it was a reception or wedding breakfast something. But I was watching a slide show of her and Nathan with some of her nieces. And they were

talking about "Amy and Nathan" and it struck me as odd because whenever I said their names I said them Nathan and Amy, I probably still do, and then Amy walked in and I asked her why her nieces always said her name first. And Amy replied with something along these lines "Well because of today the important part isn't who is first but that they're together." at the time I didn't really think much about it, but looking back I realize the significance and how true the statement was to the entire layout of Amy's character. :) 

Once upon a time in the kingdom of Robinson, in the castle of Andrew John were two beautiful princesses. The first being Princess Rachael, who had been asked upon a date, and was now preparing herself for said date. The second being, Princess April, who was preparing for the absence of her younger sister. While they were preparing, the young but daring Prince Andrew was wandering through the castle. Suddenly, who should call but the peasant boy who had asked Princess Rachael on a date. Prince Andrew answered his call and told the peasant boy that the fair Princess Rachael was bathing in the moat(shower). The Princess April was listening in and quickly interrupted the young prince and told the peasant boy to call back later. The elegant Princess April then reprimanded the young prince and told him to never ever tell the boys when his sisters were bathing. The young prince was upset at the time, but realized that the princess was right. Thus, the early memory was born. :) Now, of course, they are both brilliantly dangerous queens, forever ruling over their domain, in wisdom and... elegance. :) I love you April!

A truly incredible month to be born, it would seem, to create three wonderful sisters for the Prince Andrew,  of course. :) I love you all! Happy Birthday, and thank you for the wonderful memories!

-Andrew John Boy Tiger Joe Cool Blueberry Freckle-on-his-nose Robinson :)

From Angela

My favorite memory of April is of something that I remember April doing for me. I had asked Sarah if she could fix my hair for my wedding, but Sarah couldn’t be there the morning that we were going to be sealed in  the temple (I think Sarah was in Rexburg for school?) so April fixed it for me. It was so nice of April to step in when Sarah wasn’t available. And she did a great job.

I remember when I first met Julie, I knew that she belonged to our family. I felt like she was my sister. I felt that she belonged and knew she was supposed to be a part of our family.

I remember when I first met Amy I felt the same way with her as I had with Julie - she just belonged with us! Amy is such a sweet person. I always felt that she was so sweet. I felt like she was a sweet person all-around from the very beginning.