how'd we meet? via gods plan, that's how.

you better be in the mood for a good, long read! :)

everyone heard/read my FANTASTIC engagement story (isn't he cute?), but have failed to make the connection of how we actually met. 

good thinkin, peeps!

listen close & i'll tell you a little story.

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i had recently started my junior year of college. i was already in love with my roommates, i was looking forward to some really awesome classes, and i was fairly optimistic about the semester. i was surrounded by good people, and i was convinced that it couldn't get any better.

i. was. so. wrong.

every semester my ward has what they call an opening social. everyone in the ward is invited, they usually feed you some kind of food (who, in college, doesn't love free food?), and it's a good time to get to know the people in your ward & your bishopric, who you live by, etc. also, in the mind of college girls, it's a good time to take a look at the "ward menu"…aka 'what men are up for grabs, who are your prospects, what apartment do you LONG to have as your FHE brothers.' 

you know.

typical.

i was indifferent about all of the above. i was at the point in my life where marriage kind of took a backseat. i didn't want to be seen as one of those girls that came to "BYU-I-DO" for her ring and then pranced off into neverland with her prince. that just wasn't me. don't get me wrong, if something happened in the male department, i'd be ALL for it. love was just on a slight simmer for me. no flames. i was tired of dating the wrong boys, tired of the effort that turned into nothing, tired of being hurt. in my book, all men were evil, with a few exceptions of course. (dad, josh, president monson…you get my drift)

well my roommates and i show up to this opening social deal with the ward. i see the familiar "ward regulars." we stop to chat. the line to get food was GINORMOUS & i was not thrilled, so we hopped in line to wait for a burger & the fixins. (ask julie what happens when i get too hungry)

that's *literally* when it happened.

i look over at a picnic bench and there was this blonde kid chowing down with a cowboy hat on. (i even remember he was wearing a blue hoodie. psycho or what?) kid you not, my heart melted into a little puddle. i'm pretty sure i punched julie to make her look. something else might have fell out of my mouth. something like "holy crap, i'm going to freaking marry that kid!" you can bet the eye rolling commenced, but something about him made me stop dead in my tracks. just from the looks of him, he was "that kind of guy" that i had been waiting MY ENTIRE LIFE FOR! at that point, that was TWENTY LONG YEARS!

well the food eating commenced. some of us roommates split up, but i kept watching him. i was lacking the gumption to go over and talk to him. that probably seems weird because i DON'T have issues talking. i do, however, have a problem being bashful. i couldn't scare him away! well surprisingly enough, two of my roommates (bless your hearts) went over and befriended him. we eventually were officially introduced, played a card game together, and that was the end.

i went home distraught-ish.

my thought process: he is freaking cute! i have to go about this tactfully. i can't just sit next to him at church. that'd be freaky. we're not best friends or anything. maybe we'll be put in the same FHE group! yes! GENIUS!

so i waited.

and waited.

and waited.

all i know is that when that FHE grouping sheet came around, i was PEEVED our apartments weren't paired. i had to come up with a new plan. curses.

in the meantime, i got called as relief society president. i would arrive at church early for meetings, and i would see nathan there too. he was usually pretty early. i still had noooooooo gumption to talk to him. i'm such a wuss. and i'm sure he was thinking "aaahhh. the relief society president! those freaks are psycho! i'm not dealing with THAT!" just kidding. i really have no idea what he was thinking. i was just blowing things out of proportion to make up for the fact of how much of a wanny i was. in one of my meetings the bishop said, "home teachers should be delivering ensigns to the apartments. make sure your girls know who their home teachers are."

AND GUESS WHO BRINGS US OUR ENSIGN??

yep, that's right. god pulled a funny. mr. price was my home teacher, and i was ECSTATIC!

needless to say, he was over aaaalllllll the time. something broke? call nathan. need someones neck broke? call nathan. he was the best home teacher i had EVER had in college. it was AWESOME! he'd come over super late to give blessings, whatever. it was amazing.

he might hate me for disclosing this information, but he'll live. (nate- I LOVE YOU!) short version: he knew i liked him. other girls liked him too. he told me it wasn't appropriate (or something) to date because he was my home teacher. i was peeeeeeeeeeeeved! people date their home teaching ladies all the time, i thought. i figured he was just using it as a cop out because he didn't want to date me. so i was mad. whatever. HOWEVER, i DID respect his agency & his decision. didn't mean i had to be happy about it, right? :) so i reverted back to my ORIGINAL attitude about dating which was:

dating = BBBLLEEHHH :)

well one thing led to another. it was the end of the semester. i hadn't killed him yet. i had been dating a little bit. even though THAT was happening, it didn't mean i wasn't crazy about him. he'd come over to home teach and my knees still got weak. it was quite the pickle to be in. he ended up dating a mutual friend, and i was researching a potential relationship as well. he was off-track in the winter, so i figured i wouldn't have to worry about him anymore. i don't remember saying goodbye to him at all, and he was off to florida.

long story short (just because this has nothing to do with our story):

i got a boyfriend.

he was in florida.

 he was having problems with the dating scene.

the funny thing? he started calling me just to chat. i'd drop a text once in a while. i realized how much i missed having him in my life. he was one of the most remarkable people i had ever met, and i knew my feelings STILL hadn't changed. i was smitten for the boy even though i told myself to let it go. i was dating other people, so i HAD to some degree, but there was still this inkling that wished he would have given us a try.

he came back to idaho in april, and i didn't see or hear from him much. i had moved home at that point and started working. i was so glad to see rexburg in my rearview mirrior- it wasn't even funny. my relationship at the time started declining, and i didn't know why. everything was still the same…but it wasn't. i just stopped being happy. it was weird how everything went from GREAT to not so great with no rhyme or reason. i had no clue.

i ended my relationship and called nathan that night. i was NOT looking for a rebound. i called only because i knew i could trust him & he could give me the "break up wisdom" that i needed. you know, the "if you followed your gut & your heart, you can sleep at night" kind of stuff. the next few weeks were fairly quiet. i talked to nate just a little bit, but it was nothing big. there was one day he asked if he could come down & work for a bit, so i spent the majority of the day in cowgirl boots working with him. and guess what? the feelings were still there. i was super hesitant just because i had only been single for a few weeks, and i wasn't looking for anything.

well to my surprise, things took off like a wild fire. i couldn't shake him out of my head. we talked about dating & felt like it was a good thing to do & we took the plunge. he even sat my dad down and asked permission. (i knew then and there he was a keeper) once we were "official," i was at his house in rexburg more than i was at my house. that was at least 3 times a week, mind you. then he was down for sunday dinner, saturday night dates, and other "fun" adventures around the farm. i was beginning to realize he was everything that i wanted. i told myself "take this relationship slow, doofus" and i couldn't help but WANT to be with the dang kid all the time. things just felt…good. i don't know how else to explain it. one thing led to another, and we started talking about getting married. me being on the anti-marriage kick that i was, i was terrified, but the thought of NOT being with him was sickening. i just wanted to shrink him and keep him in my pocket all day long! (i still tell him that, because it's true) i would frequently ask my mom, "well how do you know?" i was ready for angels or SOMETHING because i wasn't about to screw up.

the more i was around him…the more i knew. and now i can say that i know and that i made the best decision in the whole wide world. when i thought that dating was a lost cause and that i just needed to turn in mission papers or do SOMETHING, god knew exactly what i needed. i will be forever grateful for the man SOON TO BE MY HUBBY & for the person that he is & for who i strive to be because of him. he's a good kid, and if you have yet to meet him, when you finally do…you'll have nothing to say but "yep! kayla, you did good!" and i'll just smile because i already know. :)

and that's our story. for the most part. and i love him.

and just when you thought it couldn't get any better...

IT JUST DID!

hear it from the man himself, my best friend, nathan price (he's my favorite)...

Shuffled again. Another ward, another schedule, another group of names and faces to sort through and figure out. My roomies didn’t like it either and none of us really wanted to go, but its college life, and free food is a good enough reason. We showed up, expecting another cliqued-up ward with no room for new kids on the block. It had happened every time before that so why should it be any different this time around?

Best way to get noticed when you’re a new kid? Stand out. Show your true colors and don’t back down. 

I wore my cowboy hat to the ward opening social. Only kid in the entire park with a cowboy hat – and noticed I was. It hadn’t been a particularly good day for me and I was not feeling social AT ALL. The roomies and I even sat together and didn’t talk to anyone but each other.

 That’s when it all started. And most importantly, that’s when IT happened. 

Two girls sat down across from me. We got to talking and after a few minutes, they decided to introduce me to their roomies. A couple handshakes and hellos and then it was like I hit a time warp and time stopped all at the same time. I caught a glimpse of her face and didn’t really hear her name and the only thought I had was “I’ve got to find her!” and I spent the rest of the night sticking close to her roomies hoping she would show up again.

 No such luck. 

Church had too many people to single out one person easily. I spent the next couple weeks stopping by on occasion and wondering what had happened to the girl I had seen for that split second. Where had she disappeared to and why she wasn’t anywhere I could find her again? I didn’t know why I was searching for her or what I would do when I found her, I just knew I couldn’t stop until I saw her again and I knew her name. Turns out, her name is Kayla Jenkins. She’s an elementary education major. She is pretty much a freaking saint and the most amazing girl I’ve ever met. Do I like her? Yes. Do I think there is some potential? Definitely. Do I think I’ve found the one? Without a shadow of a doubt! : )