Question? Popped. Answer? Yes.

So it begins.

It was my birthday. My 20th birthday to be exact. I worked from the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Welcome to adulthood, Katie.

(Turns out birthdays aren't counted as national holidays. Go figure)

The only thing getting me through the long work day?

Kameron Thomas Kasparian was coming up after work.

We were going to go to dinner. And then the rest of the night, I had no idea. He ended up getting to Logan around 5:40 with a sharp new hair cut and a dinner reservation at 6:00 at Le Nonne (quite literally the best Italian place I've ever eaten). Dinner was filled with good inside jokes, delicious food, and laughter.

I was very unsuspecting. I didn't think he'd do it on my birthday.

After dinner at one place, we went and got dessert at another place: Firehouse. We shared a Fahzookie (if you haven't tried one, you must).

SIDE NOTE: Can I say how much I love this man? I can? Well, I love him a lot.

Moving on.

We then went and parked by campus to take a little campus stroll. Instantly I knew where we were going. Not instantly: what was coming next.

I should mention at this point that Kam had something stashed behind his back. He told me not to look and I fought every urge in my body, but I never looked behind him.

We got to our "spot".

Now, I've told this story a lot of times and I still don't have a good way of explaining it. I'll give it another go. There is a structure of sorts behind the BNR building on campus. It has four walls. No ceiling. There are designs in said walls, creating slight holes you can see through. There are vines and plants, and it's a very peaceful, quiet, patio/garden area. Make sense? Too bad.

Anyway, this is the spot that he first told me he loved me, and I shot it right back at him. (Another story for another time). Needless to say, it has sentimental value for us both.

He had me wait outside our little structure while he "set up my birthday present."

Honest to goodness, I still was kind of skeptical. I was kind of thinking it was just a normal birthday thing.


So, he comes back out to get me. Hand in hand we walked into our little structure, and there I find a little makeshift heart made of twigs, a rose, and a letter addressed to me.

I'm starting to get an idea now.

I pick up the letter and he urges me to read it out loud.

"Kaitlin Mae Felix. 115 days = 115 reasons. (In no particular order.)"

Oh yeah, this is happening.

I continue reading out things such as, "You make me giggle like I'm 5 years old, and secretly I love it" and "I think about you when you're not with me" and finally down to number 114: "You're the best friend I could ever have." These are 115 reason why he loves me for the 115 days we've been together. By this point, I'm shaking a little, I'm overcome with emotion, I'm anticipating what's coming next.

And I turn the page.

"Today is the 115th day we've been together," I continue reading. "It's also your birthday!! You are the most wonderful woman ever and I'm so happy I found you. 115 days is great streak, but I think it would be a little hard to keep track of eventually, so how about we just look at it a different way--forward instead of backward. This brings me to why I love you today.

Reason number 115: You said 'yes'"

Oh, this is happening. I stop reading and look up at him.

At this point the words are a tad fuzzy because my head was about to explode with excitement, but I think he said something along the lines of, "Well, I've gotta ask you a question before you can say yes."

He bent down on one knee, and said sweetly,

"Kaitlin Mae Felix. Will you marry me?

I said yes and attacked him with kisses before he could even put the ring on my finger. And I am in LOVE with that ring. It's perfect and even more perfect because it's from him.

So there is the story.

It's perfect and I'll remember it forever. That list he made for me was the kindest, most thoughtful thing anybody has ever done for me.

Kameron. This part's for you.

You, sir, are quite the catch. I couldn't ask for a more gentle, loving man to marry. You are my rock that I can turn to whenever I need help, guidance or security. I can laugh with you the way I've never laughed with anyone else. It's amazing to know that can last for an eternity. I can't imagine any life without you trudging along by my side, and I can't wait to see what our future holds. I love you!


I'll end this post with the ending of Kameron's letter:

"Eternity sounds a lot better, doesn't it?"

Sure does.

A Midyear's Resolution

I've made a goal.

Well, I've tried to make several goals this summer, but this is one of them:

Complain less.

Personally, I don't think I complain too much. (And right now I'm wondering if I really do, but don't realize it and people are thinking, "THANK HEAVENS FOR THIS GOAL!") But I think I may have a tendency to complain about the small things in my life that ultimately don't matter.

This last week I had the opportunity to see an amazing family receive an incredible blessing. Kameron's aunt Jess and her two kids, Jonah and Ellie, were chosen to be on ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. It still doesn't seem real that during the last week a completely new house was built from nothing, thanks to extremely generous volunteers and everyone else involved.

A few of you may have heard about Jonah Gomez, Jessica's 7-year-old son. He has two blood disorders, and because of that has to receive blood transfusions every 6-8 weeks. The only thing that can cure him is to receive a bone marrow transplant.

But there's the tricky part.

It's been extremely difficult finding a donor for Jonah.

This kid has been through more that I care to imagine in his short life. Not only has it been extremely difficult for him, but for Jess as well. She was living with her parents so she could be there for Jonah.

You think of the hardships this family has been through, and you expect Jonah to be sad and dragging. But he's not. At ALL. The kid has so much energy and a smile that could light up the world. I've only really met this family a handful of times, but I already love them immensely. And now they have a house where Jonah can safely live and hopefully Jess can relax a little bit. Not only that, but through the show, there has been a national outreach for people to get tested for bone marrow transplants. Amazing.

Now back to my goal.

If this family can be happy, energetic, kind, and loving while going through incredible trials...

I have no reason to complain about my minuscule "trials"

I am blessed with health, a great family, the true Gospel, and incredible friends.

What more can I ask for?

A Stolen, Stolen Blog

I stole this idea from my dear friend Alyssa who stole it from my dear friend Kelsey. It's a countdown! Yay!

Ten Things I wish I could say to 10 Different People (but don't say their name):
1. Thanks for taking the bull by the horns. Seriously.
2. I wish you would believe me when I give you compliments. You deserve them!
3. The only person you're hurting is yourself.
4. Stop trying to convince the world you are something you're not
5. Be careful, girl. You're playing with fire.
6. I don't think you realize how much I value our friendship! Thanks for always making me feel loved.
7. I'm 100% jealous of your photography skills.
8. I love you to death, but sometimes you drive me bonkers.
9. I'm always stunned that you can be so down to earth.
10. Quite honestly, I think you're being stupid. You know what's right. Now live it.

Nine Things About Myself:
1. I hate tomatoes.
2. I love playing the guitar, but don't really see myself getting any better than I am right now.
3. I've never been more nervous or more excited for anything than I am for going to Austria.
4. The only thing I'm more excited for, is coming HOME from Austria. (Sounds odd, but I've got some pretty amaaaazing things waiting for me at home.)
5. I love to plan things and make goals, but sometimes I'm pretty crummy at following through with them.
6. I have slight OCD, but it only bothers me when people point things out and then try to aggravate me with it. Otherwise, I'm pretty good at ignoring it.
7. I wish I had a few certain styles, but don't think I could ever pull them off. So, I just admire them. And I'm okay with that.
8. I love sleep. I will always choose sleep over pretty much anything.
9. I'm terrible at saying 'no'.

Eight Ways to Win My Heart:
1. Make me laugh.
2. Let me complain every once in a while, but help me keep my head on straight about things.
3. Be passionate about something.
4. Show me with words AND actions that you truly care about me.
5. Let me be mushy and cheesy every once in a while.
6. Maintain good family values.
7. Make me do things I maybe wouldn't do on my own.
8. Gotta love music. It's a must.

Seven Things That Cross my Mind a Lot:
1. Kameron (Oh come on, you knew I'd say it.)
2. I should go running more.
3. I hate money.
4. I could really go for a snow cone right now.
5. Being a teacher seems like millions of years away.
6. "What. A. Child."
7. Tan. I need one.

Six Things I Do Before I Fall Asleep:
1. Change into my pajamas
2. Brush my teeth
3. Take my contacts out
4. Read my scriptures
5. Pray
6. Check/play Words with Friends

Five People Who Mean A Lot:
1. My Mama Bear
2. My Papa Bear
3. K2
4. Grandpa Turley
5. [Insert one of many, MANY friends that have impacted my life...can't pick just ONE!!]

Four Things I'm Wearing:
1. CTR ring
2. Orange striped shirt
3. Brown Pants
4. Brown Cami

Three Songs I Listen to Often:
1. Keepin' it Real - Mason Jennings
2. The Gambler - Fun.
3. Long Goodbye - The Nadas

Two Things I Want to do Before I Die:
1. Visit every temple. (Daunting task? Uh...yeah.)
2. Become fluent in another language.

One Confession:
I have an extreme problem of comparing myself to others. I'm pretty sure my view of myself is a lot worse than what other people see and perceive. I'm aware that I'm hard on myself, but I still beat myself up over little things. Sometimes I find myself wishing I was different, more stylish, funnier, healthier, smarter, creative...a lot of things. I'm working really hard to build myself up, and love me for me (I can name one man that has helped me IMMENSELY with this...) and I really think I'm getting better. I'm happier than I've ever been, and hopefully it only goes up from here!

Wow. There's my soul, everyone. Take it. Cherish it.

Peace an' Blessin's.

Name Them One by One

I've been blessed with a fantastic life.

Yeah, it's had it's definite ups and downs, but in the grand scheme of things, I believe I'm one of the luckiest girls in the whole world.

Here are some examples of how I'm blessed:

1. I was born into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and since then have formed my own lasting testimony of the truthfulness of it.
2. I have a loving family. Not only do they love me, but they love each other.
3. I'm dating an incredible man that loves me exactly the way I am.
4. I have many fantastic friends in many places that I know I can count on in times of need.
5. I have a healthy body.
6. I was able to make it a wonderful university and have been able to keep good grades while here.
7. I was presented with an amazing opportunity to travel to Austria for three months.
8. I've had the privilege of being on the A-Team (Orientation staff) at USU and from it have gained lasting friendships and priceless memories.
9. I live in the land of freedom and opportunity. (As Charlie would say: 'Merica!)
10. I feel love each and every single day!

It's great to be me. :)

That Big Red Razorback

80 years ago today, a magnificent human being was born.

That woman was my beautiful Grandma Turley.



She lost the battle to cancer when I was only seven, but I still feel such a connection to her. Perhaps it's because I know what an incredible person my own mother is, and I can only assume my grandma has much to do with that. My memory of her is pretty fuzzy, but I can say that every time she enters my head I feel nothing but extreme love and gratitude for such an amazing person. It's incredible how someone I hardly knew can be one of my biggest role models.

I remember a few things about her, and I've been thinking of these things all day. A lot of my memories involve the house in Bountiful, Grandpa Turley, and the huge red razorback stuffed animal my grandparents had in their house. A lot of memories are not even mine, but those of my mom and her brothers. They would tell stories of growing up with Grandma and laugh as they remembered their childhoods while I sat and listened, wishing I knew her better.

But I do know her.

I see her in my own mother every day. I see her in my uncles, all of whom I love dearly. All of them are incredible people that I look up to. Occasionally I get the opportunity to read through an old pair of her scriptures, and that's when I feel closest to her. Seeing her looping cursive in the margins of those pages give me insight into her heart and mind. So many times I've gotten answers to prayers by reading through her notes. She truly is an incredible woman.

As I sit here writing this, I have tears in my eyes. Tears of sadness because I miss her...tears because I wish I could have had more time with her down here...but most of all--tears of happiness knowing that I WILL get to see her again. I can sit down and a deep, meaningful talk with her. I can give her a big bear hug and thank her for raising my mom to be who she is. I can't wait for that reunion.

Really soon after she died, I recall being at a friend's house. My friend's mom had had a new baby a few months prior and I remember looking down at that baby as she grinned a huge, toothless grin right at me. I was young and didn't understand a lot of things I understand now, but I remember thinking that that smile was from my grandma. To me, it was her way of telling me that she was happy and that I should be happy too. Every so often I still feel the love from her that I know she gave me when I was little.

I only knew her for seven short years, but oh, how I miss her.

Happy Birthday, Grandma. I love you!

'Til we meet again.

DELIC(ious)

I have eaten one of THESE:



everyday for the past four days.

I'm hooked.

And I don't care.

My Heart's in Overdrive and You're Behind the Steering Wheel

In order for this post to be effective, you must have this song playing:



Alright. We listen to this song ALL THE TIME in our apartment, and this post is dedicated to my wonderful, amazing, beautiful, splendid, adorable, helpful, understanding, FANTASTIC

roommates.

I couldn't ask for better girls to live with. Almost instantly we bonded. It's almost hard to imagine times where we weren't "doing little jigs" in our kitchen, squealing about boys (usually followed by laughter after we ridiculous we sound), constantly saying "I like you" in a british accent, saying quote-wall-worthy things, doing yoga in our living room, having late-night talks about the gospel, eating way too much food together, singing Disney songs at the top of our lungs, and just being best friends. ("You're my best friend!")

So, one by one, here they are:

CHELSEY



Of course I had to choose a picture that had Skyler in it, because the two of them are far too cute to separate. And they're engaged! Even though I don't see Chelsey all that often, I know that she's always there and willing to talk to me. There isn't an unkind bone in her body. She always has a smile on her face, and you know? There aren't many people left like that. She's wonderful!


ALEXIS



Oh Alexis. Where do I even start?! I barely knew her when we moved in. We had talked a few times, been to In-N-Out burger together, and chatted on Facebook. Now I consider her one of my best friends in the whole world. I feel comfortable telling her everything and I know she'll listen and know the right thing to say. She always puts people's needs before her own, which is why she's affectionately known as our Mom. Some of the times where I've laughed the hardest in my life involve Alexis. Her laugh is completely infectious and she literally can't frown! (She's tried...) I love her so much!


JILL



Jill Robinson. My first friend at USU. I can't tell you how much I love her and her fiery Texan soul. When we think back on it, neither of us can remember when or how we became friends. It just sort of...happened. And I couldn't be more grateful. She has helped me through every problem I've gone through since coming up to school. She's ALWAYS there for me. She has a huge love for adventure and she's passionate about so much. I can't imagine what my college experience would have been like without her there, and quite frankly, I don't want to imagine it! She's the greatest. :)


HALEY



I could honestly write four billion pages about Haley. I love how she can go from being silent in the morning and want to kill things, to the extremely loud, happy girl at night. She's seriously the life of our apartment. Not only that, but she probably has the most quotes on our quote wall because she's so hilarious. She's so cute and I have NEVER met anyone that loves the color pink more than she does. Probably my most favorite thing about her is that while she can be crazy, fun, and goofy, I've had some very good, deep talks with her and she gives good advice. I'm convinced there is nobody out there like Haley Ence. Good thing she's my roommate, because that makes me one lucky girl!


AMANDA



When looking for a picture of Amanda, I found that I couldn't find a picture of just her (so here she is with Amy, who is not my roommate, but I love dearly.) But this is totally a great example of how people always want to be around her! She is just a sweet girl that people love to be with. And holy cow, is this girl nice! You only have to be around her for 6.3 seconds and you can tell that. She's also extremely funny and I love, love, LOVE laughing with her. Her testimony of the gospel is so strong and I'm always looking up to her in that regard. We both overreact to things (especially concerning guys...we're working on it...) and I feel like I relate to her on so many levels. I LOVE HER.


So there you have it. Five people that have influenced my life for the greater.

I LIKE YOU.