My Pilot

Henry's first Cross Country to Idaho Falls and a few stops in between...

Flew through Ogden Canyon and over Bear Lake to Idaho Falls. Then to Pocatello for a stop and go, and then to Brigham City, Ogden Airport, then home to Bountiful Skypark. Flew over 4 hours with Instructor Jamie and Karebear see below.

Me in the back seat of the Sklyane 182

Don't worry Mom, I wore my seatbelt :) And I only got nauseous twice! Henry is an excellent pilot!

Henry and Jamie

Memorial Day Weekend at Yellowstone Bear World

I'm Engaged!

So late Friday night after Henry and I had both had long days at work, we decided to go do sealings in the Bountiful Temple. After we were done we decided to go spend some time in the celestial room before the temple closed at ten. While enjoying the peace and the beauty of the room Henry got down on one knee, pulled a ring from his pocket, and asked me if I would marry him. It couldn't have been more perfect! So my response was "Of course I will!" So when is the wedding you may ask. Our plans at this point are September 20th in the Washington DC Temple.

How we met....

So I know many of you are wondering how we met. As fate would have it, we discovered each other on LDS-Planet, as Henry so lovingly refers to as horney-matches.com. It was December 2007 and I was online checking my mail. There is a feature on this website where when you log on it will show random pictures of three selected individuals that are logged on at the same time. Apparently my picture came up when Henry logged in at this same time, 2400 miles away in Avon, CT. At this time Henry sent an e-mail to my profile. He said "I see we live close, we should go out sometime." When I logged on the next time to read my messages I was baffled. What does he mean, we live close, clearly his profile says that he is in Connecticut. So I responded by telling him that we don't live anywhere close to each other, he must be confused. Little did I know that Henry was just trying to get a response from me. He knew we didn't live close. After that we started chatting on msn messenger. One night, he said let me call you. I was pretty reluctant and I definitely had no idea what I was getting myself into when I picked up the phone for the first time with Henry on the other line. It is all history from there. We started talking all the time. Everytime I got off the phone my checks hurt from smiling and laughing. For those of you who know Henry, "you know what I'm talking about"! We knew we had to meet, so in December he flew to Salt Lake for our first official Date.

The Airpor...

Henry and I first met at the Salt Lake City airport. Now those of you who know me, will not be suprised by this story, because of course it didn't go as planned. The plan was to tell Henry to come outside after baggage claim where I would be waiting with my car. Instead, I decided to tell a little bit of a fib and go inside to the baggage claim area myself to check him out before he ever saw me. So I get there early and am waiting in the baggage claim area. Waiting, waiting, waiting. I get a call on my cell phone, it was Henry, I asked him where are you, I am running late and want to know which baggage claim you are at so that I know which terminal to drive to. As I continue to wait at the baggage claim area, I start to look at the numbers. It wasn't soon after that I realized I was in the wrong terminal all together!!!! So I have to run back to parking and move my car over to the other terminal, because I don't want him to know what a dork I am. So finally I make it over to the other terminal and try to be super sneaky, because I don't want him to see me first. Now I think I have been smooth so much as going out of one door and walking down the length of the terminal to go into the door right behind his baggage claim, yes the correct one at this point. So I walk in, with butterflies in my stomach. I look around, I walk around the baggage claim area, no Henry where the heck could he be? Finally after calling him on my cell phone there is an answer. I said "Where are you?". I will tell you but first, you should hear his side of the story.

The Airpor...Henry's Version

So I am getting all excited to fly out and see this beautiful woman that I have talked to on the phone for everynight for who knows how long. I have my bag packed, only to have my flight cancelled due to weather conditions. I fly out the next day on a Friday with a layover in Minneapolis. All I am thinking about is, man I hope she likes me. I finally get to Salt Lake, go down to baggage claim, wait for my bag, for what seems like an eternity. This beautiful woman, I have just flown 2400 miles to see, is supposedly on her way to pick me up. But in all actuality she was trying to be sneaky, but what she didn't know, is how I am always ten steps ahead of her. Because when she called to tell me she was running late, I could hear the airport noise in the background of her cell phone, so I knew she was in the building somewhere. So I am there waiting for my bags, I make my way around knowing she is somewhere close. So I search the baggage claim area because I have this intuition that she is hiding somewhere. This is the best part. I watched her come down the escalator, walk out one door (as she was trying to be sneaky) and walk back in the other door right behind my baggage claim area. So at this point I get a call on my cell phone and it's her. She doesn't know that I have spotted her long before, made my way around acting like I am looking for something. Eventually I see her lean up against a column. At this point I am walking on the other side of the baggage claim area opposite her and I tell her that I see her leaning up against the column. It was seconds later that she spotted me and I nonchalantly made my way in a big circle to meet her. The first thing I thought when we first met, how much more beautiful she was in person than her pictures on the computer. I finally get my bags, and we make our way to the car. Of course in all her hussle she forgets where she has parked the car and it takes a minute to find it. The rest is history and I am sure you will hear of more stories to come.

Henry's first trip to Salt Lake in years...

During Henry's trip to Utah he fell in love with the following: Silver Fork Lodge up big cottonwood canyon, Hires, and Temple Square. We bought a Christmas tree which has a story to go along with it, but you will have to ask Henry yourself for that one. I also took him to Park City and out to dinner to meet Luce (my sister), Derek (her boyfriend), and my Mom. I am sure my family thought I had lost my marbles, but I was growing more and more attached to him by the minute. We exchanged Christmas presents. Henry had gotten me jewelry from the Silver Shop in Avon, and I had made him a Giants quilt. One word to the wise, it is very painful to tie a quilt using 100% cotton, I would not recommend it to anyone!!!

Just a little background on Henry. So he was born in Salt Lake, UT at University Hospital ,but only lived here for a year before his parents moved to Avon, CT. From there he moved to Virginia as a teenager and then back to CT in the summer of 2007. The only other trip Henry made to Salt Lake was during his stay at the MTC on his way to his Billings, Montana mission. And that was over five years ago. So I thought it my duty to give Henry a good taste of Salt Lake.

Our first official date ! Henry took me on a carriage ride around temple square it was sooo romantic, well atleast the parts when he wasn't chatting it up with the driver!

My trip Avon, CT January 2008- Day 1

So my first trip to Avon Connecticut was an adventure to say the least.... First my Mom drives me to the airport late one Wednesday night to catch my flight. Well of course I get all the way to the gate, and what's that I hear, yes my flight is cancelled until six am. So then I get to rush downstairs to the ticket agent to reschedule my flight. I call my mother who is more than halfway home and she has to turn around and come pick me up. We go to her house where I get maybe 2 hours of sleep and then back to the airport. I finally get on the plane and fly to Atlanta. Well my flight ends up being so late I almost miss my connection to Hartford. I am literally sprinting through this ginormous airport and get to my gate and nobody is there. I am panicking, thinking I can't believe I missed my flight or it has moved gates. I am tired and cranky so I sit down for a moment, quite depressed. Then I decide to stop feeling sorry for myself so I go to the gate next door and ask the attendant how long ago my flight left since I obviously missed it. I handed him my ticket, and he says lady " your flight hasn't left yet, it is at the gate behind you." I turn around and sure enough I am the last person to board the plane, (not quite sure how I had mistaken gate A4 for gate A6...) So anyway I get on my flight and make my way to Hartford. Once I get there, Henry tries to pull the line "I'm running late." Of course I don't believe him, but did believe he would try and be sneaky like I was when he came to visit me. So when I call him after I arrived I made up some baggage claim number that was different from the actual one so I could trick him into not finding me. Well, of course as always Henry was ten steps in front of me. I decide to call my Mom and tell her I have landed safely as I make my way over to baggage claim. So I am talking on the phone and not really paying attention at the baggage claim I have arrived at and I start to notice how few people are around me, and then the belt comes to a complete stop. I look to my left and sure enough I was at the wrong baggage claim again!!! It is amazing I have lived this long! As I start to walk towards my own correct baggage claim area I see the back of Henry and as I walk up to him I can hear him laughing because for the past 10 minutes he was sitting watching me yack on my cellphone while standing at the wrong baggage claim. Then we wait for my luggage to come off the belt. Then we wait a little longer. Then still a little longer.. No bags!!! My bags did not arrive with me because I had landed so late in Atlanta that they had not made it on my plane to Hartford. We give the claim desk my hotel address and walk out to the car. So one other item I must mention (I can't get away with anything!) Is that while I had made up the baggage claim number that I had given to Henry, he had known right away that I was lying because he knew for a fact that the number I had picked just so happened to be apart of a section that was under construction. Now you may start to be feeling bad for me, but don't worry I get Henry back with the Ultimate April fools joke....to come later. He did make up for it though because upon arriving to the car he hands me a present. I unwrap it only to find a beautiful coach purse... oh how I love to be spoiled :)

Avon CT-the Rest of the trip

Day 2- Luckily the night before I had recieved my luggage so I did have clothes to wear. I was staying in this quaint little hotel called the Avon Old Farms Hotel. I would recommend it to anyone who happens to need a place to stay in Avon, very cozy. So anyway, it is Friday and after meeting Grandma and Grandpa Becker, Henry decides to take me to my old houses in Summit, NJ with a short detour to New York City, where I got a real taste of Henry's driving......We stopped at FAO Shwartz and just had a blast. Next we were on the highway to Summit where we drove through my old neighborhoods, houses, and school. We stopped for dinner at Benihanas where of course I had to call and rub it in to my parents that I was there.

Day 3- Henry took me to see the Producers off Broadway in Hartford at this fabulous theatre. We had a great time. Later that evening we picked up Henry's fabulous cousin Christian and they took me to La Trot, where we were serenaded by violin.

Day 4- This was Sunday and I went with Henry to his ward. Now one problem was that the night before I had gotten sick with the flu. After Henry had gone home to Grandmas, I had called him up (now this was a test of love) at 3 in the morning needing cough medicine. So of course he comes over to the hotel with half the pharmacy. I take some Nyquil and zonk out. Now my next problem is that Henry's ward is at 9 a.m. and now remember I didn't take the Nyquil until about 3:30 a.m. so I have to fight to stay awake in sacrament meeting. Then to sunday school where people kept saying things like "so you are from the mother ship, i hear" which I guessed was some joke about Salt Lake. Everyone was really nice and knew Henry well. After that we had a fabulous brunch at my hotel, I would also recommend this. Then that night we went over to Grandma and Grandpas where I got to meet Aunt Cindy, Uncle Tom, Tait, Christian, and Henry's Dad. It was definitely an experience I will never forget :) After that it was over to Henry's Dad's house to meet Liz and Henry's adorable sister Emma. Let's just say by the end of the day, I was SHOT!

The next day I had to board the plane and go back the same way I had come. With misty eyes we kissed each other goodbye.

Ahh Virginia! And the Giants win the Superbowl!

So Superbowl weekend we track down some fabulously priced tickets to Dulles in Washington DC. So Henry fly's from Hartford to Dulles, (I don't think the flight is even an hour) and I make the big trek east from SLC. Henry's mom (Cheryl) graciously let me stay at her house for the weekend so that I wouldn't have to pay for a hotel. We have a fabulous time getting to know each other. The rest of the short weekend was spent with Henry, Rick, Cheryl, and Grandma Bowles. We had a blast, especially when Henry's much loved Giants won!!! Monday came and our eyes were more than misty as we parted at the airport. One item I must note though, Henry literally got on the plane with me sitting at his gate in Dulles, flew to Hartford and then drove home before I even boarded the plane to fly to my layover in Denver. And of course when I got to Denver my flight was postponed another few hours due to the weather. I don't think I will ever fly in the winter this much again!!!!

Henry makes a move....

So after trips back and forth to Connecticut and Virigina it is starting to get too hard to be living so far apart. So Henry decides to move out west to try his luck in Salt Lake City. So at the end of February Henry packs up (my soon to be car-the one and only fabulous Miss Bianca...Black Mercedes SUV) and drives the 2400 miles to move to Utah. Leaves all family and friends behind to start anew and become a pilot, oh ya and to marry me. If that's not love, then I don't know what is. :)

Henry's first trip to the Salt Lake Temple

PF's with Cheryl and Rick

Best Buds

Holding paws after returning from the Groomer

A night at Flemings to celebrate Henry's first solo flight and one year anniversary from his surgery.

So Cali has a bit of an addiction to TV...professional help may be needed...

So where am I supposed to sleep?

Yes this is my King Size bed!

Escape Artists!

So here's the story. I get home late one night from work and grocery shopping to find the south gate open and Brody and Cali missing. Of course what does any Mama do when her babies are missing.... PANIC! I drove the streets calling, whistling, crying hysterically, searching. My mom and dad even drove through the area searching. By the end my mom and I were hoarse. It was so late, that I couldn't even call the pound to see if they had been picked up. After reaching exhaustion my mom and I crawled into bed with hopes of finding them the next day. The next morning I awoke from a phone call from my sweetheart boyfriend Henry with the news that he had found them. Yes, Henry who was 2400 miles away was the one to track down the children. He had discovered them at the animal control facility in Fruit Heights. The children had been sent to jail for jaywalking in Woods Cross. Now mind you this is Brody's SECOND offense! So after paying the $100 fine and bringing the children home, my mom and I fashioned a very high tech way of keeping the children from escaping through the now broken gate. I have definitely learned my lesson and both children are now wearing ID tags.

The Yard Sale

This is the story of the evil metal desk!!! When I moved into this home the above desk you see resided in the basement. After trying to demand that the previous owners remove the ugly monstrosity, it continued to reside in my basement for the next year. This desk made of pure metal has to weigh atleast 500-1000 pounds easy. When I heard that my community was having a yard sale Saturday I decided to participate and get rid of said desk along with many other items. So after some choice words and banged walls, Henry and I were able to move the desk to the front lawn. To no avail no one wanted to buy, wait no take the desk from me. Then to my suprise a man walked up to me and asked me how long I had lived in the house. (Now mind you all day I had been telling the story of how awful the previous owners were to leave this desk when they moved out. )I told him about a year and a half. He then asked if I had a difficult time moving the desk out to the lawn. With raised eyebrows, I said yes, it was awful! He said ya, it was quite hard getting it down there in the first place! I said are you kidding me! You are the one that put it down there? He said yes. He then told me he had lived in the house over 12 years ago and that since that time each owner had left it for the next owner because it was too much hassle to deal with. I told him that he should have to take it since he put it down there in the first place. He refused and said he lives in Arizona now. So unfortunately the desk sat on my lawn for two more days until the fabulous guys of Junk EZ came and removed it for a fee of $50! So not only did I not make money on it, but it cost me to have it removed. I am so glad to be rid of that Hunk of Junk, and I need to throw a special thanks to my soon to be hubby that I never have to deal with that thing again!!!!

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