A lovebird post.

Today marks 7 years since me and Ben's first date. Since I'm feeling all romantic and sappy today, I'm going to take you all on a trip down memory lane.

Ben and I met when I was a freshman in high school and he was a junior. His family had moved to Columbus, IN during the middle of the school  year.

Awww... we were just babies.

We weren't really friends in high school, since we were two grades apart and didn't really run with the same crowd. I always thought that he was cute though and sometimes got a ride with him from seminary to school. 

Fast forward to 2003 when I was a freshman  at BYU. I knew that Ben was living in the Provo/Orem area, but I hadn't seen him since coming to Utah. There were a few Columbus parties that fall, but it seemed like I was never there when Ben was, vice versa. 

I remember my pal Meg (who dated Ben in high school) giving me a ride home from one of the parties and asked her what Ben was up to. She gave me a brief rundown and then said something that struck me as so random. She said, "You know, I always thought that you and Ben would be really good together. I even told him that when we were dating." I think that this statement planted a little seed in me and made me want to see if I would agree... would we really be good together?

Absolutely nothing happened until January 31, 2004. I was enjoying my freshman year, hanging out with my friends, and going on some dates. I was on my way home from a night out, and it was getting a little late- probably close to midnight. I remember sitting in the front seat of my friend's car and the thought just came to me: You should call Ben Harris. 

Random, right?

Well, I called up a mutual friend friend Columbus and got Ben's number right then and there.

The next day was Superbowl Sunday and I was fretting a little. Waffling between calling him and just forgetting about it for now. I couldn't get it out of my head that my friend Sarah Bennett had first met her husband the previous Superbowl Sunday...what if I called Ben on Superbowl Sunday and then we eventually got married too?!? This was too much for my 19 year old brain to handle... I was definitely not looking to get married anytime soon.

Eventually my curiosity about Ben won out, so I called him and ended up leaving some lame message saying, "Hi, this is Chrissi Bartnett from Columbus. I heard that you were in town and I wanted to know if you wanted to hang out some time. Here's my number....." I was all giddy after leaving the message and I was hoping that he'd call back. 

The next evening, right after eating dinner at the Morris Center I got a call back from Ben. We had never spoken on the phone, so it was a little weird to be talking to him. We chatted for a few minutes about what we had been up to, and then he went in for the kill... "Have you had dinner yet?" he asked. Even though I had just eaten, I said that I hadn't. Little white lie. He said that he'd be over in a half hour to pick me up. 

The next 30 minutes consisted of me running around my dorm floor and telling all my friends about my upcoming date. He called me when he got to my dorm and I came downstairs. I was a little afraid that I wouldn't even recognize him- after all, it had been over two years and I never knew him that well anyway. 

Luckily, I recognized him right away. He looked adorable! He had a little goatee and was dressed very Ambercrombie and cute. We hugged when we saw each other- this was really weird too, since we had never had any type of physical contact before... good thing Ben didn't pick up on any of the crazy thoughts running through my head.

Our first date was kind of a lame one- the restaurant he wanted to take me to wasn't open, so we ended up driving through Wendy's and watching The Simpsons at his house. On paper it seems pretty unimpressive, but our conversation was fabulous, the sparks were flying, and I was already smitten. 

A few hours he brought me back to my dorm. We had the awkward end of the first date moment at my door- he ended up doing a really awkward wave with his hand in his pocket. He told me to call him if I wanted to get together again. 

I was seeing stars the rest of the night... I went straight to the Morris Center where my friends were hanging out and told them what I already knew for myself... "I am going to marry Ben Harris."

Here we were two weeks later....

And then again ten months after that....

I love you my Benjamin! Happy 7 year day!