Another fantastic move by Scotty

My husband is amazing! I don't know a single thing that Scott can't do. Including making me smile. No one makes me happy the way that Scott does. No one knows me quite as well.

I am so proud of Scott for his hard work and his ability to go for what he wants! We had a grad school triumph today! As we pray about the best decision to make, I look forward to our future, knowing that I am in very capable hands, and that together we will always have a rich and happy life.

Not circus-ing.

In other news, my amazing Mr. Hannay has had a wonderful week of success! On top of the hard work he puts in during the day and the fun we've been having going skiing and climbing and spending the evenings together (plus Scott had to put up with A LOT of violin this week)... this week Scott heard back from his MBA program with an interview request!!!!! That was supposed to be the great news of the week... but we just found out that he also passed the Foreign Service Exam!!!! On to round two in both! I'm so happy to be married to Scott. I don't know many people who are as well-thought of as Scott is. In our three and a half years of friendship, before and after dating and marriage, I have only heard wonderful things said of him. I am not the only one who thinks the world of this boy.


I'm so proud of him! All this... AND he can juggle!

Circus-ing

Happiness is not just a state to arrive at, but a manner of traveling. Margaret Lee Runbeck














I sure love this boy.

Tick Tock...

I had one of the happiest and rarest pleasures of my life this morning. It was really several pleasures in one!

I got to sleep in this morning until eight (I usually get up at 6 when Scott gets up for work. I have a problem sleeping in while Scott gets up for work. It's just not nice!)

I got to wake up next to Scott with the sun shining through our windows (we have the brightest bedroom!). This is especially nice for Scott since he never sees the sunlight!

And then I got to make my husband breakfast and listen to NPR while cleaning up the kitchen. It was so nice to have all this time in the morning to spend time together and get the house organized so the mess isn't waiting for me when I come home. I love having Scott home in the morning!

This morning I dropped Scotty off to take his long-awaited GMAT!!! I'm at work... just five short minutes from where he's testing... and I can't wait to see him! I know he's doing great! It's been an hour.... tick tock tick tock....

I got Scotty a gift card for a 1 1/2 hour massage today that he's going to go get today. I love getting Scott gifts... books... musical instruments... always things for him to DO. The problem is, though, that Scott always has too much to DO. So maybe by giving him gifts of things to DO I'm just making his list longer. I've noticed that it's hard for him to relax, because he's always thinking about the next thing on his list that he needs or wants to do. I love that about him! But he's been working so hard with the GMAT that I wanted to find a way to give him the gift of time, instead of adding things to do to his list. So I'm thrilled that Scott's going to go get a massage and spend an hour and a half thinking about... nothing! For a day that is usually not so bright, this Monday is shaping up to be a fantastic day!

Chin Chin and Muck Muck

Our V Day weekend was fantastic.

How could it not be when it started out on Saturday with a little of this from my sister.

This is what sisters are for. For those of you who don't get along with your sisters and don't understand what sisters are for, I'll help you... this is it. This is what they're for. I'm so happy I have one who can appreciate these things and feels the need to call me THE INSTANT she discovers something truly this fantastic. "Two tickets to that thing you love... I'm on a horse."

Friday was an ordinary day with work and studying. Saturday started out pretty ordinary too with a lot of studying, laundry, grocery shopping, and getting everything clean so we could enjoy the weekend (I'm a Saturday morning cleaner). As the evening got closer, we started getting ready to go out for sushi and to the symphony (thanks to my wonderful parents who gave us the tickets). Scott was in heaven because he loves sushi. I was in heaven because I love Dvorchak. We had a great time.

After the symphony, we went home and celebrated Valentines Day the best way ever... by being together! Things have been so crazy lately that neither of us can remember the last time we were able to really spend time together. We're always together, you know, but we haven't been able to sit together and really spend time together lately without reading or studying or making lists. Scotty and I had a $20 limit for our gifts this year. I got Scott a harmonica, along with a book on how to play it and a capo for his guitar. I love hearing the lonesome sound of the harmonica in our apartment. It's so fun to watch him start putting songs together. It'll also be fun to take the harmonica on river trips and hikes and stuff. I'm so grateful Scott is so musical! Scott got me a couple beautiful rings and a bunch of songs on itunes from my favorite singer. And the romantic part of the evening was dancing to a Devendra song called "Chin Chin and Muck Muck (I do not endorse the lyrics, just the tune... as usually is the case with Devendra. The guy's a creep)." Man, I love this kid more and more every day. We spent the evening playing a bunch of our favorite songs on violin and guitar with martinelli's, chocolate covered strawberries, and delicious popcorn Hannay stove-top style.

Sunday morning was consisted of a delicious breakfast of oven-french toast... that was so sweet that we both could barely handle it! Neither of us sugar people, and this was a little much. After church we spent the evening at my parents' house celebrating Nick's birthday and Valentines Day. My parents were so nice sending us home with flowers, chocolates, and of course delicious leftovers. They take good care of us. It was so fun to watch some of the Olympics too. What could be a more romantic V Day than mocking the outfits of male figure skaters?

Thanks to the fancy counter at the bottom of our blog, I found out that Scott and I have been married one year... one month... one week... and one day! Wow. What's that anniversary? Copper? Should I give Scott a penny?

TODAY I HAD THE THOUGHT...

(I actually have this thought often). But if I had gone out with Scott when he asked me to go climbing in 2007, we could have been together for almost three years by now! To clarify, it's not that I didn't want to go out with him... it was just bad timing (I unfortunately wasn't single)! We both could have cut back on some unneeded dating relationships... he could have been a river guide WITH me... we could have graduated together. As Scott pointed out today, we both love the way it happened... I love that it took the Rogue River to finally get us together (what a BEAUTIFUL place to fall in love) after wanting to date for so long. But sometimes I wish I hadn't wasted all that time.

Scott and I have so much fun together. We are a lot alike, and we are truly one of those couples that just love being each other's best friend. I have been known to have a lot of "best friends" throughout my life. Friendship is important to me, and I have been blessed to have some amazing friends that I love spending time with today. Scott jumped to the top of my list pretty quick.

There were so many little things that I first noticed about Scott that impressed me... going clear back to before we were dating when we lived next to each other on Condo Row. My first memory of Scott (I didn't realize I was feeling reminiscent!) was before I even met him (that's right I had HEARD about him before I met him in person. The fall semester of 2006 was the semester I'd be going to London, and several of my closest friends moved into a building on Condo Row. Before leaving for London, I was visiting these friends, and thumbing through their directory of everyone who lived in their building and the building next door, I saw Scott. I thought he was cute; but I was told that everyone had a crush on Scott Hannay. Of course now I can totally see why that was the case, but my dorky sophomore self thought it was pretty funny and that this guy probably thought a lot of himself. I don't know why I resorted to being judgmental. For some dumb reason, I decided in my head that I wouldn't have a crush on this guy because everyone else did. Non-conformism?? I don't know. Not that it mattered anyway... I'd probably never actually meet the guy. I went off to London after that and had a lovely London time.

While in London, I got an email from a friend telling me that a friend of mine was dating Scott, so I immediately reversed my petty little judgment and decided that he was probably an awesome guy because I respected his girlfriend so much. I didn't think anything of it after that until I came back from London just in time for winter semester 2007. Scott was still dating my friend, and I met him through her shortly after I had moved back. From that semester until I left BYU, I basically moved in and out of Scott's ward boundaries every semester, but if I didn't have a bed at Condo Row, I'd sleep on the couch. I spent most of my time in that area. I met Scott on Condo Row when he pulled up in his truck and I was attempting to long board on the sidewalk. I thought he was nice and cute (but unavailable) and again, didn't think much of it after that.

I started seeing Scott around campus, and we were now acquaintances who could say hi to each other when we bumped into each other in the terrace, the quad, or the LRC. We were both LRC studiers, and I saw him there nearly every day at the same time each day (I later found out that after Scott and my friend broke up, Scott would sometimes take advantage of my predictable schedule and fabricate some of these accidental meetings). We always noticed each other, we always were excited to see each other, and we always enjoyed talking when we could. I remember walking home from campus one day when we started walking together. I was on a literary overload and for some reason decided that discussing "The Book of Disquiet" with the poor guy who didn't even know me very well would be a good course of action. What's even stranger is that he liked that. Our conversation impressed me, and I really started having a lot of respect for Scott, even if it was from a distance. We didn't hang out, though we had so many mutual friends, but I had a high opinion of him. I knew he enjoyed the outdoors like I did, and always thought he'd be a lot of fun to hang out with.

Lucky for me, Scott felt the same way. When he was in between girlfriends he would say to his friends that he was looking to date a girl like Lindsey Petersen (isn't that cute!). It's pretty lame that we lived next door to each other for a year by this time, and we hadn't ever gone out. Why? Because Scott and I were NEVER single at the same time. In the Fall of 07, Scott came to the Law School where I worked, walked right up to my desk, told me he'd like to get into climbing, and asked me to go climbing with him that next week. I wasn't exactly single... I was kind of getting into a relationship, and we were just past the point where I could say to the guy that I had a date with someone else. Had he asked me one week earlier though, and... (herein lies that psychological anguish... the "if only" feeling). I wasn't very upfront with Scott. I didn't feel comfortable saying "I'm dating someone" because I wasn't sure if that was really the right way to say it. Lindsey made a bad move, and Scott ended up thinking Lindsey was pretty flaky.

The next year consisted of Scott, me, and our terrible timing! By the time he was single, I wasn't... by the time I was single, he wasn't... I moved to Moab to be a riverguide. He talked to friends about coming to Moab to ask me out (cute huh?)... and then was surprised to hear that I had opened my mission call on the river and was leaving for my mission to Texas that Fall. Scott, in my head, was one of those guys I would have always liked to date, but I kind of missed my shot (or blew my shot!) while we were in college.

Luckily Scott's buddy invited me to join them on the Rogue River in Oregon. I admitted to Scott later that I was really excited he would be there. After a summer of river rafting romance gone bad (especially while trying hard to focus on my upcoming mission), I was excited to have a laid-back-last-time-just-for-fun-random-college-friend-trip before I left. I had a good time with everyone. I laugh at how dumb I can be, though. Remember when I was a sophomore and decided I didn't like Scott just cause everyone else did? I got the feeling when we were in Tahoe that maybe Scott wasn't interested in me any more than the other girls on the trip... so I decided I wasn't interested in him! Clearly I was, or I wouldn't have been thinking any of this. I kind of made a special effort to give Scott less attention than the other guys. I think the professional term for this is "playing hard to get" which I wasn't at all! If Scott didn't have me by the day we left Tahoe, he had me by the last day of the Rogue. Scott won me over in Tahoe at first by being interested in everything I was doing. I found a mandolin in Jim Gribble's basement and started playing around with it in a corner to see if I could play anything that sounded decent enough to justify bringing it with us on the river. Scott had brought his guitar and joined me with my mandolin, and we spent that night looking up chord charts and songs we could learn to play together. I remember thinking how easy-going he was, and he made me feel easy-going (which I sometimes am not), and I got a good feeling as I sat with him and played music. This is something we still love to do together, and we especially loved playing songs together on fiddle and guitar when we tackled the Grand together last summer. I felt like Scott was mature and kind. He was very inclusive and just impressed me all around as I watched him with other people.

He won me over on the river because he is so adventurous. This river trip was just FUN. After a summer of being a commercial guide, I felt a little shaky on a private trip. But I loved not being the guide! I loved spending time with old friends and new friends, engaging in conversation, taking time to write and appreciate nature, and just slow down and contemplate my upcoming decisions and life. I didn't have to entertain! I didn't have to tell river guide tall tales about the legend of Castle Rock or what exactly did happen to poor old Larry who thought he skipped the gap when he really drove his car right in to the river. Even cooking was fun because it wasn't for a hundred-something people, I knew I wouldn't be doing ALL the dishes myself, and there was such a gorgeous variety of food (as opposed to 1st day... burgers; 2nd day... spaghetti; 3rd day... chili.... repeat)!

K... that was an irrelevant tangent about the joy of a private river trip. I was just so happy to be on the river and to feel like I was most myself. I was in a good place in terms of my physical health, sense of self, and spiritually, and I felt that this time on the river opened me up more to God's beauty in creation. It was one of those times in life where I had come home to myself.

Also... this post is getting to point where it's too long for me to read through after I write it. Hopefully everything I'm writing is making sense.

But this is the part where I fell in love with Scott... so I'll write about that. Anyone who knows Scott knows that he is adventurous and capable. I loved watching him tackle rolling his kayak in the rapids (I had never hard-shell kayaked... so I was impressed and a little jealous).

Since then, though, I've learned how to roll, and as soon as a Lindsey-sized kayak of decent price comes around, Scott and I will hit the kayaking hobby hard.

There were just so many fun moments that we shared that added up to create a fast and fulfilling friendship.

I loved when we picked blackberries off the side of the river. There were thousands! I got up on Scott's back to reach some of the prime spots, and we used some of the sub-par berries as war paint in anticipation of the accomplishment of our goal that day to take Nelson Trichler to the water, as he had never been pushed out of a boat he has captained. Sam, Scott, Nelson, and I fastened a torpedo raft out of two duckies. I remember rowing hard as Nelson called the shots, and I loved trying to show Scott how tough I was... in reality, I was really lucky I kept up!

And we did end up taking Nelson down... but of course he took ALL three of us down with him. So I don't know if we'll chalk that one up to a victory.

I fell for Scott more and more as I began to realize that he was always aware of me, and I could tell. If I dropped something, he picked it up before I realized it was missing. He'd get extra treats from the snack cooler and hand them to me throughout the day (Scott learned early on that my happiness depends on a steady and constant dispersal of treats, and that he should always keep treats on hand to whip out at a moments noticed. And what a smart guy! He figured that one out on his own! I didn't even have to tell him). In water fights, he'd never take me down. I appreciated that. I never could stand it when guys thought the best way to flirt with you was to smash your head into something and then pull you by your hair underwater, pushing your head down, kinking your neck, and grinding your chin into your shoulders until you could no longer breathe. Guys physically hurting me in a pool never exactly left me wanting more interaction with them. I appreciated that Scott was attentive to me, but kept his distance at the same time. I thought it was a sign of maturity. And I had been done with the immature factor in guys for quite a while.

Scott would paddle his kayak near my boat as I rowed, or near my duckie, always game for a good conversation. I had so many talks with Scott that also facilitated our fast friendship. I kept thinking, "I have wanted to be friends with this guy for so long! Why have we wasted so much time!" After hikes, long, high-energy river days, and conversational nights, I felt like Scott and I started making up for the time. The foundation for an awesome relationship was already there, and we built it up from the day we left Provo to the day Scott dropped me off in Sacramento.

The last night of the trip was the night Scott and I really sat down to talk about this friendship that had formed and how we both felt about what should come next. I remember having the distinct feeling that while I had to be cautious since everything had happened so quickly, I knew that Scott was supposed to be in my life at that time. He wasn't a distraction. I knew that we were building something that the Lord wanted us to have and develop. In the months to come as we approached the difficult choices to come, we did so as partners who knew that we were both acting on the impressions and guidance we got from our Heavenly Father. I remember thinking that there couldn't be a better way to start a relationship and a better test for us as a couple (especially if this was going to turn into a marriage).

Which it did! Six months later! And as we come up on one year of marriage, I am so grateful that I have married someone who still treats me the way he did when we were dating, who is still just as exciting to talk to as our first conversation, who is up for any adventure any time, who loves my family and appreciates them as his own, who tells me he loves me constantly throughout the day , who is aware of me constantly, who will add to my long list of things I want to do and help me check them off, and who has made my life a part of his just as much as he has opened and shared his life with me.

This ended up sounding so lovey dovey... but I do love Scott, and I've really enjoyed thinking today about how this fantastic life of ours started. We have a wonderful friendship and a wonderful life together! I seriously have so much fun with him. He handles being married to a sometimes-acts-like-she's-five-years-old spaz who (let's be honest) never stops moving her mouth (or in this case, my fingers on the keyboard). It means so much to me to know that I get to share everything in my life from this point on with Scott, as we still try to catch each other up on the the 25 years and 22 years that came before. I'd hate it if I had a ton more adventures I had to tell him about... it's so nice to know that he'll just be there having the adventure alongside me!

Medias or Calcetines?

We did it! We are finally settled in our new place! It feels like a real home now that the boxes are cleared out... books are in cases... frames are on ALL horizontal surfaces... and my one Thanksgiving decoration is in our kitchen. Now I just need to stock up with food in the fridge and it's official!

I cannot believe how much stuff we have. I have no clue how it all fit in our last place!! It is such a blessing to be able to move, have a little more room to put all of our toys. This apartment is going to be a fun adventure for us.

Scott is at day two of Goldman right now! Yesterday was a big orientation day. Today, hopefully, he'll get to know his team and finally figure out what he's going to be doing! I'm excited to see him excited!


So pictures are coming of the new place... but here's a little sneak peek into our strange world of moving. My entire life, my dad has teased me that I can't match my socks. I'd wear a holiday Christmas tree sock that sings jingle bells with a "matching" Halloween pumpkin sock. (By the way, Scott and I weren't sure which Spanish word is correct... medias or calcetines?) I thought they looked nice together. But I did decide when I entered to great expanse of BYU that I would finally match my socks. So I wore white ankle socks. White ankle socks match! No matter what brand they are... at least they're the same color and the same height!

But that's not good enough for Scott. He was very frustrated with me during our moving process. He has a fear of unmatched socks. I told him ten years of owning all these socks, and not managing to have any two socks that match, is a HUGE accomplishment. He didn't agree, however.

Alright... the tradition stands... I couldn't get our video to work. I never can! But Scott can, so unless anyone out there in the blog world wants to fill me in on whatever I'm doing wrong, I'll ask Scott to post the video when he gets home tonight!

SCOTT...

...brought me a pack of skittles when he came home for lunch today! He is wonderful!!!! These little things absolutely make my day!!!!

AND HE'S OFF...

Scott just got back from his first three hour GMAT prep course. He has three of these a week. Between this class and our callings in church, our free nights to lounge at home have vanished! But I'm excited for Scott. I can tell he loves being back in the world of academia.

PS... if anyone would like to purchase (or borrow) any books relating to the GMAT, GRE, or MCAT... we have an excess of them!!! Let us know. They make for great leisurely reading, door stops, or spider-crushing books.

BYE SOCK!

Scott and I love spending time with my family on Sundays. The boys keep getting funnier and funnier! Ben spilled something downstairs and Andrew yells up the stairs, "Mom, can you manage to throw me a towel?" Kirsten asked if he wanted a paper towel and he hollered, "No, a string towel!" I thought that was funny, and pretty clever!

I am so happy because Ben finally says my name. Andrew went from calling me "Li Li" to "Zee Zee" to "Yendsee" before he ever got the hang of Lindsey. Ben has started out with "Essey," which I love. I love hearing him talk, especially when he says my name! But my favorite last Sunday was hearing Ben talk to Scott. He LOVES Scott. I love watching Ben because he is so energetic and happy. After the two played outside on the grass while Kirsten and Nick packed up to leave, Ben said to Scott, "Bye Sock!" I loved it! Scott has got himself a new fantastic nickname in our family. Lindsey Lobster and Sock. Thank you, Ben!

CANADA'S NEXT TOP MODEL

You'll enjoy this post so much more if you don't scroll down until you've read everything.

This is great. So Scott and I had a great Sunday, filled with family and an accidental nap (which was great, but it made Scott a little perturbed). We were able to see my parents for a quick minute, make a surprise visit to Kirsten, Nick, and the boys (the boys showed off their new bedrooms as they all get ready for baby number three to come in about three months), and spend the evening having dinner with John, Jana, Sarah, Tanner, and Blake Bilton. We hadn't been to the Bilton's since before our wedding. Scott lived with them while we were dating, and we LOVED catching up with them. So we come home, and I check my email to see an email from my Santa Barbara mom containing the most darling pictures of Scott. I hope our kids look exactly like this guy (maybe with my curly hair)! It was so fun and thoughtful of Lynne to send them, and it sent Scott and me into a fun conversation about being little and what his mom was like all growing up. We turned to Margy's blog for some more fun pictures of the Hannay family of the wee days gone by. We had a great time; I loved the pictures! Thank you Lynne. And thank you, Lynne for an even greater gift you gave me (without even knowing it). So I'm looking at this darling little picture, which is also the new desktop background on my laptop, and I think, "Hmmm.... I feel like I've seen this picture before." After a short time of pondering, I was able to put my finger on it. "I HAVE seen this picture before. In fact, I think I have it here somewhere....." I dig through my picture files for a few minutes and...

YES! HERE IT IS! 23 YEARS LATER! Hidden in a secret picture folder that contains those photos Scott and I have determined to be too embarrassing to submit to the eyes of our friends and family. But I was wrong. This isn't embarrassing! This is fantastic! Lynne, I always thought it particularly strange that Scott chose this particular pose when the camera approached, but now I see that it is just a natural response for him. I plan to document this pose throughout the years, as I'm sure it will visit often.

(To be clear, I had to secure Scott's permission before creating this blog post. He was very cooperative.)

EIGHT MONTHS!

I've been married to this guy for eight months today! Aren't I lucky?















































Scott and I have had an amazing first eight months. I AM very lucky! I'm lucky to be married to someone who always has fifty original ideas in his head of something fun to do. I'm lucky to be married to someone who is always up for spontaneous adventures. He loves music. He loves the canyons. He loves pictures and mountains. He loves hard work and jamb-packed Saturdays. He loves to wash his car. He loves snow and he loves sun. He does EVERYTHING well. He loves to write. He wants a dog. He loves to learn. He loves to read. He eats dried seaweed (which is a little weird and really gross, but I love that about him). He makes up songs in the car. He loves to travel. And he loves me! Scott is the best at showing it. I remember giving Scott a book while we were dating and I wrote on the inside cover, "I cannot wait to be with you for it all! I can't wait to know what "it all" will be!" My life with Scott so far has been even more fun than I thought it would be, and I had very high expectations. We have so many adventures and spazzy moments ahead! He's the best, and I love him so much!