Time flies..

..when you are having fun.

Warning, this will be a very long, picture heavy post.

Brad and I have been together for about 6 months now! Our six month-iversary is in a week or so.
It really doesn't feel like it's been 6 months.
That means it's been 7 months since I got divorced.
I know what you are thinking.. wow, this girl must be crazy, getting into a relationship just one month after divorce.

Well, I didn't mean for it to happen like that. Here is a short summary of how it all happened.

My friend Carissa and I went to see a friend's band play on night in December. I wasn't looking into dating anyone, I just went as support. After the show, a boy sat down next to me and asked, "Where have I seen you before? In my dreams?" Luckily I didn't hear this cheesy pickup line.. or else I would have been a little weirded out. We talked with him (Brad) and his friends for a little while then decided to get some hot cocoa with him and his friends.  We all sat in Brad's car and sipped our hot cocoa while Brad made prank phone calls in funny voices. One thing I remember about that night, was my hot cocoa tasted more like water than cocoa... and Brad promptly offered me his.
A few days later Brad asked me if I wanted to go to a creepy cemetery in Salt Lake. I said of course. (I love creepy things, and I love cemeteries.) I still wasn't very interested in dating anyone.. but I couldn't help but start to like him. He let me borrow his mittens, bought me hot cocoa and even tied my shoe so I wouldn't have to take the mittens off.
We started hanging out a lot after that, almost everyday. We would go on adventures up the canyons, go to antique stores and little picnics. Some days I would bring my art projects over to his house and paint while he would play his guitar. He was very supportive of my shop and my art. I was very supportive of his music and his bands.
Brad was always fun to be around. He made me laugh everyday. He was creative, funny, and sweet.
How could I not fall in love?

When he first came over to my house, Mowgli liked him. Mowgli normally barked at everyone for the first hour upon meeting them. Plus, I don't think he liked boys in general. Mowgli was very protective over me. When he met Brad, he climbed right into Brad's lap as if he approved. That was a big sign for me. Animals can sense things.

At first a lot of people were against us dating.  

They said it was too soon for me.

I had to work on myself first. 

I needed time to heal. 

Well, everyone heals differently. 

And I am quite happy with who I am. 

I feel like I am exactly where I want to be in life. 

I also feel that when you find someone who treats you right, why wait? 

Why push someone away just because others don't feel the time is right?

So, I kept dating Brad. He kept being supportive and sweet. He was there for me when Mowgli was sick, and there for me when Mowgli passed away. He became my adventure partner, my support and my best friend.

And now, it's six months later and things just get better. We have not had a single fight. (In my last relationship there was a big fight at least once a week.) We have tons of fun, without having to spend a lot of money. We are both creative and positive people. 

Plus, I think he is the handsomest boy of them all.

 

The other day I received two new lenses in the mail. I wanted to go up the canyons to try them out. I also had a few new hats I wanted to photograph. I asked Brad if he would want to do that with me. I was used to feeling guilty about wanting to go into nature to play and take pictures. But Brad was excited about the new lenses and we had a lot of fun. He is a good photographer too! He is hired full time as the new Talk2thetrees photographer. I pay in free hats, kisses, and I'm a good cook.

So, we went up the canyons and explored. We laughed a lot. I took pictures of him, he took pictures of me. We tried to take pictures of us both together, but we just ended up looking awkward. 

We had tons of fun.

My favorite kind of tree!

I took this without him knowing. It wasn't posed.

This one too.

Brad found a secret treasure.

This is me telling him I don't know what I should be doing in the picture.

3 new hats!

Then, I noticed something last night as I was editing these photos. 

I am getting wrinkles! 

Small little lines are starting to form around my mouth. 

This kid is giving me wrinkles!

From making me smile and laugh so much..

The hats in these pictures will be added to the shop by this evening!