The Ocho Dos!

This is a post from me, Mark, and I take full responsibility for what is contained in it.

There was a reality show a while back called "Beauty and the Geek" where they paired up beautiful girls with really geeky guys. It was hilarious. Whoever came up with the idea for that show must have been inspired by Erin and myself. I think that show was based on my life, except for the fact that none of the girls on that show could hold a candle to Erin. She is so amazing compared to any of the girls that they had on that show. I honestly feel like I am the luckiest guy in the world. I am such a schmuck and to be lucky enough to have a bombshell like Erin fall for me just blows my mind every time I think about it.

From the first time I met Erin I felt that there was something really special about her and I couldn't get enough of it. From the first time we went out with each other I felt like we had known each other forever. It really was magical being with her and I have never felt that way with anyone else. I fell in love with her right away. I can still remember vividly how after we had been dating for a couple of weeks that Erin went to visit a friend of hers at Rick's College. That weekend I went on a hike up to the 'Y' in Provo with my sister Debra and her boyfriend John (who is now her husband). We were hiking at night and it was so beautiful. I wished so badly that Erin could be there with me. I couldn't stop thinking about how beautiful she was and how much fun I would be having if she were with me. I desperately missed her and wished that she was there with me. There was a true yearning in my heart to be with her. A yearning I had not felt before for anyone.

Since that time I have gotten to know Erin a lot better and understand a lot more about what makes her so special, and ever since I saw Erin's post recently, "The Ocho!", I really wanted to share with everyone what I love about her and why I think she is so enchanting. What follows is my list of eight things that I love about her. It is just a small sampling of why I think she is so wonderful.

1. Erin Is Patient – Erin has been such a patient person since I met her. We really have seen a lot of problems since we have been married and Erin has been more patient than anyone could ever imagine. I love you Erin. Thanks for always waiting for me.

2. Erin Is Thoughtful – If anyone is a friend of Erin then they will know how thoughtful she is. She is always finding some way to be thoughtful or kind to family, friends, or anyone she comes in contact with. A good example is all the things that she has done for the young women that she has taught over the years while being a young womens leader in church calling. I don’t know how many times we have been late for church because she was making bracelets, necklaces, cookies, or cards for the girls she was teaching at the time. It doesn't matter if we are ten minutes late, she wants those girls to know how important they are. If they knew how much effort Erin put into doing special things for them they would be blown away. That effort that she puts into helping the young women comes out of love not duty and that same love extends to everyone she cares about. If you have ever received anything that was handmade by Erin I hope you know how important that means you are to her. She puts her whole heart into those gifts. People would be shocked if they knew how much she really cared about them. I always tell her that she is doing too much but her love for others always pushes her to go the extra mile to show people how important they are to her even if they won't ever really appreciate it. Her gifts are imperfect representations or expressions or her love for her family, and friends in spite of how nice they are.

3. Erin Is A Great Mother – Erin puts more thought into the care and raising of our children than I can even comprehend. The crazy thing is that I am sure we can count on one hand how many times she babysat before we were married. She has become the most amazing mother though. She is the ultimate mother. She is a professional. If there is a book that might have worthwhile ideas on how to raise children, there is a good chance that she has read it. She has had so many ideas about what to do with our children and her ideas have been fantastic. I know she worries a lot about our kids and how they will turn out, but I really don’t think she has anything to worry about. If only half of what she is trying to teach them sticks then they will be the most fantastic adults that anyone has ever met.

4. Erin Is A Fantastic Cook – Erin really knows how to cook if you know what I mean. While I am writing this Erin is actually in Utah visiting family and I not only miss her, but I really, really miss her cooking. I think I have lost five pounds so far since she has been gone and it has only been a few days. I have to admit that when Erin and I got married I really felt like it was a leap of faith for me in many ways. When I first met Erin she was very driven to chase some important dreams she had related to school and work. I don’t believe that becoming a great cook was on her list at the time of things she wanted to be amazing at. In spite of that she has really become an amazing cook. I would prefer Erin’s cooking over eating out any day. A good example of her talent with cooking is her Magelby’s rolls. We ate at Magelby’s a number of years ago and we really loved their rolls. She went home an played around with a roll recipe a number of times until she came up with something that was very similar to Magelby’s. In fact it was so close in taste that I couldn’t tell the difference. She didn’t stop there though, she kept playing around with it until it was way better and now I don’t really care if I ever have another Magelby’s roll. I would much prefer to help her make her version. I can't tell you how many recipes she has done this. Yummy! I would definitely be extremely overweight if I did not have such a high metabolism.

5. Erin Is An Amazing Homemaker – Most of you who know Erin understand what an amazing homemaker she is. I don’t think that there is ever a night that we go to bed that there is something out of place, other than on my desk. Some people think she has a bit of an OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) but that is okay with me. Our house is always amazing. She goes to great lengths to make our home a beautiful place. Not only is our home always clean, but it is always very nice. The furniture is always in good condition and if it isn’t she makes sure that she replaces it with something that is. She always gets the best discount of course though. She always seems to be able to find a few thousand dollars worth of furniture for just a few hundred dollars. It always amazes me to see what she has found on Craig’s List. She is the most amazing shopper I have ever met, but that she be another point on my list. What else can I really say? Our house is such a welcoming place because of her.

6. Erin Is Smart – Smart as a whip. Her smarts have really made me lazy. If there is ever a challenge in our lives I just ask Erin what she thinks and she has a solution. I don’t think we have come across a mental challenge yet that she has not been able to tackle. If anyone has played a game with Erin they know how true this is.

She has an incredible ability to focus her mind and think. That same focus Erin has for playing games can be seen in everything she does. She really thinks about what she is doing and it really makes a big difference in our family.

7. Erin Is Fun – This is one of Erin’s attributes that I loved the most about her when we were dating and one of the things that really drew me to her. Erin just has a love for life, and she always has fun with what she is doing. When we started dating I had so much fun that I would regularly stay up till 2 a.m. with her just talking and laughing. That fun has never stopped from the day we first met. When we were dating we had so much fun jumping in the canal (don't tell her parents), washing cars, skipping work and school, sitting in the moonlight with our feet dangling in the irrigation ditch, and many other experiences. Since getting married we have had fun cruisiing to Mexico, visiting Disneyland and Disney World, camping in Mona Utah, playing scrabble on our bed, going sledding, playing in the surf, and most recently running.

From when I first met Erin I have had fun like I had never experienced before with anyone else. I don’t know quite how to explain it but Erin has an amazing energy that really makes being around her enjoyable and anyone that knows her well will hopefully understand what I am talking about. Maybe it is just me that feels this way, but that is okay with me. It is in fact one of the reasons that I married. Aside from knowing that I would get to wake up to someone so gorgeous every morning I knew that I would really have a fun life with her. Literally I really thought and knew that before we got married and that is how it has been. How lucky am I. You might be able to say some things about Erin, but one thing you cannot say is that she is boring. I really love how much fun she is.

8. Erin Is Beautiful – Erin is really beautiful. She is the most beautiful girl that I have ever met. I can’t believe I was so lucky to catch her. I still have to pinch myself when I think about the fact that she fell for a geek like me. Erin really turns a lot of heads. Wherever we go I always catch other guys watching her as we go by. I can only imagine that they are wondering why such a gorgeous girl is hanging all over me. I can’t count how many times I am out and about and people will tell me how beautiful she is, and I just have to agree with them. I know she hates when I say this so I don't ever say it, but she is my Polynesian Princess. I remember when we were dating how I loved the soft curves of her face and I still do.

She is quite the sight for sore eyes, and these sore eyes can't wait to look at her again when she gets back in a week. I really do miss "seeing" her. Erin really sparkles.

Well there are eight things that make Erin amazing. I could write more and more and more about why she is so beautiful though. In all my writing though there would still be something missing. I think there will always be something special about Erin that I will never be able to explain. Maybe during the next eight years I will be able to figure it out but I kind of doubt it. There something really magical about her that I think will always be unexplainable. I don't care if I never figure it out though, I just desperately want to be with her all the time. I am so lucky that I get to have her all to myself forever. I really love Erin and I can't wait to see what the next eight years bring for us.