Critchfield Reunion - Utah

June 16, 2005

"I met up with Brian's family and we drove from Boise down to Utah together for the Critchfield Family reunion. John was waiting for me when I pulled into the church parking lot, and he ran over and picked me up in a huge bear hug. It felt so good! I met his Dad's family and we sat on a blanket and talked while we watched the kids play. It was such a nice day. I let John drive my car up to the Wolf Creek Resort where we were going to be staying with his family all week. I slept on the Murphy bed in one condo, while John was probably stuffed inside some closet in the other condo. :) The next morning after church we went picking wild flowers with John's nieces."

"Ashleigh asked me if I was going to marry 'Uncle John' and I just laughed because she was so cute and innocent about it. John caught up to us a while later and picked a white flower for me and stuck it behind my ear."

"We found a good spot to hang our hammock (John bought me a gorgeous hammock when he was down in Brazil!) so we set it up near the condo. The weather was perfect, and it was so peaceful just sitting there quietly in our little grove of trees. We talked about our favorite hymns and scriptures and he shared some more mission stories."

"The next day John took me to Lagoon for the very first time, and it was awesome! I've never been on a roller coaster before, so we went on the Tidal Wave, the Spider, the Colossus, the Samari, and The Rocket. I screamed the whole way down, and I think I was still shaking for 5 minutes after we got off. We also did bumper cars and rode the ski lift and a train. I loved it!"

 "While we were walking through the park, John stopped at a booth and threw 10 balls and broke 6 plates and won a big stuffed cheetah for me. It was so cute!"

"When we got back to the condo we went and sat in our hammock again and had a deep conversation about our future. I asked him what he would do if I didn't have another year of school to finish and we were free to do whatever we wanted. He jokingly said, 'I would use my persuasive powers to convince you to move down to Arizona and keep you there forever!' :) Then he got serious again and said, 'But honestly, I don't know how I'm going to live without you when you leave. I know I'll get to see you again in 3 weeks, but it's going to be so hard to stay focused on work and school, because all I want to do is talk to you and be with you.' I definitely felt the same way, so things are still moving in the same direction for both of us."

"The next morning I stayed home with the girls and made bracelets and watched movies while John went golfing with his brothers. When he came back we headed down to the pool and went swimming. They were planning on taking family pictures that evening after dinner, so I offered to help clean up while everyone was busy getting ready. John's brother Steve was trying to tease me by saying I had missed a spot while wiping down the table, but I didn't let him get away with it because I threw the dirty wet rag right in his face! He was pretty surprised and didn't expect it, but John just laughed and said, 'Dude, I told you she doesn't take crap from anyone. She has five brothers too!' It was pretty funny."

"The family pictures turned out pretty good, and the kids looked so cute in their pastel colors.

"The sun was just beginning to set, and John decided we should take some pictures of our own."

"Steve helped us take this one."

"All of a sudden John pulled me back behind the trees and wrapped me up in his arms and kissed me. I asked him 'What brought that on?' and he just said, 'You just look so beautiful tonight, I couldn't help it!' 

"On Thursday morning we drove down to Salt Lake and toured around Temple Square. We went and saw 'The Testaments' and then stopped outside the theater to talk to the Sister Missionaries. They asked if we were married and John said, 'Not yet.' :) She was a little embarrassed, but after she found out we'd been dating for 6 months she said, 'Well, that's half a year, what's the hold up?' Ha ha!

"After we left the theater we walked around Temple Square and took a few pictures. I couldn't take my eyes off the temple, it was so beautiful."

"Being with John and his family this whole week has helped me learn so much more about him and who he really is. I've seen him with his nieces these past few days, and I've watched him take care of them and watch over them and teach them how to respect each other and be careful while they play. I've heard him talk about family traditions and guidelines that he wants to develop and incorporate in his own family some day. I know he is strong in the gospel, and his love for the scriptures will be such a strength in his home. I told him that I didn't really know what he was like before his mission, but it didn't matter because I am in love with the person he is now, and who he has become. I am so proud of him, and I am so lucky to be in love with him. He told me I was really good at making him feel special. I just told him I was returning the favor because he does it all the time for me. :)"

"We spent our last day watching a lot of movies. Then we tested our skills at the recreation center with racquetball and tennis (and discovered that we both suck at racket sports) so we traded in for a basketball and horseshoes and had a much better time. Then we played Settlers of Catan with his family for the rest of the night. In the morning we drove down to Centerville together for his Mission Reunion."

"He was so excited to see everyone, especially his Mission President and the President's Wife. Almost all of his old mission companions who came up to greet us would look at me and say, 'So is this your wife?... Oh... not yet huh. Well, I guess I just popped the question for ya. What are you waiting for Elder???' It was amusing."

"After we ate lunch we headed down to Provo where John's Grandma lives. Before I dropped him off and headed back home to Idaho, I gave him a card that I had found at the store about a month ago. It had a poem on it about two people who love each other and can't wait until they are together again. "

"When two people love each other as much as we do,

no distance is great enough to come between them.

Still, I miss you so much when we're apart.

I think of you off and on during the day,

from the time I get up until I fall asleep.

I wonder how you are and wish you could be with me.

I find myself smiling each time I remember special moments we've shared,

thoughtful ways you've shown you care,

and how much fun I have just being with you.

When we're apart, I remember everything that made me fall in love with you in the first place

and I can hardly wait till we're together again.

I look forward to your smile, your kiss, your touch, 

to being back in the arms of the one person I love more than anything in the world."

"I told him it reminded me of everything I think and feel when we are apart. Then we braced ourselves for the next 3 weeks, he kissed me goodbye, and then stood and watched as I drove away."

Feeling Frustrated

July 30, 2005

"Okay... I'm dying! :) I knew the distance was going to be harder than before, but I didn't think it would be THIS hard. I can't concentrate at work, and John can't do his homework, because all we want to do is talk to each other. We're going through withdrawals! Monday wasn't too bad because I had so much paperwork to come back to, so it kept me busy. But yesterday I got to talk to John twice at the office because he didn't feel like working, which isn't a good thing because he needs to stay focused so he can enroll more students."

"We realized we had a problem; we are simply addicted to each other. And it doesn't help that we are spoiled enough to have free long distance minutes to talk to each other whenever we want, and that he makes enough money to afford buying airplane tickets every month. We talked about it while I sat in my hammock, and the more we talked, the more I missed him and wanted to be with him. I felt so frustrated and helpless because there really isn't anything we can do unless I give up school and move down there. As bad as I want to do that, I know John wouldn't let me because he knows how important it is for me to finish my degree. But we had to figure something out because neither one of us was getting anything done. So we decided to put all phone calls on hold until the weekend so we could focus on our responsibilities for the week. I almost cried at the thought of not talking to him for 5 days, but there was nothing else we could think of."

"Our plan didn't last long, though. I spent all day at the office focusing on paperwork and catching up on my journal. I went and visited my elderly friend Lois and took her window shopping for a kitten. When we got back to her house my mom called her to tell me that I had left my cell phone at the house and John had tried to call me 4 times! I hugged Lois and ran out the door. When I called him back he said he couldn't stand it anymore and that we needed a new plan. :) So now we're going to talk on Tuesdays and Thursdays and all weekend long; still not the greatest, but better than before. I miss him so much!"

"My Grandparents came into town this weekend and brought my cousin Tara with them. So while I was in my room talking to John on our webcams, everyone kept coming in to see how our computer chats worked. So I got to introduce John to Grandma and Grandpa Bartschi on the webcam, and they were amazed at how cool our 'new technology' is. Dad happened to be standing behind me with his hands on his hips, but John couldn't see his face in the camera so he asked, 'Is that your dad behind you? Because he looks like he wants to kill me by the way he's standing. I can't see what his face is doing.' Dad just left the room laughing."

August in Boise

August 7, 2005
"John flew into Boise on Friday night and we made plans to meet some friends of mine at the bowling alley. We were the first ones to arrive, so John and I went ahead and started our game. When my friend Mallory showed up she tried to sneak up behind John and grab his bowling ball in mid-swing. It caught him off guard, so he set the ball down, grabbed Mallory's leg, ripped her shoe off her foot and threw it down the lane gutter. 'By the way, I'm John. It's nice to meet you Mallory.' Let's just say these two were trouble makers for the rest of the night."

"We were going to play games at Mallory's house after we went bowling, so while we were picking up some games at another friend's house, John hopped into Mallory's car and drove it onto the neighbor's lawn and turned on her bright headlights and left it there! She had to run over and move it before the neighbors came out and started getting upset. What a crazy night!"

"The next day we went to Boondocks and played mini-golf and had a lot of fun."

 "John taught me how to putt and I got a hole-in-one on the first hole! The rest of the course was a different story though... He won, of course, and I walked away with a wet pant-leg from a sprinkler attack on the 9th hole. :) Later that night we went to see a cute movie called "Bewitched" with Brian and Angie, and John was trying to play his fake-loud-and-obnoxious-theater-laugh game, and it made me laugh even harder. But I think he embarrassed Brian and Angie. I would have done it with him, but I was too busy taking care of my runny nose. (Stupid cold!)"

"After church on Sunday we hung out at Mom and Dad's with Jason and Brandon. John was trying to get Brandon to tell him some embarrassing stories about me, but Mom was in the room and most of them are about me cussing at work, so I told him not to. :) Then we headed over to Brian and Angie's and had dinner with Bill and Jeana. Joe called while we were there and it sounded like he was talking to Bill about moving to Boise soon. Bill was saying stuff about Boise being the land of promise for finding good girlfriends and he said, 'Me, Brian, and John all found our wives here, so it's definitely the place to be!' John turned and looked at me and said, 'Did you catch that? Since when did we get married?' Then he just smiled."

"We played games for a few hours before I had to head home. John walked me out to my car and we talked about the next few months and trips we've planned before he comes up here again for Christmas. I told him I couldn't believe how long we were planning on living this far apart and that we're still determined to make it work. He said, 'I know, but it's worth it. You'll be done with school next Spring and we'll be able to close this gap between us and not have to worry about it again.' So I smiled mischievously at him and said, 'You really want to marry me, huh?' I think it embarrassed him a little bit, but he smiled and looked at me and said, 'I think you already know the answer to that question.' We kissed each other goodbye and he gave me one last hug to 'make it through the bad days'. Then he stood and watched me drive away... again. :)"

"Will You Marry Me?"

September 5, 2005
"Before I left to go to the airport, John called and told me to wear something nice because we were going out to dinner right after he picked me up. So I put on some nice pants and a button shirt and had Aubree drop me off at the airport. When I got to Phoenix, John picked me up and we drove out to Scottsdale. He had made reservations for us at the Sandolo Restaurant. We pulled up to the Hyatt Resort and walked inside, and I was amazed at how elegant everything was. The waitress showed us to our table and we ordered chicken fettuccine."

"We tried to act like we fit in with the high rollers, but that just wasn't our style. John kept tapping me with his foot under the table and I started blowing bubbles in my lemonade. :)"

"When we were finished with our meal, the waitress brought us passes to the gondola ride and said they were complimentary with the meal."

"I've never been on a gondola before, so I was really excited. We went out past the pools and found the dock where the boats were parked. They escorted us on to one of the boats and we floated out onto the water."

 "Our gondolier found out that we were LDS, and he also happened to be a member, so we visited for a few minutes until we got further out on the pond. Then he sang us a beautiful Italian love song and told us it was about finding the love of your life. John sat there with his arm around me as we watched the sunset. The sky was absolutely beautiful."

"When the gondolier was finished, we sat there in silence for a few minutes enjoying the peaceful surroundings when John said, 'Well, I guess this is as good 'a time as any.' I gave him a questioning look as he started digging into his pants pocket. When he pulled out a small box, I stopped breathing. My lungs felt like they were on fire. He put the box in my hands (which were already shaking) and told me to open it. To my surprise, inside the box was a pair of silver hoop earrings. At that moment I realized I was still holding my breath, so I quickly started to breath again. The earrings were beautiful, but I couldn't decide if I was disappointed that it wasn't a ring, or embarrassed that I thought it WAS a ring and it wasn't."

"I told John they were beautiful and he asked me if I really liked them, so I reassured him that I did. Then he said, 'Good, because they came with this...' as he reached into his other pocket and pulled out another box. I stopped breathing again as he handed it to me, and when I opened it a beautiful diamond ring sat tucked inside a black velvet cushion. I started to tear up as John got down on one knee in the boat, took me by the hand and said, 'Dana, you're my best friend, and my one true love. And I know I'm not perfect, but I know that with you by my side I could be one day. I want to spend the rest of my life and eternity making you happy."

"Dana Lyn Bartschi, will you be my wife and companion for time and all eternity?"

"As soon as I heard him say those last few words, I felt this peace come over me, and I looked into his eyes and gently whispered 'YES'. He threw his arms around me and we just sat there in the boat, holding each other. The ring fit perfectly when he slipped it on my finger. I had finally calmed down enough to ask him how he planned all of it, so once we got back to the dock he started to tell me the whole story."

"He said he had been talking to one of his students who works at a jewelry store and she gave him all sorts of advice on what to look for in a ring. He knew my ring size because he had played with my CTR ring on his pinkie finger the last time he came to visit. So he bought the perfect ring about a week and a half earlier and kept staring at it every day at work. He told everyone at the office and in his Singles Ward that he was going to propose to me this weekend, and I didn't even suspect a thing!"

"Then he told me how he called Dad at the office earlier this week to ask for permission, which surprised me even more! Dad, of course, said yes... but John was sweating bullets the whole time he was on the phone with him. :) We walked around the gardens and talked about wedding dates and other plans. Then we went over to the main courtyard and danced to the live band for a few minutes."

 "As we were dancing I started day dreaming about what my future would be like with him (as I've done many times before), but something was different about it now... it was REAL! It wasn't just a possibility anymore. We really are getting married! Everything feels so right. I know the Lord has been watching over us. I'm so grateful he has brought John into my life."
"On Saturday we decided to start a fast together to receive a confirmation that our decision to get married was the right choice. So while we were at the Speirs' house, we went upstairs and John said the prayer as we knelt together. Then he got up and said we were going somewhere, so I grabbed my shoes and we jumped in his car. I didn't know where we were going until we got there."
"He pulled his car into a parking spot right in front of the Mesa Temple. I smiled at him as he took my hand and helped me out of the car. The sun had already gone down, and the lights were glowing on the temple. It looked so beautiful."

"We walked around the outside and he explained the symbolism of how the four corners of the temple were designed to represent the gathering of the 4 corners of the earth. Then we went to the Visitor's Center and walked through their tour of the Plan of Happiness. The first room was set up like a baby nursery and they showed a video clip of a young couple teaching their first child about where she came from and who she was. As I stood there with John's arm around my shoulder, I couldn't help but picture US as that couple with the new baby, teaching our children about the gospel. John squeezed my shoulder and I knew he had been thinking the same thing. The rest of the presentation was very spiritual, and we thanked the Sister missionary as we went back outside to look at the temple."
"John sat down on a long bench and had me sit in front of him so he could cradle me in his arms. I told him how excited I was to go through the temple and get my own endowments, and I'm so glad he gets to be there with me when I do. I kept looking at my ring on the way home and John caught me glancing at it, and smiled as he grabbed my hand."
"The next day John came over to the Speirs' house and worked on some homework while I read my scriptures. Then we sat down on the couch to talk, and he told me that while we were at the temple last night he prayed to receive his confirmation. Then he said, 'There are only a few times in my life that I have ever felt the spirit that strongly. It was amazing.' My heart jumped at the thought of such a powerful manifestation of the spirit."
"We went to John's Singles Ward and the Bishopric came up and congratulated us, along with a bunch of other people who knew about John's proposal. John had some Home Teaching business to conduct while we were in Relief Society, so they had the Elder's Quorum join us so they could introduce everyone's new Home Teachers. One young man came and sat down next to me and introduced himself and asked why I was visiting the ward, so I showed him my ring and looked over at John and said, 'He's the reason why I'm visiting.' That ended the conversation quickly, and John smiled at me from across the room."
"When we got to Jana's house for dinner, we went back into a quiet room and knelt together in prayer to break our fast. I offered the prayer this time, and John asked me how I felt. I told him I still felt good about my answer and I knew it was right. I didn't have a strong manifestation like he had described to me earlier, but I always feel the spirit when I'm with him, so I know it's where I'm meant to be, and my feelings for him haven't changed."
"At dinner we started talking about our plans, and apparently Scott's brother knows a lot about real estate, so John has already talked to him about building a house for us. We went and looked at the properties available in Maricopa the next day, and it seems like a nice area. Then we watched a couple of movies and ate dinner at John's mom's house before he took me to the airport. I've already told a bunch of my friends the whole proposal story. It's fun because I get to relive every moment all over again."

We Bought A House!

September 25, 2005
"I went to visit my Grandparents in Mackay this weekend. While I was there, John called and told me he went and looked at a model house in Maricopa with Scott's brother Ted and found a really good deal. He emailed me the floor plan and I immediately fell in love with it! We decided to pray about it, and still felt good about it the next day, so he went down and gave them $2000 to take it off the market. WE JUST BOUGHT OUR FIRST HOUSE!"

"It still hasn't sunk in yet, because it's almost too good to be true. But, it's exactly what we want, and we can afford it! John says they'll finish building it before April, so he'll move in and get everything ready for us before the wedding in June. It's so exciting! We're going to have our own little 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 2 car garage house on a corner lot! Dad and everybody else was really impressed."

October Conference in Utah

October 3, 2005

"I drove down to Utah with the boys on Friday, and then got a ride to the Salt Lake Airport with Grandpa Bowen so we could pick up John. I was excited for him to meet my Grandparents because they are such wonderful people, and they were excited to meet him as well. We stayed at Aunt Cindy's house and ate dinner and watched a movie. John slept outside in Cindy's camping trailer while I slept on the living room couch."

"On Saturday morning we drove down to Provo to watch Conference with John's best friend Jacob Speirs. John has been anxiously waiting to introduce me to him. After the morning session we drove to a nearby park, and John and I threw a football around while Jacob played tennis with his brothers."

 "We watched the rest of the afternoon session, then drove out to Steve and Cortney's house to see their new baby girl Brinley. We had a good visit, then we headed back to Salt Lake and met up with Jacob and some friends for ice cream after the Priesthood Session. It was fun listening to them share stories about high school, missions, and married life (John's friend Chris just got married)."

"John slept in the camper again, but Jason drove down and came to stay with him that night after hanging out with his mission buddies, so he jumped on him at 1:30 in the morning screaming 'Elder! Elder!' (in Portuguese) and woke him up just to tell him he ate dinner at a Brazilian Restaurant. John didn't seem too happy about that. :)"
"We had tickets to go see the Sunday morning session of Conference, so we left early and got there to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing a few songs before it started."

"It's always an amazing experience to be there when the prophet enters the conference hall. Everyone stands and the whole room is silent, and you can feel the spirit so strongly. The talks were wonderful and we had a good time. I wanted to get more pictures in front of the temple before we left, but there were too many people and it was kinda chilly so we decided to head home. There were a lot of protesters hanging out around Temple Square, but we passed by a really cool guy playing church hymns on his bagpipes trying to drown them out." 

"Aunt Cindy made a big feast for all of us when we got back, and Uncle Kim and Aunt Sandy came over to meet John. Uncle Kim was asking John all sorts of questions while getting to know him. One of them was, 'So what do you do with all your time to keep yourself busy down there in Arizona?' and John quickly replied, 'Well, I work part time at the circus... they pay me $5 an hour to drive the little miniature car around and I dress up like a clown and let little kids honk my big red nose.' By this time, Grandpa and I were cracking up. Uncle Kim had an amused smirk on his face, then John continued to say, 'Then for my full time job I work at the University of Phoenix.' Uncle Kim got his Masters degree there, so they found some common ground and we had a good time visiting."

"It came time for me to head back to Boise, so I loaded up the boys and John kissed me goodbye. He's coming up to Boise in four weeks, so hopefully it will fly by quickly."

Boise in The Fall

October 30, 2005

"John's flight came in on Friday night, so as soon as I picked him up we headed straight to Jason's house and got a group together to go to The Haunted World. It was fun walking through the haunted maze together. We went back to Jason's to carve pumpkins afterward and finished watching a movie. John stayed at Joe's apartment that night and I went back to mine. It's fun living with a bunch of roommates on campus. I'm paying rent for the first time in my life, I'm learning to live with three other girls, but I can get to my classes faster and it feels pretty good to be independent."

"The next day John and I went and did some shopping for our Halloween costumes. He needed something for his costume party at work, so he found a brown wig and some glasses and said he was going to dress up like his supervisor. Neither one of us had eaten breakfast yet, so we decided to go to IHOP. There was an old man and his wife that came in and sat down on the waiting bench next to John, so he slid closer to me to make more room for them. The old man looked over and said, 'I know why you slid over... 'cause you want to be closer to that pretty girl there.' We laughed and I said, 'Well, can you blame him?' and the old man replied, 'Of course not! Heck, I'd switch places with him if I could!' It was hilarious."

"Bill and Joe invited us out to Nampa to see them coach their football team against Nampa Christian High School. The weather was freezing cold! I took my gloves off to show Bill my engagement ring and my hands were still bright red. After the game we headed back to Mom and Dad's to get ready for the Institute Halloween party. I dressed up like a Doctor with my white lab coat and stethoscope, and we put gauze around John's head and used fake blood to make him look like he had a head wound. He used my old sling from when I broke my elbow, and we looked pretty good. The party turned out to be lame, but we saw Jason and Joe there."

"After the party we went back to Joe's apartment and watched the Best of SNL with Will Ferrell. It was pretty funny! Then John pulled out Joe's guitar and played a few songs for me. He started playing 'More Than Words' and I immediately started thinking about the night he told me he loved me for the first time. I love being able to make more memories when I'm with him, because those are the thoughts I hold on to when we are apart."

"We went to Mom and Dad's ward on Sunday so we could spend more time together before he left. The new bishop was my old seminary teacher, so when he got up to welcome everybody to Sacrament meeting he saw me in the middle of the congregation and said, 'Dana Bartschi, good to see you here today,' right from the pulpit! John thought that was funny. After Relief Society I asked John how Elder's Quorum went and he said, 'The bishop asked me to introduce myself so I said, 'My name is John Critchfield and I'm engaged to this guy's daughter (pointing to Dad).' Then Bishop Butterfield said, 'Oh really... you and I will have to have a talk later then. :) Are you a fisherman? 'Cause if you're not, we'll have to work on you.' He knows Dad is really into fishing, so he was just giving John a hard time. I thought it was hilarious."

"We ate dinner at Mom and Dad's, and then I sat down and played a few songs on the piano while John fell asleep on the couch. When he woke up he said, 'We're getting you a piano when we get married.' Ha ha! I asked mom to bake a birthday cake while we were looking at old pictures so we could surprise John. His birthday isn't until next week, but I won't get to be there so we're celebrating before he leaves. We got everybody together and sang 'Happy Birthday,' then I gave him his present. Back in February he gave me the book 'First Comes Love' for my birthday, so I knew exactly what I wanted to get him... the sequel entitled 'Then Comes Marriage.' I know, I'm so clever! He loved it of course, and I can't wait to listen to it with him."

"I took him to the airport and we said goodbye until Thanksgiving. We're so lucky to be able to experience all the seasons and holidays with each other before we get married. We're learning about each other's traditions and creating memories that will last forever."