The Beginning

In August of 2010 I was a student at SUU doing my student teaching. I had moved into a duplex with my friend Bambi Hilliard. I had no male prospects and big goals and places that I wanted to be going in life. After graduation I planned to move to Hawaii and become a teacher. I wanted to go out and Live my life there for a little bit and then I would eventually settle down and find someone to marry. Little did I know, my husband was waiting just a back yard away. Our little set of duplexes had a grass patch in the back yard along with another set of duplexes that shared this grass patch. In that duplex across the way, a boy named Paul Burnett moved in. I was there at his house the day he moved in. After saying hi and introducing myself I left to go home. As I was walking across the grass to my house, a thought came into my head that said, "Kylee, you are going to marry that boy." I said to myself, "there is no way I will even date that boy, let alone marry him!!" We started hanging out because he was my neighbor and I started to feel a sense of ownership for Paul. At church when he would sit by other girls or talk to other girls, I often felt kind of jealous. I had to continually remind myself that I didn't like him, and that I wasn't going to date him so he could date all the girls that he wanted to. Slowly I started to realized that maybe I did like this kid, and maybe if he did ask me out I would probably say yes. A few weeks down the road he FINALLY asked me out on a date. I can't say I jumped for joy exactly but I was very excited that Paul and finally gotten up the guts to ask me out.

On September 1 2010 Paul took me on our first date. It was a very fun date. We started our date with a prayer. I am so grateful for this, because as we began our next steps in a relationship, the gospel was always at the front of our minds. After our prayer we had a delicious picnic on a roundabout in Cedar City. After our wonderful picnic, we made oreo cookies. But, we both had disabilities. Paul blindfolded me so that I could not see what the heck I was doing. He, himself had his hands tied behind his back so that he could not use them. Together we worked through the trial of making cookies and frosting them. I loved that we had to test our abilities to work together right from the start. It took teamwork to accomplish what we did and luckily for us, we could both work together. I think Paul was just trying to test all my abilities in one date, the cooking skills, the spirituality, the child like qualities and the working together part, (he probably had his answer to marriage after one date!).

After making cookies, our date was not over. We made a fake car out of cardboard boxes and went to a drive in movie on Paul's deck. We watched, "The Notebook" of course, a classic love story. I was so impressed though that Paul would actually watch this movie with me. Most guys have the "tough man" complex and can't watch a chick flick to save their life. Paul, however, will watch almost any chick flick I suggest!!

After the movie was over, we prayed to end our date. (Don't worry, no kissing was involved on the first date!) He walked me home and that was the end of our first date. It was not the end of our dating experiences though.

A few days later Sep. 3 2010, I took Paul on our second date. We both needed to drive up to Salt Lake for a weekend with our families. I had planned a little adventure for us to get started with. Our first stop was in Parowan. The fair was in town and I wanted to stop for a ride and some cotton candy. After getting lost in the tiny town of Parowan and finally finding the fair, we road one ride, "the zipper" and almost throwing up after it, we bought our cotton candy and headed north. When we got to Cove Fort we stopped again. We had arrived at Cove Fort just before they finished giving tours, so we were able to have a tour from the Couples missionaries serving there.

While on our tour, one of the Elders asked us if we were married. We laughed and said no, and he asked if we were engaged, we said no again, and Paul finally told him that we were not even dating yet. The Elder said we sure seemed like it and we just laughed at that thought. We decided to hold pinkies from then on because holding hands just makes you look too serious. :)

After Cove Fort we drove up to the Draper Temple. I asked Paul to dance with me to our song and we walked around the temple grounds. We talked for a little bit then Paul asked me to be his girlfriend. I kind of knew this was coming but I didn't expect it to happen so fast. I kind of thought about all that would happen if I dated just one person, and I finally said yes. Yes, we were an official couple. Paul worked up the courage to kiss me which was kinda cute, and then we set off to take me home.

The rest of the weekend included Paul meeting my family as well as me meeting his pretty much WHOLE family. It was kinda, slightly, REALLY intimidating, but, I am still alive to tell the tale, so I guess it wasn't that bad.

This, is the beginning of the beginning.