It’s been almost a year since I’ve been on here. That’s sad! But also not really, it’s been a great year filled with many moments not spent on my computer, phone or camera. I think I needed it.

The last posts I did here were in… January last year. Then I started shooting a lot of outfits and getting them ready to post and never did. I was such a great fashion blogger! Not! I realized I felt weird just posting pictures of myself all of the time. Really, who cares? “Here is me smiling in a sequin jacket in front of some leaves, and this is me wearing a black hat holding a dirty frying pan! And last but not least here are my legs in my cute new pants awkwardly dangling over a pit of baby rattle snakes. All of these things are relevant because I learned last year that leaves, frying pans and baby rattle snakes symbolize hope, so have hope everyone. You can buy the sequin jacket at Gap Kids, the black hat seasonally at Halloween City, and the pants at the Pants Barn. Thanks! Bye! xoxo Codi”

Yeah that’s what I felt like I was writing every time I posted. So I’m sorry about that. I’m here today to post about whatever the heck I want to post about.

AKA: Jason. So this will be a really long post haha.

Fall 2014 my friend Crystal told me and our three other friends to sign up for a Caribbean cruise in January 2015, with a group of LDS singles. And all 5 of us happened to be single at the same time (which never happens)  so we all signed up to go!

A week or two before, we decided to go to a pre-cruise party. We got there and witnessed a house mostly full of people who could easily have been our parent’s friends. But luckily after we got trapped next to a very amusing ping pong game by two 50-something year old men trying to gage how old WE were, we went upstairs and found a group much closer to our generation. Crystal comes up to me and says ” Cod! Jason Stephens is here!” I knew just who she was talking about, thanks to Tinder. I had matched with Jason a month or two earlier on there because he looked fun and had great friends, friends who I had met through my ex. Jason started a conversation with me on there.

Jason: Hey Codi! How are you?

Me: Eh.. I’m ok. How are you?

Jason: Just ok? I’m so sorry. Why are you just ok?

Me: It’s just been a hard few months. (I probably shouldn’t have been allowed to communicate with anyone for most of 2014, I’m an embarrassment to myself and future generations)

Jason: I’m so sorry Codi, can I ask why?

Me:

I never responded. Because  I am a Duck with an i instead of a u.

I stalked his Facebook and the only pictures I could see were Jason working at Disney World. And I thought “Oh no, he is one of those Disney people. I can’t talk to him.” So that was that.

Then a few weeks later at church my friend Stephen asked me “Hey Codes, are you dating yet? Can I set you up with one of my friends?” Me “Yeah I am, of course!” Stephen ” Cool, JPS is one of my more.. eclectic friends. He works at the zoo right now, and he worked at Disney World. I’ll give him your number!” Me in my head:”Oh no. Disney Kid, JPS, I can’t forget that name, I have to find him on Facebook and make sure.” Sure enough it was Jason! Well he didn’t call me and we didn’t go out. So the next time I heard about him was at the pre-cruise party when Crystal said “Cod! Jason Stephens is here!” turns out though I never saw or met Jason there, only his friends. Months later Jason told me he saw me at the party and hurried and hid behind the garbage because he didn’t want to meet me there like that. Bahaha!

So a couple months later me and my friends left to Puerto Rico.

It wasn’t til a couple days into our cruise at dinner while walking to our tables we all stopped and introduced ourselves. And this is how Jason and I met:

Jason: with squinty eyes, he starts bowing to me with his hands together “Ohhhh Herrro, I am Shashon, what is yah name?”

Me: Equally squinty eyes and bow “Aaahhh, herrroo Shashon, I am Cordi.”

More bows were then shared between us and all of our friends before we parted to our tables.

So that was that hahaha.

A couple days later was the sea day. My friend Mandalee and I decided to go swimming at the back of the ship. It wasn’t long before a slightly drunk rotund man named Pablo or maybe Jose forced us to join him in his exercise routine around the pool. This workout  consisted of walking back and forth across the pool a few hundred times. Fun, I know! After what seemed like 37 hours we snuck away from his pacing routine and we sat at the side of the pool and talked. Then we noticed Stephen and Jason on the balcony above the pool standing watching and we waved them down. We then said “Jose/Pablo! Teach our friends your workout, they need to know!” And we forced the two of them into the pool and laughed as he made the two of them walk back and forth behind him about 5889 times. Then we ran up to the second balcony and watched them from up top and laughed so hard. Then I waved Jason up, so Stephen was stranded alone in the pool with Pablo/ Jose/ whatever his name was. And Jason and I talked. About nothing really important, just where we worked, went to school, his mission, what color code our personalities were. The usual things. Then we spent the whole day playing games. And we were instantly best friends.

Jason was one of those people who laughed any time I talked so I felt like I was the funniest person in the world. And he was so fun to talk to, he always had unique things to talk about and played along with just about anything I, or anyone else, said or did. I also noticed how kind he was to not only me but everyone. The next days of the cruise our friends spent a lot of time together and I was with Jason almost all the time.

Once we got back on the ship after our day at Barbados, I was about to get in the shower because I was gross and looked strangely like Gumby for some reason, and our phone rang. It was Jason asking if I’d come to a bachata class with him.

So I did and we were the worst dancers, for the record. Then we grabbed snacks, and walked around the ship’s art gallery and gave our own commentary for each of the paintings. It ended with a short shadow puppet session in a light that was set up for a presentation. And then ate ice cream while we watched the ship leave the island. So I guess that was technically our first date.

That night I think was when Jason and I left from dinner together and grabbed a brownie and a banana then went to the top deck of the ship. We found the worlds biggest moth fluttering under a light and filmed slow motion videos of it and laughed every time it scared us. Then we took turns throwing pieces of the brownie and banana off the boat into the dark water. Wow, we probably needed to be supervised hahaha. As I just wrote that I thought I was writing about two five year olds. So then we talked about everything, our families, friends, my divorce, our dating lives, just all of it. And we kept throwing brownie over the rail. And watched the little lights out in the distance, and the cute stars. It was so nice, Jason was the sweetest, and so not judgmental or hard to talk to. I just felt like I had known him forever, like he was my very best friend.

Soon some of my friends tried to sneak around the corner and take a picture of us, because they thought we were going to be making out somewhere. HA! Nope. I was not planning on dating Jason or kissing Jason, I just wanted to be friends. So this is the picture they got.

As we were walking through the ship the last day on the boat Jason was walking behind me and said “So I hope you are ok if I ask you on a date when we get back to Utah, I just want you to know I want to date you, I love being with you!” and I got all freaked out!

Once we got back to Puerto Rico some of our flights got delayed because of the storms on the east coast, so we got to stay a couple extra days. Earlier that day I saw one of those tiny bags of cereal in Jason’s bag, you know the little white crinkly ones! And I got so excited, I thought it was a disposable camera. So I said “Oh my gosh Jason, can I please use that for my school project? I forgot my film camera at home!” And he laughed and told me I could have it but it was cereal from the ship, I felt dumb but laughed way hard.

The next morning we woke up at the hostel we were staying at and the one random lady staying in the same room as Kiley, Sammie and I opened the door to leave. She turned around as she lifted a little black baggie off of the doorknob. “Is this one of yours?” All of us didn’t even know what it was so she opened it and pulled out a disposable camera. And we all stared at it for a second before Kiley and Sammie turn and look at me with their mouths open “Aawww! Code!” Yeah, Jason woke up early that morning just to go find me a disposable camera. Then I thought oh shoot. That is just about the sweetest thing that’s ever happened. And Kiley and Sam continued saying how sweet Jason was and that I needed to date him.

Ok this is the longest story ever, so if you’re still reading you might want to stop and question why you are reading this hahaha. Unless you are me, or Jason. Then you can keep reading.

The next night a few of us decided to go to Bioluminescent Bay. We couldn’t find a tour group because they were all filled! So luckily we found a local guy with a little tiny boat and he took us out. All of us thought when we climbed into his little innertube-sized boat that he was shuttling us to a bigger, sturdier boat. No he never did and I’m still surprised we didn’t capsize that thing. But oh my gosh, once we got over laughing at the boat we were in we started winding through this little river. The trees condensed over us and blocked out a lot of the light from the moon and stars. Then slowly we started noticing the water glowing around and behind the boat. The closer the boat got to the bay the more the water lit up. Wherever something moved it just left a streak of sparkling blue light in the water from the bioluminescent algae. You could see fish swimming and it just left a glittering trail behind them, and the boat left a big waterfall of light behind it! Once we got out to the middle of the bay the man stopped the boat. We all sounded like idiots as we moved our hands around in the water. Jason was the best “Oh my gosh!!! This is UNREAL! No way!!! Can we jump in? I don’t care, I’m jumping in, this is incredible!” So we all jumped in and swam in the glowing water and it was the coolest thing in the world! We were just little glowing bodies, when you dunked your head under and came up for air the little lights would just twinkle down your face. It honestly didn’t seem real. Then we all decided we needed to skinny dip because really, we had to. So me Kiley and Sammie swam to one side of the boat, and the boys went to the other. Hahaha it was so cool. And so funny.

When it was time to go we hurried and put our suits back on, I was in such a hurry I managed to get my top on upside down and backwards, and my swimsuit bottom was also on backwards. It probably takes more effort doing that than putting it on normal, I am just that talented. So to sum it up I had two squashed down boobs and the worlds largest wedgie. Everyone was getting back in the boat as Jason swims up to me. And there I was-doggie paddling/ drowning trying to figure out what in the world was wrong with my swimsuit and  he says:

“Hey Codi, can I smooch you?” with this big sheepish grin on his face.

Me: “Uhhhh..”

And here was my exact train of thought. : Oh my gosh we can’t, I like him so much but not like that. But maybe I will someday.. he is the exact kind of guy I want to marry someday.. maybe we will date someday but I don’t know right now! I don’t want to ruin our friendship if not..

Jason: “It’s ok! Never mind, I just thought it would be so cool to kiss here because this is amazing. Seriously Codi, it’s ok!”

Me: “I just don’t want to ruin or change our friendship, you know?”

Jason: “But we could say it’s not romantic or anything, because we are friends. It could be just for the memory because we are in the coolest place in the world. But really, it’s ok! Don’t worry about it if you don’t feel comfortable!”

Me “Ok ok, fine, you can “smooch” me!”

And we doggie paddled closer and kissed in the glowing water.

Then I quickly tried to climb into the boat but couldn’t make it with my weak t-rex arms, so someone grabbed my hand to pull me in. Then I teeter-totered over the edge and clambered in like a beached whale in my backwards/upside down swimsuit and my butt was probably in everyones faces, and my cheeks were blushing. No not my butt cheeks! My face cheeks, duh.

The last night before I left we all stayed in a friends condo, I went downstairs to get my pjs on and saw my friend Sammie asleep on the couch. And there was Jason in the dark opening drawers and looking around so I stood and watched for a second. And he found a blanket and walked over to Sammie and tucked it around her before going upstairs. Then after I smiled so big at that, I hurried and ran up the stairs to the couch I was going to sleep on before he saw me. That night Jason was down on the floor of the same room I was in. We talked for so long, and I remember Jason asking me if I needed a foot rub. Because my gross feet were all swollen and sick, and he is nice. And I quickly said no thanks I am fine! Then he asked me if I would be ok with him asking me on a date when we got home. And he said “Gosh I just think we would make a good pair, life would be so good with you Codi, I hope so bad things work out with you.” And I pretended to be asleep. And worried about what would happen when we got home.

Well to sum it all up there was nothing to worry about. After we got home we continued to spend every single day together, and he grew on me even more. Even as I dated other people cute Jason just patiently stayed around and gave me my freedom to figure out what I wanted and needed.

After a few months Jason and his fam left to Italy for a month. And I had some time to really think about what I wanted. I was over at his house one day with Derek and Dustin and I went in Jason’s room to grab something. Then I found this little note tucked by his journal and my heart almost fell out of my butt.

It was the funniest and cutest thing and it brought a little tear to my eye. Needless to say that month while he was gone I really figured out what I wanted, but most importantly needed. I needed that most selfless, goofy, boy to be mine.

So there is that. Now we are married! There is the condensed story of meeting my sweetest husband. I know I couldn’t have found anyone better for me, or for the people in my life. What a huge blessing he is, and gosh do I have a lot to do to measure up to! He is naturally selfless, and always puts anyone else first. He also is the best at adventuring and making the best of any situation. Any moment with Jason is fun and unique, I can see he gets that from his amazing family who I also love so unbelievably much. I really got spoiled once I bucked up and chose Jason, he is the real deal. It’ll take my whole life to learn many of the things that come naturally to Jason, and I am so lucky I get that example for forever.

Jason and I have not once fought, and I believe we never will. He is too sweet and patient and understanding. Even when I am acting like a female dog, he just hugs me and tells me how important and special I am. He knows just how to cheer me up and I don’t know how I survived without him. This is what marriage is supposed to feel like. Best friends and equal partners in everything we do. Man I am lucky!

I titled this My Ancient Friend because of a moment on the cruise. Jason said to me “Gosh Codi, I just feel like I have known you forever but it’s only been a few days. You are my best and most ancient friend, because I know our friendship goes way back before we were alive, I can just feel it.” I could’t agree more. He is my most ancient and best friend, and I’ll bet he has been for a very long time.

I love you sweet, funny, amazing Jason!!

Here are some random stupid pictures I found in my phone, enjoy!