The Freedom Phase

We often called our first year of marriage the Gift Card Phase. We got a lot of gift cards for our wedding (so totally awesome), and we bought pretty much everything we needed for our new place and went out to eat and had a lot of fun with them.

Those gift cards stretched for almost the whole year. But with just a few movie tickets and half a Coldstone card left, I think we’ll have to declare the phase officially past. Unfortunate, I know. I LOVED the gift card phase.

So what’s next? I think our next phase will be rightly named the Freedom Phase. 

 It started when Tyler graduated. He did amazing, passed all the classes and tests and received his Masters of Science – Finance degree. We’ll proudly hang that diploma above our other two and celebrate no more homework for a very long time.
 Then, Tyler got a job. It seems to be not just any job, but an awesome job. He is a financial analyst for Deseret First Credit Union’s corporate offices. He does a lot of Excel and numbers all day, which he really likes. The company and the friends he’s making are all cool.

We now have freedom that we’ve never had before. Since we’ve known each other, Tyler has been gone at least three nights a week either at work or class. I work in the daylight hours, so we didn’t have a whole lot of playtime together. This whole nighttime together thing is novel and fabulous.


And I’m in the process of overcoming some of my big fears and becoming a little freer too. First, I’m getting scuba certified for our trip to Hawaii in June. I am terrified, but I really want to do this. It’s a mind game for me to remember that there is air coming out of my tube, and it’s enough air to sustain me. I’m getting better.

Oh, and last weekend, we spontaneously went to St. George with our good friends Beth and Ryan and I tried downhill mountain biking for the first time. Turns out I loved it. It was super fun. We may need to buy a new set of bikes in the coming years…

It’s hard to tell quite yet, but I think I may like the Freedom Phase better than the Gift Card Phase. And that’s saying something.

Missiles in the Night

We’re playing in this field next to the city buildings, about a block away from my office. My entire family is there except for Tyler who is in Europe on business. White, cloud-like jet lines begin to appear in the sky, lots of them. It’s a cool sight, and I’m pointing them out to my nephews. Until the jets start dropping missiles.

The missiles continue for several minutes. We’re all ducked and huddling in a circle. We don’t get hit, but everything goes black around us (it was the middle of a nice spring day, but apparently when the power goes out, the sky goes dark as well). We check to make sure everyone is ok, then we see a group of what looks to be police officers carrying those big plastic shields. They’re coming towards us and my dad and I start to stand up to see if they can help us get to safety. But then one of them talks in a weird robot voice and tells me to give them the keys to the city so they can get the documents they’re looking for. I give them my car keys and they go away. Do I look like a person with keys to the city?

I still have cell phone service, but have an uncharged phone. I try to call Tyler to tell him I’m alright, but my phone goes dead. Blasted iPhone battery. We all walk the 13 miles to my condo. We are there and my boss is calling my mom to tell me I need to come back to work and send out a press release so everyone knows the company is fine and operating as normal. We don’t want the stock price to drop. A missile hit right next to the building, my husband might think I’m dead – I do not want to go back to work to send a release.

I can't remember Tyler's phone number to call him on another phone to tell him I'm ok. I keep trying to think, but I can't remember any numbers right then.

Then I woke up. It was 3:30 a.m. I almost woke Tyler up, just to confirm it was only a dream. It was a vivid, deep dream and my heart was racing. I woke up again at 4:30. 5:30. 6:24. I just got out of bed after that. All in a night’s work lately. I'm done with dreaming for a while I think. I’m tired. But safe, just in case you were wondering. Thank goodness for Fridays.

The ad said the car was for sale. “My family is changing, so I need to change,” he wrote. (You’d think he was making an announcement on family growth or something with a statement like that. Not so, my friends, not so.)

It made me sad. Tyler decided it was time to sell his bachelor cool, zippy little Mazda Speed3. I loved that thing. He picked me up for our first date in that car. I remember the sweet sound of the turbo-charged engine when he’d come home from work. I remember how every once in a while he’d show off a bit by beating someone from the line. I remember how cool my nephews thought it was – car seats didn’t really look the part in it, but that was kind of the point.

 It was a part of him.

Most likely the jobs will be in Salt Lake. And since mine is not and our condo is not, gas mileage has become an issue. It needs to be better than a turbo can be. We test drove and decided on a 2010 Honda Civic. Tyler says he loves it more. That’s good, because I was worried. Worried he felt like he was giving something up.

But his car is still cool. Not quite as cool. A different kind of cool. I’ll miss that Speed3.

Time to Ride

I realize there’s been a lot of sap on the blog lately. I’m not such a sap person, but it’s just that time of year I guess. Back to none sap for a little while, I promise.

Tyler is almost a graduate (again)! And for his graduation, I thought it would be cool if he got a legit road bike. We bought him a hand-me-down last year on the cheap, but it’s a bit too small and doesn’t have a lot of torque or whatever it is. With road bikes, lightness is a big factor and his is too dense.

So yes, this was my idea. Buy him a totally amazing bike that would be the talk of the neighborhood. But Tyler wasn’t having any of it. We went to the bike shop. I almost had him convinced. And then, somehow he devised a plan to get two bikes for less than the one I had chosen for him. “That way,” he said. “We can both get a new bike! I like that better. It’s fair.”

I fought this. I didn’t really need a new bike. Mine is the same as his, a hand-me-down, on the cheap sort of thing. But, I don’t need to go fast. I don’t even like to go fast. And this is him graduating, not me. And…

I lost the debate. Two new bikes. They are totally sweet and awesome, as promised. I hide it, but the truth is I’m really excited. The coolest part is, because we have friends in high places (i.e. the manager of the bike shop), I sold my old bike for just $30 less than the new one. New bike. $30. Matching bikes. Cool husband. So cute.

Any ideas on a new graduation gift? I’m fresh out. 

Just Like Yesterday

I had all the intent to go for a run this morning like I do. But the alarm went off. I stood up, walked across the room … and I just couldn’t do it. I reset the clock and went back to bed for an hour. How embarrassing. That kind of thing is rare for me. But once in a while I just rebel against myself.

I won’t blame the daylight savings, because I got plenty of sleep (and who would blame daylight savings for anything? It’s so lovely!). I will blame the totally amazing, super dang cool long weekend we had. You see, on Saturday we celebrated one year as Mr. and Mrs. Gibb! How great is that?! (Really great!)

Tyler planned such an incredible few days. First stop, The Cheesecake Factory. Never been there and I’ll be going back as often as I can. It was a really cool atmosphere and really good food. And the Reese’s cheesecake was a definite plus. Then we continued north to a little bed and breakfast in Ogden Canyon called the Alaskan Inn. It was dang cool. Tyler chose one of the individual cabins, which I really loved. It was such a great feel, a great night and an amazing breakfast in the morning. Served right to our door. Awesome.

But, that’s not all; we checked out after breakfast and ended up in Park City. I thought we might get a quick bite before heading to Sundance for a few hours on the snowboards, but that was not the plan. I never realized that Tyler had grown to know me so well until he pulled into the Park City shopping outlets and said, “You have $50 you can spend on whatever you want.” Did he know that I’d fantasized about this very thing happening to me since the 10^th grade? No. He just knows me.

After shopping we ate at one of those totally upscale restaurants on Main Street. It was pretty good and better because the gift card made things do-able. I’m going to miss this gift card stage of life.

Our first year of marriage has been the best year of my life times 10. Of course, ups and downs happened. Of course we had to learn a lot of things about each other and about ourselves. But I loved every minute. When we were dating, my family would always ask if I was sick of him yet. That happened a lot with me and guys. I knew I loved him because I knew that would never happen with him. Being with him will never get old. He really is my best friend. He is so cool. And so was the weekend. 

Today's His Day

Today’s a big day for Tyler. He turns 25. I would like to say he’s old, but I’ve got a year on him so we won’t go there.

I’ve been planning for weeks on how to make his birthday something incredible. I won’t tell you what’s in the works, because he might read this, but I’m crossing my fingers this one’s a good one. He deserves it.

Tyler Gibb is an incredible guy – the best person in every way for me.

He is talented. And he’s not just talented at your average guy things – although he is at those too. He’s one of the best at snowboarding, soccer playing, triathlons, slacklining, you name the sport or game and he will beat me and probably you too. He can also crochet. He made me a pearl necklace and earrings for Christmas. He gives a mean backrub. And he can cook like a champ. He’s got skills.

He is smart, but more than that. For example, in his last year of his undergrad in marketing we started to date. A few months in, he decided to try and go on for a master’s degree in finance. At that point, I honestly didn’t believe that a year later he’d be in his last semester of grad school. I obviously didn’t know Tyler well enough then. He is not the most book smart in his class. He’s smart, but more than anything he works so dang hard. I would hire him any day. Anybody hiring?

He is good. I know that sounds odd, of course he is good. But you don’t understand. He is genuinely good inside and is always trying to be better. Perhaps even more than the fact that he tries to live a good life and he has a very strong testimony in God and in an eternal plan, is the fact that he but encourages the same attributes in me. I love that.

Ok, Ok, this is a long post and I don’t want to embarrass him too bad. I just love him and I hope his 25^th is one of the best.

Oh, and did I mention he’s got dang nice abs and a killer smile?

Happy Birthday, Ty!

This Time Last Year

I went to a bridal shower a few days ago at work. It took me back. One year ago on that same day, it was my shower they were throwing. I was embarrassed with all the attention on me. They had cupcakes because I love them, and they decorated the table with sweet wrapping paper, which I’ve decided is an incredible idea. They wrote to me all the advice they had, and I tried to remember it.

I looked at the soon-to-be bride, and I thought about what she might be feeling, both excited and super nervous and really just not knowing what to expect as far as the marriage thing goes…

If it were last year, that night I would have been making an offer on our first condo – Tyler by my side. Later on, my family would have arrived in town from all over the state; they’d have pizza and talk to me about the wedding plans and all. I won’t sleep. Because the next day, I am doing something I’ve been working towards and praying about for a really long time. The next day is the day I go through the temple for the first time. Going to the temple is a very big step in life as a Mormon and a very big deal for me.


The day was incredible. It was that day that I realized more than ever that God loves me and that I am in love with someone who is in love with me. And he held my hand and looked at me and smiled at exactly the right moments.

This time last year was the most incredible, overwhelming, terrifying, happy time of my life. I wonder if the bride-to-be is feeling the same way? I bet she is. I would tell her that after all of the extravaganza is over, life is still good. Better than she could ever think. Even though she will soon have the title of “wife” and he “husband,” they will still laugh together. They will still play cards and go to dinner and hold hands. It’s better than she could ever imagine.