the story of us..

   In August 2005, I had been out of high school a little over a year. I had just turned 19 and I was coming into my own. I was becoming more and more confident and I had just gotten out of a long-term relationship with a man that I thought I would spend the rest of my life with. Little did I know...
    My cousin Katie and had been going to parties quite freguently with a group of guys in Cottage Grove. It was a Tuesday night, middle of August, with not a whole lot to do in a town of less than 10,000 people. Summer in Cottage Grove consist of one month; July. Every weekend in July there was a historical event held. Being as July had come and gone..we were left with little to do on a Tuesday night. That particular night we found ourselfs buying slurpies at the Dari-Mart when the guys pulled into the parking lot after seeing my car.
      After a whole ten minutes of discussion we decided to go driving and build a fire somewhere. As we were all standing around the cars, that's when I saw him; tall, blond, tan, crooked little smile..I was hooked. Yet..I did not have any idea who he was or how he would impact my life. But I knew that things in my life were going to be very different.
     We drove up to the gravel pit, up Sharps Creek, where we built a fire and the boys stood around telling stories and laughing at one another. Katie and I were the only girls and so the guys that were new to the group were trying to catch our eye. One who under closer examination was extremely cocky. I one I had been interested in..thought he ruled the world. I being the girl that I was, crossed him off my mental list. I wasn't going to put a lot of effort into someone that was a player.
     Later that night I realised that no matter how many other people we talked to, the guy and I kept coming back to eachother. At one point he tried to put the moves on me and put his arm around me. After I told Katie.. "Kepp this kid away from me." Which she did for a couple minutes. Night turned into day and we all headed down the mountain, the guy and I leaving eachother with a smile and an exchange of names.
    Days became weeks and weeks became months and finally in the beginning of November, the guy and I started hanging out at the same areas. We were spending every weekend hanging out with the same group of people. He would stay the night at the place where I had moved into. We flirted every once in a while. He liked hunting and fishing and told me adventure storied. He was spontaneous and caring. He slowly grew on me and when I moved backinto my parents he helped me move. I still hung out at the place I had been living and I would call to find out if he was there before coming over.      
      The very last weekend in November he and I were at a party up Big River and he leaned in to kiss me, I pushed him back and laughed. The next night I told a friend that he had tried to kiss me and the girl in the back seat, that I didn't really knows says "Justin Holland has a girlfriend." after his girlfriend foundout about me..things got a bit more interesting. We went though a few time of he and I fighting because he could not remove his ex completely from his life. Finally, December 10th, 2005 he asked me to be his girlfriend.
         In January, my parents needed someone to live in their rental house, so my friend Cammy and I moved in there. My mom said that we needed a guy to live with us, since it was so far from town.Justin moved in the very next day.
        Now he and I have been together 3.5 years. And yes we have struggled..but daily our lives make more and more sence and I do not think that I would be the person that I am today if I had not ever met him that Tuesday night. August..oh how I love that month. He and I will be married two days shy of our 3 year 8 month mark. :]

I cannot wait to be Shelby Holland. <3