glacier national park // 1st day

i filmed a wedding in eureka, montana last summer and was taken away by how beautiful northern montana was. actually, the whole drive from boise was gorgeous and just got prettier the further north i went. since then, tanner and i had planned on heading back up so we could check out glacier national park. holy, insane. we both agreed that it was the most beautiful place we both had been.. and that's saying something if you know how obsessed i am with switzerland. every turn had us both wide eyed and looking at each other going, this is crazy. we stopped off to do some fishing and although they were tiny, they were biting so that's always fun. the water was such a gorgeous blue color with pine trees and waterfalls addressing the background. we only had five hours of daylight and enough time to basically drive through to cananda. we wanted to see waterton first thing in the morning so we camped on the canandian side and got eaten by misquitos. besides that, the sunset was beautiful and we slept great. 

pit stop // montana

 we drove a long way up a mountain to find a camping spot on the top. it started raining when we pulled in and which it super cozy. tanner got a tent that goes on top of our truck and takes two seconds to set up. this comes in really handy during these situations. we climbed into bed and listened to an audiobook as we fell asleep. the next morning was gorgeous with the low clouds and was a nice way to start our road trip through montana. and, of course tanner had to fish while i ate my breakfast watching him. 

cliff lake // montana

one of the first time's tanner and i hung out was with a group of friends at cliff lake. i'll never forget how serene i thought the lake was. i'm a sucker for mountain lakes and this one is definitely one of my favorites. it has soft white sand and crystal clear water around the edges. it's just absolutely beautiful. while we were with our group of friends, i started getting word that tanner was crushing on me. i was kind of hung up on a boy from back home so didn't think too much of it. i liked tanner but, "as a friend." i went home for the seven week summer break and during that break tanner went to visit his grandma in salt lake. i remember him calling me and i would ignore the calls and he would leave voicemails saying he wanted to take me out. i told my parents and was shocked to hear my dad say to call him back and invite him out to dinner with my family. i felt bad for blowing him off so i called him thinking he would say no since i lived about 45 minutes from salt lake. well, he said he'd love to go to dinner with my family and then he showed up at my house about 45 minutes later.. my parents loved him right off the bat and i was just like, eh. after dinner we went back to my house and just talked on my porch for a long time and i remember tanner saying he had a hard time reading me and i'm "different" than other girls..  i could tell he wanted to kiss me and i didn't let it happen. he left that night and we kept in touch until school started back up for the fall semester. we were with each other almost every single day and my parents would always ask about him. i would just say he's good and is one of my best friends, but nothing more. me, my friend estef, tanner's friend drew, and tanner would hang out on sundays on a blanket that we called the magic blanket. everything said on that blanket was confidential and had to be the truth. we learned A LOT about each other and that's when i started falling for tanner. i also learned on the magic blanket that he was kissing a lot of other girls, and they were cute girls! over time, i started getting jealous hearing about these girls he was taking out and i remember being like, why do i care?! then bam, i knew i was going to marry him. just like that, i knew. i didn't date him just yet though… i remember telling my roommates that i was going to marry him so there was no rush to date him. 

one night, the same group of friends went to a mexican food restaurant and when we left we all gave each other kisses on the cheeks. tanner snuck in a real kiss for me and although it was just silly, it totally struck me. like lightning. i left that night thinking oh my lanta… i like him! we ended up having a real kiss shortly after and i fell for him hard. unfortunately, the fall semester was coming to an end and i was going home to work in utah for the winter while tanner stayed in idaho. we decided not to date each other and just wait to see how things played out. i ended up visiting him once over the winter then he went to utah a few times to ski. finally, in march, after he went to utah for a ski trip, we just made it official and singled ourselves off as a couple. the rest is history that i am loving writing more chapters to. 

el salvador // service projects

during our time in el salvador, we participated in three service projects. the first one was assisting with giving eye exams to over 1,000 children. if they needed glasses or an eye surgery, it would be free due to the donation that proof made. it was super hot that day. 

the second service project was helping build 19 homes that were destroyed by a tidal wave. these 19 families were living together with barely anything. they basically had a roof over their head with absolutely no personal space. the materials needed to build their homes were provided by proof. we also provided pinatas, games, and snacks for the children. i was told it was the most exciting thing that they have done in a long time.  it was super duper hot that day. 

later in the evening, after we did what we could with the homes, we went to distribute cocoa trees to a small community. these trees will help provide an additional source of income as they can bake things using them. there was a celebration for the trees and everyone seemed to be having a good time and then i noticed that the people started getting anxious as the sun was setting. el salvador is becoming more dangerous and apparently they all wanted to be home before dark.. makes me grateful i don't really have to think like that. and, it had finally cooled off a bit. 

i must say, i have been in charge of filming and taking photos for two events this last summer that could have been such an amazing emotional experience for me... but i'm embarrassed to say that they weren't. i have noticed that as soon as the camera is in front of my face, my mind switches gears and i am now "working." not being a part of what is going on, but working. i need to work on that. i see people get really attached to their work and i think that is so special. i feel attached while i am editing and when the finished product is complete, but not so much during. i am so grateful for these experiences though and that i get to be a part of them. definitely an eye opener.