{Summer Lovin' Series}...Team D&G Beginnings as told by Giulia

reposted, but this time it comes with a few pictures!, from our wedding blog in November '09:

Team D&G beginnings. Giulia's Version.

Conversation between Breezy and Giulia the day we were done with finals: (abridged...slightly skewed from Giulia's sketchy memory)

G: Breeeezy. I don't want to go back to Vegas. It's sooo hotttt.

B: blehhh I know! (Breezy then tells me a bit about her childhood summers spent on the lake with her family) Conclusion: the heat is bearable when you go to the lake!

G: jealous! My family (or should I just say my parents?) isn't into water activities at all. I've always wanted to have a friend with a boat. (Lol. but really.) The last time I went to the lake I think I was in 5th or 6th grade and it was with Aubrey. NOT COOL. (pun!)

B: Yah man. Sigh. I miss the lake.

G: Breezy, I'm going to befriend someone with a boat this summer.

B: Good plan. Can they be my friend too?

G: mmmhm.

Giulia and Breeze clean, pack, go to a wedding, move back home for the summer, and commence their work for the City of Henderson aquatics department. Giulia's first week back in her home ward, the bishopric asks her to speak on Mother's Day. Giulia's friend, Courtney, was also asked to speak.

Mother's Day Sunday rolls around and as Court and I are sitting up on stand, scanning the crowd, Courtney gasps.

G: Courtney? You ok?

C: David! He came! I haven't seen him since he got home from his mission because I was stuck in Provo.

G: Oh that's cute. He came to see you speak! When did he get home?

C: A couple months ago...

(Giulia's never been interested in fresh RM's)

Giulia looks where Courtney's family is sitting and spots said cousin of Courtney's. Giulia thinks: Wowza! David is hottt!

We both gave our talks (Giulia bawled for at least half of hers). After sacrament meeting, I went to Sunday School with my mom, and I'm assuming Courtney ran to go talk to her cousin.

Later that day I get a text from Courtney. read about it here. What I purposely failed to mention in this post was that before I got to Courtney's she told me that her cousin David will be there too. Giulia is suddenly all nervous and excited to go. Strange... because Giulia isn't interested in boys at this time in her life. Her plan: work two jobs this summer to save lots of money for school next fall/winter and Italy in the spring; serve a mission; graduate; get a good job; and then she would consider dating for reals. Giulia did go on quite a few dates during her year at BYU, but if they asked for a second she always played the "we're just friends, sorry dude" card...and was named "the ward heartbreaker" by one of her guy friends in the ward. Sorry boys! :) So yes, this giddy, butterflies in the tummy feeling that she got upon hearing that David would be coming was strange to her. "You haven't even met him before. Settle down," she told herself. [another interesting factor considering that Giulia has met A LOT of Courtney's cousins on the Robbins side of the family, including David's sisters and apparently one of his brothers (I don't remember said meeting, but Courtney swears Zach and I have met before.)]

Giulia shows up...and David isn't there! She's surprised to feel disappointment from his absence. Courtney announced however, that David was on his way from their Aunt Mer's house. Giddy nervousness, excitement, and butterflies resume. David arrives and the game begins! A little bit into the game while David and Giulia are both "in line" waiting to get into the "D" square, Giulia turns to David and says, "Hi! I'm Giulia bytheway..." while giving a nice big 'hello' wave. Courtney exclaims, "Oh! You two haven't met? I thought you did! Sorry, I would have introduced you to each other earlier." David stutters, "uhh...nope, haven't met. Hi, I'm David." And then it was his turn to go in. I don't think we said anything else to each other all night. Despite this, Giulia felt like she already knew this David Robbins whom she had never met or spoken to before now.

Giulia went home that night, blogged about foursquare, smiled about the Australian accent and words that slipped out of David, and was determined to not be "interested" in David...because if she was, she would have to change her plans, and she didn't want to change her plans (get an idea of what those plans were here). With that said, she fell asleep with David consuming her thoughts as she reconsidered her plans for her anti-social summer working two different lifeguarding jobs.

I tried to convince myself that this was the only boy I wanted in my life at the moment. Brutus!!! I miss him. 

A few days later we all met to play some foursquare again. It was followed by a game of Aggravation, the first time Giulia ever played. As Giulia was trying to figure out this game, David and Rob would try to get Giulia to kill her teammates (Courtney and Lindsey). At one point, Giulia accidentally "killed" one of her teammates, and David gave a "wahoo" and put out his hand for a high-five. Rude! Giulia punched it out of the way. But she wasn't mad at all. David touched her! woohoo!

The next day, Giulia got a follow up call from an interview with the Bellagio Pool requesting her to come pick up her uniform and get processed (because I totatlly ROCKED that interview, they basically wanted to hire me on the spot). She hesitantly got ready to go, suddenly not sure if she really wanted to go through with this (working for the city in the morning and the Bellagio in afternoon/evenings). As she was leaving the house she got another call from the Bellagio saying that they just decided to reconsider her availability (because I would be managing for the city in the mornings and didn't have the most open available hours that they might need from me). Giulia wasn't upset for one second, she was actually quite relieved.

Sometime after this, David finally got Giulia's number [read as stole it from Courtney's phone. I say stole, because he certainly did not ask me for it. But...I'm not complaining!] Soon enough, David and Giulia were talking to each other all day long. Having a message from David waiting for me after teaching a swim lesson put the biggest smile on my face. My co-workers knew whenever I had a message from him, "that smile gives it away every time" they would say. Giulia's thinking, "ahh crap! You're never this easy to read, girl! Get it together! David does not fit into your plans! So get over this little fascination you have with him! ASAP." At the end of the week, she wrote the post to the last link above. If you missed it, here it is again.. What you are not reading in this post is that Giulia is doing everything possible to keep David out of her thoughts and thinking of her plans and how there is no way David can fit into her plans. She even consigns herself to say that the only kisses she'll be getting from any boys for a long time (3+ years) would be from her dogs, Buddy, Brutus, and Harley. You see, Giulia is putting up walls, making up reasons why she has to stop liking this David boy, telling herself that she'll only be getting kisses from her dogs (gross), telling herself that her hair has to be at least 8 inches longer before she gets serious with anyone because if she gets serious with someone that means she'll marry that someone and Giulia has always pictured having long hair on her wedding day (that really was a reason. I did not make that up as I'm typing. I was using whatever I could!) Deep down though, she wanted all the walls to tumble down. 

The next day. Saturday. Tyson's farewell party. And because Giulia has little self control, she struck up a conversation with David. It was discovered that David was wanting to go, but didn't want to because he didn't want to go by himself (the only people there he would know are Tyson and Courtney).

G: I don't want to go alone either! (although I would have) Do you want to just come with me?

D: Yah, that'd be sweet.

G: Alright, I'll come by around 6. I'll be driving the Red Wienie Wagon, aka a Ford Ranger, and you're not allowed to make fun of my stick driving abilities.

D: Deal. Can't wait!

(Giulia is actually quite competent at driving a manual transmission. She just thought that David, a guy who works on cars all day and who is from a small town, knew how to drive a stick-shift and was a lot better at it than she is. WRONG.)

After Giulia changed her outfit 5 times, she picked David up at the set time. On our way there David commented, "yah...I can't make fun of your stick driving abilities. You're a lot better than me. I've never learned how." This takes Giulia by complete surprise. "Whaaaaaa? Well you are learning how tonight!" So, after mingling at Tyson's partAy, David's first lesson took place. One of the most fun/funniest nights of my life! We drove up and down the "horse streets" for a long time as Giulia explained what to do and laughed at David's attempts to find "that balance" with his feet. We talked and laughed and talked and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and talked the night away. When I finally got home, my cheeks hurt from laughing and smiling so much. I told David, "You made my cheeks hurt." And suddenly, Giulia was falling. Fast and hard. And she didn't really care!

A conversation between David and Giulia the following week (still in May) (again...abridged and slightly skewed from Giulia's sketchy memory)

In the guard room at work one day Courtney mentioned that David stayed at her house super late. "What did you two talk about for that long?" I asked. Courtney replied, "ohhhh...lots of stuff (Giulia later learns that it was all about her. ha!) and I got him online to update his boating license (or something like that...we'll just say that's what it was for the progression of this story)." All Giulia heard was 'boat'. "Yessss!!!!" she screamed on the inside.

G: So, Courtney tells me you two were up pretty late last night.

D: Yah...you could say that.

G: Well, what'd you do?

D: We talked about a lot of stuff and I did this boating license thing (or something like that...Courtney...what was it???)

G: Ha, she told me a little about that. She said you didn't want to quick review for it and you barely passed. If I'm ever on the same boat with you, am I going to be safe?

D: Well, you'll have to come and find out for yourself.

G: So you're saying that you would take me to the lake with you?

D: Yes. Why wouldn't I? You're the only person I talk with that I'm not related to. (but seriously, I was.)

G: Sweet! Does this mean we're friends??? (you did read the conversation between Breezy and me at the beginning, right?)

D: We are definitely friends.

G: goody! (or something. I don't know how the conversation ended.)

A few days later the Bellagio Pool called again. I didn't answer. They left a message saying that they would love for me to come get processed and be a part of their team! I didn't call back. (because suddenly, I wanted some sort of social life this summer. AKA I wanted to spend any minute I could with David.)

The rest of May was spent by beating David at basketball (hahaha), continued flirting on the phone, rock climbing, pulling pranks on Rob (it was us, okay!?) and continuing to teach David how to drive stick. Driving practice nights were always the best because we would just talk and talk and talk and talk, and never run out of things to talk about...or laugh about! I've never felt more natural and myself around someone, especially a boy, than I have with David.

On May 31st, I posted this. Let me bring to your attention the first quiz, the "When Will You Be Married?" one. Under it I wrote my last attempt at feigned nonchalantness (are you allowed to add on a "ness" to nonchalant???) for the whole David situation. "Ha. Yahh, we'll see about that," is what I said, trying to come off sounding as if nothing had changed in my plans. But in truth, I knew by this time that what I had "planned" wasn't going to happen. And that I would, like the crazy Facebook quiz predicted, be married VERY SOON.

After a crazy run in a rain storm at the end of May. I feel like my face expresses how I feel about my plans: they were fui! (foolish) And I just needed to accept that what I had mapped out for my life was not what the Lord had in mind for me. 

to be continued...