The 411 on My Man

I got tagged by Elizabeth, so here goes ...

What is his name?
Samuel Hancock Ricks. Hancock is his mom's maiden name. They are related to Levi Ward Hancock (from the D&C) and to John Hancock (the signer of the Declaration of Independence). Actually, their direct-line ancestor is John Hancock's brother. Or so I'm told.

How long have you been together?
Almost four years, if you count from the time we started dating.

How long did you date?
Ooooh, not long. We met on May 2nd and were married on August 6th. Of the same year. And actually, our first date was on May 7th, so we dated for just under three months. If my parents hadn't known and trusted him (my dad was Samuel's mission President - although we actually just met because we were in the same ward), they would have killed me. Sam's parents couldn't say much because they too met in May and married in August!

How old is he?
He'll be 26 in March. He's only three months and a bit older than me. I know, I know, we are sooo young. But I know the truth when people say that. They don't mean that I am so young, they mean that Samuel is so young. They expect the husband to be at least a couple years older than the wife, and since I've served a mission and have two kids, I must be at least 25 or 26, so Samuel must be like 28. Au contraire.

Who eats more?
He does, except when I'm hugely pregnant. Then I beat all. But that might actually be because last time I was pregnant I was eating for three. I nursed Seara until she was 1 - which means I was 6 months pregnant with Elijah when I weaned her. When I was both nursing and big-pregnant, I ate a TON.

Who said I love you first?
Samuel did, and it freaked me out. I was not ready for any kind of commitment at that point! (We had only been dating for two weeks!!)

Who is taller?
Samuel is, but only by two inches. I had to kiss my heels goodbye when we got married. :( Oh, and for those of you who say you would never do it, thats only because you are short and married a short person. Sam is 5'11'' and I'm 5'9'' - so when I wear heals I'm 6' or taller. Thats intimidating.

Who can sing better?
Oh, Samuel, hands down. His mom has this fantastic Broadway voice (she was the lead in like every BYU or community or whatever play she ever did, and now she is a choir teacher) and his paternal Grandma was an amazing opera singer when she was young. He got the genes end of it. I don't make babies cry when I sing, so I must not be too bad. Blast! Strike that. I just remembered that I often make Seara scream when I sing. I might be worse than I realized!

Who is smarter?
Samuel, are you kidding? I have the whole logic/math smart thing going for me, and thats about it. He struggles there, but has the other fifty kinds of smart down pat.

Who does the laundry?
Me. Remember? I'm the stupid one. :) No, seriously, when we were both working and in school, we did it about evenly. But now that I stay home with the kids I need something to keep me busy.

Who pays the bills?
Okay, here is where my smarts kick in. Math and numbers. I do the money thing.

Who sleeps in the right side?
If you are looking at the bed, me. If you are in it, him. But thats just right now. We switch quite regularly depending on the location of the nearest bathroom and whether or not I'm pregnant.

Who mows the lawn?
Usually I do. Samuel is so laid back that he doesn't really care if or when it gets done. I, on the other hand, care a lot. I want it done every single week. Which means I do it. But once I mow, Samuel usually feels so bad that he'll go out and weed-wack and edge everything (which takes twice as long as mowing).

Who cooks dinner?
Me. At least most of the time. Although if Samuel comes home and I haven't cooked anything, he'll walk right into the kitchen and make dinner. But that only happens once or twice a month.

Who drives?
Samuel, unless we are reading a book. We like to read together, but I can't read in the car because I get car sick. Then I drive so he can read aloud to the both of us.

Who is more stubborn?
Outside of our marriage, most definitely me. But I don't think either of us is stubborn in the marriage. We never really butt heads, mostly because Samuel doesn't usually care about most things. So I get my way. If he does care about something, he always gets his way, since that is so rare.

Who kissed who first?
Well, he kissed me. But I told him to do it. I'm not forward enough to kiss someone first, but I am forward enough to tell them to kiss me. :)

Who asked who out first?
He did. But he insists it was because I told him that "we should really hang out some time" in a very flirty way. I think I was just being polite and I would say the same thing in the same way to any girl or guy I met that was nice.

Who proposed?
He did. On accident. Sort of. He got the ring and was so excited that he walked around with it in his backpack or pocket all day, and then he proposed when he couldn't handle it any longer.

Who has more friends?
Me. Samuel isn't all that in to the social scene, and he's not too fab with keeping contact, so I'm pretty much his only close friend. I try to make all my friends couple friends - where we hang out as couples and he likes the guy equally as much as I like the girl. I don't usually see my girl friends without Sam, although I will sometimes for a play date with kids.

Who is more sensitive?
Sensitive in what way? Samuel is more sensitive to the Spirit and more careful about what he surrounds himself with. I'm more sensitive when it comes to crying about commercials and movies. Samuel doesn't get offended, and I usually don't either. Except for the small handful of people that have crossed me in some way and now anything they do or say (or don't do or say) is liable to anger me. Poor people. Danged if they do, danged if they don't.

Who has more siblings?
Me. Hands down. I almost have twice as many as he does. I have five brothers and two sisters.

Who wears the pants?
Me. But this goes back to the stubborn issue. I wear the pants only because I am a decision-maker and I hate that dawdling-indecision phase. Samuel doesn't usually care about things, so I make a decision and we do it. Once again, if he actually does have an opinion or care, he wins. Hands down.

Lets see ... I tag Lyndi, Asialene, Cara, Lissa, and anyone else who wants to do this!