5 YEARS!

*warning, this is like the longest post of my life. But it was necessary.

Happy Anniversary Baba!

5 years! This is our first landmark. Way to go! I am so lucky to have fallen in love with such a great guy. You are thoughtful, considerate, friendly, kind, patient, giving, loving, genuine, helpful, fun, spiritual, warm, trustworthy, and the list could go on, and on... To me you are everything that I could have hoped to find in a husband. You are the perfect person for me to share this life with. You teach me how to be a better me. Thank you for that. Thank you for being you and making my life so happy.

Looking back over the last 5 years that we have been together always makes me smile. We have been through a lot together and always come out on top. I really believe that together we can take on the world and win! I love you with all of my heart, and can't wait to see what the future holds for us!

I LOVE YOU!

Here are some pictures from our wedding/engagement/bridals...

OUR STORY

For those of you who don't know our story, I thought I would share it with you. Since it is our 5 year anniversary. Because when else do you get the opportunity to talk about yourselves if not on your anniversary?

Steve and I met at Utah State University (the best school in the state) in 2003. I was a senior and Steve had 3 semesters left. I don't know if you could call him a senior, he did school a little longer than some ;) We met at our student wards first family home evening for that school year. We were in the same family. I remember that we went to our high councilmans house who lived like 30 minutes away. That is the way it is in Logan. They call people to help with the student wards from all over the valley. Steve was brave and jumped in my car which was also filled with two of my roommates, Erin & Jessica. I don't even want to describe the conversation that we had on our way to the high councilman's home. I was completely embarrased and thought "this poor guy is never going to talk to us again!" and "I can't believe we are making this kind of impression in a ward we are brand new to!" I was dieing. I did a lot of turning red and gasping. Erin and Jessica did a lot of laughing, and as I remember it, so did Steve. That is one thing I remember most about Steve, his laugh. He laughed all of the time, he still does really. You know you've got him going when he covers his mouth when he laughs. You know it really got him good when he does that.

Sorry, where was I?

Well, that wasn't really where our romance started. That is just where we met. We became friends that socialized on Sundays and at ward activities. I really thought Steve was great, but knew he had other interests in the ward, so I didn't really think much of going out with him. (those other interests are fabulous stories, by the way. Remind me to tell you about them at some other time.)

As the year went on and we became better friends, friends that hung out on the weekends and outside of church activities, I really began to like Steve. My little crush was growing and he was clearly oblivious. I decided that there was no reason to keep my crush a secret. I mean, what did I have to lose? If he didn't like me, he didn't like me. We were good friends and the school year would end and that would be the end of any wierdness I would have created. So I basically told anyone who was associated with Steve what a great guy I thought he was and how I wished he would ask me out.

This never happened.

There was no request for a date or any other signals that indicated he knew I liked him at all. He was completely the same towards me. Then... One day... we were watching TV and a commercial came on about some snowmobile thing that was happening at the Delta Center. He became entranced by this commercial. Like he was overcome with some great desire. I looked at him like he was crazy. I mean, what's the big deal about a bunch of snowmobiles riding around in circles, on dirt, inside a building? I didn't get it. But he was hooked. So I told him that I could get him tickets if he wanted to go. (my dad has some connections and I didn't think it would be too difficult to scrounge up a couple to this weird event). He was so excited.

It happened to be during spring break so I called him with all of the information he needed... the tickets were at will call in his name... time and date of the event... etc. As we were talking he was surprised that I wasn't going with him. This was never in the plan. I was getting HIM tickets. Plus, I had plans for Spring Break to drive to California with some friends to watch USU's Basketball Team play and go to Disneyland. I really wanted to go out with Steve, but not enought to stay home from my trip. As I explained my plans, he sounded genuinly disappointed and said he wanted a rain check. That was great by me!

So about a month went by and things seemed to be just as they had always been. A lot of hanging out and not a lot of anything else. I kept waiting for this rain check thing to happen, and it never did. So one day I got brave and told him he owed me a date! He immediately turned red and said he knew he did and that he just didn't think I would actually want to go. I was shocked! How could he think I didn't want to go? Didn't his roommates tell him how much I liked him? Couldn't he see by the way I acted and talked with him at all the different functions we attended? Apparently not. Steve is blind. Come to find out, his roommates did tell him a number of times that I liked him, and he just thought they were crazy. That's Steve for you. He takes a long time to realize and act on just about anything.

About a week later we went on our first date, that all of his roommates bailed on, by the way. So it was only the two of us, which was actually quite perfect. a week after that we had our first kiss. A few weeks after that I went to Europe for 3 weeks and missed him like crazy. And about 3 weeks after I got home he told me he loved me. And probably about 3 weeks after that we decided we wanted to get married.

We were engaged at the end of August and married on December 17, 2004 in the Manti Temple. It was a beautifully freezing day. Perfect.

We have spent the last 5 years growing in our marriage, building a home, raising a family, and sharing it all with those we love.

I have it pretty good, and most of it is due to a pretty great guy who finally decided to ask me out on a date. Thank you for doing that, baba. It was the start of a pretty great life.

I love you!

Happy 5th Anniversary!