8 Things About My Marriage

Jamie did this on her blog last week, and instead of being tagged (the correct protocol), I asked if I could be tagged. :) She said yes, and so here we are!

It is easy to slip into comfort and almost complacency in marriage --especially with little rugrats in the midst. I wanted to do this Meme because I love to remember how DH and I ended up together; to remind me why we ended up together. Sometimes, with the messy house, whining children, and no sleep, I think we both wonder what the heck we are doing!

Eight Things about My Marriage

1. Where did you meet your husband? I met DH for the first time on May 20th, 1998 at the Heritage Halls Central Building on BYU Campus. We were both working as Conference Assistants in Helaman Halls (on-campus housing) for the summer. We had a huge staff meeting at the Central Building with all CA's and supervisors for all three campus housing units.

2. What was the first thing you said to your husband? I didn't actually talk to him (that I remember) when I first saw him. We had introduced ourselves and so I knew who he was; I'm sure we even talked at some meals in the next 24 hours. But I do remember this: We were to use an alliteration for our names to introduce ourselves at the first big meeting. I chose "Not-Shy Cheryl, because I'm really not that shy." (oh, so witty! ~gag~). And since most of you know my husband's name, I don't feel bad saying that he called himself "Bodacious Brandon. I'm from California. Enough said." and then sat back down to type notes on his laptop. I remember I thought "What? A cocky-computer nerd from California. I don't need that!" But then the next day....

...we were at a meeting for just the Helaman Halls staff. During the break, Brandon went to the piano and started playing. Classical Music. On the piano. Memorized. Not only that, but he was playing it for his boss' 2 year old daughter so she could dance. Piano AND children?!? I moved near the piano and I remember I started to name every piece he was playing. "Beethoven's Sonata Pathetique, second movement! Mozart's Sonata in C, first movement! Debussy's...." I was so impressed! And in truth, so was he. :) So much for first impressions, eh?

3. Where was your first kiss? First date? Our first date was on June 10, 1998 and since Brandon, fresh from the mission, didn't have a car, we walked to the BYU Museum of Art, had lunch in the cafe, walked around the museum, and then went for ice cream (with a bunch of his hometown friends) in the Wilk. It was really, really fun! He first kissed me 10 days later on June 20th (yes, I know all the dates. My memory is L-O-N-G). He borrowed his cousin's car and drove me up to the Mt. Timpanogos trail head (near Aspen Grove Family Camp). The sun was setting, and we started hiking a little bit on the trail. We didn't get far --he kissed me there. ~sigh~

4. Did you have a long or short courtship/engagement? We dated for 5 months and were engaged for 3 months. In some circles, that is psycho-short. In others, it is extremely l-o-n-g. For us, it was just right. :)

5. Where did you get engaged? It was a Tuesday afternoon, October 20th, 1998. We went up on the Alpine Loop to "see the leaves" (which had fallen by then). I had been waiting and waiting for the ring --forever! He asked my father for "permission" on October 3rd; we had gone to BYU Homecoming on October 10th; so I was expecting it soon, but to be honest, he still surprised me. He proposed on this beautiful hill overlooking Aspen Grove Family Camp and Sundance Ski Resort. Again, during a sunset. ~sigh~

6. Where did you get married? On January 16, 1999 in the Idaho Falls Temple.

7. How did the reception go? Fabulous! It went so well, that around 9:15PM while Brandon and I were dancing the night away, my uncle approached me and said "Don't you guys want to go? It's getting kind of late." We had completely lost track of the time because we were all having so much fun.

8. How was the honeymoon? Wonderful, of course, although very simple. We were in school still (I'll confess --I was 19 and 11 months, and Brandon was 22), and so we only had one week, and we had another open house/reception in California. So, we stayed our first night at the Black Swan Inn in Pocatello (imagine the Anniversary Inn in SLC--it's a lot like that one) and the next night was in our apartment in Provo. Monday night we stayed in Las Vegas and the next day we rode the Stratosphere roller coaster (scary!!!) and did a session at the LV Temple. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights we stayed at Brandon's uncle's cabin at Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernadino mountains. We enjoyed shopping for food at the local market, movies, walks, and well...ahem...you know. On the Thursday, we went to Disneyland for the day. I LOVE Disneyland!! Friday we were kicked out of the cabin (inadvertently, the agency had rented out the cabin for that weekend and didn't tell Brandon's uncle.), and so we stayed that night at his Grandma's house. It was all good, because the next day was the open house in her backyard (although his grandparents weren't there --long story short, they were at our wedding/reception, but had to be in Provo for Brandon's aunt's fashion show during our Open House). Sunday, we drove home. We had another Open House in Provo the next Saturday, too. I got to wear my dress three times! Good and used.

There you have it! I tag ALL OF YOU. If you read this, you need to do this. I'll be checking your blogs to make sure. I just love reading about how people met and fell in love! That and labor stories. I know, I'm weird. :)