8 Years...and Counting!

Today is our 8-Year Anniversary. I sat here thinking, how I should post…So I decided to just tell our story! (Beware…this may be a little long, but there are some funny parts, so read if ya want, but you can’t say I didn’t tell you so…)

On September 17, 1999 I was coming home from Weber State with my friend. We were stuck in tons of traffic. I looked to my right, and saw a Smith’s grocery store with a strip mall next to it. I told my friend to cut through the parking lot and let’s try to get ahead of the traffic. We had never done this before, and did not do it ever again. So, we cut through the parking lot, and felt very victorious because we were able to pass a lot of the traffic. As we pulled back onto the Highway, she was turning right. So, naturally, as you merge, you look to make sure there are no cars coming. As we merged, a very good-looking guy in a black car caught my eye in the car next to us. I said to my friend, “Ooh. He’s cute!” As I was taking an extended look at him, he looked over at me and caught me! I felt stupid…so I waved. He waved back. Then, we started to kinda flirt in our cars. He rolled down his window and told us to pull over. I told him we were going to get off the Kaysville exit, if he wanted to follow us. Then my friend and I analyzed how crazy we were being, and we should not talk to boys on the road that we don’t know!

Well, we got off the Kaysville exit and so did they. We stayed in our car, and they stayed in theirs. We pulled off the exit and he asked me “Hey, are you from Kaysville?” I told him I was, and he told me his favorite mission companion was from Kaysville. He told me his name and my family totally knew him! He played ball for my Dad, and was very good friends with my sister. Immediately, I thought, okay, if he’s a returned missionary, and friends with this kid, he can’t be that bad! So we continued to talk, still in our cars, and he got my number.

So, I went home and told my Mom, “Hey, I met my future husband today.” She laughed and said, “Oh, again? Where?” So I told her we met on Highway 89 and she said, “Kara!”

Well, later that week, Mike called and asked if I wanted to go to the canyon with my friends and his friends to roast marshmallows and stuff. I told him that’d be fun. So I got a few of my girlfriends and we met at the McDonald’s in Bountiful. Since we were going up the canyon, I wore these cute, chunky boots and jeans. I got out of the car and my stomach dropped. I said to my friend, “Crap. He’s short.” So it was a bit awkward the entire night because I was MUCH taller than he was, because of my boots. The only time we talked that night was if we were both sitting down. So, we left, and thought nothing would come of anything.

But, as I was telling my sister about the night, I told her, “I don’t know Kell, there is just something about him.” So, I remembered him telling me that he was going somewhere on that Sunday. So I called his house and asked his sister to tell him I called (and I figured he would see it on the caller id!). So, when he called back, I told him (a total lie) “Oh, my sister and I just called a few people to go to a fireside with us.” So we ended up talking for a while, and he asked me out for the weekend. (Wahoo…my plan worked!).
So we went out that following Friday, and the sparks flew. He gave me butterflies, and was darling. He loved to laugh, and we had such a good time together. I wore short shoes, and it was just fine! We went to dinner and a haunted house. He was a lot of fun to be with, and I started thinking, hmmm, I really like him!

After that night when things just “clicked” we started hanging out more and more. We were both going to Weber State and started to ride together on certain days. As we got to know each other better, we figured out that the way we met HAD to be divine intervention! We had been at the same LDS single dances, and other things. We also passed each other in the paths we walked at school, yet we had never noticed each other. It was almost like our grandparents who were in heaven had tried their hardest to get us to meet, then when we weren’t, someone gave me the idea to cut through a parking lot!

So, we dated for a year, and got married the following August. Mike always told me that he wanted to date whoever he was going to marry for a year. In October, I felt like I knew he was the one. The first time my Mom met him, she told me, “Well, he’s the one!” I couldn’t believe she was saying that, she’d only met him once! But, truly, she saw the person he was, and how great he was. My family immediately fell in love with him too. Not one person could say one bad thing about him.

So, on May 20, 2000, Mike proposed. This is one of my FAVORITE stories!!! At the time, I was running my own business, Fairytale Parties. So, I got a phone call from one of Mike’s neighbors and she asked me if I could do a party for her. She wanted it on a Saturday afternoon. So, I planned the party and dressed up like Cinderella, and headed off for the party. My Mom came with me to several parties to help. So, she told me she could come help me with this one too. So, we headed down to Bountiful to do a party. I got there, and we did the usual party things. Then, during the tea party, the mom asked, “Can you tell them the story of Cinderella?” I said sure! So I started telling the story. As I got to the end, all the sudden, these French Doors open, and there was Mike, dressed like Prince Charming, and asked if he could finish the story! So, he gave the rest of the story and ended with, “And the prince asked Cinderella if she would marry him?” He got down on one knee and proposed at this party! He then took me out and there was a limo waiting for us. I felt like I was in a dream! I told him I needed to finish the party, and he told me that party was not even real! He set it all up to propose to me! How romantic?!!!

From there, we went to the Roof to eat dinner. We were both dressed up still…me in my Cinderella dress, he in his Tux. Then we went on a carriage ride to end the night. It was incredible! I felt like I couldn’t stop smiling the entire night. This truly was my prince charming that had come and swept me off my feet!

We got married in the Salt Lake Temple on August 17, 2000.

So, here we are, 8 years later, 2 girls later, one on the way. Mike, there is no one else I’d rather spend eternity with. I love to sit and laugh with you. This journey has not been easy, but definitely rewarding. You are such a hard worker, and I love that about you. Thank you for making these past 8 years so fun, eventful, interesting, and enjoyable! I love you!!!