You Wanna Read a Story?

Preface: Just for the record, I don't really feel like I've been married long enough to "look back" on this stuff--it wasn't that long ago. But in the name of tagging, I will rise to the clarion call. It's long. And detailed. Because that's how I roll.


1. Where did you meet?

Where we met is not nearly as exciting as how we met. We met in front of Flaude's* house. Flaude was the fellow I was thinking about perhaps liking at the time. {He spoke French. Need I say more, really?} Flaude--on a previous "hang out" had told me how he'd considered becoming a truck driver because he had a friend--Kyle--who was driving truck and making much money doing it. Since I am haughty and snotty, I strongly urged Flaude not to go truck driving, because, in my opinion, no amount of money could possibly be worth the crusty, greasy, dirty (or so I thought) nature of truck drivers. Flaude didn't go truck driving, but in the end, he still lost out on me. Because he introduced me to Kyle on a cold October night in 2005. Kyle drove a 2005 diesel Jetta that got 1,000 miles to the gallon. Kyle was wearing a black leather jacket that looked a lot classier than it sounds. And Kyle had this laugh--he made me never want to stop being funny, just so I could always hear that laugh. Flaude who...?

2. What was the first thing to you said to him?

I ran up to him and gave him a massive hug, exclaiming, "Oh my gosh! Kyle, right? Hi! It's so nice to meet you finally!" Pretty bold, even for me. But we'd just talked on the phone an hour earlier, and he sounded so nice... Plus, I was trying to convince him and Flaude to come save me from an awkward house party--I had to pull out all the stops, and it worked. Amazingly.

3. Where was your first date?

Without Flaude, you mean? I had to bust out the ol' 2005 journal for this one:

November 3, 2005
Went to [Mayberry]* tonight and spent several hours with Kyle. Met his parents, grandma, boss/friend's family, and had a nice time talking with all of them. Paper due tomorrow (not started yet,) and still need to read scriptures. Update later.

I guess I was busy or something. Things I remember about that first date, despite not recording it in my journal like a good Young Single Adult, were meeting his parents--his mom was so nice and friendly, but his dad was sitting on the couch watching the news, and only grunted a hello to me, without looking up [I'd heard his dad had disliked some of Kyle's previous girlfriends, so I was certain I'd made the black list]; we went to his grandma's house and she asked Kyle why he needed to go deer hunting, when he had all the "dear" he needed right next to him; I'd driven myself thirty minutes to Mayberry* even though I was so poor and could hardly afford the gas, but I didn't really care.


4. Where was your first kiss?

The same place that Kyle probably kissed all his flavours of the week--his parents' green leather couches, sadly to say. But I will give him this--he kept his mouth closed on our first several kisses, which none of my previous boys-who-were-friends had the dignity to do. It was pretty much an answer to prayers (not really, but you'd better believe I noticed the amazingness of it all).

5. How long did you date?

It was two years--almost exactly--from the day we met to the day we married. October 13th 2005, to October 20th, 2007. I really didn't fancy the idea of getting married during an odd year, and I actually wanted to wait until October 20th of 2008 [so every number of the date would be even, you see,] but Kyle was getting pretty pouty about it. So '07 it was.

6. Where did you get engaged?

In the middle of freaking nowhere, Canada. A few days after my 20th birthday (I was dead set against getting engaged while I was still 19). I had no idea it was coming--in fact, I was kind of looking into dating my high school boy-who-was-a-friend, who'd recently returned from his mission. Things were really complicated that fall, and I went to Canada to see if I should continue to court Kyle, or...what. And he was getting anxious about little RM down there in Mesa, so he went out and bought a house and a ring, and drove me--on the back of his quad--out to a clearing in Southern Alberta. He parked under an outcropping of trees, and behind the trees was a pasture of cows, who promptly meandered their way over to us. It was kind of awkward, having an audience of cattle watching while we kissed an hugged and all that blather.

7. When were you married?

October 20th, 2007. Four months ago.

8. How did your reception go?

You know, it was fantastic. We spent a lot of our budget on these two amazing wedding decorators--and it was truly lovely. It was in my grandparents' large backyard, and my favourite part about it was how the decorators rigged up those big circular white party lights all across the entire yard--just like on Big Fish. It was fancy. We had a baked potato bar, Cesar salad, a chocolate fountain, and caramel apples. I don't think there was a member of my family who wasn't involved majorly in making the night a success. The only thing I wish we'd done differently is not having the line go for the entire two hours. But people just kept coming, and I kept wanting to see them...it was fun, and I hear the food was good.

9. How was your honeymoon?

Traumatizing. Well, just that first night. [And the ensuing 10 nights.] Luckily we stayed at a fancy schmancy hotel in Scottsdale, and the satin sheets were un*real. I mean--if bedding were heaven, that room was celestial. The next day we hopped on a plane to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and stayed in another fancy-pants hotel. The day after that we hopped on a giant ship and cruised ourselves to the Caribbean. We stopped on three islands and came away from the experience having learned a lot about marriage. Again, luckily, we were in a room with a balcony and luxurious bedding, which made a world of difference. It was fantastic. I even shaved my legs. Someday I'll post pictures.

10. I'd like to hear other people's stories, so I will go ahead and continue the tag, despite feeling like a bit of a nuisance. Aimee and Joel, Kathryn, and Lindsay.

*Names have been changed because it seemed like the right thing to do.