I just found my OLD camera in a box that we unpacked yesterday. I was looking through the memory card and found so many fun old pictures! I thought it might be fun to share some of them with you and give you a look into my past….

Our Story
Dave and I were "set up" through my friend Annie. She and her husband were living in Seattle at the time and they met Dave through a mutual friend.  She told Dave about me and suggested to look me up on myspace. (yes i had myspace at the time…embarrassing).  Annie told me that he may try and look me up. He sent me a message and asked for my email. We emailed a few times, but I was dating someone so it kinda faded. Then a month or so later he emailed me again. I wasn't dating the same guy anymore so I responded this time.  We chatted over email for a week or so and then talked on the phone. Our first conversation lasted 7 hours. We stayed up until 4:00am talking. There was an instant connection.  After that we talked every night 4-5 hours a night for 3 weeks straight. 3 weeks after our first phone chat, he flew to Utah to meet me. (we had seen plenty of pictures of each other).  The first time I saw Dave, he seriously took my breath away. He was not as good looking as his pictures, but ten times better. I got so nervous and acted like a nerd for the first 15 or 20 minutes. I couldn't even find my car in the parking lot because i was so frazzled. I knew I was going to marry this man.

After our first meeting, we spent a month flying back and forth between Seattle and Utah. Everyday we emailed (multiple times) and chatted for hours.  Things moved super fast.  I would come and visit him for a week at a time (I worked from home and was able to) and he would come to Utah on the other weekends.  At the end of November Annie (my friend) and Mark let me know they were going to Utah for 14 days and if I wanted I could stay at their house so we didn't have to fly back and forth to see each other! We were super excited! I packed up my things and drove to Seattle 2 days later! (Crazy???….na….just in love). The rest of our story can be told with the pictures I found on my camera….hope you like it!

Christmas 2006
This was our first Christmas together. I had just gotten back from Maui with my family and I couldn't wait to be with him! We had only been dating 4 months at this point, so we were all googily. Dave flew me to Seattle to share the Christmas with him.  He didn't have an extra bed in his condo, so I slept on a miniature couch (it was all they had). 
It was just us over the holiday. One on one. We had so much fun! We delivered "bum" packages, made a yummy Christmas breakfast, opened presents, watched movies, drank hot chocolate and had a Christmas feast at McDonald's.  It was the only restaurant we could find open.  We ended the night going to a movie with Annie (my friend who set us up) and her husband Mark!

A week after Christmas, Dave got a job in Portland so we packed up his things and moved him.  It was really sporadic and last minute.  He left a job at Boeing for a new adventure at Freightliner in Portland.  I drove behind him in his car while he drove the Uhal.  It was only a 4 hour drive, but it felt like forever!

I spent a few days at his new condo and then flew home. The next day I packed up my car and moved to Portland. It was impossible for us to date in separate states, we HAD to be together. I worked for my brother at the time and he was so awesome and gave me a job working from home so I could be with Dave. I moved into an apartment complex across the street from his townhouse.  All I had with me was my clothes, bathroom stuff, and a blow up mattress. NOTHING else.  I was living on love!

Here is a picture of my "bed". It was a blow up mattress. I didn't have enough money for furniture and since I moved with such short notice, this was the best that I could do.

I spent all my waking hours at Dave's town house.  Since I worked from home and needed Internet, I had to go to Dave's house to work.  We ate dinner together every night, hung out…and then when it was time to go to sleep, I'd get in my car and drive 15 seconds across the street! (it was cold or I would have walked). It was important to us that we didn't live together before we were married. Although I really only slept and showered at my apartment my apartment was good for something. It was the principal of a deicision we felt was important.

Valentines 2006
This was our first valentines.  Dave left me a basket of chocolates and the sweetest note on my doorstep.  I decorated his house the night before and came over first thing the next morning to make him a yummy breakfast!

A month later, Dave went on a business trip to Germany and I came to the airport with a little surprise…I had died my hair! He barley recongnized me!! It was funny!

March 28, 2007 (the engagement)
I was sound a sleep and around 4am I heard Dave come through the door (this was pretty normal because we used to workout together in the mornings and he'd come get me). I was really tired and knew he was early, so I rolled over.  I felt him lay down next to me and grab my hand.  Then I felt him try and push something on my finger. After a few seconds I realized he was trying to slip a ring on my finger.  I didn't want to ruin the surprise, so I pretended to be asleep. He kept trying. I don't know about you but my fingers swell up at night, so there was no way this thing was going on.  He pushed harder and even pinched my skin. I still tried to act like I was still asleep. After several attempts, I knew he'd never get it on so I slowly opened my eyes and looked at him.  He pushed again, this time with my help and it went right on. He then leaned over and whispered "will you marry me". ….and guess what? I said yes!

His plan was to put the ring on my finger while I was sleeping, then I'd wake up and see it while I was working out! lol it cracks me up to this day!! It was super cute even if it didn't go just as planned! This is me after he proposed.

We got married in Utah, So I came home 10 days before the wedding to help prepare. While I was there I had six super fun wedding showers thrown by friends and family!!

June 1, 2007
Dave and I were married June 1, 2007 in the Bountiful, Utah LDS temple.  It was a perfect day.

We went on our honey moon to Maui and had SO MUCH FUN!

When we got back home, I moved out of my crappy apartment and into Dave's our town house.

After a few weeks of living together, we realized there was not room for the both of us. One day as we were looking for a new place to live, our car ran out of gas.  We ended up in front of a bunch of town houses……..these town houses, ended up becoming our home for 1 1/2 years!!
(we took a bunch of pictures to pass the time while we waited for AAA)

After we moved in to our new home and got settled, we made some car changes…
We set out to buy one car, and left the lot with two. It was fun/long. We negotiated with them for 5 hours until they finally gave us the price we wanted. We let with an even swap!!

ERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR(sound of car breaks screeching) 

Ok, sorry about the interrupt in the story…but that is where the pictures end. I have more pictures to describe our journey from that point forward, but they are on my lap to and would make this post…WAY TOO LONG. How about I sum it up with words…
 We lived in our town house in Beaverton, OR for a year and half. We prayed everyday for Dave to find a job in Utah so we could move close by family and buy a home…our prayers were answered! We packed up and moved! As  you know, we lived with my parents for a year and 3 weeks ago we moved into our very first home!
……..and then they lived happily ever after

If you're still reading, I'm sorry to bore you. It was super fun for me to look back on all these pictures and think about all the good times we've had. I totally forgot about my old apartment complex and our first town house. I was reminded of inside jokes, butterfly feelings, and tons of other wonderful memories while looking at these pics.

I love taking pictures and am so thankful for all of the pictures we took and continue to take.  To me, pictures are the story of our life! Each year since we met, I have made a photo book with pictures in it of the year. I love both of the books and look back on them often! It is something I will continue to do year after year. I'm also setting a goal to put all of our pictures into a slide show DVD. If I to do this every year, it will be super easy in the future to whip the DVDs out and have a mini blast from the past session. 
Ok people, I think I'm done writing now……………………………………………………………….yup, I am.

QA: How did you and your husband/boyfriend meet??