pet store

There's not a lot to do here in Spokane,  especially in the winter. We rotate between the library and the indoor playground at McDonald's... so we were thrilled to find a pet store with a REAL LIFE alligator!  We also liked the bunnies and crazy roosters.

celebrating baby #3

When Zack was ten days old we decided to venture out of the house and meet Aaron for lunch at Olive Garden. Daddy is busy in law school and Mommy is lonely in this freezing city, so it was great to be out as a family. I love all of my boys!

Lovebird Tag

1. Where did you and your husband meet?

Oct 1998 in Rexburg, ID. We were set up on a blind date by some of his mission buddies. They thought we would get along because we were both TALL. Little did they know!

His friends gave me Aaron’s information: name, phone number and address. I tried calling him, but [supposedly] an Aaron didn’t live there. So my roommate and I went over to his place. We knocked on the door and found a bunch of guys playing video games. When I asked if Aaron was there, they were really rude and told me that they had never heard of him. So I went down to the complex manager to see if I was given the wrong apartment #... Nope. An Aaron S. had moved in a few days earlier. I figured he was one of those jerky guys upstairs and decided I would ask someone else. When I arrived home, one of my friends (Dana) told me that she ran into “my date” on campus. I told her that I was going to take someone else because I couldn’t track him down. She was surprised and said, “His name is not Aaron. It’s TERRELL...” Come to find out, Aaron had moved up to Rexburg and tried to start a new identity for himself. Seriously... Who does that? He went around telling everyone that his name was Terrell and that he was from Nova Scotia (a place he's never been...) After that, I knew I was in trouble.

2. 1st thing said...
Aaron exclaimed, “Dang girl—You’re one hot, sexy thang!” jk.
Honestly, I have no idea what we first said to each other. Aaron’s first impression of me was that I was super friendly (which means I talked a lot--go figure.) At some point, in front of the group that night, I said something like “I really LOVE holding hands.” I was totally kidding, but he wasn’t sure what to do with me. He did hold my hand, but I think it was more out peer pressure than anything. I don’t remember what he said that night (probably because I did all of the talking) but I will NEVER forget seeing him on the dance floor. He’s got rhythm and I loved watching him break-it-down. He is literally a white version of Will Smith…

I do remember a conversation we had a few days after we met. He came over to my place and I was up late with my roommate (Val) listening to the new Dixie Chicks cd. Somehow we got around to asking what he did for fun and he responded with "I turn off all the lights in my apartment and dance....... NAKED." Of course we cracked up and thought he was hilarious, but deep down, I thought he had issues...

3. 1st date...
So, these answers are all from the same night, but the actual date was a girl’s choice dance (MORP) at Ricks College and we had SUCH a fun group. (apparently thought it would be cool to dogpile each other in this photo.) We decorated the apartment Hawaiian style, wore paper/frootloop leis, made lasagna for dinner and then went to the dance on campus. It was a really fun night.

4. 1st kiss... Feb 3, 2000. 16 months after we met. There is a lot of drama that happened in between. But our first kiss was late at night (after curfew) on campus in Rexburg, in the Clark building. I know, it’s sounds super romantic… I guess you had to be there! It was our second “official” date. This was also the night we got unofficially engaged.

5. Long or Short Courtship/Engagement...

Hmm. This is tricky. We didn’t really have a courtship period. We did things a little backward. We were friends for a year, became engaged and then started dating. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else, but it worked for us!

*This picture was taken at a dairy farm about a month after we met. A group of us went on a weekend trip to Rupert, ID to milk cows.

6. Where did you get engaged?... Our engagement was difficult because I was still in Rexburg, but Aaron lived 4 hours away in Provo. After 2 months of being unofficially engaged, I was ready for a ring! And Aaron totally set me up. The weekend before I received my endowment was also the weekend I met his family. I knew that he was going to propose before that.. so on March 24th 2000 he told me that he had a special date planned. We went downtown Salt Lake and did the most romantic things.. We ate across the street from the temple, walked the grounds, went to the capital, etc. I was just waiting for him to pop the question and he never did. He dropped me off that night without a ring and I was so confused! I figured he had something else planned when our families would be together. So the next morning, before his parents arrived, we got up early and ran a few errands. It wasn’t anything special and neither of us had showered.. We were in a rush to be somewhere, but decided to pick up Taco Bell for lunch and eat it at a park close by. While eating a fancy bean burrito, Aaron pulled out the ring and proposed. I was completely shocked... but happily said yes!

7. Where were you married?

June 2000 in the Salt Lake Temple. We were sealed by his mission president and it was beautiful! In the middle of our ceremony, the sealer stopped and said, “I feel impressed to say that this was a match made in Heaven. This marriage was meant to be.” I will never forget that moment! It was proof of the answer I had received 6 months earlier... and I know now more than ever that Aaron is the ONLY guy for me.

8. How did the reception go?
It was a blast! It was at my church and there were a TON of people.. we were in line all night. I don’t know if everyone had as much fun as we did, but as we drove away in "The Hoopty" (an old Buick LeSabre) we said, “wasn’t that the most fun day ever?” Looking back, there are a lot of things I would like to change about it, but I was so young and naïve then. I was a happy bride..

9. Where did you go on your honeymoon? We went to Vail, Colorado. We stayed in a gorgeous Marriot suite big enough for 10 people. We stalked up on groceries and didn’t leave our place. It was perfect!

10. Do you have a song? When we got engaged our song was My Best Friend by Tim McGraw.. (mainly because it was on the radio all the time.) It has since changed several times over the years.. But if there is a song that describes exactly how I feel about Aaron, it would be Sarah McLachlan’s Push. She wrote it for her husband (who happens to be the drummer of her band.) I love this song..