I was 18.  I was new in town.  He was 21 and fresh off of his mission for the LDS Church.  I didn’t really have any friends.  He didn’t have many either.  We decided hanging out and kissing each other was a good idea.  I mean, neither one of us was interested in a real relationship, just hanging out and kissing.  We never meant to fall head over heels in love with each other.  I was going to serve a mission for the LDS Church also, and I wanted to marry when I was 30.  That seemed like the right age, and I wasn’t going to marry as a teenager, who does that?  Only crazy people.

Our kissing turned into more talking.  And suddenly I realized I really liked this guy.  He was funny.  And I love funny.  He made me feel like I was worth a million bucks.  He was silly and made me feel like I had known him for years.  I was falling hard.  And then we broke up.. after only four weeks of dating.  Never in my life had I been so smitten with a boy.  And I was mad that in such a short time I had become smitten with this boy that decided to break up with me.. for the reason if we kept dating we would get married and I am not ready to get married let’s try again next year.  I thought he was awfully arrogant thinking I was going to marry him.  Truth is.. I was dying to marry him.. what was wrong with me?

5 short days later we were back together.. I was hesitant, was this boy going to break my heart again?  It was the first time I had ever cried over a boy, and I was determined it wouldn’t happen again.  But I fell even harder.  And soon the “L” word was being said.. and then three short weeks later he asked me to marry him.  I was 18, he had just turned 22, and I said Yep!  Not yes, just a classy Yep!  It wasn’t my plan, but this plan seemed a whole lot better than any plan I had ever come up with.  An eternity with the best guy ever?  Yes please!

Our engagement was 4 months long.  During that time I questioned myself, but always knew that marrying Randy was right, and that it was the right time.  And I am grateful for that answer because 12 years later I am married to my best friend.  Our anniversary is tomorrow but we are going on a fabulous getaway and I am unplugging for the weekend.  So today you get our love story.

And for fun here is a current picture of us, and one of our wedding pictures from August 20, 1999.

We have had a crazy twelve years.  We have owned six different homes, and moved more times than I care to count.  We have grown up together, and for that I am so grateful.  Randy makes me a better person.  He believes in all of my crazy ideas that I come up with and fully supports my ideas, even if it involves moving a ton of gravel and laying extra sod just to make the yard prettier.We have had hard times.  We have endured my 11 surgeries, and the crazy health issues that have come my way.  And Randy is always there being a rock and laughing with me the whole time.  We have moved across the country and when I wasn’t sure I could do it, Randy assured me we could do hard things together.  And together we grew.
He loves the silly quirky side of me.  And is okay if I dance around everywhere I go if there is music playing. In fact he thinks it hot.  haha!  Thanks for encouraging my crazy.
We have learned that no matter how hard things are, as long as we face hard together we can do it.  We always planned on a big family, and when my body didn’t agree with that Randy helped me see all the benefits of our family of four and the blessings we have.  Without him I wouldn’t be where I am.
When I decided to really jump into running my own business he pushed me off the cliff and told me to go.  He has always been my biggest supporter.
Randy gets me.  He knows sometimes I am cranky.. and normally I need one of two things.  A big hug.. or a nap.  He offers both and one usually succeeds.  Even when I am a big brat, he still will hug me.

We have had so much fun and so many crazy time over the past twelve years.  I am so grateful to call him mine.  I felt like the luckiest girl in the world 12 years ago, and today I still am!

Love you babe!  Thank you for being the most RAD husband ever.  For being the most RAD Dad!  And for giving me a better life than I could have ever hoped for.

And special thinks to Misty Alger for our new pictures.