Our Story:

Not Exactly Fairy Tale, but Absolutely Perfect

January 2009

Laurel and I both had tickets to attend a Jon Schmidt concert at BYU and no one to go with. Luckily, we had more than being ticket holders and dateless in common…we had mutual friends. (We would soon find we had a lot of ideals, feelings, and interests in common too!) Heidi, Laurel’s good friend from freshman year of college, was engaged to Andy, my uncle, who is just nine months older than me. (Crazy, I know!) With a little bit of reluctance on both of our parts, we had been set up on a blind date. Laurel was scared to be set up with someone who couldn’t carry on a decent conversation. She was assured that I was completely normal and liked the outdoors… just like she does. The uncertainty of a blind date can be very intimidating, but we’re glad we both choose to take the risk!

We were to double date with Andy and Heidi. Aaron and I spoke on the phone the night before the concert. We talked for a while and seemed to be able to communicate easily with one another. We were both excited about seeing Jon Schmidt perform, and although I cannot say I was ecstatic about going on a blind date, I had come to the conclusion I could gain a good friend out of the situation.

The night of the concert came, and I picked Aaron up from his apartment. Our initial meeting was casual but friendly. I thought he was good looking but also thought he seemed a little quiet and standoffish. We got to BYU and met up with Andy and Heidi. Aaron soon realized he had left his ticket at home…he says he must have been twiterpated to be on a date with such an amazing girl, but I think he just plain ol’ forgot! Heidi and I saved seats while the boys went back to retrieve the ticket. I was grilled with the normal amount of questioning during their absence…. “So, what do you think...?” I’m sure my response was somewhere along the lines of… “Uhhh....too soon to tell.”

We all enjoyed an amazing performance. After the concert, we were able to meet Jon Schmidt and his family. Laurel and I grabbed burgers for a late night dinner and hugged goodnight. We both had fun together but neither of us thought too much more of our date until…

February 2009

Laurel and I talked a few times on the phone, but we were both going on dates with other people and taking things really slow. Laurel had plans to move to Washington DC to student teach in August, and I was focused on school. I called to take Laurel out for Valentine’s Day. She thought this was a sweet gesture and agreed to go. I asked to take her out to dinner at Tucanos, one of our favorite restaurants. Valentine's day came and when we got to Tucanos, there was a forever-long wait to be seated. We decided to kill some time at Borders, a bookstore nearby. We looked at photography and traveling books and talked about all the places we’d like to someday visit. We talked about spiritual things and family things and recreational things and school things and everything things. We still had a wait for dinner so we went bowling at BYU. We had a lot of fun throwing granny balls and gutter balls and the occasional lucky strike. Finally, dinnertime came and we enjoyed a nice Brazilian style meal together. The night came to an end and again we hugged goodnight, not realizing at all what we were getting ourselves into.

March 2009

February came and went and Aaron and I had gone on a hand-full of dates together. We cooked together and went to church firesides. In March we talked on the phone a few times, played cards, and had frozen yogurt but were still completely oblivious to what was happening between us.

April 2009

I had left for Alaska March 31^st to work on my Dad’s commercial fishing boat, not knowing when I would return to BYU. Laurel was focused on her last semester before student teaching, making even more plans for her move to Washington DC. I contacted her a few times through text messaging and email while I was busy fishing and still, neither of us saw much more than a developing friendship.

Me on the Liahona in Alaska (pictured above)

Laurel with her El. Ed. Cohort at BYU (pictured below)

May 2009

Aaron attended Andy and Heidi’s wedding in Arizona, and decided he did not want to return to Alaska to fish the remainder of the summer. Instead, he came back to BYU to take summer classes and ended up buying Andy’s housing contract. Ironically enough, and as fate would have it, Aaron and I would now be living a few doors down from each other. Aaron had told me he would be moving into the apartment complex, but he wasn't sure when he'd get in town. As it worked out, I happened to be sitting outside writing letters at the same time he got there. He was headed to his car, and we both did a double take as he walked by. We talked for a while, catching up. I told him about a group bonfire that was going on that night. I invited him to go with me, and we spent the evening roasting hotdogs and hanging out with friends.

We planned on dinner and a movie the next night. Then we planed to hike together the day after that. Then make dinner together, then hike, then bike ride, and then hike some more. We did a lot of hiking and outdoors activities the whole month of May. We cooked together a lot and spent evenings on long walks. We spent every day together, and the more time we spent together, the more I knew I was falling for him. Aaron said “I love you” first, and although it scared me, I was feeling that maybe I loved him too. It didn’t take long for me to realize and express that I loved him…a lot.

June 2009

Laurel and I went on a kayaking excursion with a group of buddies. The trip was full of adventure… staring down the barrel of a U-haul, near death experience in a river kayak, Laurel being hit on by drunk rednecks (protected by me of course!), and a major rock slide. The adventure brought us closer together as we laughed, talked, and shared life experiences all while building our own memories together. After the trip, it was apparent to us both that things were headed in a more serious direction than we had originally thought. Laurel was confused because she had plans to move to DC. I was scared because things were moving A LOT quicker than anticipated. After a few weeks of convincing ourselves we’d see where things stood when Laurel finished student teaching in DC, reality started to kick in.

When Aaron’s roommates started giving him a hard time... “So, when you going to ask Laurel to marry you?” He said couldn’t come up a very good reason not to ask me. Soon after, Aaron and I were shopping together, and we walked by a jewelry shop. Aaron looked at it sidelong and we both laughed. On our way out of the store we stopped to look “just for fun.”

At one point Aaron compared our relationship to running downhill—you know how when you’re running downhill, and if you try to stop fast you fall over? That’s about how we started to feel the more we talked about marriage. We both felt really good about our relationship, and we knew we were doing everything we could in order to keep our Heavenly Father’s influence in our lives, so we figured, “Why slow down?”

A few days later, Laurel had to place all her focus on taking the PRAXIS, a test for Elementary Education certification. So, she and I decided we wouldn’t talk about our relationship until she was finished with the test. Well, that didn’t work… at all. Despite her need to stay focused, we were talking even more about our future together. By that week, we had set a date to be married in the temple—August 20^th, 2009—and I didn’t even have a ring on her finger… yet!

Although in many ways Aaron took my mind away from my studies, he also made sure to take care of me by making me lunches, dinners, and reviewing with me so I could more effectively prepare for my test. Each packed lunch and review session made me realize even more that I wanted to share my life with him. One of my favorite things about Aaron and I's relationship is how we help one another reach our goals. Now we have a lifetime of dreams & goals to build together!