HAPPY 11th ANNIVERSARY JOHN AND NAT!!!

Since I wasn't blogging during our 10th anniversary last year I have decided to make a big deal out of our 11th anniversary. Yep, that's today, August 19th, 2009. Of course it's a busy day so we won't be able to celebrate until later but I just wanted to let you all know how much I love and appreciate John. He is the best husband, dad, friend, brother, son a person could ask for. I love him now a zillion times more than when we were first married and I am so excited to spend the rest of my life with him!

*Quick Side note: the first 3 songs I have listed are from our wedding video (yes video, we were married right before DVDs were the big thing) and the other songs hold meaning for us from the early days on. Sorry for all you non-loving country folks. If you listen to the words you can get past the twang! Also I am sorry there are no wedding photos. Glen Ricks did a wonderful job and we love our pictures but I don't think I'm allowed to download them because they are copyrighted (again right before the whole picture DVDs were the big thing). I only have random more recent photos because I don't have a scanner.

For records sake here is the story of how we met and became the family that we are. Here is our story:

John and I went on our first date April 4, 1998. His cousin Amy, from Georgia, was going to BYU and set us up. She used to clean my parents house every Friday. I was going to UVSC at the time and I was always done early on Fridays so I would head home and that's how we met. We became fast friends and started hanging out here and there. She finally told me she wanted to set me up with her cousin from Lehi. She told me he was 24 living at home and had just broken up with a girl he had dated off and on for 5 years. His mom had asked if she knew anyone Amy could set him up with and she thought of me. OK, so does anybody see any red flags here? Here was my thinking:

1. I hate, Hate, HATE blind dates!

2. He's from hick-town Lehi. Enough said.

3. He's 24 and living at home. What's up with that?

4. Breaking up after a 5 year on and off relationship? Desperate.

5. Mom is the one working this out? Again enough said.

Because I liked Amy I agreed to go with the words "do not expect anything to come of this. I hate blind dates and I'm only doing this to be nice!" She gave him my number and he called 2 days later (I personally thought that was a little fast moving). More red flags. I hated the way he talked on the phone (all his small town lingo and the strange things I thought he said). Then he scheduled a marathon date for our first date and I about died. We were to go 4-wheeling up AF Canyon starting at 10:00am and then head home later in the day and get cleaned up for a dinner and a movie. I honestly thought he was nuts! We didn't even know each other. I am not kidding when I say that I hung up the phone, I went downstairs and told my mom about our conversation and I started crying (remember Mom?). I did not want to go out with him!

As luck would have it, it was raining the day we were supposed to go out so he called and canceled the 4-wheeling. My friend, Danny, was over at my house and I asked him how I could get out of the date with John (John was on the phone). He reminded me that priesthood session was that night and that I should tell John to go. It was perfect! I made him feel guilty so he went to priesthood and we didn't have to go out until later that night. I will say that I was pleasantly surprised when I saw him standing in the doorway. He was really cute and shy. We went to Winger's to eat and to see The Man in the Iron Mask. I was pretty impressed. He was very much a gentlemen and he was so shy he could hardly look at me. I did all the talking (which doesn't surprise any of you). To make a long story a little shorter - the rest is history! We were married in the Mt. Timpanogos temple 4 1/2 months later on August 19, 1998. We had our reception in the garden at The Bungalow in Pleasant Grove. It was perfect! For our honeymoon we spent the first night at Sundance, the second at The Kimball in Salt Lake, then 4 nights on a Royal Caribbean cruise to Ensenada, Mexico, and 1 night in Los Angeles. Good times!!!

The Proposal:

I have to tell this one last thing. How John proposed. My whole family went to Lehi to participate in the Chamberlain's annual Lehi Round-up Days Celebration! It started with the traditional mini float parade. For those of you who don't know about this parade, every ward and stake in Lehi make a float to enter in the parade and there are some other floats, cheerleaders, bands, etc. When John's parent's ward float came by his sisters unrolled a huge sign that said "Natalie, Will You Marry Me?". I looked over at him and he was kneeling down holding out a ring in box in his hand. Of course I screamed "YES" and he put the ring on my finger and hugged me. Everyone on the street and across the street started clapping and cheering. It was one of the greatest moments of my life. My family videoed the whole thing and a year later my brother "accidentally" filmed over it (thanks Jimmy!). All I have are the memories. After that we all went to the rodeo. I remember hearing some people whisper "that's the couple that got engaged at the parade" when we walked by. John even caught me a T-shirt when they threw them out at the crowd. What a great night!

HERE'S TO 80 MORE YEARS TOGETHER HON! I LOVE YOU!!!