Our story

I have been wanting to do this for a while and as a new years goal I have finally started-I just have to keep it up!

So i thought I would start with how Daniel and I met. I was up at Ricks-now BYU-Idaho and my cousin called me out of the blue and said "i know who your one and only is." I had been set-up on too many blind dates and wasnt all that interested- but I decided to go along- Michael(my cousin) told me about this guy- Daniel- whom he had know in Kindergarten and they had remained friends over the years and were both back from their missions. He told me he was just a "good guy". As I was in Idaho and he was in Arizona the opportunity to meet had yet to present itself, so we started emailing. A few months later Michael and Daniel planned a trip to Utah and I went down that same weekend to visit my family- so we met- interestingly enough the "sparks" werent flying- so I went up to finish off the semester and he went back to the desertwasteland and we didnt really email after that. During this time an uncle of mine needed a kidney transplant and my oldest brother had selflessly volunteered to be the doner- My brother and his young family lived in Yuma at the time and the operation was to be done in Phoenix- so they asked if I would come down and watch their boys-I just finished the semester and so i headed down there. Michael decided to try to get us-(daniel and I) together while I was down for the month- so two weeks after the operation we (Daniel, Michael, and I) went to San Diego for the weekend. We went to Magic mountain and Michael kept disappearing while we waited in the long lines, so Daniel and I had lots of time to converse. On the drive back to Yuma we swapped scriptures and as I was looking through his I was quite intimidated with all the notes he had taken and how deeply he had studied-- they dropped me off at my brothers and i sent him an email that night thanking him for a great weekend- he emailed back and left me his number- I am so old fashioned and would never be the one to call a boy- but my brother explained a few things to me and alas I called- we talked all night on the phone and the next night and so it went. The next weekend he came down again-(he lived in Mesa) and we went out on our first date- we ended up hanging out all night long and after a good game of basketball and some arm wrestling Daniel made his move and kissed me- HELLO SPARKS! To this day he says I kissed him- but again- I am so old fashioned and would never be the one to make the first move- He kissed me and I kissed him back! we just had a great time together and talked and played and then the sun came up--so the next morning when he dropped me off at my brothers my brother was giving me a hard time about being out all night long with a stranger- but I invited Daniel over for dinner that night so that he would no longer be considered a stranger to my brother--a few hours before dinner I took Daniel to meet my grandma and as we left she called out-"he has my stamp of approval"- that night at dinner Reed and Allyson were impressed with Daniel and after we cleaned up and played some games, they sent their boys to bed, and we went on a walk and again ended up hanging out all night-- He left the next morning and we continued emailing and calling each other every day and that weekend I flew back home to Utah- he came the next weekend as his younger brother was leaving the MTC- so I met his parents that weekend as well- I invited him to spend the week with my favorite aunt and uncle and their adorable family at Lake Powell a few weeks later and they fell in love with him. My aunt and uncle knew me pretty well as I had spent quite a bit of time at their home babysitting and I worked at my uncles office, so they had met a few of the guys I had gone out with over the years- and they could tell that I was uncomfortable and not myself with most of the other guys i had gone out with. So after our week in Powell Jim told my mother that in addition to all these great things they noticed about Daniel, the thing they noticed the most was that I was myself around him and that made all the difference. After that week, we spent the weekend in Mesa and I met his grandma and some of his relatives and at that point we were both attached to each other- But the future was uncertain as I was planning on heading back to Idaho at the end of the summer and he was working and going to school in Mesa. Long distance wasnt what either of us wanted. we talked and prayed and talked and prayed and thought about our future. And then we decided to get married~! He officially proposed two weeks after that. We met in Vegas to meet his sister and after a dinner show at Ceasers palace we went on a gondola ride at the Venetian and as the guy serenaded us Daniel popped out the ring, and asked me to marry him!So a month later off to the Timpanogos Temple we went!

even though our relationship was so quick, I knew Daniel was the one man I wanted to spend my life with. He is truly amazing! I loved how he treated my grandma and I loved the relationship he had with his grandma. I loved how thoughtful he always was and how he could sense a need and without a second thought offered help. I loved how he was so amazing with kids. I loved that he was a romantic. I loved his sense of humor. I loved that we could talk and talk and never run out of things to talk about. I loved that he was so genuine with his emotions, feelings and thoughts and that he trusted me with those. I loved how he was a hard worker, and was always the first to jump in and help out. I loved his perspective about everything. I loved how he kissed me. I loved that he always opened the door for me. I loved how he would always reach out for my hand while driving and walking. I loved his testimony and his desire to do good and be good. I loved how everyone was comfortable around him. I loved how he was so accepting and loving of everyone and really didnt judge people. I loved how he wasnt afraid to tell me how he felt about me. I loved the way he looked at me. I loved the way he listened. I loved the way he smiled. I loved his sincerity.

I truly love this man and as we have been married for 6 &1/2 years- he hasnt lost one of those qualities about him that I fell in love with. He is the most amazing father. He is so selfless not just with me and the kids, but with everyone. He is an amazing friend. He is so considerate and kind. He has more patience than anyone I know. He is forgiving. He is so grateful and appreciative. He is so smart and creative. He is so much fun and just has the most refreshing sense of humor. And he is still extremely romantic. He still opens the door for me and still reaches out for my hand. He still trusts me with his emotions and thoughts and believes in me and sees me as I can become. I love that he still is a hard worker and not just in relation to his responsibilities to provide for us, but also how he works hard to help others. I love that he still notices the needs of those around him and jumps in to offer help. I love his honesty and integrity. I love that he is so thoughtful. I love that he is still so loving and still doesnt judge others. I love the gift of charity he has been given and the sincerity of his heart. i love his desire to serve and give. I love that he is full of goodness. I love his testimony of the gospel. I still love his boyish smile. I love the way he looks at me and the way he makes me feel. I love how he loves me and finds a way everyday to tell me.

Daniel is the love of my life and I cant even explain how deeply truly grateful I am to have him in my life-and so with that you have the start of our story!