How We Met (and stuff)
Deanna's add-ins are written in italics :)
The specific details on how we met are a little questionable. I like to think we met in Las Vegas, but I'm not sure we were actually introduced (I also don't remember us being introduced...)
In November of 2005, my buddy Jeff invited me to Las Vegas to go to a BYU/UNLV football game (Obviously BYU won convincingly!) I also invited my roommate, another buddy and some girls in our ward to go as well.
After the game, we went to the strip to see the sites. While walking around, the girls we were with ran into Deanna. They have all been best friends since their freshman year.
I don't remember having any interaction with her, but I assume that our friends probably introduced us. Deanna doesn't remember either and this is why we don't know if we met in Las Vegas or the next spring.
After our fateful meeting in Las Vegas, we didn't see each other until she moved in with her friends and into my ward in April of 2006. Luckily, I was still great friends with her friends and was able to get to know her better as a result (The girls that I lived with were and are still some of my best friends in the world. Most of us met our freshman year of college and have remained close for almost a decade now! I love them!)
Our group of friends did everything together that summer. It is arguably one of my favorite summers from college and the biggest reason is because of that group of friends and Deanna in particular. That summer included a lot of late nights, trips to the canyon, Squaw Peak (for those of you familiar with the Provo area, none of us used squaw peak for the traditional way that several couples use it, just so you know...), dancing, stargazing, and an awesome road trip to San Francisco.
That summer solidified our friendship to the point that no matter where either of us moved within Provo, we still saw each other almost every week. If you have lived in Provo, you know that moving even one block from some friends might mean you'll never see them again. Usually a new ward means new friends, but thankfully we didn't let that happen (Yup...)
I can't really say when I fell for her (I also don't really know when to make that call, though I might be able to give you a little bit of a time line if you ask). From our first summer together, I knew that she was incredible. I knew that she was gorgeous. I knew I liked her, but I also knew that I was not on her radar. So for years I suppressed those feelings knowing that saying something would more than likely ruin our friendship (As sad as that is, it's probably true. The timing definitely couldn't have been any different then it was. If he had told me he liked me too early I probably would've freaked out and just faded out of the picture. Maybe it's my stubborn nature but if I'm in anyway sort of pushed into something, I tend to back out the opposite way haha...is that bad?? Hmmmm...)
The summer of 2009 came and she announced that she was moving to Chicago ( For those of you who know me well, you know that this was NOT a happy thing for me...I didn't leave Illinois with the best taste in my mouth after high school, so to be moving back about ruined any bit of mental stability that I had. But for some reason, even with all of those negative feelings everything still moved forward...)That was tough. I still knew that I shouldn't say anything. It just didn't feel right. So I soaked up as much time as I could with her (He was an awesome friend to me. He came and hung out with me almost every night, helped me fix my ping-pong table, spent countless hours playing farkle at my kitchen table, and was just really stable and kind while I was getting everything ready and not wanting to go.)
August came and I helped move her to Chicago so she could attend cosmetology school (He packed my whole car!!! Probably a little too well considering my transmission blew later because it was too heavy...oops! haha) Her sister was in the Young Women's presidency with my sister-in-law, so I used the trip as a way to see my brother and his family, but more to spend more time with Deanna (Crazy that his family lived by my family!! Small world...)
To make a long story short, we obviously stayed close friends while she was in Chicago (Thank goodness! I had a really rough several months when I started out and he helped me through a lot by taking my phone calls whenever and skype-ing at random times of the night...) She came to UT a few times to visit and I went to Chicago once to visit her for her birthday (he said that it was just because he had a break and he wanted to visit his brother's family....RIIIIIIIIIIIGHT...). Last summer, she flew out so I could take her to a Ben Folds concert in Park City as her graduation present (That's when he dropped the bomb on me...not at the concert...but on the way to the airport...keep reading...)
Last year, I finally decided to risk everything and tell her I liked her. She came to Utah in July for a visit and on the way to the airport for her flight back to Chicago I worked up the nerve to tell her I liked her (I wigged out inside...)
She wasn't in a place yet to give me an answer and that was fine with me. I wasn't wanting to pressure her, but just wanted her to know how I felt about her. Thankfully, we stayed good friends in spite of how awkward that could have made things (So I've been told by other people before that they liked me and for a lot of those scenarios I just sort of left the picture, but Dale was one of my best friends and I knew that I owed it to him to at least think about this and to discuss with him my concerns and kind of what was going on in my brain. We had been friends for so long and I knew that this was really a different situation!)
When I came to Chicago this past February for my niece's baptism, I also went to Deanna's family's house. She decided that she wanted to date me and that is when she made all of her moves.
( OKAY...so this is what REALLY happened. I had actually been emotionally transitioning into the idea that we might be able to date, and I knew it was all kind of riding on when I was going to see him in February. So he came out for the baptism and I realized that a lot of my concerns had been resolved. I panicked...not on the outside, but mostly in my brain. I knew that the ball was in my court. Luckily my mom had suggested to invite him down to Charleston the next weekend, which I had wanted to do, but didn't want him to think it was my idea so that way he wouldn't think I was leading him on......
See? ....
I was crazy inside.
Anyway, he picked me up from work on Wednesday of that week, we went to see some friends at Purdue and then drove to Charleston Thursday afternoon. That night we all watched Despicable Me...I was a mental mess. I knew I at least owed it to this kid to try to date him, but I had no idea if I really should or how to go about doing that. So after flopping around on the couch and going back and forth in my head on whether or not I should do something, I finally got the distinct impression that I was never really going to know if we should date unless I acted...so I finally just somewhat abruptly put my head on his arm. He was stiff as a board, probably wondering what on earth was going on, and feeling a little nervous because my dad was two feet away asleep in a recliner. So, yeah, after that it's history! We were all of the sudden dating. We went to Chicago the next day and saw Les Miserables with his brother and sister-in-law, which I guess was technically our first date as a couple, even though we've been on dozens of friend dates. So I think it was the Lord at that point that kind of pushed things along. I pretty quickly suggested that we should just get married...which is insanity, but at the time seemed definitely like the right thing to do, and then the 'cosmos aligned', hehe...)
Since we have been best friends for years, everything has fallen into place perfectly and we both feel like there was nothing we could have done to stop it. It's worked out pretty well 
(I agree) --Dale (and Deanna)
How We Met (and stuff)
Deanna's add-ins are written in italics :)
The specific details on how we met are a little questionable. I like to think we met in Las Vegas, but I'm not sure we were actually introduced (I also don't remember us being introduced...)
The specific details on how we met are a little questionable. I like to think we met in Las Vegas, but I'm not sure we were actually introduced (I also don't remember us being introduced...)
In November of 2005, my buddy Jeff invited me to Las Vegas to go to a BYU/UNLV football game (Obviously BYU won convincingly!) I also invited my roommate, another buddy and some girls in our ward to go as well.
After the game, we went to the strip to see the sites. While walking around, the girls we were with ran into Deanna. They have all been best friends since their freshman year.
I don't remember having any interaction with her, but I assume that our friends probably introduced us. Deanna doesn't remember either and this is why we don't know if we met in Las Vegas or the next spring.
After our fateful meeting in Las Vegas, we didn't see each other until she moved in with her friends and into my ward in April of 2006. Luckily, I was still great friends with her friends and was able to get to know her better as a result (The girls that I lived with were and are still some of my best friends in the world. Most of us met our freshman year of college and have remained close for almost a decade now! I love them!)
Our group of friends did everything together that summer. It is arguably one of my favorite summers from college and the biggest reason is because of that group of friends and Deanna in particular. That summer included a lot of late nights, trips to the canyon, Squaw Peak (for those of you familiar with the Provo area, none of us used squaw peak for the traditional way that several couples use it, just so you know...), dancing, stargazing, and an awesome road trip to San Francisco.
That summer solidified our friendship to the point that no matter where either of us moved within Provo, we still saw each other almost every week. If you have lived in Provo, you know that moving even one block from some friends might mean you'll never see them again. Usually a new ward means new friends, but thankfully we didn't let that happen (Yup...)
I can't really say when I fell for her (I also don't really know when to make that call, though I might be able to give you a little bit of a time line if you ask). From our first summer together, I knew that she was incredible. I knew that she was gorgeous. I knew I liked her, but I also knew that I was not on her radar. So for years I suppressed those feelings knowing that saying something would more than likely ruin our friendship (As sad as that is, it's probably true. The timing definitely couldn't have been any different then it was. If he had told me he liked me too early I probably would've freaked out and just faded out of the picture. Maybe it's my stubborn nature but if I'm in anyway sort of pushed into something, I tend to back out the opposite way haha...is that bad?? Hmmmm...)
The summer of 2009 came and she announced that she was moving to Chicago ( For those of you who know me well, you know that this was NOT a happy thing for me...I didn't leave Illinois with the best taste in my mouth after high school, so to be moving back about ruined any bit of mental stability that I had. But for some reason, even with all of those negative feelings everything still moved forward...)That was tough. I still knew that I shouldn't say anything. It just didn't feel right. So I soaked up as much time as I could with her (He was an awesome friend to me. He came and hung out with me almost every night, helped me fix my ping-pong table, spent countless hours playing farkle at my kitchen table, and was just really stable and kind while I was getting everything ready and not wanting to go.)
August came and I helped move her to Chicago so she could attend cosmetology school (He packed my whole car!!! Probably a little too well considering my transmission blew later because it was too heavy...oops! haha) Her sister was in the Young Women's presidency with my sister-in-law, so I used the trip as a way to see my brother and his family, but more to spend more time with Deanna (Crazy that his family lived by my family!! Small world...)
To make a long story short, we obviously stayed close friends while she was in Chicago (Thank goodness! I had a really rough several months when I started out and he helped me through a lot by taking my phone calls whenever and skype-ing at random times of the night...) She came to UT a few times to visit and I went to Chicago once to visit her for her birthday (he said that it was just because he had a break and he wanted to visit his brother's family....RIIIIIIIIIIIGHT...). Last summer, she flew out so I could take her to a Ben Folds concert in Park City as her graduation present (That's when he dropped the bomb on me...not at the concert...but on the way to the airport...keep reading...)
Last year, I finally decided to risk everything and tell her I liked her. She came to Utah in July for a visit and on the way to the airport for her flight back to Chicago I worked up the nerve to tell her I liked her (I wigged out inside...)
She wasn't in a place yet to give me an answer and that was fine with me. I wasn't wanting to pressure her, but just wanted her to know how I felt about her. Thankfully, we stayed good friends in spite of how awkward that could have made things (So I've been told by other people before that they liked me and for a lot of those scenarios I just sort of left the picture, but Dale was one of my best friends and I knew that I owed it to him to at least think about this and to discuss with him my concerns and kind of what was going on in my brain. We had been friends for so long and I knew that this was really a different situation!)
When I came to Chicago this past February for my niece's baptism, I also went to Deanna's family's house. She decided that she wanted to date me and that is when she made all of her moves.
( OKAY...so this is what REALLY happened. I had actually been emotionally transitioning into the idea that we might be able to date, and I knew it was all kind of riding on when I was going to see him in February. So he came out for the baptism and I realized that a lot of my concerns had been resolved. I panicked...not on the outside, but mostly in my brain. I knew that the ball was in my court. Luckily my mom had suggested to invite him down to Charleston the next weekend, which I had wanted to do, but didn't want him to think it was my idea so that way he wouldn't think I was leading him on......
See? ....
I was crazy inside.
Anyway, he picked me up from work on Wednesday of that week, we went to see some friends at Purdue and then drove to Charleston Thursday afternoon. That night we all watched Despicable Me...I was a mental mess. I knew I at least owed it to this kid to try to date him, but I had no idea if I really should or how to go about doing that. So after flopping around on the couch and going back and forth in my head on whether or not I should do something, I finally got the distinct impression that I was never really going to know if we should date unless I acted...so I finally just somewhat abruptly put my head on his arm. He was stiff as a board, probably wondering what on earth was going on, and feeling a little nervous because my dad was two feet away asleep in a recliner. So, yeah, after that it's history! We were all of the sudden dating. We went to Chicago the next day and saw Les Miserables with his brother and sister-in-law, which I guess was technically our first date as a couple, even though we've been on dozens of friend dates. So I think it was the Lord at that point that kind of pushed things along. I pretty quickly suggested that we should just get married...which is insanity, but at the time seemed definitely like the right thing to do, and then the 'cosmos aligned', hehe...)
( OKAY...so this is what REALLY happened. I had actually been emotionally transitioning into the idea that we might be able to date, and I knew it was all kind of riding on when I was going to see him in February. So he came out for the baptism and I realized that a lot of my concerns had been resolved. I panicked...not on the outside, but mostly in my brain. I knew that the ball was in my court. Luckily my mom had suggested to invite him down to Charleston the next weekend, which I had wanted to do, but didn't want him to think it was my idea so that way he wouldn't think I was leading him on......
See? ....
I was crazy inside.
Anyway, he picked me up from work on Wednesday of that week, we went to see some friends at Purdue and then drove to Charleston Thursday afternoon. That night we all watched Despicable Me...I was a mental mess. I knew I at least owed it to this kid to try to date him, but I had no idea if I really should or how to go about doing that. So after flopping around on the couch and going back and forth in my head on whether or not I should do something, I finally got the distinct impression that I was never really going to know if we should date unless I acted...so I finally just somewhat abruptly put my head on his arm. He was stiff as a board, probably wondering what on earth was going on, and feeling a little nervous because my dad was two feet away asleep in a recliner. So, yeah, after that it's history! We were all of the sudden dating. We went to Chicago the next day and saw Les Miserables with his brother and sister-in-law, which I guess was technically our first date as a couple, even though we've been on dozens of friend dates. So I think it was the Lord at that point that kind of pushed things along. I pretty quickly suggested that we should just get married...which is insanity, but at the time seemed definitely like the right thing to do, and then the 'cosmos aligned', hehe...)
Since we have been best friends for years, everything has fallen into place perfectly and we both feel like there was nothing we could have done to stop it. It's worked out pretty well
(I agree)
(I agree)
--Dale (and Deanna)
