The Best Decision I Ever Made

Yesterday was mine and Shawn’s six-year anniversary. It’s crazy how time flies! It’s been a whirlwind and I can’t imagine going through it without Shawn by my side. As I contemplated what to write for this post, I got thinking about how Shawn and I met and thought it would be kind of fun to share our story! So if you’ve heard it, I apologize. If not, maybe you’ll get some laughs!

I was born and raised in Spokane, Washington. My parents had lived their whole lives there. My grandparents lived there. My dad worked there. My sisters were in school there. I didn’t see them moving anytime soon, but I guess the long cold winters of Eastern Washington had finally taken their toll (eight feet of snow in two weeks will do that to you).

My family and I had visited the beautiful, sunny town of St. George, Utah during Spring Break of 2008. I hadn’t believed in love at first site until that point…my parents were smitten with this quaint little southern town! It was 75 degrees in March, something unheard of back in Spokane. The breathtaking red rock canyons, the peaks of Zion National Park, and historical downtown all took part in winning my parents over!

Fast forward a year, my parents had sold our house in Spokane and found a home in St. George. Due to the flexibility of my dad’s job and the desire for year-round sunshine, they were making their dream a reality! At Thanksgiving of 2009, my older sister and I came home from college and helped move them down to Utah for their new big adventure. We had Thanksgiving dinner at a diner somewhere along the route and pulled into St. George the next day (this will be an important part of the story later)!

I was currently studying at BYU in Provo, so after the break I headed back up there. I participated in a program called “Running Start” during my junior and senior years of high school where I was in college full time. It was great and I graduated with my Associates Degree, but it also came with a lot of pressure. Because I had done all of my prerequisites during high school, I was a young freshman in college having to declare a major and know what I wanted to do with my life. BYU has a very competitive Accounting/Business program and I was in huge classes, with upwards of 750 people in each. Basically, what it boils down to is that I was overwhelmed and needed some time to decide what I wanted. So in February of 2010 I moved down to St. George to live at home and work for a bit while I tried to figure things out.

Fast forward again to August 2010. I had been going on dates and seeing different people, but no one that I was really serious about. One night a good friend of mine invited me to play soccer with her and some friends. Being the soccer enthusiast that I am, I jumped at the chance to play! I showed up not really knowing anyone or expecting anything besides a fun pick-up game. After my friend introduced me to everyone, teams were chosen. There must have been some divine intervention because not only did I ended up playing against Shawn, but we ended up playing the same team and guarding each other most of the night.

This is the part of the story that gets a bit fuzzy. I don’t remember if we talked much or what my first impression of Shawn was because when I play soccer…that’s where my mind is focused haha! I kind of go into beast mode and don’t think about anything else. It’s my version of therapy. Everyone and everything is tuned out. Anyways, after we were done playing I walked out to the parking lot with my friend and saw Shawn standing by his car. I want to say that I said something cute or clever like we should do something sometime, but honestly, I don’t have a clue!

Fast forward to December 2010. In the last four months since I’d met Shawn, I had asked him to hang out or come do things with all our mutual friends several times, but he always had an excuse or something else to do. One of our mutual friends kept telling me that Shawn liked me and that I needed to be persistent, but at this point I was seriously doubting it. My older sister came to St. George for Christmas break and asked me to set up a double or triple date while she was there. I said sure and ended up asking two guys who were friends with Shawn to be my sister and friend’s dates. Then I needed a date and I figured since Shawn’s friends were going that maybe he’d go with me. I asked him and to my surprise he actually said YES! So now I get to tease him about how I asked him on our first date! Two weeks later we were officially dating exclusively so maybe Shawn just needed that little nudge to get the ball rolling!

Aside from a short (like two week) break, we dated until July 4th, 2011 when Shawn proposed. With the help from his family and mine, he totally surprised me and sent me on a scavenger hunt around St. George to all of the places we had gone on dates and had special memories. At each location I got a card with a clue for the next destination. At this point I began to realize what was happening! I ended up at the new St. George airport where Shawn and I had danced for the first time. He was waiting for me and once I got out of the car, he turned on the first song we had danced to. While we were dancing, I looked down at this pant pocket and saw the outline of a small box so I was sure he was about to propose! And of course, like any girl, got emotional and giddy. After the song, Shawn got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Still emotional and crying, I was able to squeak out a yes!

We were so excited to share the news with our family and friends and start planning our wedding! My sister and her future hubby had gotten engaged at the end of May and were planning their wedding for the middle of July. I didn’t want my mom to have a stroke, so Shawn and I decided to wait a few months. We got married on September 10th, 2011, neither of us knowing it was 9-10-11. But hey, that makes it easy to remember!

Shawn and I have achieved a lot of things and been through quite a bit in our six years together! I love him more and more each day. If I had to choose all over again, I'd pick him every time! He truly makes me a better person and we compliment each other in every way possible. Here's to many more years to come!! Love you babe!