Hello, I'm ol' blue eyes from the last post.
Few people know this about me; I was born in Manti, Utah. Never heard of it? That's because the town is about as big as its name. It's a small town in central Utah with a population of between 2,000-3,000 and a single stop sign in the middle of town. My family moved to Riverside, California when I was about two years old, but we would go back to our house every summer to visit friends.
I am the youngest of 8 children. Yup, eight! And, as the youngest child of any large family can tell you, I am grateful my parents decided on one more child (though my brother just above me insists I was an accident!) My mother was born and raised in California. My father was born in Kansas, but moved around the South/South West with his family until they finally settled in Utah. He did spend many of his formative years in Texas, though. I would often tell people that since my dad was 'from' Texas, us kids were weaned with guns and cards, as evidenced in our fascination with firearms and our enjoyment of playing card games. Most notably Pinochle.
Most of my early memories involve sleeping under the stars on warm summer nights in that little town of Manti, swimming at the public pool, and doing what boys do best: getting dirty and having fun! Pleasant memories...
Riverside was a metropolis in comparison with a population of around 200,000. We had a neat little house just big enough for my seven siblings, my parents, and me. Other than school, my years in Riverside were spent much like my summers in Manti. I was running around getting dirty, swimming in neighbors' pools, catching snakes with my best friend, 'camping' in the backyard, riding our bikes halfway around the world! Ok, it seemed like it was halfway around the world. Turns out it wasn't even half way through the city.
I grew up very active in my church and attended almost every week. When I was old enough, I started the Scouting program with the ward den and troop, 606. It took me longer than my brothers, but I did eventually earn the rank of Eagle Scout, making me number 6 of 6 boys in my family to earn that prestigious award! It was touch and go for a bit, but I got it done.
Mostly what took so long was my involvement with sports in high school. I attended La Sierra High School in Riverside where I ran cross-country, wrestled, ran track, and swam. I met and made friends with some of the most loyal and amazing people ever! We called ourselves the Big Dogs and had the best times together. We became such good friends we called each others' parents mom and dad. We still keep in touch and hang out whenever we can!
I thoroughly enjoyed swimming and running cross-country and track, but I participated in those mainly to stay in shape for wrestling. I was super passionate about wrestling! Partly because it was a family tradition (all my brothers wrestled during high school and my dad even wrestled for BYU), but mostly because it has always been recognized as the preeminent form of martial combat. Like chess, only man-on-man with strength, wit, and stamina instead of with little carved pieces. During wrestling season, nothing else existed for me, not even girlfriends. It was nothing personal, it was just wrestling.
The summer prior to my senior year, my church hosted a beach party in Oceanside. I, of course, went with my best friend, Darren, in his dad's 15 seat passenger van. We had a great time at the beach! By that time in my life, the beach was my home away from home. During the summers, if I wasn't in Manti with my family, I was at the beach with my friends. As the party wore down, we gathered everything together and loaded it in the van. We even managed to pick up two extra passengers; a cute little brunette and her blond sister. They sat in the row behind Darren and me.
I am a huge fan of Depeche Mode. Their music is incredible. I've listened to Depeche Mode as long as I can remember, so every chance I got to pick the music, DM would be playing. Darren was a big fan too, so we popped in one of our CDs. We were driving along talking and listening to Depeche Mode when I heard a voice, for the first time ever, from the seat behind me ask, "Is that Depeche Mode?" I replied, "You know who they are?" She flashed a sheepish smile and just nodded. "I have to marry you," I said.
I learned that the Brunette was named Heather Webb. We talked off and on after that at school or church, but not much more. Sadly, I never even took her on a date. Not by choice. Oh no, I thought she was a very cute girl and wanted to, but several people in our church told me, in front of her, that I should take her on a date. I agreed, but I didn't want it to seem like it was someone else's idea. I wanted her to know I was taking her on a date because I wanted to. It never materialized.
I eventually served a two-year mission for my church in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. There, I learned to speak French and to love poutine (look it up. It's delicious!) and forgot the names of the Big Dogs. I remembered Darren's name because, against all odds, he was called to the same mission! I did later learn that the Big Dogs would often visit with my parents, while I was gone, to see how my family was doing. Best friends a man can ask for!
Anyway, when I got home from my mission it took me a bit to remember everyone's name. The only exception was Heather. I ran into her at church one day and immediately recognized her. We had a great 'catch me up' conversation and spoke together every week at church. When I finally was comfortable enough with being home (it is a weird transition between mission life and home life) I decided I wanted to start dating.
One Sunday, I was sitting with the choir at the front of the church. I had a perfect view of the entire congregation and was looking around to see who I would ask first. As I looked around, I saw Heather in the row in front of me. I got the warm and fuzzy feeling that she would be a great person to date. She was not an easy target, though. I persisted for several weeks calling her, stopping by her apartment, and even talking to her at church. Finally, when I was on the verge of looking like a stalker, she said she would go on a date with me.
We hit it off right away and casually dated for a few weeks. On October 28, 2004, I asked her to be my girlfriend. We spent a lot of time together and both felt strongly we were right for each other. I asked her to marry me on January 31, 2005. On May 21st of the same year, we were married in the San Diego Temple and haven't looked back since.
Our nine years of marriage have been quite a journey so far that led us to a small town in Utah. I can't wait to see what other adventures it brings.
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