In Honor of our Anniversary

Our anniversary was last Saturday. We spent all last week on Mission Beach in San Diego with all of my family and had so much fun. We went to Disneyland and Sea World and just had a blast hanging out on the beach enjoying the great weather. Our last full day there was our anniversary and we both remembered all week long. But come Saturday morning, I told Mark, "Oh, it's our anniversary, Happy Anniversary babe!!" We laughed that it took all morning to remember it and then the rest of the day, we forgot about it. It wasn't until Sunday when we were driving home that we mentioned our anniversary again. I can't believe we didn't do anything to celebrate. But it was fun being in the city that we spent our Honeymoon in. When we got to San Diego, we drove by the beautiful resort we stayed at on the bay and the yummy restaurant we ate at. It was fun reminiscing our honeymoon. But I thought since it was our anniversary, I would go back in time when Mark and I met and got married....... Here it is.....

Where did you meet your husband?

Mark and I were in 4th Ward (Singles Ward) together. A year or so before we actually met, Mark said he wanted to ask me out but he always saw me with the same guy and thought me and that other guy were dating. Well, I was always with my brother, Ryan. We always hung out and went to church, parties and whatever else together. Well, Ryan and I spoke in church and Mark finally realized that Ryan was my brother so he decided to ask me out.

Where was your first date?

Mark had this theory for first dates. Take the girl to lunch so if it isn’t working out, you just have to be with her for an hour or so. And if it does go well, you ask her out again for dinner and whatever. So Mark and I went to lunch at Mi Amigos on Gilbert and Southern in Mesa. I honestly was not too excited to go out with him (and Mark denies this, he thinks I wanted him so badly.) But I thought, it was just lunch and how bad could it go. So I went and that is where I knew something was different about that boy. (I am bound to be cheesy writing this) There was a certain point where my whole perspective changed and he caught my attention. It’s hard to describe exactly what that was. Well, the weekend after, our singles ward went on a camping trip and that was another fun time we had together.

Where was your first kiss?

It was only a week after our first date that we kissed. We were hanging out together so much. We were at his house in the living room and it just happened. That was definitely a great kiss. It was interrupted by one his roommates coming through the front door though.

How long did you date?

As crazy as it sounds, we only dated for exactly one month before we got engaged. And we married exactly four months after our first date. I went to work with him one time and I remember our conversation perfectly. We both had the confirmation before we talked about it. It was just meant to be.

How did he propose?

This is such a cute story considering Mark tried so hard to keep it a secret and make the proposal exciting and memorable. I totally knew his plans to ask me to marry him, but I tried to play it off like I had no idea. We decided to go to California for the weekend and hang with his family. Right when we got into the LA area, he took me to this mall and told me to stay in the Dillard’s store and shop for an hour while he went somewhere. He wouldn’t tell me where he was going. So we decided to meet at another store at a certain time and when I was heading to that store after an hour, I saw him in a jewelry store. I ran as fast as I could so he didn’t see me and feel like his plans were ruined. I told him after he proposed about that. But then he tried to throw me off by telling me we were going to the LA Temple to hang out so I would think he was proposing there. We ended up just going to his brother’s house instead. We went to the beach the next morning and I was going to watch him surf. (It was funny because I saw something bulging out of his swimsuit pocket on the side and I knew it was the ring.) He usually is out in the water surfing for a long time but he came back earlier than normal. When he was coming in, he acted all surprised when he saw a clam shell. He picked it up and showed me and was trying to open it. When he finally got it opened (which took a while since he super glued it shut) the ring was in there. He asked me, I cried and we were engaged after only knowing each other for a month.

When and where did you get married?

All of Mark’s brothers and his parents had been married in the Los Angeles Temple and I thought it would be kind of cool to be married in a temple other than the Mesa Temple. Plus my family got a chance to go to Disneyland the day before the wedding. We were married October 20, 2001 in the Los Angeles Temple. Such a wonderful experience that was to be married and sealed to man of my dreams!! So many friends and family made the extra effort to come to LA to see us married and that meant a lot.

How did the reception go?

Well, I was lucky and got to have 2 receptions. I got to get dressed twice in my wedding dress and get my hair done twice. The first reception was in the backyard of Mark’s parent’s home in Simi Valley, California. It was beautiful and a night to remember. So many wonderful people came. The second was at Stonebridge Manor in Mesa, Arizona. The most memorable things I think Mark and I remember the most was the mini chimichangas that were catered. We still talk about those to this day. It was a beautiful reception with so many people. I felt so lucky to have such great parents and in-laws to go out of their way to make that time in my life so great!!

How was the honeymoon?

Oh, the honeymoon! What can you say about a time where it really doesn’t matter where you go, what you eat, or how you get there, all that matters is who you are with!! We had a great time! Such a great time that I didn’t get any pictures of it. We had our cameras but didn’t use them. We spent our honeymoon in San Diego in this awesome resort. We had our own little private beach, but now that I think of it, we never sat on the beach or even walked on it. Hhhmmmmmm, I wonder why??!!