Our story began on Thanksgiving Day in 2005 when we were both 20 years old (which is crazy we didn't meet sooner because we went to the same elementary, jr. high, and high school and lived within one mile from one another)We went snowboarding with a mutual friend. I thought Ryan was so cute because he had ice in his beard! He said he remembers thinking I was fun and cute too. Neither of us pursued anything and didn't see each other for a while.
In February I went for a run around the block and decided to stop by a Family Home Evening for my singles ward. Ryan was there with that same mutual friend of ours. Ryan was in his soccer shorts because he had just got done playing. I was starring at his butt because it was so HOT in those shorts. Nick, our friend, said, "Are you starring at Ryan's butt?" He totally caught me. Ryan and I started running together every day after that and one thing led to the other and we became best friends. We were inseparable! We were always looking for crazy things to do together whether it be hiking, four wheeling, waterskiing, camp fires, motorcycle rides, long boarding, etc. We were always out doing something fun! We also fell in love with each other's families. We spent a lot of time with them. Ryan hung out at the cabin and came to Lake Powell with my family and I went to Bear Lake with his family.
One day, out of the blue, Ryan told me he had just turned in his mission papers. I was so excited for him but at the same time I was scared to let him go. He was called to the Houston, Texas mission. We went snowboarding one more time before he left and he said I'm not asking you to wait but I am hoping you will be around to kiss me on the ski lift when I get home.
Saying goodbye was really hard but we realized it was just a “See ya later.” We wrote each other every week and had the same camera so we would send the sd cards back and forth with pictures and videos. I realized I wanted in on all of the fun experiences of a mission and was called to a bordering mission, Jackson, Mississippi. It was fun encouraging each other and growing closer through letters. We came home a week a part (talk about AwKwaRd, we were both so weird and in missionary mode)!
We dated a few short months and knew that the love we had for each other didn't die over the two years apart but grew stronger. One night Ryan told me we were going to go watch a movie at his friends house but he wanted Cafe Rio to take to eat. As we were pulling out of the parking lot he gave me a blindfold and told me to put it on. We drove for what seemed like hours. He walked me out of the car and let me take the blindfold off. We were in my Grandpa's barn. He had decorated it so cute (even for a barn). He was on his knee and asked me to marry him. We were married four months later on December 28th, 2007.
The last three years have been so much fun. We’ve traveled to a lot of fun places, built our first home, Heather graduated from college and Ryan is getting closer to graduating. We have discovered that some of our favorite things to do together are camping, horseback riding, four wheeling, and snowboarding. We spend a lot of time outdoors. We have really enjoyed our time together but have recently felt as though something was missing: KIDS. We both love kids and are always having the nieces and nephews over for sleepovers and parties and would love to have our own children to be a part of the fun.
The infertility trouble was really rough and not fun; however, Garth Brooks said it well, "Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers." We have grown so close to one another and relied on one another for strength. We also know that one day we will have a little baby through adoption and that will be the greatest gift imaginable!
Fun places we've been:
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| Cabo, Mexico |
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| Jackson Hole |
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| Escalante |
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| Cancun Mexico |
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| St. George |
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| Marysvale |
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| Bryce Canyon |
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| Grey's River |
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| Puerto Rico |
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| St. Thomas |
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| Palisades |
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| Jenni Lake |
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| Austin, Texas |
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| Dominican Republic |
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| Bahamas |
A movie Heather made for Ryan while he was on his mission:
Our story began on Thanksgiving Day in 2005 when we were both 20 years old (which is crazy we didn't meet sooner because we went to the same elementary, jr. high, and high school and lived within one mile from one another)We went snowboarding with a mutual friend. I thought Ryan was so cute because he had ice in his beard! He said he remembers thinking I was fun and cute too. Neither of us pursued anything and didn't see each other for a while. 
In February I went for a run around the block and decided to stop by a Family Home Evening for my singles ward. Ryan was there with that same mutual friend of ours. Ryan was in his soccer shorts because he had just got done playing. I was starring at his butt because it was so HOT in those shorts. Nick, our friend, said, "Are you starring at Ryan's butt?" He totally caught me. Ryan and I started running together every day after that and one thing led to the other and we became best friends. We were inseparable! We were always looking for crazy things to do together whether it be hiking, four wheeling, waterskiing, camp fires, motorcycle rides, long boarding, etc. We were always out doing something fun! We also fell in love with each other's families. We spent a lot of time with them. Ryan hung out at the cabin and came to Lake Powell with my family and I went to Bear Lake with his family.
Saying goodbye was really hard but we realized it was just a “See ya later.” We wrote each other every week and had the same camera so we would send the sd cards back and forth with pictures and videos. I realized I wanted in on all of the fun experiences of a mission and was called to a bordering mission, Jackson, Mississippi. It was fun encouraging each other and growing closer through letters. We came home a week a part (talk about AwKwaRd, we were both so weird and in missionary mode)!
We dated a few short months and knew that the love we had for each other didn't die over the two years apart but grew stronger. One night Ryan told me we were going to go watch a movie at his friends house but he wanted Cafe Rio to take to eat. As we were pulling out of the parking lot he gave me a blindfold and told me to put it on. We drove for what seemed like hours. He walked me out of the car and let me take the blindfold off. We were in my Grandpa's barn. He had decorated it so cute (even for a barn). He was on his knee and asked me to marry him. We were married four months later on December 28th, 2007. 
The last three years have been so much fun. We’ve traveled to a lot of fun places, built our first home, Heather graduated from college and Ryan is getting closer to graduating. We have discovered that some of our favorite things to do together are camping, horseback riding, four wheeling, and snowboarding. We spend a lot of time outdoors. We have really enjoyed our time together but have recently felt as though something was missing: KIDS. We both love kids and are always having the nieces and nephews over for sleepovers and parties and would love to have our own children to be a part of the fun. 
