The Reception

There are very few things in my life that have ever been this perfect. My wedding reception was just like I had always wanted and imagined it would be. It was a little like I imagine Heaven will be. I was able to see all my family and friends and enjoy talking to them. I loved each and every part of it but more than anything else I loved to see all my family and friends together in one place. I felt like a princess and loved the princess like party. I appreciate that so many people could come and participate in our wedding.

Our Wedding Day

The morning started off early. I scheduled my hair appointment for very early. Angie came with me to help make sure everything went well. My hairdresser did not show on time and I was already a little nervous. It took longer than expected to get my hair done after that and now all my plans to be early were amiss...I was running late. Angie did my makeup because although I felt old enough to get married I still could not really put on make up. I used Stacey's eye lash curler for the first time ever and like the results. I was getting later and later. I did not like to be late and was very nervous. At some point we called Cameron and family and let them know we were running late.

My mom rushed me out the door and drove towards the hotel where Cameron and family were staying. We were much later than I had even warned them. I put my nylons on while my mom drove down the road. My mom dirrected a man who was looking a little to closely at me to look away. At the hotel Cameron and his parents were in the car already waiting for us to arrive. (This is the only time in my entire marriage where my mother-in-law was in the car waiting for us to arrive because she was ready first. And I would publicly like to thank her for that.)

We arrived at the temple and got ready. We were led in to a room together to have a few moments before we would be married for time and all eternity. We sat together waiting for the time when we would be married. (Mormon weddings are different and it is kosher to see each other before the ceremony.) We kept waiting and waiting for what seemed like forever. We started wondering if they were really going to let us get married. And we kept wondering. I was just starting to get really nervous when someone came for us. (Later I found out that I15 had been closed through Sandy and that we were waiting for Uncle Don and Aunt Ellen to arrive. I am so glad we waited for them as I love them so much now and am glad they were at our wedding.)

They led us into the Sealing Room where we would be married. I won't share many details of the actual wedding but I will say that I have never been so happy in my life. I cried and cried and was so glad that we had finally made it to that moment.

After the wedding we went outside to see all our friends and family who couldn't come in to the temple. Angie gave me a hug first and then I hugged my other family members. I enjoyed taking pictures like I never have before or since. My face was in a permanent smile and I didn't mind the whole world knowing. Everyone else left after awhile to get ready for our luncheon after the ceremony. But we kept taking pictures and more pictures.

Finally we had walked around the whole temple and the picture taking session and video making sessions were done! We hurried to the car where my mom and Cameron's dad were waiting to drive us to our luncheon. I have never seen Mike drive so erratically before or since this day. In fact we accuse him of driving too carefully lately but on this day he had a mission. And the mission was to get us to our luncheon that we were very late for. The problem was that the freeway was shut down and the 20 minute drive from Alpine to Sandy turned into an hour long adventure. Cameron and sat in the backseat and didn't really care that we were late while Mike drove taking corners at much more than advised speeds in the VW vanigan. He navigated through the streets of Draper and Sandy trying to take the back road but so was every one else.

We were late to the luncheon. Painfully late. They had already began to eat when we got there. But it was beautiful and everything was fine. We had the luncheon in our neighbor's great room and it worked perfectly. I was so pleased with all the effort that went into it.

The ring

I did not know what I wanted for a wedding ring. We walked through a few stores as people do when they are young and in love looking at rings but I was a very young and couldn't imagine wearing anything on my finger. Not that I didn't want the ring I just didn't want anything flashy or too showy. I was simple. I wanted something small. I didn't wear makeup and rarely wore any jewelry at all. I wore jeans and tee-shirts. Everything seemed much to extravagant for me. We kept looking and I kept being disappointed. We browsed many stores that summer but we never found anything that I wanted. I wondered if I should even get a ring. Maybe we should have designed our own ring but no one did that then and I didn't even know that you could.

Then we went on a date to Big Bear. We walked in a jewelry shop just for fun and looked at the rings. They were all black hills gold and I was in love. I found my ring there. It was a black hills gold ring with a little pink leaf and a little green leaf. The center was a diamond rose. I had found my rose just like my ring and I was in love.

Cameron worked all fall for that ring. He put the ring on lay away. When he had saved the money for the ring he walked in there with cash. But there was one small problem... he didn't remember that the ring would have tax. A week or so later he had the whole ring paid off. My girl's future husbands better make their ring purchases with cash too it is a requirement!

I love my ring so much. It is simple. It is elegant and the diamond is beautiful in a unassuming way. Like I want to be.

The 10 houses we have lived in

10 Houses we have lived in... I was thinking about it and we have lived in exactly 10 houses since we were married.... and we might not be staying in this one for long either. Here is our list...

Provo Apartment
Cam's parents' house
Wagon Wheel House
Provo Apartment that wasn't....
Stacey's Apartment
Pleasant Grove House
Provo House
Fernley House
Murrieta House
Arrowbear House

Our first meeting

I am a little nostalgic with our ten year anniversary coming up in a few days and I thought I would post a little about us.

Cameron and I met at BYU, 13 years ago in 1996. We were there for a youth program called EFY. My best friend, Ina and I were excited to be there and we thought we should find some guys to flirt with for the week. (Just like all of the other girls and boys who just to EFY where flirting is at least half the fun.) We agreed to try to "get" two guys in our group- I would take the dark and handsome guy (that is what I thought I was in to at the time) and she would take his friend; the cute green eyed boy.... but it didn't work that way.

At the first dance Ina and I got seperated. I danced with a few guys and then went to find Ina again. She was dancing with the cute green-eyed boy. He asked me to dance and I learned his name was Cameron. One song ended but another slow song began and Cameron asked me to keep dancing. We danced and hung out with Ina and his cute, tall, dark and handsome friend, Jim. But although Jim was dark and handsome he wasn't that exciting to dance with. I enjoyed talking with the whitey. And Cameron kept asking me to dance and switching off to dance with Ina. He even danced with me in the country dance area where we learned a little swing dancing. Cameron asked me to dance the last dance of the evening.

We walked back to the dorms and when they made us seperate we said a simple goodnight. I wasn't sure what to think because I hadn't been pursued by a guy so blatently before and it felt good. Ina let me know this was not fair because she had danced with Cameron three times before I came into the picture. Then she simply dissappeared. I still couldn't remember his name and kept asking her what it was.

Tuesday we played games in a large field. I still couldn't remember his name. It annoyed Ina when I asked her. (Don't worry about her she met her one and true love later and now constantly tells me that she got the better end of the deal.) As we lay on the field passing other people hand over hand above us he said, "You have the most amazing eyes." I didn't forget his name after that.

The rest of the week Cameron and I hardly left each other's sides. I wish I remembered more about it and that the details were clearer in my mind. He tickled me and threw grass in my hair and then pulled it out. We enjoyed eating meals together, we walked through the bookstore together, we listened to speakers and wrote notes to each other, sometimes we didn't listen to speakers but whispered to each other in the back. My favorite memories are of sitting in the lounge to our dorm and listening to Cameron play. I never had seen anyone who could play the piano like Cameron and I loved the piano. I also liked the music to Phantom of the Opera and he knew it. We also laid on the sidewalk and watched the lightning one afternoon. We held hands for the first time at a concert that they provided for us-I guess all that tickling paid off.

On Friday of EFY it was my 16th birthday. Usually there are so many girls at EFY in comparison to the boys that the boys have two dates. But since it was my 16th birthday and since everyone knew we were an item they let Cameron be my only date. He brought me a picture of Christ that I had told him I liked earlier in the week as a present. We ate dinner together and danced all night together. As we were singing I saw a tear slip down Cameron's cheek and I was sad that we would never see each other again. It had been more than I expected for a fun filled week but like all things it had come to an end. We held hands as we walked back to the dorms and said our last goodbye, or so I thought.

Cameron had different plans, however, and had kept my iron I had let him borrow. This meant we had to meet again early the next morning. He kissed me on the cheek goodbye and I thought, well that was a fun week too bad it is over... I never expected to hear from him again.