How We Met

Our Wedding Day, April 25, 1998

One of Michelle's good friends lived in the same apartment complex as Greg at BYU. One Friday night Michelle went to a movie with a group of people from the apartment complex. We introduced ourselves, but didn't think much about it at the time, although Greg always thought Michelle was cute. The following semester Michelle moved into the same apartment complex and we started hanging out. We saw each other often since Greg was interested in Michelle's roommate. We became close friends and by spring we had tried "dating" a bit. We took a trip with a group of friends to Washington D.C. and New York right after finals that semester. Greg thought we had a relationship in the works, but Michelle thought differently.

That summer we went home to work. We emailed each other every day, sharing stories about our days. Greg and a few other friends came to visit Michelle in Oregon at the end of the summer. Greg was upset to discover Michelle was dating someone else. (After more than 11 years of marriage, I have still never seen Greg so dramatic as he was upon learning I had a different boyfriend.) This period of our history is still a very sore subject and Greg still maintains he was terribly uninformed.

After returning to BYU for fall semester, things were a little awkward between us at first. We still hung out every day but there was a little tension for awhile. In the meantime, Greg had formed a punk rock band and wrote a number of songs about our failed relationship. Eventually we started to date again. However, because Michelle was planning on leaving after the semester, we did not take it too seriously. A few weeks later Michelle had received her call to serve a mission for the Church in Poland. Michelle did spend the Thanksgiving holiday with Greg and his family in Reno. At the end of the semester we left school and then saw each other one last time in Arizona at our friends' wedding. After that trip, we parted ways not expecting to see each other for a long time.

Four months later we were married. They say absence makes a heart grow fonder, and we know that to be true. After going our separate ways we realized that we wanted to be with each other and felt like we were meant for each other. We wanted to be together and that was enough to change the entire course of our lives in a short period of time. It was the wisest (but hardest) decision we have ever made. But look at what that decision has given us! Two wonderful sons and a marriage built on a solid foundation of friendship.

Whale-watching in the San Juan Islands -- August 2009