10 years

     Ten years ago today I married my best friend.  He can make me laugh, be a third child, and share all my stories like no other.  God definitely knew what he was doing when he joined these two hearts.  But like a lot of marriages we have had our share of dips and peaks {much more of these}, but altogether they have only made us closer and our relationship stronger.  I truly get excited when I think of where our future will take us.  But for a little trip down memory lane of how we met {one day my kids might ask}, I have shared some of the details below.
     It all started when I was a sophomore in high school and my dad's company was going to be closing his location in Kansas.  They offered him the opportunity to move up to Minnesota and build on some of his current skills.  After what I assume was much deliberation on the part of parents {I don't really remember too much of the discussion}, we moved up to Minnesota.  Let's fast forward through the melting of the four feet of snow that was on the ground when we got there {in April, mind you} to the point where Mike and I actually meet.  I was just settling into my new high school when I decided that I would go and get a part-time job.  At the time I was completely opposed to working at fast food chains, but for some reason one day I walked in and put an application to work at Subway.  Alas I got the job and was assigned to close on Friday and Saturday nights.  It was about two weeks of working there before I met Mike.  He was a shift leader and would be working with me.  I think it was an immediate attraction on his part, but it took him a few weeks before he asked me out.  We went out once and that was about it for a few months.  I was busy with cheerleading, work, and school that there wasn't time for much else.  In the Spring we started hanging out together with a group of friends.  It was not until the Summer though that I actually would call us dating.
     We dated my whole senior year.  Prior to graduation I had decided to move back to Kansas with my parents and go to KU {Rock Chalk Jayhawk, Go KU!}.  We spent most of the summer apart, but by the fall Mike had decided he wanted to move to Kansas too.  After a little prodding he also started back to school at KU.  The weeks were spent on campus and the weekends with me visiting my parents.  In the Spring Mike proposed to me in a gazebo at this little park near my parents' house.  Planning for the wedding was set in motion and we were wed September 2, 2001.