About the bride
Oh what can I say about myself that won't get me into trouble.
I'm one of the last of my friends to get married - partly because I'm stubborn and have prided myself on being the independent woman. Being with Matt has helped me develop humility and has shown me how wonderful my life can be if I learn to trust others. Sometimes I have to fight back on his "I lead, you follow" mentality (more really a joke from our ballroom dance class we've been taking). But overall, he has been the best thing to happen to me since boy bands.
My life has really been led by my faith and passion for becoming a better person. I'm a Latter-Day Saint and I attribute all that I have and have become to my loving Heavenly Father. Somehow he has managed to tug this stubborn girl along a twisted road through a fantastic journey. I continually strive to live a genuinely honest and pure life.
I grew up in Fairfield, California with my family of seven children and 2 fantastic parents. I am the first girl after 4 boys, which has turned me into a bit of a hardened criminal. But luckily I've managed to keep some feminine traits in a sea of boys. I love being a woman and all that comes with it - even the crazy emotions.
I have the best friends a person can ever find, whom I have met everywhere - through my childhood, my crazy college years, my career path, at church, on eHarmony :) , etc...
I love to be active - running, road biking, dancing, roller skating, soccer and anything else that gets me off the couch. My passion for active lifestyles has led to my career with the American Heart Association where I have worked for the past 2 and a half years. I spend my 9-5 workday planning the annual Utah Heart Walk & Run and promoting corporate wellness throughout the community.
My desire in life is to constantly improve myself, making others' lives happier and painting a happy, enriching life for Matt and I... and our 12 and a half children.
I'm lucky to have found a man so full of love and sensitivity but also man enough for me. Matt's love for sports is neverending but he can also cha-cha better than I will ever be able to.
About the groom
I am the second of four children in my family. I have a year older brother (Jerry), a year younger brother (Dan), and a little sister (Rebekah). I don't know how my parents (especially my Mom) raised three boys that were all so close in age. They did a wonderful job though! I was born in Provo, Utah while my parents were going to school at Brigham Young University (BYU) and teaching Japanese in the Missionary Teaching Center (MTC). When I was two years old my family moved to the California Bay Area and I was raised mostly in Antioch and Livermore.
I think I was mostly a curious kid that enjoyed taking things apart to figure out how they worked. I probably got into trouble too much, but I think I enjoyed pushing things to the limit to better understand how they worked. I grew up with a golden retriever, Zeke, and had several other pets (lizard, hamster, salamander, spider monkey, etc...). My Mom started me playing piano, which I did for about five years. I also played clarinet in school starting from about fifth grade. My Dad started me in sports, which I really enjoyed. He was usually my coach for Soccer and Baseball. I also played Basketball, Roller Hockey, and Ultimate Frisbee. I learned how to work with others and be competitive. I was probably the best at Soccer, but enjoyed Roller Hockey the most. I also learned the value of working early in my life by having a paper route from the time I was eight years old. I was a paperboy until my family moved to Washington.
After I finished ninth grade, my family moved to Redmond, Washington. I was a good student and got high grades in High School, enjoyed playing several sports (Wrestling, Soccer, Cross Country, Roller Hockey, Basketball, etc...), extracurriculars (Band, Choir, Barbershop), and was very involved in Church activities (Seminary, Stake Youth Committee, etc...). I was never extremely interested in having a relationship with a girl in High School, but I had several good female friends.
A week after I graduated I was taking classes at BYU during the Summer. My Freshman year of college at BYU felt like a year-long Especially For Youth (EFY - a week-long youth camp) session because I had a lot of fun and didn't take a lot of hard classes. I also began to be more interested in having a relationship with a girl, made a lot of good friends, and was able to take several religion classes to successfully prepare to serve a two-year Mission.
I was called to serve in the St. Louis Mission in May 2000 and was also able to serve in the Illinois Peoria Mission for eight months until the St. Louis Mission boundaries were redrawn and I was able to serve my last six months back in the St. Louis Mission. I very much loved the time I spent serving the people in the Midwest and doing the Lord's work. Best two years for my life! I would do it again in a heartbeat.
While I was on a Mission, my family moved from Washington State to the San Diego, California area. So I came home to Poway where I didn't know anybody. Also, my brother Jerry had married and was not living at home. Dan was still living up in Washington, which left Rebekah at home to welcome me back. Needless to say, I made great friends in no time and was soon planning events for Young Single Adults in Singles Wards all over San Diego County. I returned to BYU and quickly decided that I didn't want to pursue a degree in Computer Science doing programming. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, but I knew that it had to do with computers.
For the last five'ish years I've been between Provo, Utah and Southern California finishing my general education classes at BYU, selling Pest Control for two Summers, and mostly working technical support type jobs including freelancing computer support and repair for about a year. Over the years I had a few girlfriends and made a lot of great friends in San Diego and Utah. I had the opportunity to play several intramurals in college, sing in the BYU Men's Chorus, and be involved in the dance and DJ scene too. I even got back into Barbershop recently and got to sing with Northwest Vocal Project in the Barbershop Youth Chorus Championship and we won! I am also a huge football fan and love the Chargers! I enjoy playing fantasy football every year and even got Keri to play the past two seasons. We also enjoy rocking out and playing Rock Band together on Xbox 360.
Speaking of Keri, I have been so blessed to be her boyfriend for the past 2 years and couldn't be more happy with anybody in the world. She makes me a better person and helps me remember what's important in life. I love her cheerful attitude, fun personality, and hard working mentality. She constantly tries to help me and make me happy. I love her so much!
In 2008 I was accepted into and started the Information Systems program (Top 10 in the Nation) at BYU. I have had the two busiest semesters of my life and am planning on finishing a Bachelor's Degree next April.
And if you don't think you know enough about me by hearing my life story, here is some more information about me:
I love sports! I'm honest and straightforward. I'm a music connoisseur. I love to be active and live for fun! Chocolate Eclair Cake is my favorite. I don't play games. I'm a nice guy. I'm a perfect gentleman (unless Keri is teasing me ;-)). I'm sensitive. I hate drama. I love affection. I'm a romantic. I love to sing. I enjoy traveling and road trips. I crave Mint Oreo's from time to time. I enjoy dancing a lot, even if I look goofy!
I'm very friendly and easy to talk to. I'm compassionate and giving. I like to look-out for others. I love helping people feel better. I am almost OCD about organization. I love bread! I enjoy getting lots of people together to have fun.
I love my nephew and five nieces! Cinnamon scones rule! I appreciate an abundance of affection. I'm persistent and can be stubborn. I almost always have good intentions... I'm a lover, not a fighter. I'm open-minded. I love to learn. I try not to resist change. I welcome and thrive on gentle, loving, or sincere encouragement. Keri tells me I get somewhat cranky when I'm really hungry or tired.
How we met
Haha - I don't even think we have time.
Basically we met in San Diego at a regional Young Single Adult activity for our church. The activity was broom hockey - I brought my "A" game and fought mercilously to win. Matt showed up with a pillow tied around his butt to protect his greatest asset.
Matt, in his attempt to be the ultimate event planner and make every LDS young single adults' lives better, approached my roommate and I about a "Sports and Fun" website for the region he was putting together. We ran into each other again two days later at a regional activity planning meeting and the rest is history. Matt says I flirted with him in line for food. I feel it was Matt who really was hitting on me.
Matt got my number from the committee roster and called me the next day to ask me out, introducing himself as "the man of my dreams". Unimpressed with his perceived "cockiness" and in annoyance of making me guess who he really was, I told him I was busy waxing my back. Though a little thrown off, Matt's persistence paid off and we went out for the first time a week later.
Matt had to put up with my crazy antics to get rid of him for a good month out of fear and mistrust, but eventually his kind heart and quiet determination broke me down and our lives have been fantastic ever since.
I can't wait to see what adventures lie ahead for us now...
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