young love

So I don't think I've ever done a post on how the Mr. and I met.  I've read a couple other blogs who have written our their "love story" and thought it'd be fun to do a post on ours.

Background info:
We both grew up on farms outside of two small towns. 

Little did we know we grew up 6 miles down the road from each other but since we went to different churches and schools, never met.  Until.....

It was the summer before my freshman year of high school (2000) and we were both camp counselors for a Christian Day Camp that was right by my house (put on by Tyler's pastor and his wife).  I thought he was super cute of course.  I had my own group of elementary age girls and he was in charge of the canoes.  So here we are, awkward as ever, sitting on the dock just the two of us with all the girls in their canoes paddling away.  There was one canoe left so he asked if I wanted to join him.  Of course I did!  But since we were both so shy, neither of us said hardly a word the whole time!  I was in the front so he couldn't see me blushing.  Talk about awkward! 

But little did I know, before that he had spotted me practicing hurdles on the Aurora Track at school (since my little school didn't have a track, the team came a couple times to actually practice on a track-yeah we are cool like that).  I didn't know this but he started asking around to find out who I was...

So later that summer that same Christian Camp puts on a "Travel Camp" for highschool-ers and we both went.  I was a little obsessed with trying to get to know him.  My friends were so kind and made fun of me (you know who you are).  Tyler had a shirt on one day and all it said on it was "What?" in huge letters and so it became so funny for my friends to ask me, "Hey Marie, 'What?' is over there?!"  Anyways, at one point I convinced my friend Kelly to come with me as we followed close behind him and his friends on a hike up a small mountain at Jenny Lake.  We were running late to get back to the bus so we started running.  Well my sissy ankle gave out on a rock and I couldn't walk anymore.  Him and his two friends were kind enough to carry me piggyback the rest of the way down.

So camp ended and my cousin Matt was gracious enough to set up a double date for us.  First date, we went mini golfing, batting cages and finished off the night with some DQ and a movie.  We continued to date for a couple months, went to homecoming together, he would sneak into my high school and place a gatorade in my locker for my volleyball game that night, he left a poem in my car (which happened to be my families old mini van, you're all jealous just admit it!) and then I broke his heart and dumped him.  I know your thinking, what in the world, why would you break up with a sweet guy like that!?!  I don't know.  I just knew I wasn't ready for a serious relationship and since he was a senior, he was looking for more serious than I was looking for at the time.  Everyone told me I made a huge mistake and wouldn't find a guy like him again.  I ignored them, but secretly knew they were right, and finished out my sophomore year.

Fast forward to middle of my Junior year (Tyler is now a freshman in college at Wichita State University, 4 hours away).  This was back when MSN messenger was the cool thing to do (before Facebook and everything, old school, I know!)  We started chatting on there a lot.  I started to realize how much I missed him and that I really did make a huge mistake but I didn't want to admit it.  Meanwhile he hasn't given up on me but has started thinking that I wasn't ever going to come around so he tried one last time and asked if I would ever be interested in dating again otherwise he was going to start dating this other girl at college.  Gave me the ultimatum basically!  Well I didn't let that opportunity pass and I told him yes!  He came back for my Jr prom and the rest is history....

Jr. Prom

Thought I'd include this one for those of you who have never seen Tyler with any hair.  Yes this was when he was in college and yes I thought it was super cute!

Sr. Prom (I absolutely loved my dress!)

More of the shaggy hair

And then he cut it short

We dated throughout the rest of high school and since I was convinced that I didn't want to just "follow" him to Wichita State, I did my own thing and went to Hastings College to play volleyball.  That only lasted for a year before we got engaged and married 6 months later! Yes I was 19 years old.

On our honeymoon cruise!

I moved down to Wichita with him, he had a year left of school and I had 3 1/2.  We lived in the basement apartment of some friends from church and loved it!  It was small and cheap, we started out only paying $250 for rent and no utilities! Doesn't get much better than that!

So that's our little love story.

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