The ONE that I LOVE!

Our Story...

I posted before the real date - so I get to post again. We got married May 26th last year. I haven't stopped thinking about Brig and I's story, the how we met, the how it happened, and how lucky I am. We were fortunate enough to Skype and see each other. Little Max stole all of the attention and made it so I didn't have the chance to get choked up.

We met in 2006 on a summer evening, a Thursday to be exact. It was a blind date. My Aunt Kate had arranged for us to meet while I was taking summer classes at BYU and Brig was on vacation. (Brig also happens to be my aunt's brother-in-law. Figure that one out!) He had just finished his officer training at Fort Sill in Oklahoma and was back in Utah for a month. I was actually opposed to a blind date, given that I had went on one the week before with a total tool. You see, I had been back from Germany for almost a year and was approaching 24. That seemed old to many of my friends and family, considering the fact that I had two younger sister who were already married. At that point, I wasn't real concerned and quite content being single but everyone was trying to set me up. It would go something like this, "Shayla, I know a perfect guy for you. You are both somewhat tall." I didn't like the idea of being set up at all, and the pity blind date didn't help.

Well, my aunt told me that there was no pressure. Brig was going back to Oklahoma and I would never see him again! I thought that was fair enough. Plus, she wasn't expecting anything magical to happen because he had taken another one of my nieces out just days before and didn't want both of us to fall in love with him. When he came to the door, he actually thought my roommate was me and I got a kick out of all the awkwardness. The first thing I noticed was his wrinkly shirt. Our first date foreshadowed what would come. He took me to a single A baseball, or so he thought he was going to. When we got to the parking lot, we were the only car there, and the sprinklers were running on the field. I had checked the schedule of the team and knew their game was away but I wanted to see what he would do. He did have a Plan B and we ended up catching the SLC Bees game. He had told me that he really liked sports and he knew I did - but I noticed during the game he wasn't watching it at all. (Admit it Brig, you had already fallen.) I was partially paying attention, enough to know what inning we were in and who was winning. Because the game went so late, we couldn't find an open restaurant anywhere and I was starving... so we had fast food. That only helped him win the 2nd date by saying he needed to take me out somewhere nicer that weekend. I went and we ended up talking until wee hours in the morning. We spent the next few days together before he had to go (we got an extra few days because his truck broke down.) The Lord does work in mysterious ways.

We talked everyday on the phone from that point on and eventually I fell too... he would come out to Utah every month and he proposed during Christmas vacation. He was in Shayla-la every time and would do something silly - like forget where he parked in a parking garage!

All you can do on the phone is talk, so we got to know each fairly well. Some nights I wouldn't even sleep because we talked until the sun came up and I had class and he had to go to PT. Perhaps, that is what I miss the most with him being gone - just enjoying a great conversation over dinner or on a road trip. He even would call on the way home from work and he would talk to me on the phone even after he had come through the door.

Our wedding day was unforgettable. We were sealed in the Mt Timp temple. We enjoyed a honeymoon in Grand Lake, Co... and for those of you calculating, we now have our little honeymoon baby!

We love traveling, eating foreign food, playing catch, and playing set. Brig is the best husband one can find. He is so determined and so supportive. I love reminiscing about our courtship. Baby, du bist die Beste! Can't wait until we can celebrate together.