Our 9th Anniversary...A Little Late

Mike & I just celebrated our 9th anniversary the other night. We went to Melting Pot and had a great time! Here we are during my favorite course...dessert! YUMMY!!!


Our actual anniversary was on December 16th. But, because of all the holiday craziness, we FINALLY got around to celebrating it. Note to all future brides out there...NEVER get married in December! You will very rarely get to celebrate your anniversary on your actual anniversary. We had plenty of people tell us this same advice when we were deciding when to get married, but we didn't listen. We had this romantic view of life & always said that we would NEVER let ANYTHING get in the way of celebrating our anniversary. Well, when you son's Christmas program falls on the evening of your anniversary, you LET it get in the way...no questions asked. Hence why we celebrated a few weeks late...


It was such a fun night! The food was delicious, of course. And, the company was even better! I love this guy! In fact, I love him 3,310 times more than I did on the day I married him (that's one time for everyday we've been married...yes, I took the time to figure it out!) He is a wonderful husband, father, provider, protector, supporter, cheerleader, hugger, and back rubber...and he loves ME! How I got lucky enough to snag this guy, I will never know. I, honestly, don't know if I've ever met anyone quite as wonderful as him. The guy treats me like a queen...even on the days when I don't deserve to be treated like a queen. I just love him to pieces!

While we were at dinner, we were talking about our first date. It's actually a pretty funny story, so I thought I would share it with you. As you probably know, Mike & I didn't like each other AT ALL when we first met. If you want to read about that story, click here. Well, during fall semester 1999, we were forced together in a Family Home Evening group. After being forced to hang out with this "punk" once a week for 15 weeks, I had decided he wasn't such a "punk" after all. During finals week of that semester, I was hanging out with a couple of guys in my apartment one afternoon. For my old roomies information, it was Mike Fuller & Jeremiah. I can't remember Jeremiah's last name now, but you know who I'm talking about...Jeremiah didn't need a last name...he was just Jeremiah! Anyway, so we were sitting there talking when I heard a knock at the door. I yelled for the person to come in. Mike walked in, looked at me and said, "Hey! Do you want to go a movie tonight?" I said, "Sure!" Then, not realizing Mike was asking me out on a date, I turned to the other two guys and asked, "Do you guys want to go with us?" Haha! Luckily, Mike gave them the evil eye behind my back, they realized what was going on, and they politely replied, "No...we've got to study for finals." Mike then said, "Great! I'll come pick you up at 7:00!" And, off he went. So, yes, when Mike asked me out on our first date, I invited two other guys to come with us! It wasn't until he picked me up that night and I found out it was just us & another couple, that I realized it was a date! Hey, I'm blonde, give me a freakin' break! :)

That date was so much fun! We went to see the James Bond movie "The World is Not Enough" and then we went to get dessert afterwards. It was so laid back & casual. Everything felt very natural...nothing was forced like so many first dates. It was just awesome! I would like to say that this was the beginning of our relationship, but it wasn't. It was the beginning of several months of pure BYU soap opera drama! Because we don't have any record of these crazy months, and this is sort of like a journal for me, I've decided to record it here. So, if you want the juicy details, here you go. If not, hit the little x in the top right hand corner of your screen...I won't be offended (much)...

A few days after our first date, the semester ended and Mike went home to Bountiful for Christmas Break. I went home to my parents' house for a few days around Christmas, but I spent most my time over that break at my apartment. After all, New Years was right around the corner & a bunch of us had planned a big party to count down to Y2K. During those couple of weeks while Mike was in Bountiful, I actually started dating (well, semi-dating...that's the only way you can describe this relationship)...wait for it...Mike's roommate & best friend (Jason Stephens for those of you that were there.) Yeah, that put a slight damper on Mike's hopes of starting a relationship with me! Haha! Good times!

Mike, not wanting to step on his friend's toes, gave up on me & started pursuing another girl he was interested in (Tiffany Something-Or-Other...I can't remember her last name & neither can Mike.) Then, about a month later, Mike's friend "broke up" with me. By this time though, Mike was in a relationship with this new girl. A few weeks after that, I met & started dating a guy that was going to the University of Utah (Dan Meldrum for those of you that were there.) We got pretty serious pretty fast & were talking about getting married for a little while. Well, while we were dating, Mike's relationship with his new girl ended. Eventually, in April, I ended up breaking up with Dan.

Through this whole chaotic dramafied time, Mike & I became best friends. When he was having relationship issues, he would come & talk to me about them. When I was having relationship issues, he was the one I turned to. We pretty much learned everything about each other & became best friends during those four crazy months. And, with both of us FINALLY single at the same time, we started a relationship. In fact, Mike asked me out just days after I broke up with Dan. Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of the drama though. About six weeks later, my missionary boyfriend that I had been "waiting" for (I used the word "waiting" very liberally, as you can probably tell) came home. This started another couple months of complete drama!

Several months before all this went down, Mike & his brother had planned a trip to backpack across Europe for 4 weeks. When that trip rolled around in the middle of June, Mike left & told me to "figure out who I wanted to be with" while he was gone. So, I did. I remember laying in my bed one day thinking about the situation. I felt bad because I was basically leading both guys on. I decided to read my patriarchal blessing. Without going into too much detail, my patriarchal blessing basically told me that I would choose between two people when I was deciding who I was going to marry. As I was reading about the person that I should choose, I had the feeling that I should choose Mike.

I was really surprised because I didn't have any promises from Mike. Mike & I hadn't even TALKED about getting married at this point. My missionary wanted to marry me & had told me so several times. Mike, on the other hand, had only had one long-term relationship in his whole life. I thought he was one of those guys who would date someone for several months, then break up with her & move on to the next girl that was waiting at his door. Was I going to be just another one of those girls? I prayed about it & got an overwhelming feeling (probably the strongest one I've ever had) that I should choose Mike...despite the fact that I didn't have any promises from him. It was a huge leap of faith, but I did it...and it was the BEST decision I ever made! He came home from Europe & asked me to marry him just a few weeks later.

So, there's the story of our relationship in a nutshell. As crazy as it was, it was all worth every minute of it because the past nine years have been the best of my life! Thanks for marrying me Mike & making me so happy! Happy anniversary...a little late! I love you so much!!! --Lindsay