On December 29th Parker and I celebrated our 8th anniversary. As I have reflected back on the time that we've known each other and been married, it's a little bit shocking what we've been through together and how we've grown. I find myself falling more in love with him everyday! He is the best husband and father, and more than I could ever ask for. I love how we compliment each other and we're both excited to try new things. We love adventure and being parents. I have loved these past 8 years and I'm looking forward to many more years together! I love you so much Parker, you are the love of my life and my best friend!

Parker and I met each other when we were 17 while attending EFY. I saw him the first night at a dance and went to talk to him, he wasn't too interested. I looked for him each day so I could show my friend Hannah who I was there with. On Wednesday we had an activity where these darling handicapped kids came to play with us and put on a performance. During their performance Hannah and I sat away from the crowd back on the grass. Parker and his friend Dwayne came and sat by us, I kept trying to catch Hannah's eye to tell her "this was the guy". Parker didn't seem to interested in me so I started talking to Dwayne. Somewhere in our conversation Dwain started teaching me french (this still bugs Parker!). We walked to a dance together. At the dance Parker only danced with me once, but Dwain danced with me lots. As we went through the week I would run into Parker all over and he was always with a new girl. I was SO jealous and figured that it just wasn't going to happen. We skipped a class one afternoon and played a game where Parker chose Hannah to be "it". Once again I was being over looked. On Friday I was eating lunch with a bunch of guys and a drink spilled, I jumped up and Parker took me over away from the group to ask if there was anyone there I liked. We went to classes together the rest of the day, but I didn't answer his question. That night we had another dance and the first dance Parker told me that he had had his eye on me all week and that he liked me. I had total butterflies! On the way back to our dorm Dwain came and hugged me goodnight, then Parker came and kissed me on the hand (oh, I thought I would faint right there). We got back to our dorm and hung out with the girls in our group until late. I remember I couldn't sleep and I got up and wrote a very detailed list of exactly what I wanted in my future husband. The next morning was time to go. I packed my bags and went out to find Parker. I saw him walking down to my dorm and I didn't want to seem overly excited or throw myself at him, so I stood back and watched him for a while. I saw my Mom and ran to her car so that he would see me. I put my bags in and he came over to see me. I told my Mom I needed a minute. Parker held my hand and walked me over to the parking lot. We exchanged numbers and then he kissed me! I was in heaven! I was hoping that he would call and he did later that day! From that day on Parker and I saw each other just about every weekend even though he lived in Pocatello and I lived in Provo. The first time I met his family was on a 10 day trip to Lake Powell, yes my parents were kind of crazy to let me go. It was SO FUN! I found out later that on the last day of EFY Parker's parents had been there early to pick him up, but he wouldn't leave until he found me. Then after he had kissed me he got back in the car where his parents and all his siblings were and he told them "I'm going to marry that girl". They all kind of teased him and told him that he'd probably never see me again. After a while he said "ok, maybe I won't marry her, but I will marry someone just like her"..... the rest is history!
