Once upon a time, 15 years ago...

Once upon a time, a boy decided he would move out to Utah from his home state of Virginia. He had no idea what was in store for him. He began working at the Olive Garden as a cook/host/busser (a young man of many skills obviously) and soon began to think that maybe Utah was not the place for him. It was okay, of course, but it was no Virginia. Apparently he loves humidity :)

Meanwhile, a Utah girl decided she needed a change from the Golden Corral she was working at, and applied at the Olive Garden. She got the job and soon began her training. She was a little shy, and really wasn't interested in doing anything other than coming to work, and leaving with a paycheck, but she made new friends (and even got to work with a couple of friends from High School - see our Halloween picture below. We didn't always dress that way at work LOL). It wasn't long before the boy noticed the girl and started asking her questions. She usually gave the shortest answer possible and went on her way. Soon the boy nicknamed her "Sargeant." He thought she'd make a great police officer or something (actually it was because she was all business... no way would she even think about dating anyone from work!). He was persistent, however, and soon began asking her what her weekend plans were. She always had some, of course... until one weekend.

This particular afternoon, when the boy asked the girl what she was doing later, she answered that she was working another shift. Not something she would normally do, but she was too nice to say "no" when someone asked her to cover their shift. The boy was shocked!

Later that night, during the dinner shift, the boy returned to the Olive Garden. Everywhere the girl turned, he seemed to show up. Picking up an order from the bar? Yep. He was there. Entering an order into the computer? Yep. There too. She soon became a little nervous (but also flattered). She wondered if he would ever just go ahead and ask her out! Thank goodness he finally did, because she was getting so nervous that she started tripping over things and dropping things. Kind of embarrassing!

Well, that first date almost didn't happen. The girl went to a high school graduation ceremony with her sister, and ended up stuck in traffic. The boy called the girl's home several times, and finally had decided that he had been stood up. But when she got home, she quickly called him. She apologized for what happened, and he promptly drove over to pick her up...

The first few dates were fun, but the boy wasn't sure if he should continue. This girl just really didn't say much. Oh, she answered his questions, but didn't start many of the conversations. He had decided to just let it go, when she happened to show up at the Olive Garden during his shift. She was there to pick up her check, but walked back to where he was cooking and said "Hi. What should we do tonight?" Reluctantly, he agreed to another date, and he was NOT disappointed. Apparently it just took a little longer for her to warm up. They were together every day after that, and soon decided that they wanted to be together forever. The boy asked the girl to marry him, and of course the girl said "YES!"

On May 5th, 1995, the boy and the girl were sealed for Time and all Eternity in the Salt Lake Temple. It was the happiest day of their lives. They were young and in love, and they didn't have much money, but they had eachother and knew that together they could do anything!!

Now, 15 years later, they look back at these pictures and laugh a little. Partly because styles have changed a lot (I mean, look at that giant bouquet), and partly because they were so young and skinny and they have learned a lot since then, but mostly because after 15 years they are still happy. Even more happy, because they have added the four most amazing kids to their family. But mostly happy because they have eachother, and that's all they need! And they are living happily ever after :)