Her Side:
Monday and Garden of the Gods came. It was good to talk with Joel on the way down and go hiking. Oh how i had missed hiking while I was away. We trekked around and I realized just how out of shape I was. We ended up sitting on the top of a rock formation and watching the clouds roll in and rain on us. We had a good time and continued talking most of the day about all kinds of random things that no body ever remembers after the conversation ends.
We had planned to meet up with Ryan Marsden and Chelly Shaeffer for dinner later that night. Chelly had had a rough time while I was gone and my heart was saddened because of everything she had gone through. It made me look at Joel and realize that he was a good guy and I was lucky that he wanted to hang around. Ryan and Chelly have been my best of friends for a long time and probably will continue to be for a long time.
On the ride home I asked if we could stop at the Denver Temple. It was 10 or 11 at night and a Monday. The chances that the gates were closed were pretty high, but we stopped non the less. To our surprise the gates were open. When we parked a security guard stopped and said he felt like he needed to leave the gates open and that we could take as long as we needed to. Joel and I walked around and then talked some more. Standing in front of the temple I remember saying, I hope to never do anything that I couldn't do in front of the temple. Then this is where we differ, I thought I said, "When I get married, I want to have a small wedding."
Somehow someway that interpreted differently in Joel's mind and he ran with the idea of us getting married. By the time we left the temple it was early a.m hours. We stopped in a parking lot and attempted to get a few hours of shut eye in a very uncomfortable car. On the way home we stopped at a few stores and played the game, "Can you handle..." These were things that we wanted to know if the other person would be able to live with.
Apparently these were things that we could live with because we both ran with the idea of being unofficially engaged. I came back Tuesday to Mama Hank's house and she asked how the time in Colorado Springs had gone. She knew something and had always known something. I told her that we had a great time and had decided to get unofficially engaged. She and Brother Hanks weren't surprised. I should have know at this time that they were scheming! But I was blissful and ignorant.
Joel left Tuesday to head back up to Wyoming. It was a strange situation. Joel was in Wyoming and I was in Colorado. We had planned to get married some time in November. That would give us plenty of time to schedule things. As far as we knew, Joel was running with FoCo kids in the Grand Teton Relay. We planned to me up there. Dana was living in Rexburg so it was a perfect meeting place for my family to see me after my mission and for them to meet Joel. We figured that we should probably call me parents and let them know our plans.
I remember calling and reaching my Mom. It was busy in the background and I asked where they were. They were at The Phantom of the Opera show downtown. I said oh... They had a few minutes and asked what was up. I quickly told them that Joel and I were unofficially engaged. She laughed and said, "Good one. I'll call you after the show." They didn't believe us! I mean, we couldn't blame them because I had just barely gotten home and to be engaged was laughable.
They called back and we talked and they still thought I was joking. I told them that I'd be up in Idaho for the race and it would be a good time to come visit and meet Joel and everyone get together. Joel went back to work in Wyoming. I figured out how to make it up to Idaho for the race. After the race I would go home to Wyoming to meet Joel's family and spend some time with him and them. Then afterwards, he would drive me home and I'd figure out life from there. We had set the date for November 8. That was Joel's Dad's birthdate and since he'd already passed, Joel wanted him to be a part of it still somehow. The plans were set, but you know what that means...
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