July 22, 2000

Yesterday was our 8 year anniversary. We had big plans this year of going to Park City and riding the bobsled, alpine slide, and zip line at the Olympic Park and staying overnight without any children, but we decided not to. We went to Park City and Idaho one weekend after the other, so we decided to do a boring date and go to dinner and a movie. We went to Chili's and ate without any children thanks to my neighbor Becki for watching them, and then headed off to see the new Batman movie. To our utter disappointment it was sold out. We drove to another theater to find the same disappointment. We were a little bummed but decided to go rent a movie and get some ice cream and go home. It was so nice just to be without kids for awhile.


Cam and I met at Utah State. My roommate Ashlee was actually in love with him. She met him at a dance and invited him over the next day for dinner. My other roommate Jenalee and I were not informed of him coming over. There was a fireside that night so we decided to get all beautiful for the night and I had a green face mask on with sponge curlers and walked into our kitchen to discover him sitting on our couch. It was love at first site for Cameron;). Luckily I wasn't embarrassed and told him that was how I always looked and he took it in good humor. He started hanging out with us and we were all good friends. My roommates (all of them) had little crushes on him and I just wouldn't allow myself to like him at first because I didn't want to cause problems. We didn't start dating until a month before school got out. It was really hard to say goodbye to him because he went to Idaho and I went to Riverton Utah.

Cameron did get to come and see me once in the summer. My parents had him stay upstairs and I was all the way in the basement. The next morning he came down to talk to me and my little brother walks in with a sign around his neck that said "chaperone." He said, "Dad says I have to stay down here and watch you and I don't know what this sign is for." He was only 11 years old, my dad's pretty clever.

I didn't get to see Cameron again until his farewell, he was called to serve in the Uruguay Montevideo mission. My old roomie Jen went with me and our bus ride there is another story. We awkwardly sat next to his highschool girlfriend at the farewell and I felt her staring at me the whole time. Cameron did a great job on his talk though, I can't say I remember it, I just remember being impressed.

The last time I saw Cameron for 2 years was at the airport and I brought my mom with me. It was good to see him, but also very hard. His family was there and I didn't want to get in the way, but I did want to say goodbye and I was glad I went.

We wrote each other faithfully every week for 2 years. I dated while he was gone and actually had a proposal, but I knew in my heart Cameron was the only one for me. I was worried about the distance when he got home though, being in different states doesn't make for an easy romance.

When he got home I was working at a place called Rockwell Automation and I was the only female. They took great pleasure in teasing me about Cameron coming home. I went shopping to pick out the perfect outfit and according to my boss I was useless the whole week because I was so excited and nervous. I took Liz Floyd with me to the airport because I didn't feel right about being by myself and I'm glad she came. Cam was the last one off the plane and he looked so good, I could hardly believe that those 2 years were over. His family was there and whisked him off to Idaho. It was hard to say goodbye again. When I got back to work my boss called me in his office and made me give him all the juicy details and then politely asked me if I would be able to get some work done now.

We immediately picked up where we left off, but it had to be over the phone. We called each other as much as possible and got to see each other at Christmas. Then March 10th Cameron came to see me. I was so excited I could hardly stand it. He was supposed to be there around 5pm and he wasn't, I started getting nervous and being the silly girl that I was I started thinking he didn't want to come after all. Around 7pm he finally made it and I found out he got lost and that was why he was so late, I worried for nothing! I felt silly because I was actually in my room crying when he got there.

Cameron had the night all planned and we immediately left. He took me the Fun Dome where we played laser tag, games, and rides. As we were leaving Cam went and cashed his tickets in for a prize and we walked back to the car. When we got in the car he turned to me with a pink plastic ring from his ticket winnings and proposed. I was not expecting it at all and was totally taken off guard, but I said yes, I didn't even have to think about it.

We went back and told my parents and they didn't believe us, it took awhile to convince them but they couldn't have been happier for us. We went to a party for my work the next night and told them and they didn't believe us either. I was so excited I could hardly stand it!!

We planned the wedding apart until Cameron moved into our first apartment in June. We were married on July 22, 2000. I did my endowment session the night before on my dad's birthday. It was an extremely hot day and the temple was under construction but I was so happy I didn't even care. Our reception was at a church in Riverton and we had fun dancing at the end.

On our way to the Grand America that night we got stuck waiting for a train for 45 min. Needless to say we were a little discourage. The next night we went to our apartment and then left for Christmas Meadows Utah to stay in a cabin. It was so fun to go 4-wheeling, cook together, swim and fish, it was the perfect honeymoon.

I feel so lucky to have Cameron in my life, he truly is my best friend. He steadies me, comforts me, and always lets me know how much he loves me. We call each other every day and miss each other every day. My favorite thing in the world is just simply being with him and our 3 children, that's all I need for true happiness. I love you Cameron.

My 6 year old Autin took the picture for us, he did a great job!