8 Years

Tuesday June 16th marked the 8th anniversary of Ryan and I meeting each other.

Yep, I'm one of "those" girls who remembers every anniversary.

I wish that I had our old pictures on the computer. I need a scanner.
So much has changed in the past 8 years. Man, that's a long time. We are old.
We aren't the young, crazy kids that we once were.
It's actually a funny story, how we met. I'll give you the short version. (or try to)

When I was 18 years old I moved to Utah- without knowing a single person. I took the first job that I found- being a hostess at a Mexican restaurant right behind my apartment complex. Which was a must since I didn't have a car and had to walk everywhere.
I had been in Utah for almost exactly one month.
One evening at work I was getting ready to close up, took off the name tag, grabbed my purse, when I see these two guys walking in. I thought, I will seat them and start walking home.

As I walk them to a table, one of the guys ask-

do you even work here? I told them that I did but that I was about to leave.

That same guy asked that I stay and talk to them.

(Both are wearing work clothes and are very dirty)

I decided these guys just aren't my kind of crowd. But that one guy insisted, saying that he would even buy me dinner and give me a ride home after.

(Mind you, the other guy hadn't said a single word at this point)

So I stayed and had dinner with them.

Then the stupid 18 year old girl I was let them drive me home.

As we pull up to my apartment complex the guy who basically hadn't said more then three sentences the whole night asked for my number.

Which I gave to him.

After all, the talkative one had said that he would buy me dinner, which he didn't the quite one did, then the talkative one said he would give me a ride home, but didn't even have a car.

I could smell that loser from a mile away.

However that quite one sure was HOT!
That was a Saturday night.

The next night I was just sitting at home, watching TV, when the phone rings.

I asked who was calling and he guy on the other end said guess, so I did. John? No. Mike? No. Todd? No. Jay? No. Steve? NOOOO! It's RYAN BAILEY, the guy who gave you a ride home last night!

He then asked to take me on a date.

I said, sure, when.

He said, right now.

But it was Sunday night at 10pm.

So he said that he would pick me up at midnight and take me to get a snack.

(so we wouldn't break the sabbath.)

He picked me up and we went to, of all places, Krispie Kreme Doughnuts.

(I should have known then!)
I liked Ryan from the second I met him. He just seemed like a good guy.

Alright, maybe not a "good" guy, he was a bit of a "bad" boy. But I could see through that, to the good person that he really was.

I remember on our second date thinking- I could marry this guy. I knew right then.
I fell in love with him in the first two weeks. I'm so thankful that I met Ryan!

We have grown and changed so much. I'm so grateful to him! I am so glad that we met and fell in love. And that we are still in love today, 8 years later.