How We Met

We met in January of 2002 at Pacific Beach, WA. We went with a group of about 20 friends to stay the weekend where we all played games, sang songs, had interesting discussions and wandered around the tiny town. 

I definitely thought Phil was cute. We hadn’t met before and so didn’t spend a whole lot of time together at the beginning of that trip, but during one of our chats we discovered both of us were the second born of twins, something that made me a lot more interested in this handsome guy. Then, while walking on the beach with some other friends, I started singing an obscure Beatles song called “Piggies” and Phil finished it. I think everyone might have thought we were crazy and it wasn’t a real song but it was. No one knows that song unless they were a huge fan and because Phil did it meant he was perfect for me!

We became friends and stayed “just friends” for several months before it began to change into something more. We spent a lot of time together at Bible study and throughout the week, though we were always in big groups of friends. 

Our work offices were quite close to each other so during the summer we began having lunch together every day. I would always get a caramel frappuccino with extra caramel and we would wander along the boardwalk beside Lake Washington. We talked about everything: family, faith, growing up. He was so smart and so funny - he could always make me laugh. One of our favorite memories from those lunch dates was about a bush with a speaker in it that always had music playing. He would call it the singing bush, like in Three Amigos (we both quoted or referenced movies in daily conversation so it was another thing we had in common). He is also quite romantic and had the best smile. 

In October of 2002 I couldn’t wait anymore and told Phil I liked him. Turns out he liked me too, which made me so incredibly happy. So we started dating and almost right away started talking about marriage. I think because we had been friends for so long we already knew each other fairly well and so knew we wanted to be together.

In January of 2003 Phil proposed at Snoqualmie Falls in Washington. It was raining but I didn’t care. We went back to my house to tell my parents and chose a date. Though we picked a date for that same summer, waiting 5 ½ months to marry this man was so hard! 

We married July 12, 2003 at a church in Bellevue. My three sisters and his two brothers were part of our bridal party. We had a ton of friends and family there and had the best time, even though it was quite muggy and it wound up pouring rain at one point. But it was fitting since it also rained when he proposed. I really do love the rain.