13 Years Ago...

13 years ago Steve and I had a very special weekend together. We were both attending Ricks College (now BYU Idaho) in Rexburg, ID. We were on Spring Break (which was only two days Thursday and Friday) and we went to visit his grandparents in Salt Lake City for the long weekend with his brother Chaz. The three of us rode down with our friend Ben in the back of his S-10 Blazer, all three in the back seat. We were pretty sure at this point that we wanted to be married and Steve wanted to go to the temple with his grandparents to pray and know for sure. He got up early Friday morning and went to the Bountiful temple with them while I slept in, he walked back into their apartment about 3 hours later. I looked at him while he walked through the door and he looked up at me with a huge grin and gave me a little nod. I was so happy and knew right then we would be married.

Steve's Granny and Gramps, Jean and Red Beam

It was also conference weekend in Salt Lake, so it was a little busy. My grandparents had driven up from Flagstaff with my Uncle Rick and Aunt Cathy to attend the conference. It was the first time we were to sustain Gordon B. Hinckley as our prophet and we wanted to attend that first session. Back then (I'm sounding old now) you had to stand in line to get a seat in the tabernacle and the line started to form early. Friday night we were walking around Temple Square and noticed the line had already started to form so we rushed back and grabbed our sleeping bags to sleep out on the sidewalk as well. Thankfully the sidewalks are heated from underneath so it wasn't too cold but everyone in line was still very bundled up and we had fun talking to everyone, I don't think we slept at all. Saturday morning they handed out tickets to the people in line and Chaz switched up places in line so that we could go back and shower. All three of us got in that morning for the Solemn Assembly and sat in the balcony towards the front as we watched and sustained President Hinckley. It was an incredible experience. We had met him personally just a few weeks before at church with Steve's grandparents, they were in the same ward there in Salt Lake.

In front of my apartment Heritage Manor #110

Later that day we walked down to see my grandparents and aunt and uncle at their hotel and fell asleep on the bed together (on top of the covers with my grandparents in the room). My Uncle Rick awoke us by telling Steve to get out of bed with his niece and that it was a bad first impression to find the two of us in bed together. We were so tired I think we barely noticed after we laughed a little. That night Steve went with all the men to the Priesthood session (both of our grandpas, Uncle Rick and Chaz).

It was a wonderful weekend and the time seems to have flown by as today we sustain our new prophet for the first time, Thomas S. Monson.