Happy 10 year Anniversary!!!!!
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| What a young, happy, beautiful couple. One of the best decision of our lives to get married. |
So, I can hardly believe we've been married now for 10 years. It went by so fast! It really doesn't feel like it's been a decade but at the same time it seems like a life time ago that we were single. I had someone ask me how I met Danny and I gave her our story so I figured I'd write it down here as well. Be prepared for a long post, hope I don't bore you all too badly. So here it goes.
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| 2003 vacationing in Zion's National Park. I was at least 5 months pregnant with Nate at this time. This goes down as the hottest trip we ever took. |
I had a neighbor that kind of pestered me to ask the Fritz boy out and I finally relented to just get her off my back. And to be rather honest, I remember him giving his Homecoming talk and thinking that he was rather cute. (I was new to this ward and his mom had moved in from Colorado while he was on his mission so we didn't know each other.) Now, I may have asked him out sooner but, my mom and I were his mom's visiting teachers and well, she mentioned a few times how he was going to be gone for the summer visiting some family friends and see if things would work out with one of the girls there. Well, I'm not one to get in they way of things so I just went on with my life. I had a good job at a salon, great friends and a busy college life. So, I had a full schedule. I wasn't looking for love.
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| 2005 We love our Nater tots. |
Well, obviously things didn't work out between him and the girl because he came back-ALONE. Our stake was having a young single adult activity to go snow tubing. I finally got the nerve up to call and ask him out to this activity. We had never talked or even met in person and he had NO idea who I was so for him it was a blind date. He's since told me that he almost didn't come but the only reason he did was to find out who I was. Well, the snow resort was closed because the tube hill was iced over. So, we went to a leader's home and watched a movie, "Mask of Zorro." I remember we sat by each other but didn't talk much. But amazingly enough, it wasn't a weird awkward silence going on, it was comfortable, Crazy enough, however, we both learned that I wanted to put my head on his shoulder and he wanted me to as well. But it didn't happen that night. The night ended and we each got into our own cars and left and honestly, we didn't even end up saying goodnight to each other. I figured I'd never see him again because at the end of the month he was headed to boot camp for the Marines. At that point I summed it all up as a fun-filled night.
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| 2005 Nate, Dan, and me at the Wild Animal Kingdom in San Diego |
But of course the story doesn't end there. About a week later he called me up and wanted to go out on a date. We couldn't figured out when to go out when during the conversation he mentioned he promised to take his younger brother and friends to a nickel arcade to play. He invited me along, I agreed. It shocked him that I would go along with him and a bunch of teenage boys. He picked me up with all the boys in the back of the car, it should have been weird for a first date but I didn't care, I liked this boy. We took them in, played some games ourselves then decided to leave them for a few hours and go to a comedy club. Once we got the boys home, he dropped me off by himself this time. Well, we got to my porch and just talked and talked and talked. I think it was after 2 or 3 before we said good night. And I was freezing my butt off because it was early March and it was still chilly. But I couldn't stop talking to this boy. There just was never any awkward silence, it was just such a comfortable, familiar feeling. And before I went in for the night, we had our 2nd date already planned for the next day. I think, the day after was Sunday and I don't remember us seeing each other then. But I do recall, on Monday, purposely going to a park by his house and rollerblading right around the time he'd be getting home. And bingo, my plan worked. He happened to see me and stopped. So, once again, we decided to each clean up and get together later that night. We pretty much saw each other every night solid for a week. It was a bonus because during that week it was spring break and we somehow managed to talk our parents into letting us go to Wendover, Nevada with another couple. It is a small gambling town.Well, we ended up only getting 1 room, girls were in one bed and boys in the other. Nothing happened at all, in fact, if you can believe it, he hadn't even kissed up to this point. It wasn't until after we got home from the trip that we kissed. After just 1 week we ended up having "the talk." We agreed to pray and think about marriage over the weekend. He headed to Colorado for a friends homecoming program and I stayed home. We didn't talk all weekend.
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| vacation |
Monday rolled around and I went rollerblading, same time, same place. Only this time, when we got together- it was different. There were some nerves and anxiety knowing what conversation lay ahead and no one wanting to bring it up. We each went home, to clean up to go to dinner. I was so nervous, about what he was going to say. I knew for myself that I loved him and wanted to marry him. My nerves were so high that I had no appetite and couldn't decide where to go for dinner. We ended up somewhere light and fast. Then we took a drive, he headed to Bountiful and I instantly knew he was headed to the temple. Unfortunately the gates were locked so we couldn't walk around. For me it was a bummer because I felt like that was where he was going to propose. Then we headed to Temple Square. We walked and walked and walked some more. I began to doubt myself and wondered if he didn't get the same answers and he was trying to figure out how to end it. Finally we sat down at the reflection pond. We talked and then he finally got down on one knee and proposed. He had bought me "promise" ring because he wanted me to pick out my ring. And that's how I wanted it too, although we had never talked about it beforehand, we just have always been on the same wave length. 10 days after our first official date we were now engaged! When it's right it's just right!!!
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| 2006 This is shortly after we became a family of 4. Josh was only 12 days old |
I made him come back to my house to tell my parents the crazy news. They were in bed so I made them get dressed and come out. Needless to say they were shocked at the quickness but they were happy about it. They liked him. In fact they said that they could see us being together.
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| 2006 Fall pictures with Nate and Josh in our matching leather jackets |
Why the rush? Well, in a 1 1/2 weeks he had to head off to Marine Corps boot camp in California for 3 months. It was a busy 1 1/2 weeks for us. We managed to arrange a date, schedule the temple for my endowments and the sealing, got engagement pictures taken and bought a diamond and had it created for me. I had to return and pick it up myself at a later date. That time flew by so fast. When the time came for him to leave I had to drop him off at a hotel in Salt Lake. That wasn't easy saying bye for 3 months, but he left me his truck to drive around so it helped me remind me of him.
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| 2008 I'm way out numbered with all the guys. This was Colton's blessing day when he was 4/5 weeks old |
I kept busy with planning the wedding and working and going to school. I had previously arranged a trip to Hawaii with friends so that kept my mind off his absence. It was hard having him gone but we did get to know each other further through letters. He was not allowed to call me or anyone else while in boot camp so letters are what we had. I can not even begin to tell you how I looked forward to getting his weekly letter. When I received one I was beyond thrilled and would read it so slowly. I'm sure he looked forward to my weekly letters as well, at least I hope he did.
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| 2010 Our family is now complete. |
The time came that he was ready to graduate boot camp so I flew out with his family to California. I remember feeling so nervous about seeing him again in person. In my head I kept wondering if he still liked me, or would I gross him out, did he still want to marry me? I know it was dumb but none the less, that's what was going through my mind. And once the marines were able to finally meet up with their families he barely gave me a hug. That didn't help my questioning mind. In fact for the next 3 days he barely touched me and would only have me hold his arm like in the old days. It wasn't until we were in the airplane and in the air that he admitted that the drill instructors had intimidated them so much that they drilled it into their heads that they would get in major trouble if they did anything to disgrace the Marine Corps. It took a few hours but I was finally able to get him to hold my hand before he landed. We for home on a Friday night and were married the next Wednesday. Although I was so nervous and anxious about seeing him at boot camp there was only feelings of peace and calm the day of the wedding. We were married in the Bountiful Temple on June 27th, 2001. It was a beautiful day but it went by in a flash. I was deliriously happy that day. I had just married my best friend. I knew in my heart that I was suppose to marry him and I still know to this day that we were meant to be together. We have had many downs but much more ups in our marriage. Specifically 5 of those up's would include our sweet angel Lidia, Nathan, Joshua, Colton and Audrey. I'm so grateful to know that we were sealed in the temple to have these 5 children with us for eternity. Thank you Danny for all that you do for our family and me. I'm so grateful to be married to you, my best friend and that I can share anything with you. I want you to know that I chose to be with you 10 years ago and I still choose you today. Thanks for all the memories over the last decade! I love you! Happy 10 year Anniversary!
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| Most current photo of us today |
