Bridal Shower

My friends threw a bridal shower for me a few days before the wedding. It was at the Hess's house in Rigby. It was so wonderful to have my Mom, Sisters, "Grandma" Grace, and my best friends all there. They made me stuff my face with marshmallows and made a beautiful gown out of toilet paper. It was awesome!

I'm pretty sure I'm daydreaming about Barry right here.

Engagement

After dating for about a month and spending as much time together as possible, we were at Barry's apartment and he was pacing madly back and forth when he got the courage to say, "I love you." Soon after that we were talking about marriage.
We met each other's families and felt welcome on both sides. I'm the youngest of six and Barry's the youngest of eight, both from small towns in Idaho. We understood each other on a lot of levels, and we also shared the same kind of sense of humor. I had a feeling that he would always be there for me. In a lot of ways, marrying him was the easiest decision of my life.
Everything fell into place once we decided we would be together forever. My parents came to Pocatello and he was pretty nervous about asking them for my hand, but they were more than happy to give us their blessing. Barry was incredibly relieved. We didn't want to wait long and set the date for just six weeks away. We looked at rings and Barry proposed to me at my childhood stomping grounds, Krupp Scout Hollow, on a beautiful autumn day.
We were officially engaged October 31, 2006.

Here we are reenacting the moment at my parents' house.

We spent Thanksgiving in Oakley that year. Barry took me to cut down a Christmas tree for the first time with his family. Emily is pictured with us.

Our families were probably a little surprised, but they supported us and worked tirelessly to get the wedding ready - especially my mom. She made my gown, the cake, the decorations, the refreshments, and probably over 40 little dresses and vests for all of our nieces and nephews to wear at the reception. It was amazing.

Between work, school, and wedding plans, it's hard to remember much of went on during that short time, but I do remember feeling so happy and blessed.

On December 19th I took out my endowment at the Idaho Falls temple. My parents and sisters were there as well as Barry's parents. It was very special.

Some of our engagement pictures (taken at KSH):

Boy Meets Girl

On September 8, 2006 Barry and I were at an institute activity at Reed's Gym. I didn't know him very well. I was with my friends and we kept spotting each other across the gym. My friends must have sensed something was up because they told me that I needed to "go after him." We met earlier that year when we were in the University 9th Ward together. I remember my friend Erin introducing us at church one day and seeing him around at group activities, but we never really talked. I bought a house in June and moved out of that ward. Barry was even my home teacher just before I moved and tried so hard to meet with Erin and me, but the timing never worked out and I finally told him not to worry about us since we were in a new ward now.

Heather, June 2006 after buying the house on Lovejoy Street

Friends and Roommates - Megan, Erin, Heather, Cachea, September 2006

Luckily, a few months later (after we both got out of relationships) we came together again at that activity. Barry had made a bet with his friend Juan that they would both have a date for the next night, and I ended up being the lucky girl he asked. I suppose it helped that I was flirting with him a little bit.
He picked me up the next day after I got off of work at Alltel, and took me to Juan's house. Juan was a great chef and made us a nice dinner. Unfortunately, though, he made salmon and I have never liked any type of fish. I tried my best to get some of it down, but eventually had to fess up that I really did not like anything fishy. I thought it might leave a bad impression, but fortunately Barry didn't seem to mind too much.
After dinner we went to the Farr's ice cream shop where each scoop was just one dollar. I guess I felt awfully comfortable around Barry and was enjoying myself, because my dorky side came out when I was looking at flavors and said out loud to him, "I don't know if I'm feeling nutty or fruity!" I guess I was nutty because I ordered caramel cashew. I learned just how fruity Barry was when he got bubblegum and enjoyed it as much as any six-year-old.
We went back and watched A Knight's Tale and Barry must have felt pretty bold because he held my hand right there on our first date. Then we walked around campus and talked for hours into the wee hours of morning.
The next night there was a fireside and Barry came over afterward and it was his turn to feel awkward playing the fruit game with my friends. He wasn't a big fan of those kind of silly games, but I ate fish for him so I guess we were both invested at that point.
We were together every day after that.

Our courtship was a blur of getting to know each other, falling for each other, trying to figure out how crazy we were, and fitting a little bit of our studies in here and there. We would make lunch for each other and Barry would pick me up from my classes when he could. I was selling phones and he was working for Gables Management doing grunt work. At nights we would go to church/institute activities, play ultimate Frisbee, or I would watch Barry play flag football, basketball, or volleyball. 

We both prayed a lot, wanting to know if being together was right. For me, I felt happier and more at peace than in any other time in my life. Just before I met Barry I had sworn off dating. I was tired of playing games and broken hearts. I was thinking about going on a mission. It seems like just a week later I was madly in love with him.

Really, who could resist this face?