All we wanted to do to celebrate our 5 year anniversary was go on a mini-adventure doing what we love- Adventuring! I suppose now is as good of time as any to share the story of how Sarah and I met, but remember, even the thinnest paper still has two sides. This is simply my version of the events. Sarah may or may not have a different side! Haha.
It was fall of 2011 and I had just returned from an LDS mission. I wouldn't have admitted it then, but I am sure I was painfully socially awkward, at least around girls! I was living with a friend in Provo, Utah installing christmas lights for minimum wage, donating plasma for extra spending money and driving my parent's beater car. I thought a loaded bean and cheese burrito from the local mexican food dive was fine dining. The only cool thing about myself was that I was planning on going to school… eventually, but I didn't have a clue what for! For all intensive purposes, I was a sorry excuse for date bate with little chance of catching a fish, much less one worth keeping!
I couldn't afford to go to the local climbing gym, but one night a week members could bring a friend for free. Lucky for me, I had some friends who brought me along every once in a while. This particular climbing gym has an upstairs bouldering area with a balcony overlooking the main level were the entrance is. One evening I went to boulder with a friend. I was on the upstairs balcony looking down when I saw the most beautiful girl I had ever seen walk in. Luckily, I wasn't on the wall or I'm certain I would have fallen off. She had beautiful short blonde hair with the athletic frame of an olympian, but I couldn't see her face from above! I immediately started wishing and hoping she would come upstairs so I could get a better look at this goddess. Lucky me, she did, and I was petrified from her perfection. She will probably tell you I was like this with any girl that walked in there, but I assure you she was different!
Unfortunately for me, there was no magical moment when she came up the stairs where our eyes locked, time stopped, sparks flew and it was love at first sight. While it might of been so for me, she didn't even notice me! While she was the only thing in the world I could see anymore, to her, I was less than the powdered climbing chalk she clapped off of her hands before elegantly moving up the wall.
By this time I realized I should probably pick my jaw up off the floor. I needed to get her attention somehow, and when I did, I couldn't let her first impression be that I was a dirt poor, socially awkward, not-even-student, driving my parent's beater car, and installing christmas lights to support my obsession with loaded bean and cheese burritos. But how was I going to do that?
Follow her around the gym and climb the routes next to her, strike up a conversation and learn her name.
Exchange phone numbers at the end of the night.
Go on some dates, have our first kiss, meet each other's family, etc.
Turns out, it was not this simple for her. However, the plan seemed fool proof and straightforward to me, so I began as follows.
Step 1. Follow her around the climbing gym and strike up a conversation to learn her name.
I thought this step went well, I learned her name was Sarah because that is what I overheard her friends call her, however I later learned this step was really Sarah trying to get away from the creepy "child", the nickname I earned among her and her friends because she was a bit older than me. Apparently what I thought was a good time hanging out climbing with her and her friends was really more stalkerish on my part, which explains why step two, three and four all didn't go as smoothly as I anticipated.
Step 2. Exchange phone numbers.
We finish what I mistakenly thought was a pretty good climbing session together. I now knew this goddess’ name was Sarah and figured I should be able to get her phone number easily after the seemingly enjoyable time we had spent together. With no shame, I asked Sarah for her number. I assumed she probably didn't hear me because she walked away, politely, but certainly without leaving her number behind. Somehow I was able to extract it from a friend of hers. I felt everything was going as planned, or at least close enough to move onto step 3.
Step 3. Text a bit.
Lets just say this part was more or less a one way conversation and probably would have been most normal guy's hint that Sarah didn't want to have any of it, and step four and five should be terminated.
Step 4. Go on some dates, have our first kiss, meet each other's family, etc.
At this point, it probably doesn't come as a surprise when I admit that I couldn't get Sarah to go on a 1st date with me. Undeterred, I took what I could get and enjoyed merely crossing paths with her at the climbing gym over the following months. I took comfort in the fact she wasn’t showing up with other guys, as if that alone meant there was still a chance for me! Haha. One evening however, she did show up with a date! Feeling somewhat discouraged and desperate, I decided if I couldn't get her to go on a date with me, I would just simply have to go on a date with her.
I innocently said hello to her and introduced myself to her friend, then joined them on their climbing date for the evening! All three of us played nice together and took turns climbing. Yes, I've heard of a third wheel. I confess that's all I was, but I have to say, I think Sarah and I got along better than she did with her actual date. Sure, it wasn't how I imagined our first date, but I learned from the previous steps, they don’t always go as planned. Besides, I wasn't just going to give up on the girl of my dreams because she decided to go on a date with the wrong guy!
Ultimately, my persistence did one of two things to Sarah. It either caused her to realize I would never give up and she might as well give in, or she finally realized how much I admired her and she started taking down her walls. I like to believe the latter is true because it is more romantic! Eventually, Sarah did let me take her on a very informal real first date, and no it was not to eat loaded bean and cheese burritos! After that first date, I gave Sarah what was probably the most awkward hug of her life, but she started texting me back!
We went on some more dates (some of which might have been to get bean and cheese burritos). I got that first kiss and we met each others families. Then finally, Sarah mutually agreed to take the next step together, step 5!
Step 5. Get married and live happily ever after.
This anniversary adventure to Sundance was to celebrate the first phase of step 5, getting married 5 years ago now, which was the happiest day of my life. As for the second phase of step 5, living happily ever after, well... we are still working on it. Stay tuned for that part.
Happy 5 years Sarah! Thank you for being my loving wife and choosing me to be your dream chasing partner. Love you!
like many other popular Resorts, Sundance is within Uber/ Lyft distance of Provo Airport and Salt Lake International Airport. However, being Utah locals, we took the trusty Subaru.
We stayed in the nearby mountain town of Midway at The Homestead Resort, which is home to The Crater, a 96 degree Caldera you can swim in!
With Park City close by, you can dine as fancy or basic as you wish around here.