Favorite Memories with Nathan (in honor of our upcoming anniversary)

Disclaimer: This will be a long read but rather entertaining, regardless of the length.

(This is us with the Hollywood sign-thing in the background)

Road trip to California – Summer 2008
So many hours in a car with your spouse can either be wonderful for the marriage or the opposite. For us it was wonderful. Sure, there were times when our patience would run a little short, but 99% of the time it was amazing. We took lots of pictures together, we sat in the car and talked while we drove A LOT. We camped together. We explored together. We dreamed about the future together. It was SO good!

Wrestling together
Tickling until the other can’t breathe or move. Pinning each other (yes, I can hold my own, thanks to high school phys.ed class, wrestling unit). Some of my favorite times with Nate are just goofing off and playing together.

Picnic in the park
One weekend last summer, Nathan and I packed a picnic lunch, grabbed a picnic blanket, got Lennox in the car, and took off for the city. We spend the morning in the park reading, walking and taking pictures. It was such a beautiful day to be in the park as a family.

Road trip to Ontario
The second summer we were married, we drove out to Ontario for the annual church conference convention. That part of the trip wasn’t that exciting, but afterward, we drove along the great lakes to Niagara Falls and then up to Nathan’s grandma’s cottage, where we spent a couple days with Nathan’s family. This is when/where I first met a lot of Nathan’s extended family. I got to sail for the first time. I got to ride on a ferry for the first time. It was a very fun holiday with my honey.

February

Picking out a big stick
When Nathan’s little sister, Karis, was planning to attend Bethany, Nathan and I devised a plan. A plan to keep her single. No, no…I’m just kidding. We would never do that. We just wrote her a list of things she should know about Bethany (I think that was it, right?) No wait, now I remember. I had written her a list of things she should bring to Bethany, and on that list I had suggested that she bring a large stick to fend off the boys who would be vying for her attention. Well, thinking that she may forget this, and knowing how crucial it would be to her well-being over the next months, her loving brother and I went off into the forest and fetched her a stick. (If you are the type of person who likes to picture things…picture a 8-9 foot pole rather than just a twig or “switch”.) We hid it in the closet of what would be her dorm room with a note about when and how to use this stick and I believe we attached a picture of someone we approved of who wouldn’t need the stick. Haha…how young and helpful we were…

Snowboarding on a 10 foot hill
One day last winter, shortly after we each got our snowboards, Nathan went out to walk Lennox. I was probably in my pajamas already, waiting for Nathan to get back and Nathan walked back into the house a couple minutes later. He told me I had to come snowboarding with him. There was about a foot of fresh powder and a hill not far from our house. I got dressed (though I really didn’t want to) and out we went. (That’s when I first learned how hard it is to walk even a short distance in snowboard boots.) We had fun for about half and hour just climbing up the hill and trying to make it down. I tried some jumps. Then I tried to do a summersault with my snowboard still attached and ended up getting stuck halfway. I actually couldn’t move and, even though I was crying out desperately for help, Nathan just sat there laughing. I guess I would have too. But I was starting to panic. Anyway, eventually I got out of that position, took off my snowboard and pretty much tackled Nathan for being so un-helpful. What a guy.


The walk and talk before we started dating
Picture this…it’s winter. Cold. Snowy. We’re walking around town. Walking. And walking. And walking. I’m getting cold. My knees are starting to shake. I’m ready to head back…but Nathan keeps walking. When our road turns into field, and we’re walking through knee-deep snow, Nathan finally gets up the courage to ask…”So, what do you think about those rumors about us?” What a romantic!!! You gotta give him some slack though. It WAS his first time doing the serious “walk-and-talk” with a girl. My answer was probably not what he wanted to hear, “let’s wait until second semester” and that was that. We headed back to school.

The night we started dating
Well, this is a long story. I’ll give the short version because this post is getting long already. He asked me if I wanted to go out to dinner with him. My answer was “sure” at which time he suggested that I dress up for it. I seem to remember thinking, as I entered the Ad that night to meet him, that it would be pretty funny if I jokingly told him that I’d changed my mind about going out to supper with him. (Sometimes I say stuff just for the reaction…but this would have been very mean) I bit my tongue, and we left. We had supper at the Cave in Stoon, which was pretty cool. It was the first time I’d had a boy make reservations for me. During supper, he “popped the question” and we became an official dating couple. After that, we went to the train-bridge (which in Stoon plays a role in most relationships at some point in the game). We walked across it and back, but because I was wearing 4” heels and dress clothes, I got SO cold (it was the beginning of January 2004). So, to warm me up, he took me to Tim Hortons and we had some coffee/hot chocolate and donuts and talked for a couple hours. Then, because of curfew, we headed back to school and when I got to my room, there was a note from Nate and a red rose waiting for me. I was smitten right then. (and probably giggled like a school-girl…)

Steak Dinner
When we were still at Bible school, shortly into our 9th month of dating, Nathan spent his day off at his parents’ house (because we both still lived in dorm) marinating steaks, decorating the basement and waiting for me. When I showed up, he ran outside before even saying “hi” and I was left to visit with his parents, which I thought was a bit strange. Usually he wouldn’t be able to stay away from me as long as I was close by! Anyway, eventually he came back inside and proceeded to take me down to the basement. The staircase was lit by candles, along with a path to a table beautifully set for two. He sat me down in a chair and left to get the food. I was left in a bit of a panic. Will he propose? Is this it??? Wow, this is really nice. A couple minutes later, Nathan arrived with steak, potatoes and I can’t remember what else. Before we even started eating, he knelt down in front of me and took my hands in his. And he told me to relax and enjoy the meal and not to wait for a proposal, because this wasn’t it. I was a bit relieved…and also wondering how he was going to top this for the real proposal! So we ate and it was wonderful. I would say it is something I’ll never forget, but I did forget until Nathan reminded me when he saw what I was writing! I may forget about it, but I’ll never fail to remember the special-ness of that night (once reminded that it happened!).

Proposal
It’s such a long story that if I want to give you the full goodness of it, I’ll be writing for a while so I’ll wait to share it another time. I’ll just let you know now that it ranks at the top of my favorite memories with Nathan!