The 1st Year of Marriage

We had a wonderful first year of marriage.  Just 3 months after we were married, we found a home that we were excited to move into.  We looke at MANY MANY homes, and had trouble deciding on what was most important to us.  We wanted 3

bedrooms because Matt was intending to run his own business from home eventually, so we needed at least the 1 room for an office, and figured that with time, if a 2nd bedroom were needed for children, we'd re-address it at that point.  If we had to rent out office space, it was going to be a blessing, and we were prepared for it.



Mountain Man Rendezvous in Wyoming in May

Matt wasn't too particular on the floor plan, but I wanted a home that had a Front (formal) room and a Family room.  Additionally, I wanted a bar in the kitchen, and the bedrooms to all be close together.  We envisioned us with our little children and the pro's and con's of each floor plan. 

As we looked, we went into a home, and knew right then that THIS was our home.  It literally spoke to us, and we were VERY excited.  We made an offer, and closed with in 45 days



Our Honeymoon in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico



For many many months, the home was quite empty.  As a wedding gift to ourselves, we had purchased a 32 in television, we had 2 hand-me-down couches from one of the girls I worked with, and we just put slip covers on them so they looked somewhat presentable.  In the formal front room, we had a couch hand-me-down from Matt's old roommates.  We had a bed I had bought used from one of my old roommates, and a WOBBLY table my parents had purchased at a yard sale.



Our First Christmas


Our first Christmas, we spent alone in our home in Phoenix.  Matt was so sweet and purchased me a used Piano as he recognized my love for music, and knew that there had been times in my past that I had declared that I wanted a piano above any other furniture in my home.  I LOVE my piano still to this day!

At church, I had been called to play piano for Relief Society.  This was good, as it encouraged us to stay through all 3 hours of church every Sunday.  Additionally, I was called to be on the Activities Committee.  Matt was told he could support me in THAT calling, but did not serve in any other position for some time.  That spring, I was ALSO called to lead the music in Sacrament Meeting...which again, I viewed as a blessing, as it forced me (someone who is NOTORIOUS for being LATE LATE LATE to everything) to be ON TIME to church...and it worked.

Matt was offered a "position" by one of his friends as an apprentice to be an appraiser.  Basically, this let him hang out with his buddy all day everyday. Gratefully, he was learning stuff as well. He maintained his job at Buca Di Beppo until the following spring.  I was working LONG hours at my job, and stressing because we were so busy.  Eventually, I asked him to just quit his job at the restaurant because I was NEVER seeing him.  He would work evenings and weekends...and with me working all day everyday until 7-9 depending upon the day, we just weren't seeing each other, and that wasn't working for me.

That fall, we began to make plans to go through the temple and be sealed for time and all eternity.  We couldn't wait.  This was such a wonderful time in our lives.  I wish I had kept better records of what we went through during those times as emotions and feelings seem to be lost over time, but I remember feeling SO blessed and SO supported by our family and friends.  We were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple on Saturday November 27, 2004.

The Wedding





I'll be honest...our wedding was not all roses :)

Lets back up to the night before....We ended up spending the evening at the hotel with my family just chatting by the pool while my nieces and nephews went swimming....I was QUITE relieved when Matt's friends DIDN'T try to take him out for a night on the town...I wouldn't have put it past them, and even MORE so, I was grateful that he chose to spend the evening with me and my family. 

Angie's Family



The next morning, we got up and got things going.  We had a brunch at The Lion's Den and all of our families were there...aunts, uncles, besties, etc...



Matt's Family

My little brother had recently had his colon removed, and so was wearing a colostomy bag (outside of his body, but under his clothes).  I have to give it to him, he has embraced this challenge in his life and has treated it with a great sense of  humor.  Mom had given him EXPLICIT instructions to keep things under wraps and to behave.  At one point during the lunch, we hear EVERYONE at his table cracking up.  Come to find out, Nate's sitting there telling everyone not to pay any attention to "Phil" as he called it.  and that "Phil was always trying to be heard and that he was full of crap"....pretty funny to say the least as it would gurgle, and was literally full of...well you know...it WAS a colostomy bag.


Anyway, by the time the brunch was done, it was a mad dash to the church to get the chairs and everything else set up and do the finishing touches. By the time everything was set up and ready to go, I only had about 30 minutes to get myself fully ready.  No time for a shower, and barely time to wash my face and re-apply...

In the meantime,  I got word that my cake was in a near crash, and the back side of it was a little "mushed".  Fortunately, the design was such that there were ribbons draped down the backside, so no one would really notice it.  Additionally, the a/c was out in the building...and there wasn't much we could do about it...so....not only was I all hot and sweaty and not able to take a shower, but I would continue to roast as they day progressed....keep in mind...this was JULY 5th!!!



The ceremony was nice, no disasters, ring exchange went smoothly, and all was well.  We had a great mix of 50's music playing in the background (thanks to Matt...it was his pride and joy).  We didn't coordinate any kind of dance, or anything like that....we almost missed the whole "cake cutting".  Needless to say, we were NOT wedding planners, but it all came together, and the memories are great in spite of the disasters.



The Loot!



That night, we loaded ALL of our presents into my brother's car, and took everything to our hotel.  We went through most of it, and took the majority of it home with us in our suitcases (All complicated, of course, by the fact that we lived in Arizona and everything had to go home with us on an airplane).  The only 2 things I REALLY remember not making it home with on that first flight was a package of 4 coffee mugs, and a barbecue grill...other than that, it pretty much all made it.  We didn't do typical "wedding night" adventures as the day was too much...



The next morning, we got up and flew home in a hurry.  We had 1 day at home, and had to be to the airport the following day to fly out to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.  In the hurry and hubub of it all, we had failed to get Matt's birth certificate from his mom, and couldn't locate his passport.  We were in trouble.  We made several frantic phone calls, and eventually found out that we could have the airport sign some kind of affidavit with a notary...which would suffice as a "passport" into and out of the United States.  Fortunately, it worked. 

We had a wonderful and relaxing vacation, got some sweet souveniers, and then came back to reality.



Awwwwwww.....Wedded Bliss :)

Our LIFE journey begins

In April 2001, Angie began working at Applebee's where she immediately hit it off with Matt. After some ups and downs and months of flirting, we began seeing each other here and there. Matt would come up and play games with Angie and her family, and Angie would hang out with Matt after work to wind down and play games with other co-workers.

In August, Matt made the decision that he wanted to follow his friends to Phoenix who had an opportunity to Apprentice for a Real Estate Appraiser.

In October, Angie helped a friend move down and came to visit Matt. It was during this visit that Angie's mom called and said that he friend Cass had an opportunity and to call her. Apparently there was a woman in Cass' ward whose husband had just been put in jail and the wife was having to work and couldn't afford a babysitter, but was offering room and board in exchange for a part time sitter. Angie had nothing much going for her in Cedar and determined that this could just be another adventure in the journey of her life, so she agreed to move down as well.

She came to town on a rainy rainy day in November. She got a job waiting tables at Ruby's Diner in the Chandler mall, and Matt got a job waiting tables at The Olive Garden. As time wore on, the circumstances surrounding Angie's move began to go sour, and she began to spend more and more time at Matt's house to give her a place to be away from "home". Eventually, she determined that the exchange was not working, and moved in with a stranger in February of 2002.

For then next 2 months, we continued to see each other on a more regular basis although complicated by a 45 minute drive between the two homes. Angie got temp work with a title company and eventually moved into an townhouse approximately halfway between her work and Matt's house. Matt got a job a Buca Di Beppo. Angie transferred within the title company to a location less than 10 minutes away from her then townhouse and then learned that a friend was going to move to town and needed someone to move in with. This was one of Angie's first real life lessons. Her friend moved in and convinced her to sign a year lease. They did it under Angie's name only as her friend did not have great credit and they would have had to come up with a $600 deposit. Under Angie's name, no deposit was required. That lasted all of 8 weeks after which said friend declared that she was unable to find a job (probably something to do with lack of looking for a job) and bailed, leaving Angie to pay the entire rent for a 2 bedroom apartment with no obligations on the part of the friend. Fortunately, things were improving with work, and Angie was making a little more money to help cover the extra $400/mo she had to pay of her friend's portion of the rent.

We had talked of marriage, but dated for well over 9 months before we would even admit to anyone that we were exclusive, or boyfriend/girlfriend. All we did know was that we had no interest in NOT being part of each others lives, so we just carried on as we were. At Christmas-time that year, Angie had talked of the need to visit her Grandpa in Provo, UT, and figured if she was that close, she'd like to also meet up with Matt for Dinner in Salt Lake if he could make it work. The plan was made, and it was decided that Matt's whole family would join in on the fun and wanted to meet her. Little did she know that Matt had told them that he was going to marry her. By the end of the night, Matt's mom had indicated that whenever we decided to get married to please just give her 2 months notice so she could be sure and get time off work.

Things were getting progressively busier at work for Angie, and eventually, she came to the realization that the ONLY possible date we could get married was going to have to be over 4th of July weekend, otherwise, it would be sometime late in the fall. While there was no ring, and there was no official proposal, Angie informed Matt that IF they were going to get married, that's when it was going to have to be when, so he had some decisions to make, but it was already near the end of March at this point, so he didn't have long to act and be able to give his mom the necessary notice. His mom was informed, and things jumped into action. It was decided that we would have both the wedding and the reception in Ogden, UT. In April, we found someone who enjoyed doing photography and considered herself an amateur, and she said she'd be willing to take our announcement photos for super cheap. She took us to the Scottsdale Civic Center, which prior to this time was an unknow Oasis treasure in the middle of old town Scottsdale. I think we only ended up paying her $50. She did as well or better than any professional would have. We were quite pleased.

Angie was working until 10:00 on a regular basis just to get the job done that was necessary. Matt was scheduled to work most evenings, so it seemed to work out. On May 18, Matt called Angie at about 5:30 which was pretty typical and asked if she was going to be working late. She assured him that she was, and he said he was just calling to say that he loved her and was on his way into work. At 6:00, he came strolling into office her dressed up and toting Peach roses. He took her to the Scottsdale Civic Center where we strolled around for awhile. Eventually, he tried to steer Angie into a couple of different gazebo's, but unfortunately, they were occupied. Finally, we just came to rest on a bench to the side of the walkway. He got down on one knee and asked her to spend the rest of her life with him. She was quite pleased and surprised as she had not expected an official proposal out of him because of how everything was falling together, and so completely out of order. Matt had been saving his $1 bills every night after work and saved up to be able to completely pay for the ring. He had picked out the size, design, color and clarity entirely on his own, and did a wonderful job! He coordinated all of this as soon as he knew when to expect the ring. We then went to dinner where he had reservations at a place called Bravo Bistro where he had helped his buddies valet for awhile after he had first moved down.

Upon closer inspection of the ring, it was determined that there was a large black flaw that was easily seen, and not nearly the quality he was assured he was getting. The ring was returned for re-fitting with the proper diamond. Matt's family came down for his birthday that year, and she and Angie went dress shopping. It was a great time and a great experience for both of them. The dress Angie chose was a two piece and it was sleevless. We added long flowing sleeves to the dress, and it completed the "princess effect". Two weeks later (mid June-ish) Matt's mom was throwing a bridal shower in northern Utah, and Angie was afraid she wasn't going to have a ring to show off as they still had not gotten it corrected. The jewelry guy was able to put a CZ in the ring so that people got the gist of it and so that Angie actually had a ring on her finger, so all turned out fine.

This same weekend, decorations were chosen and planned on, food was discussed and things were falling into place. Near the end of June, a second shower was had in Cedar City, and then it was time for the wedding...