The Beginning of "Us"

Feelin' a little nostalgic this month. :)

First, let me say Happy Birthday to my baby sister! Casey is 28 years old TODAY and is now rockin' the "late 20's" like nobody's business. ;)

{Case, you are (and always have been) one of the coolest people I know. Seriously. I hope you have a fabulous day and I can't wait to celebrate with you tonight!}

And in just FIVE days, we will be celebrating our sweet daughter Sophia's 2nd birthday. Wow... really?

But this post is actually about Craig and I... and a glimpse into the beginning of our couplehood. :) Why today? Well, because 14 years ago today (April 15, 1997)... after the bus ride home from a track meet... and just before my family and I headed to Ernesto's (a local Mexican restaurant) to celebrate Casey's 14th birthday... Craig asked me to be his girlfriend! {Wow, Case... that means he's been around for half your life!}

Here's an "abbreviated" version of our story:

We met in November of 1995 when I was 14 (almost 15) and he had just turned 17. I was a freshman and he was a junior. (We are two years and three months apart in age.) We were in the gymnasium at Oak Harbor High School where my cheerleading competition was being held. (Yes, I was a cheerleader my freshman year of high school. But only my freshman year.) Craig had come with a friend, probably to check out all the girls. ;) After my squad competed, Craig sat in front of me in the bleachers for the rest of the time and we talked a little and I played with his hair. ;) Craig used to have the fluffiest head of hair and that must have been one of the topics of discussion that day because I loved it and he apparently let me play with it. Haha! Hey, don't laugh... I was 14... that's how I flirted!

Anyway, I don't think there was much contact after that but I did always look forward to passing him in the halls at school and delivering the announcements to Mr. Bundy's class where I could see him and smile. (I was an office worker for one of my study halls and I had to deliver the announcements to all the class rooms.)

In February, he asked me to the Winter Formal. That was our first official date: February 1996. I was now 15 and he was 17. We went to Cousino's Steak House before the dance and I was actually really nervous while I waited for him to pick me up! I surprised him 10 years later by taking him out to Cousino's on the anniversary of our first date. And actually, this past February was 15 years since that day.

Oh, and yes. My dress is green and velvet with sequins and a sash. Don't be jealous. ;)

After the dance, we sort of went our separate ways. Throughout the spring and summer, we both "dated" other people - never serious or long term but always at opposite times so that we were never single at the same time. I remember having a huge crush on him during the county fair that summer and making my cousin Brianne stalk the steer barn with me hoping Craig would walk through so I could see him. (Ya, my hubby was a 4H hottie back in the day. LOL) We both kind of went back and forth with trying to pursue the other and then giving up for a little bit. He was my date for my friend Val's Quince Anos in August and he invited me to a wedding that fall. This was at the wedding (holy bangs!): I actually had a different boyfriend when I went with Craig to that wedding but we broke up soon after. Ahh... high school relationships. And I even said no to Craig when he asked me to the Homecoming Dance because I'd already accepted an invitation from someone else. (I hadn't thought Craig was going to ask - he was a little last minute.) In October, Craig and I went on another date. He picked me up in the beloved '87 Firebird and had a red rose waiting for me on my seat. It was very sweet and made me smile. We went to see "That Thing You Do", probably at Maumee theater because that was the hot new place at the time. But then nothing happened and both of us dated someone else again. For three months, actually! Don't you love high school? Where three months is an eternity in relationships? About mid-March, things really started looking up for Craig and I. One day in early March (while we were both still in other relationships), Craig and his friend were running in my neighborhood to warm up for track and stopped in at my house to talk. I hadn't hardly seen or talked to Craig since November and he looked so cute. I missed him! So much happened in March and I still look back at that as one of THE most exciting times of my life. We were falling in love and flirting like crazy and it was all just so exciting. We saw each other at lots of functions that month and ended up hanging out every day of spring break. One evening, we were laying out on the trampoline at my friend Shalyn's house under the stars. We saw a shooting star and made the same wish. (Cheesy, I know.) Craig asked me to be his date for his Senior Prom that weekend. Prom wasn't till May. The following weekend, we went out to see a movie and he picked me up with two roses in hand - one red, one pink - and I found out the "meaning" of those later. Anyway, on this date, my dad decided to play a little joke on Craig. He made me wait upstairs so I wouldn't ruin it. Dad answered the door and Craig jokingly handed him the flowers and said "These are for you". :) In all seriousness, dad said "thanks" and guided Craig to the kitchen table where he'd left an "Application For Permission to Date My Daughter". I can only imagine how scared Craig must have been! I gave it away though by laughing from upstairs and Craig ended up filling out the entire thing with funny answers. I'm sorry I don't have a scanner, but here are a few of my favorite Q&A's: 1) When would be the best time to interview your father, mother and minister? Penitentiary visitation hours 2) If I were beaten, the last bone I would want broken would be: xiphoid process 3) When I first meet a girl, the thing I notice about her first is: number of limbs Craig was such a good sport and it is a hilarious memento. The date was fun, but the end of the night was the best part. For the record: the night of April 11th, 1997 was our first kiss... initiated by ME! Yep, all those previous dates and my sweet and "shy" guy never made a move... so I finally had to take matters into my own hands. Also, that weekend, Craig brought me to his Grandpa Riedeman's birthday party and I met "the fam". I'll never forget though, that grandpa told Craig that day that I was "a keeper". I was so happy he thought so! The following Tuesday, April 15th, was the track meet I mentioned above. After the bus ride home, Craig must have gotten up the courage to tell me the meaning of the two roses from our date that weekend. The red one was "to see me smile" the way I did back in October when he left one on my seat in the car. The pink one symbolizes that you like someone and that he wanted to ask me to be his girlfriend. Of course, I said yes and we officially became a couple! My mom was so excited. She had been rooting for Craig through all those off and on times that I tried to date other people and she made it very clear that she adored Craig and thought he was "the one". She told me he was perfect and that she'd hoped we would "end up together"... as in future husband! I was only 16! So that's where we began! Ages 16 and 18... Craig getting ready to graduate and go off to college at Ohio State and yet, neither of us ever wanting to be apart for any moment. We were young and in love... madly. We called each other "sweetie" and were constantly holding hands and kissing. Our families were totally nauseated by us, I'm sure. And the rest is history, I guess! But let's take a look at history... shall we? Craig's Senior Prom - May 1997. (I did have a picture of US, but Blogger seems to have erased it.) Final track meet at Oak Harbor - spring 1997. This used to be one of my favorite pictures of Craig.

Track Captain

Speaking at his high school graduation.

Ottawa County Fair King - summer '97

Craig and Zach after swimming - look how little Zach was! My brothers were 7 and 9 when Craig and I became a couple!

Hanging out - summer '97.

Christmas '97 - I'd like to apologize to our families for how much we hung all over each other. :)

My Junior Winter Formal - 1998.

Craig's such a goof!

Also, we have WAY too many kissing pictures... that our moms took!

Mini-vacation to Colorado for his cousin's wedding - March 1998. I couldn't believe I was allowed to go! It was so fun.

Summer 1998 - being goofy. Craig's mom took this.

My District Cross Country meet - senior year - fall 1998.

Out to dinner for my dad's birthday - November 1998.

Snowmobiling - winter 1998.

Christmas '98.

My Senior Prom - May 1999. Do high school kids even do corsages anymore?

High School Graduation - 1999.

Being goofy - out to eat for Craig's mom's birthday - July 1999.

A little jump here...

Craig's cousin's wedding - September 2001.

Christmas 2001.

Skiing in New York - February 2002.

Our 5 year (dating) anniversary - April 15, 2002.

The night Craig asked me to be his wife - May 2002 - on a cruise with our family and friends. I was 21, he was 23. (Don't worry - our engagement was over two years!)

Same cruise.

Senior year of college - late summer 2002.

Craig and Casey being goofy - this is a terrible picture of both of them but their expressions crack me up. Sorry, Case.

That's Craig's sister Kelly and my brother Taylor behind us. We had a pumpkin carving contest.

Kelly & I on New Year's Eve - 2002, I think?

My 22nd birthday - January 2003.

Bowling with our friends - spring 2003. I had just come back from Hawaii - yay tan!

Still one of my all-time favorite pictures of Craig. So funny - I love it! He's pointing, if you can't tell. This pic is still hanging on our fridge.

My College Graduation - May 2003.

We were really into mountain biking with our friends for awhile.

July 4th, 2003.

A friend's wedding - August 2003.

Another wedding - September 2003. I think we went to 10 weddings in 2003!

Christmas 2003. More goofiness.

New Year's Eve - 2003 - we always did themed New Year's parties with our friends.

Christmas 2003 - a late family party in January.

We were married in October 2004 after a 2 year and 4 month engagement and after 7 1/2 years of dating. Since our wedding, we obviously don't celebrate April 15th as an anniversary any more, but it's still a special day in our history.

Our story started in high school, so it's a little immature and cheesy, but I love it. Next year marks 15 years... and in two years from today, I will have been with Craig for half my life! He is my best friend and it sometimes feels like he knows me better than I know myself.

Happy (dating) Anniversary, "sweetie"! Haha :-)