During my first year as a student at BYU I acquired several missionaries to write to. I enjoyed it and usually sent letters about what I was doing and school and usually something uplifting that I had learned in my religion class. However, these guys were friends. I loved getting their letters and reading about their missionary experiences, but I wanted to be dating and I was not. By the time my second year at BYU rolled around I decided I would stop worrying about dating and focus on school and getting an elementary education degree. Then when one of those missionaries came home, I think there were 7 or 8, maybe he would date me. That plan worked for almost three months.
I really didn’t like physical education classes and walking all the way to the Richard’s PE building on lower campus. It involved way too many stairs and I was way too lazy. So I had only taken one PE class my first year and so I was behind. I decided I better make up for it by taking two my first semester. There were two classes held in the Wilkinson center that would work and I wouldn’t have to climb all those stairs. My options were bowling and social dance (not an option). Being 5’11†I wasn’t excited at the idea of dancing with boys shorter than me. Bowling was a better option, my parents were both good bowlers and I had spent a lot of time in bowling alleys, it should be easy, not so much!
On the first day of class our teacher, assigned a group of girls and group of boys to each lane. Then each week the boys would move to the next lane. I noticed one of the guys right away, he had a great smile. That was all I thought because I was focusing on my grades, remember? So I just bowled and hoped to get a decent grade, bowling is not in my genes. I was not good at it.
The week before Thanksgiving, just short of three months into my resolve, the guy with the smile moved to my lane. His name was Rick and he lived at home just a few blocks from my apartment in Orem. The Monday after Thanksgiving he chased me down after class, coming up behind me and covering my eyes and then asked me for a date on Friday. Our plan was to see a movie with some friends of his and then go back to his house for appetizers. On Wednesday he came to my apartment with a Japanese friend he knew from his mission. He wanted me to go with him to drive his friend around and show him the sights of Utah valley. I don’t really remember where we went besides Allen’s Supersave, the grocery store he worked at. We had cream sodas.
On Friday he picked me up and we went to see “The Way We Were†with Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford. After the movie we went to his house and we were served appetizers served by his sister Debra. After that I saw him everyday, he left cards and notes on my car. After our first date he asked me on several more dates that ended on Christmas. We went to a Seals and Crofts concert, a dance at the Berg Mortuary (very weird because I hated mortuaries but I liked being with him), a Christmas Concert at the Tabernacle with his family and mostly just spending time together. He would often come and find me in the library in my favorite place to study, down in the psychology stacks. I worried that he might go away after our last scheduled date. One night he told me that a friend had told him if he wanted to get married he should date a girl who was writing to a missionary. I almost died because I was writing to 7 or so at the time.
I began working on his Christmas gift. I made a huge green Christmas stocking with a red and white gingham cuff with his name in green felt letters and jingle bells along the edge. I don’t remember what was in it, but I bought him a pair of moon boots to wear after skiing and made him a neck tie. He came up to see me in Bountiful on Christmas night. I really liked this guy and did not want him to go away.
He didn’t! I remember being grateful that we didn’t always have to talk, that sometimes it was just great to be together. One fun date was driving to the remote side of Utah Lake and setting up tin cans to shoot at with his .22 rifle. I was much better at shooting than I was at bowling.
One night, probably near the end of January, Rick called and told me that he was coming to get me. He drove up to the Provo Temple and went right up the circular drive to the front doors, (yes, there used to be a circular drive like the one at the Houston temple). As we sat in his car watching the temple patrons come in and out he asked me to marry him. Of course the answer was yes! I was so incredibly happy and so in love with him!
A few weeks later we drove to Salt Lake for a fancy dinner to celebrate my 20th birthday. Before going to the restaurant we stopped at Temple Square and got out to walk around. We stopped and sat on a bench near the Three Witnesses monument. I was completely surprised when Rick reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring box. We were engaged!
I went to the Provo Temple on July 6, 1974 to receive my endowment. On the morning of July 11, 1974 I woke up early in the morning and showered, dressed and drove myself to the Provo Temple. My parents and sister were still asleep when I left home. It was strange to be driving myself to my marriage. Rick was waiting for me with his parents. I remember waiting and waiting for my best friend Shelley Leishman Davies to arrive for our sealing. Finally, the officiator said that we couldn’t wait any longer and the doors closed. She and her husband Bill were waiting outside when we came out. She was in tears, but my heart was so full. Outside my parents and sister were waiting and we took photographs.
We went to a restaurant in Provo for the wedding luncheon. We left from there to start our honeymoon at the Treasure Mountain Inn in Park City, Utah. We had a great time exploring Park City and riding the Gondola to the top and hiking around. The next day we drove back to Salt Lake for our wedding reception at the Lion House.
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