We met, fell in love, got engaged on a big rock in colorado, and are planning on getting married July 31st in fargo. Details to follow!
Ok, so here's the deal. Mel and I first met on the bus to chapter camp, May 02. I didn't really pay much attention to her, we were driving through Iowa sometime late evening. So then there was chapter camp, and she kept asking how it was going, and I guess I was supposed to answer "Siggin' the hog," some reference a southern guy in her tract started. Scary, if you ask me. Then, the week ended, we drove home, a much longer drive than the first part, then we got back to Fargo, she went to her apartment, I went home to move to the cities after I had graduated.
However, all was not well. I didn't have any luck finding work in the Cities, so at the end of the summer, I decided to go back to NDSU for some more classes in Accounting, so I could play accountant. I ran into her again back at school, during the IVCF fall picnic. She said she was going back to Beulah soon to get her wisdom teeth out, so we talked a bit about that. In mid-October, a group of us went to "Jonah, a VeggieTales Movie," and then went over to a friend's house and we all sat around and talked till the wee hours of the morning.
At the end of October, I had my big break. A bunch of us went to fall retreat, and on November 2nd, Mel and I pulled an all-nighter. (Pictures of our exploits here). That, was sort of the beginning of us. Unfortunately, she didn't know it yet. I guess I didn't either, though.
Fast forwarding to December, we started dating December 11th, sometime in the evening. 2 1/2 weeks later, I drove to Beulah and met the family (the horror!) We stayed up late the whole time, sat in the hot tub, went cross-country skiing, and lots of other stuff. I then went home and got a rash on my face and ears. Ouch, itchy!
Umm. Lots of fun times in the middle. We had a summer apart, with Mel being in Ft. Collins, CO doing biotech stuff at a lab, and I was in Gwinner, ND working for Bobcat Company. We rendezvoused twice in South Dakota, once in Pierre (don't go there) and once in Rapid City (yeah, go there).
Skipping the stuff in the middle (which we'll get back to later), In March 04, we rode a Greyhound bus with an irritable driver to Castle Rock, CO. After we fetched a pickup dad bought, we went to Ft. Collins for a couple days. The first night we were there, we climbed Horsetooth Rock, overlooking the city. While we were up there, I just couldn't hold myself anymore, and I just had to propose. She said yes, woohoo!. Unfortunately, she must've had second thoughts on the way down, because she had some pretty bad stumbles on the steep rocky parts of the mountain. We then had a couple days to think of how to tell our families. We got home, told them, and they were all happy.
We are now looking forward to and planning for a July 31st wedding. Yes, that's right, we are planning a wedding in 4 months. Oh yes, we're good! :)