Show & Tell: How I Met My Husband

How I met Your Father My Husband

1. Tell us about how and when you met your love and what attracted you most to him.

I met Ryan while on a marketing class trip during high school.  We went to the Wisconsin Dells together.  We dated for like two weeks and we parted ways.  Staying friends, we ended up going through our separate journeys but staying in touch.  While I was in college, Ryan was finishing his first deployment with the Marine Corps.  He started chatting me up on Facebook while he was gone and we ended up hanging out all of my winter break and he took me to the Marine Corps Birthday Ball that year.  He's really fun and incredibly attractive.  I just like being goofy around him and although sometimes we fight, I'm still crazy about him.

2. Show us the very first {or one of the first} pictures you guys ever took together. {Feel free to show us more than one}

2011 Marine Corps Birthday Ball in Las Vegas

3. Tell us some of your favorite memories that you two had together.

I went to my first Marine Corps Birthday Ball with him in Las Vegas, I braved a blizzard after my last set of first semester finals to see him after he came home from his first deployment, he said "I love you" for the first time in a phone call two seconds after he dropped me off at LAX- it went something along the lines of, "I forgot to say something..."
A lot of my favorite memories with him are really casual times when we're just having fun.  When we lived at Camp Pendleton, we swam in our local pool and we were so excited to have goggles to swim with and I'm pretty sure the little kids there loved us.  We're truly kids at heart.
 
4. Tell us your favorite qualities about this man, what makes him "the one." 

Ryan is so genuine and caring.  He cares for his family and friends so deeply.  He can be brutally honest, but you know that if something is horribly amiss, he'll definitely let you know.  Even though he's younger than me, he's definitely more mature.  I'm the dreamer and he's the realist.  He keeps me grounded and he really is my better half.  He always encourages me to cultivate new ideas but he's there to make sure they're realistic.  He's also really sexy and that is a definite plus ;)

5. Tell us what your "date nights" typically look like.
I like to go "all Pinterest" on him but they usually revolve around a lot of relaxing in pajama shorts and sweatpants, watching TV shows on Netflix, and occasionally going out to dinner.  Since we're often separated due to our military obligations, we just like spending time with each other and being goofy.
 

  

Show & Tell: When I was 17

1. When you were 17, tell us what kind of car you drove, where you worked, and what you were usually up to on the weekends?

I drove this beauty- a Nissan Altima to all of my extracurricular functions and class on a daily basis.  I was and still am an overachiever but I did everything I could in high school to boost my resume for college and it worked in my favor.  I worked multiple jobs including working at a bakery, indoor amusement park/arcade, and lifeguarding.

Clogging the slide- so much fun and yet probably very dangerous
ah hell, I was 17 :P

2. Show us a picture of you when you were 17 {roughly}.

You know we all had mirror/duck face pictures while growing up.
This became one of my favorite "going out" shirts freshman year of college.

Homecoming Court

Percussion section (yup, I loved being in band) and being in the percussion section was a blast. 
Here I am with one of my favorites :)

3. When you were 17, tell us what you wanted to be when you "grew up."

I definitely wanted to be something in marketing.  I was a part of the advanced marketing program at our high school and competed in DECA.  We ran the top school store in the state and I also had the privilege of competing internationally.  I didn't fall too far from that plan as I graduated from UW with a degree in strategic communication and gender & women's studies.

Wisconsin Dells trip with some of the Advanced Marketing ladies

4. When you were 17, tell us the kind of boys that you dated. Did you have a type? Do you have a relationship you remember well? Tell us about it.

My husband as a freshman or so in high school.
I actually met my husband while I was in high school on a school marketing trip.
I didn't really date in high school.  My parents were incredibly strict and I wasn't too keen on the guys that went to my high school so I kind of just hung out with my friends.  College provided a better variety of guys but the irony is that I married a guy that I went to high school with.

 He kind of looks like a homeless man here but he was incredibly cute and charming.
All of the girls liked him and so I knew right away I should stay away from him lol.
Before you knew it that lumber jack-looking man became a Marine.

5. When you were 17, tell us where you pictured your life 10 years from then. Did it turn out the way you expected it to?
I definitely did not expect to be married nor did I expect myself to be an Air Force officer.  I started ROTC while I was in college, so I didn't even graduate high school with that plan in mind.  I definitely would give myself some choice advice on what boys to date in college, how to approach difficult classes and not to worry about the small things.

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