How we met

Saturday, January 3 we celebrated our fifth anniversary. Mike's mom babysat so we were able to go swing dancing that evening. It was so much fun! It got me thinking about how we met, especially being back here in Oregon.

I guess it all started back when I was 6 and my parents decided to move to a city in east county San Diego, Santee. My family made good friends with the Stevenson family who had a daughter, Alina, who was my age. We became such good friends that we used to fantasize about marrying twin brothers , that way we could be sisters. Fast forward several years and Alina's dad got a job in Portland, OR when we were about 16. We kept in touch periodically, but not regularly. A few years later she met Shawn Lyman and they got married. We kind of lost touch for a few years, then started corresponding again around when I graduated from SDSU and was starting my teacher credential program.

Alina always fancied herself a matchmaker and started telling me all about her cute brother-in-law. She kept saying things like "you guys would be perfect for each other" and "he is a great swing dancer," knowing perfectly well that I love swing dancing. I would say things like "sounds great, but never gonna happen!" I mean what are the chances of us even meeting when we lived over 1,000 miles apart.

Well a few months later my dad, who absolutely loves vacation and traveling, said that I was over worked and that I needed to go somewhere during spring break. He said he would even pay for the plane ticket. I knew that I would be finishing with my credential in a few months and that I wasn't likely to get a job in CA since they were laying so many teachers off at the time. So decide to go visit my pal Alina and look for a job at the same time. I just pushed Alina's silly matchmaking ideas into the back of my head, especially after she sadly told me that her brother-in-law Mike now had a girlfriend.

So to make a long story short Alina was right and I was wrong! Mike's relationship ended shortly after I arrived in Oregon, he took me to a swing dance the night before I left, and we started emailing and talking on the phone when I went back to San Diego. I moved up to Portland and took a position as a Kindergarten teacher at a private school and the rest is history!


We were married in the San Diego temple on January 3, 2004
My sister's jazz band played at our reception
And we had a great time dancing all night!

Not only was Alina one of my bridesmaids, but she also did my hair. She does it all, hair, makeup, matchmaking.....
And even though we didn't marry twins Mike and Shawn do look a lot alike and are only a few years apart. It is fun being sisters, especially since we each have 2 kids who love being around their cousins.