On the Eve of our 6th Wedding Anniversary......

Seven years ago Garrett told me he loved me for the first time,

and I was kind of furious. 

He was my best friend. 

We were not--nor had we ever been--dating each other.

In fact, I had just gotten out of a relationship with someone else.

Ummmm, did he not realize that his timing was horrendous?!

And as much as I loved him as a friend (and admittedly kinda did like him a little more than that), I doubted that he was ready for any sort of big commitment....he had many lady friends and I had been around for some of his short-term flings. 

I didn't want to jeopardize the great friendship we had on the chance that I just happened to be his flavor-of-the-week.

So I shot him down,  big time.

Luckily, we still remained really good friends and he seemed to move on pretty quickly.

All was good, friendship intact, I had made the right call....right?

Little did I know that four months later Garrett would bring up his feelings for me again out of the blue and would give me an ultimatum: either we date or we end our friendship.

I began arguing with him and bringing up all the reasons why dating would be a bad idea and why he "wasn't being fair".

In the middle of my heated rant, Garrett backed me up against his front door
and kissed me (he says he did this "in order to shut you up").

Again, I was furious (and shocked!)

 so again, I sent him packing. 

Within a few days I was feeling pretty miserable.
I missed my best friend.
There was no one else I really wanted to spend my time with.....and now he was gone.

Maybe he was ready to date someone on a more serious level?  Maybe dating each other wasn't such a bad idea after all?  Maybe I had made a big mistake? And did I mention that he happened to be a really good kisser?!

Our friendship was apparently over, leaving nothing to jeopardize anymore,

so I sheepishly showed up on his doorstep and told him I was sorry, that I missed him, and that I wanted to give dating a shot.
He played it cool and acted like he was actually not so sure he wanted to date me anymore.....and that lasted for a grand total of 30 minutes before he kissed me.
As it turns out, Garrett was actually not just a great friend or an amazing kisser, but the perfect guy for me. 

Two and a half months later, we became engaged.

And four and half months after that we were married in the Anchorage, Alaska temple.

And now six years later, we have packed in a lot: living in four different states, getting a few college degrees and a doctorate degree, starting a business, and having 2 baby girls with another little nugget on the way.
Life is pretty great.

What started out as a great friendship became a perfect partnership; and although we sometimes comment about the years wasted dating other people instead of just dating each other, I am kind of glad that things happened the way they did.  I fell in love with my best friend, the guy that I always hung out with (regardless of whether or not one of us was in another relationship), and the person who I always felt comfortable and 100% myself around.
Pretty perfect set-up, I'd say!

Happy 6 years, sweetheart.
Thanks for your perseverance in pursuing me.
Thanks for frequently spoiling me with massages and adjustments.
Thanks for your nightly bedtime stories to the girls that make my heart melt.
Thanks for taking the "night shift" sometimes and tending to the girls' 2am needs.
Thanks for making me feel hotter than Scarlett Johansson on her best red carpet night, even when I'm pregnant and puking.
Thanks for working so hard for us
and thanks for playing equally hard with us.

And thanks for continuing to be the same best friend I have always loved to be with.

(Attending our church's General Conference in Salt Lake City together, back in days before we dated.  Oh, and I was most definitely dating someone else at that time..... :)