About Us
We first met in early June of 2010, my best friend Kendall was the one to introduce us. Kyle had just gotten back from playing regional baseball in Arkansas. I was camping out with my bestie while she was getting her things moved in to a new place, and she just so happened to decide to crash in his apartment. Kyle can tell you exactly what I was wearing the first time he saw me. I don't remember what he was wearing honestly, I just remember his so handsome smile. We talked a little in the few days I stayed there, but I wasn't looking for a relationship, or I wasn't really sure what I was looking for in general. After all, I had just turned twenty! I headed back to Issaquah for the summer, and it went by in a flash. But I'll never forget the so sweet messages I got from him all summer, and how hard I had to work to blow him off. When I got back to WSU I moved all my things into a new apartment, I was so pumped for a fresh start and was so excited to be close to some new folks. I was living just a few houses down from some of the baseball players, and a few girlfriends and I headed that way one evening after a long day of moving. Here I was, all grubby from moving, sweating from the hot Pullman night and with a Busch Light in hand, when I bumped into him again. And I guess you can say that's when it all started. Just a few days later he took me to Baskin Robins for our first date. Little did he know that I'm lactose intolerant....and I've never really let him live that one down. He drove me home, and boy was he itching for a first date kiss, but I was really desperate to run inside for some tums. I pecked him on the lips and dashed off before he could even ask me out again. But he of course found a way, and we officially started dating November 29 of 2010. It's been quite the roller coaster since. We've loved just about every minute of it, of course there's been tough moments, but when you're juggling a baseball career, schooling, an awesome job, an amazing kiddo, and moving to a new state, how could there not be?!
One of our first photos together, right after we met
Kyle and I this summer in Montana for baseball
The Ring
The ring is gorgeous, breath taking, incredible....just like he wanted it to be. We did some shopping around a few months ago and I was feeling defeated. Ladies in cheap suits and guys with too much gel in their hair would shove diamond after diamond in my face, and none of them were clicking. None. I thought something was wrong, could I be having second thoughts that were so deeply buried in my subconscious that I didn't realize until now? No, no way that could be. Was I a deformative breed of female who didn't find a sparkly ring entirely heart melting? Possibly, but probably not. A few weeks passed, and Kyle said he stopped into an incredible custom jewlery store and I should go check it out. Clarks Jewelry in down town Coeur d'Alene. So one morning I jogged Tubbs hill and on my way back to my car I decided to go in and give it a whirl. Kyle was out of town for baseball and I felt strangely naked going in alone. The guy at the counter realized who I was right away, he said "You must be Susan, your boyfriend was talking so much about you. I think I found a ring here that might be a perfect fit..." He whipped it out of the glass case, demanded I slide it on my ring finger, and then promptly marched me out into the cool September morning so I could see it sparkle in the sunshine. And boy does it sparkle. As we stepped out on the sidewalk he whispered, "Don't even think about running, I'll catch you!" and then he giggled. But there was seriously no way I could run, because it took my breath away. It was the most beautiful ring I had ever seen, and it was totally me. I could not even believe that I had walked into a store and it had found it's way on to my finger in less than seven minutes. We went in and looked at it when he got home from baseball and he was just as blown away as I was. We spoke with the owner of the shop who designed it, and he told us all about the history of the diamond and it's elegant, unique cut. We loved the local history of the shop (it's been there for 105 years!) and how it's located in the downtown of the most beautiful place we've ever lived together. We loved the people who worked at the store, they had incredible amounts of knowledge and so fun senses of humor. Everything about the ring was, and is so us.
The Proposal
Kyle asked my Dad for my hand in May, right after we graduated from Washington State University. (Together, yea of all the thousands of random assignments in Beasley that day we happened to end up sitting right next to each other.) And we obviously had done some shopping for the ring, so it wasn't a total suprise that he proposed on the evening of October 7th, 2012. It was such a beautiful autumn day, and Kyle had been talking about hiking Mineral Ridge all week long. You all know me, I never pass up on a hike. Kyle and I have always been into hiking new trails, and it's been tough with baseball season but we've managed to fit in several fun moquito infested, sun scorching treks together. Which leads me to why Mineral Ridge is one of my favorites, totally bug free and the view from the top is amazing. Any way, the hike itself is pretty tough and I think my handsome man wasn't expecting that. The trail itself is steep but we busied ourselves chatting, racing to the next check point and playfully arguing over the lyrics to songs we listened to on the way there. We were both sweating pretty hard by the time we reached the upper trail. The trail ends at a flat rock with an incredible view of lake Coeur d'Alene and Silver Valley. And boy was it gorgeous yesterday, the air was crisp and clear and the trees and plants were turning into shades of Autumn. Kyle spread out our Cougar blanket and unpacked a delicious little picnic. We snuggled and ate our fancy cheese and crackers ( by the way we recently became cheese connoisseurs aka ordering cheese plates at our favorite restuarants). And as the conversation slowed and we took in the incredible view, he magically pulled out a little black box, opened it and asked if I would please marry him. I was actually in shock, I mean the fact that he was singing Beyonce's, "if you like it you should put a ring on it," part way up the trial should probably have tipped me off. (PS: For all those who know Kyle, he was actually singing the right lyrics for that one). I of course said yes, I may have actually shouted it too, just to make sure he heard me. I was crying like crazy, and he just had the biggest, proudest grin on his face. We snuggled on top of the ridge for another fifteen minutes, just taking in the peace and happiness of our incredibly intimate moment. Then the whole hike down we talked about the wedding. And to clarify, I have never ever ever been able to plan anything about my special day before. Duh I pin, but weddings have never really been high on priority list, mine especially. But after that beautiful diamond found it's place on my finger, the road block lifted. We giggled about our proposed bridal parties and color schemes, and all the wonderful people we have in our lives to invite. It truly was the most incredible moment of my life, and I couldn't imagine a more beautiful view. A beautiful view that is so dear to us, I've never felt more at home than I have in Coeur d'Alene and I'm so blessed to have had such a special moment here.
At the top! Sweaty, happy, dusty and teary
This is the view from the top!
And there you have it folks. Now begins the chapter of wedding planning, working tons and applying to grad school all in the same year. I have never been so excited about what the future holds for me. I never thought I'd get to share my life with such an incredible man. He truly is amazing, I have never met anyone in my life who has overcome more obstacles and setbacks than my fiance. He inspires me to keep pushing along, every single day. He inspires me to dedicate myself to the things I love. He inspires me to keep growing and learning. He inspires me to be an amazing parent. I can't wait to spend my remaining years as Mrs. Johnson, wife and rockin-step momma to Addie, and excited-future momma to some babes of my own. No one get too excited, we have plenty of time for that! Thank you everyone for your support through the past few years, we appreciate and love you all so much!
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