COLE + MICHE'S RELATIONSHIP :: A SYNOPSIS OF THE YEARS

Year 1 :: I thought you were cute, I remember that much. But I was a freshman in high school and I'm fairly certain I thought every other teenage boy was cute as well. I thought you were funny, though, which was more than I could say for the majority of boys I knew. You were also a real riot in Driver's Ed. and every time my mother dropped me off for the driving portion of class she reiterated the fact that she found you adorable. This was annoying to the hundredth degree.

Year 2 :: You definitely got cuter over the summer. Your sister suggested we double date to homecoming which I admittedly agreed to. Only you never asked me to go with you. This complicated things and made wish I didn't think you were cute.

Year 3 :: We sat together at the same lunch table and you made fun of me for eating sandwiches with two rice cakes substituted for bread. I thought I was getting chubby and rice cakes were a good way to cut calories. You finally cut your shoulder length hair which transferred you from the cute category to the hot category. Except every girl at the lunch table thought the same thing which made me absolutely-positively-NOT like you.

Year 4 :: You peaced off to college and I peaced off to Argentina. I frequented cyber cafes hoping you had emailed me and when you didn't I was convinced you had forgotten my existence entirely. When I did get those gems from the interweb my smile was impossible to hide and I was forced to walk the long route back so as not to look like an overjoyed fool when arriving home.

Year 5 :: We were in the same country again and for some reason you started coming home every weekend. You called me the moment you drove into town and we spent our Friday and Saturday nights watching Mystery Science Theater episodes. This might have been slightly more charming had we not been so paralyzed by nervousness that we couldn't even speak to one another. {In retrospect, I can't believe we spent twelve whole months doing this}

Year 6 :: You finally admitted you'd liked me since year 1. I confessed the same but told you it wasn't until year 2 that you really caught my eye. You were excited to call me your girl and I was relieved we could finally have an entire conversation without being too mortified to talk to one another.

Year 7 :: College was in full swing and the girls and I moved into the house on 12th + Jackson while the you and the boys kept the house on 31st. We got to know each other over house dinners, LOST marathons, and OSU football games. And lots, and lots, of coffee between classes. I fell in love with your kind spirit and your natural leadership. Also with your smile.

Year 8 :: Oregon State beat #1 ranked USC at home on my 21st birthday and we, together with our friends, rushed the field after the game. Our year was defined by amazing friends, an incredible church, and an excess of adventure. We spent the latter half of the summer driving my Subaru through Yellowstone, Glacier National Park, Banff, and Vancouver B.C. and dreaming about the trips we would someday take together.

Year 9 :: School was getting harder and work was getting busy, but still we were hardly phased at all. Three years into our dating relationship I still couldn't believe I was actually your girlfriend. At the end of the year you gave me a ring and asked me to spend forever with you.

Year 10 :: You vowed to never lose your childlike spirit and I promised to never stop going on adventures with you. We spent our first month of marriage backpacking through Europe and continued the tradition by living in three different states over the course of seven months. We discovered the fact that while we thrive on spontaneity, we also love spending our evenings playing cribbage and drinking gin + tonics - much like we imagine our 80 year old counter parts will do the same.