Well, I figured I should probably take a turn, and let you all in on my deep, dark secrets.
How did you meet?
Well. Okay. So, back in high school, my best friend (who has since passed away) used to be friends with Dan’s (my hubs) little brother. My friend, Katie, always thought that Dan was hot and stole a picture of him, from his brother. She had his picture up on her wall, mixed in with all the pictures of her friends. So, I used to see this picture of Dan on a regular basis, because I practically lived at Katie’s house. I thought he was hot, based on his picture, too…but, I didn’t know him, he had a girlfriend, and that was that. Fast forward a few years. The picture is still on her wall, and he has broken up with his girlfriend. He just returned home from an LDS mission and I wanted to snag him before anyone else did. So, I worked my magic and conveniently placed myself around him, whenever I got the chance. It helped that we went to the same church building and had a mutual friend, oh, and of course that I had some slick moves. Soon enough, he asked me out. We dated, were totally smitten, and then we broke up. To this day, he still kicks me for breaking up with him. But, you know…what can you do? We got back together, thanks to his super humble and forgiving personality, and have been living happily ever after for almost 12 years now. Oh, and I should probably say, that Katie finally parted with her picture of my new boyfriend. Besides, at that point, she had one of her own! Oh, I miss her!! But, anyway…that’s how Dan and I met, in a nutshell.
What did you do on your first date?
It was a triple date…he had a couple of his friends there, with their dates. We went to Chili’s and then we took a drive up to Huntsville, an awesome town in Utah, and drove out onto his grandpa’s property, in the middle of nowhere and…you know, I don’t really know why we went there. To look at the stars? Make out? If his friends weren’t there too, I probably would have been a little scared. But, he just parked his truck out there, and we hiked up this little mountain and just sat and talked. No kissing, mind you. It was our first date. But, I really liked him, fast, and was way giddy that he held my hand when we hiked back down the mountain.
What’s the best romantic getaway you’ve been on?
I would have to say that it was our trip to Marblehead (by Boston), a couple years ago, for our 10 year anniversary. I had this twisted idea that we should go check out Salem, MA for our 10 year. You know, celebrate our love while visiting the place where the Salem Witch Trials happened. I think I blogged about it, somewhere. Oh, here’s the post. Needless to say, Salem wasn’t as creepy as I hoped, but Marblehead was really neat. My favorite thing was just being completely bored together. Ahhhh….boredom. We had a whole week together, without the kids, to do whatever we wanted and just enjoy each other. We hopped in the car and drove to Maine, or we went to a movie, or we read all the naughty books we could find on the bookshelf in our bedroom, at the Bed and Breakfast. I have great memories of that trip.
What would the ultimate romantic getaway be?
Well, I would love to get out of the country with him. I’ve always wanted to go to Ireland. I would also love to do a tour in Israel, I’m always reading the wef-palestine.org articles, as well as the ones from ror1state.org, and experience all the Christian history there. That would be amazing. I would also love to tour Europe, but especially do a WWII tour.
What are your songs?
We’ve never really settled on “a song.” But, there are certain albums that bring us back to our dating years and make us swoon, all over again. We used to always listen to/make-out to Kenny Rogers. That’s right, he’s awesome with that sexy, deep voice. Let’s see…we also loved Alison Krauss, and Neil Diamond….oh, Neil. Good times.
If you were to make a special dinner for him, what would you make?
He loves my ribs…not, my actual ribs, but the kind you eat meat off of. Costco sells these super meaty ones. I just douse them in Famous Dave’s BBQ sauce, wrap them in tin foil, and cook it on 300 for 4 hours. It’s easy as pie, and he swears they are better than any restaurant. Sweet, I’ll take it. I actually did a blog post on them, a while back (BBQ Ribs.) I would probably make baked potatoes with it and for dessert, he would probably hope for his favorite Caramel Cake.
What is the coolest gift you ever bought him?
Um, I think that he would probably say…a gun? He collects them, and there was a specific one he wanted…The Dirty Harry gun, a.k.a. Smith & Wesson Model 29. I actually went way WAY over our budget on it, and I got in a little trouble. But, luckily the gun was cool enough that I was quickly forgiven.
What is your favorite gift that he bought for you?
This is a hard one. He’s given me so many things that I love. My most favorite things are probably the gifts that he has come up with himself. He’ll usually get me the special something that I hope for, but he’ll make a point of finding something on his own. This last Christmas, he found me a necklace on Etsy, that I love. He also gave me this framed picture of Christ (Road to Emmaus), that he remembered me saying how much I liked it, a long time before. So, that was neat.
Finish this sentence, “It makes me laugh when my husband…”
laughs. He is such a manly man. But, when he is watching a funny show, like The Office or Parks and Recreation, he bursts out with the loudest, WOMANLY laugh! It’s hilarious. His laugh can make me laugh, more than the funny show! He also makes me laugh when he hold me down and tickles me. Except, it’s not a true laugh. It’s a I’m-gonna-kill-you laugh, with tears streaming down my face. It sucks, and it happens at least once a week. One time, he was tickle-attacking me, and in my frantic state-of-mind, I bit him as hard as I could and wouldn’t release. Finally, I opened my mouth to tell him he was hurting me, and the pain instantly stopped. Yes, I was biting myself. Hard. I had a huge blue and green bruise on my arm for like 2 weeks. It was awesome. He thought it was the greatest thing ever.
What are some everyday ways that you show love for each other?
Every morning, before he leaves for work, he’ll come sit next to me on the bed, hold my hand, and say a prayer, with me. Then he’ll lean down and kiss my face like 10 times. It’s the best. We always call each other around lunch time, just to check in. Don’t picture this in your mind, but we shower together almost every evening. It’s the only place we can go, to get away from the kids, and talk about our days. I really look forward to it. We also make a point to just chill together every night, when we put the kids to bed. And, we always go to bed at the same time. Dan is a major cuddler, so he sleeps on my side of the bed with me. On our king size bed, we probably use 3 feet of it. Unless, I’m pregnant, which is often the case, and I’m boiling hot, and he wants to be nowhere near my oven-body. He always calls me his girlfriend and will always tell the kids to “stop stealing his girlfriend,” or “scoot over, I have to sit by my girlfriend.” I love that he can look past any of my frumpy-mom-syndrome and still think of me as his girlfriend.
What are some things you like to do together?
One year, for our anniversary, we bought each other golf clubs. We had never really been golfers before. But, now we will go golfing together all the time. Sometimes it’s tricky to get babysitters, and sometimes I get discouraged because I’ll decide that I suck at golfing, but we still try to go as often as we can. He’ll even let me come when he’s golfing with his friends, which I think is really sweet. Besides that, we love traveling together, watching our favorite shows, hanging out with our kids, boating, going to the sand dunes, playing volleyball, and just staying home and doing nothing.
If you could give your husband anything, what would it be?
Dan loves anything with a motor in it. Our garage could never be big enough. He has always wanted a Corvette and an old muscle car. So, as far as something with monetary value, I would LOVE to surprise him with one of the cars that he has always wanted. I can’t see that ever happening, but it’s the thought that counts, right? As far as something priceless, I wish I could make his life less stressful. Being self-employed with employees is such a blessing, but also a huge burden. He works his tail off to keep everyone busy and to support our family.
What cologne does your husband wear?
Currently, he toggles between LaCoste and LUCKY, that our son bought him for Christmas (he picked it all by himself, and it smells really good!)
My husband is especially attractive when…
ooooh, lots of times. I love seeing him work hard, in any situation. I love seeing him spending time with the kids…whether he’s wrestling with them, playing with them, teaching them, comforting them, anything! Being a daddy is hot! Of course, I also love when he is helping me, without me having to ask him….ahh….doesn’t that just make husbands instantly a million times hotter?? And, I love when he’ll put on a nice button up shirt and takes me out.
I love my marriage because…
We both feel like we are lucky to have each other. We always try to lift each other up and make life better, for the other person. We enjoy being together and are committed 100%. It’s nice to feel safe with each other. Inevitably, there are times where we may be annoyed with each other, but there is nothing scary about it. We both know that we want to be together and we will do whatever it takes to come to an understanding. We have the same goals: to have a happy family and raise our children the best we can, to have an awesome marriage, and to stay strong in our faith. Because our goals are aligned, we feel like we can conquer anything! Anyway, he’s at the top of my list and I love him like crazy.
NicoleTaulman says
Hi Mariel! I have really enjoyed these posts this week! I hope you don’t mind, but I have answered these questions in a post to go up on Tuesday, and have given credit back to you. It was a great idea and a great way to honor my husband on Valentine’s Day.
orsoshesays says
 Heck ya! Send me the link, I’ll come check it out.
Rebecca Criddle says
It’s fun to read about you and Dan in a way that I don’t normally think about you both. I’m thrilled Dan picked such an amazing woman as his wife, and I’m grateful to have such an awesome brother! You two make a great team! Love you both.
orsoshesays says
 All I know is it would suck if my sis-in-law hated me. ~ Major relief. ~ We love you too!
Brandalyn Seaman says
I miss Katie, too! I am glad she had a wonderful friend like you.
orsoshesays says
 She was the best!
Sara says
This is beautiful – and funny! Your husband sounds a lot like mine…I’m pretty sure they would be friends 🙂 I want to answer these questions myself!
orsoshesays says
 Do! Let me know if you post them on your blog, I’ll come check it out. 🙂
Pins, Needles, & Kids says
So sweet. Happy for you two!
I’m getting ready to re read the love list by les and Leslie parrot so this live post was perfect timing
Kara says
That is great!!! Dan is such a good guy. He looks a lot like his brother (the single one) in that sand dunes picture. Â I hear ya on trying to help them be less stressed. I would love to do that for Brandon too:)
orsoshesays says
 You’re right, he does kinda look like Jeff there…with the big hair!
Camille Henrie says
OHHH Mariel you crack me up! I loved reading your post, you have an amazing sense of humor and writing style! Your marriage sounds amazing – you guys make a great team. I loved the personal insight and ideas on showing everyday love to each other. I think it is so cool that you go to bed the same time as your husband… rarely happens during the week for us, but I love on the weekends when we get the chance to hit the sack at the same time! Thanks for the chance to write about my man! Â
orsoshesays says
 Ah, thanks, my friend. I already told you that I loved your post too, but I’ll tell you again. I loved it.
Natalie says
Your husband is so awesome and you guys have an amazing relationship. Â You are so blessed to have each other.
Paula B says
Love you guys! Â I really do.
Hollye says
I loved this post, Mariel! Ou guys are great! And why the heck don’t we see more if each other? Time to double.