My first two semesters at BYU-Idaho and the time off that followed was a time where I just played it cool and was not really interested in dating seriously. I dated here and there but I was just fine being Garrett. Christmas time came however, and I realized that I needed to find that one girl to spend the rest of time and eternity with. I was a lonely boy. I kept thinking of what she would look like and how I would know she was the right one for me. I counseled with my parents and with the Lord and decided that I needed to be more active and prayerful on finding my spouse.
I had been off my mission for a few days more than a year. I didn’t feel like a marriage crazy returned missionary but now that I think about it I probably was. (just a little bit) So it was January and it was time to start my 3rd semester at BYU Idaho. I was excited because I was going to actually live on campus instead of in my hometown, Ririe. After praying and thinking about where we should live, my best friend Colt and I decided that Brighton Apartments was the place to be. There were other options that seemed desirable and exciting with more amenities etc. but we knew that Brighton was the correct choice.
The semester started off well with dates here and there. I felt like I was doing what I was supposed to: dating, church, basketball and other things. Nobody had actually stood out to me though. I had been praying to meet the one but I didn’t think anyone fit the role. A girl became interested in me and I thought to myself, “hey maybe this is it.” We started dating. However I never felt that it would last long. She was a nice girl but I just didn’t feel like she was the one. So I had my eyes open, (so to speak). I just went with it and wasn’t sure what to do.
Then came the day that I will NEVER forget. It was February 19th and I had had a lazy morning. Colt and Phil (my awesome apartment roommate), decided that we were going to go night skiing at Kelly Canyon. My “girlfriend” couldn’t come for some reason and I was ok with that. Phil had told me that we were going to pick up this hot chick that he and Colt were home teachers to. I didn’t really think anything of it, I just drove over with everybody to pick her up.
I parked about 5 parking spaces away from the stairs at Colonial apartments and we waited for Ashlee, (that’s what Phil said her name was) to come down. I will never forget what she looked like and what I felt as she walked down that flight of stairs. She was incredible! She had a black hoodie and black flowing yoga-ish pants on and her hair was pulled up. Ashlee was so naturally beautiful and I couldn’t keep from staring at her as she walked towards the car. It was a different feeling I was feeling though. I was immediately attracted to her physically but something deeper drew me to her and I didn’t know how to react because I had never felt it before. She got in the car right behind my seat and we started on our way.
While traveling to Kelly’s we all listened to music and sang. I immediately heard Ashlee’s beautiful voice and sang right along with her. I had no words for how amazing her voice was. I could hear her but I couldn’t see her at all. Being “sneaky” but still trying to act natural I adjusted my rear-view mirror so that I could see her face. I put on the act of trying to be a good cautious driver but I was really just staring at her gorgeousness and watching her sing. We caught eyes and my heart skipped a beat because I thought she had caught me in the act of spying. I just played it off and acted natural though pretending it was a mere coincidence. The mirror stayed in the same place however and I still took peeks now and then.
We got to Kelly’s and started skiing. I wanted to ride on the lift with her so bad but Phil was trying to get to know her and flirt etc. It didn’t seem fair that I couldn’t ride with her. While riding up one of the lifts with Colt I asked him if it was bad that I wanted to take Ashlee on a date. He said, “of course it is! You’ve gotta girlfriend.” I had totally forgotten about her. It was at that point that I knew that something had to be done about that. I needed to at least take her on a date and get to know her. I knew she was worth it.
The rest of the night was really fun and embarrassing at times. Ashlee had crashed. (I was following her just in case she did. Just to be there J) I went and helped her up and saw if everything was all right. She had so much snow up her coat and I started helping get it out. Without even thinking I wiped the snow off her butt and was immediately told, “you just touched my butt!” I didn’t know what to say and was embarrassed so I just skied away without saying a word. Then later we were walking to the rental shack when Ashlee said, “I’ll race you to the door!” I tried cutting the corner as we ran I ended up stepping into a big hole. I felt like a giddy schoolboy as we raced. She won and we playfully argued about the disadvantage I had. She was so cute and flirted me into submission. Which was a really good thing!
We drove back to Rexburg and I wanted to spend as much time as I could with her without anybody knowing. I decided we would spend some time doing some cookies, (or donuts for those of you who are not from Idaho), so that I could get Ashlee in the front seat and flirt with her just a bit more. The night ended with a trip to a Mexican joint where Ashlee would not stop laughing at me because I tried flipping a toothpick in my mouth and somehow got it stuck in my nose hairs! Very embarrassing! As I dropped her off I was already thinking of what I needed to do to get rid of my current situation and date Ashlee. I wasn’t even sure if she liked me, but when I got back to my apartment I checked my Facebook to see what Ashlee was like and she had already sent a friend request!
Soooo, I dumped the girl and had my first date with Ashlee Dekorte, the woman of my dreams! We went to tangled for our first date and then just kept going on more and more. From very early on in our relationship I felt such a strong attraction to her and no matter what happened I knew that I wanted to give her my 100%. It was apparent to me from the very beginning that she was marriage material. Even though it was tough at times, being sweet to Ashlee was the best part of every day. It came to the point that I knew that Ashlee was going to be my bride, even though she may not have known it. We continued to date and the winter semester had ended. Ashlee liked me enough to take me home to her family, so we went to Oregon between the two semesters. This trip was life changing because we started out thinking that we weren’t sure where our relationship actually was going to knowing that we were going to be together for a very long time!
I asked Ashlee to marry me on the 14th of May in Salt Lake City Utah. She said YES! She has blessed me every day since we met. We will be married for time and all eternity on the 27th of August in the Medford Oregon temple. I really do marvel at how everything has come together so perfectly. I love Ashlee with all my heart and I’m excited to officially start my life with her.
