A little while ago I wrote about how Braden (my fiance) and I met. He insisted that he share his side of the story because he calls is the "accurate" version. So ladies and gentleman, here it is. Take from it what you want but remember... here is the REAL version.
The accurate account of one’s meeting to another.
A few years back I was heading down to Moab. This was a regular, and reoccurring, trip throughout the summer. (I think I made it to Moab ~10+ times that summer.) This weekend was going to be the MMT (Massive Moab Trip.) What a prime event for finding friends (aka: attractive women to date). I invited a few jeeping buddies that didn’t want to stay with the massive group of 500+ college students. One of my jeeping friends had brought a few people in his jeep. I first saw Maddie in the city market parking lot, flirting and being flirted with by her "boyfriend" or so I thought. I didn’t think much of it, I thought she was attractive, and seemed to be fun. On a later trail, I talked a little to her and her friend Alli. I remember that Alli was into climbing, but I didn’t talk to Maddie much, as I was told she was dating the guy she came with. Later on after the trip, Maddie and I became FB friends. We didn’t talk much, if any after that. We were mere acquaintances.
A few years flew by, and it was about time for MMT again. As the trip approached, my friends would invite everyone they knew. I used to invite so many people, but for some reason, I was more interested in having an empty jeep than have a jeep full of 19 year old college girls that would be disappointed because we weren't planning on rolling. I removed my back seat, and placed my spare tire inside. Problem solved. I can only take 1 person, and young college girls can’t do anything without (what they call) their bff’s (or bae’s). Now I’ll likely have a nice quiet jeep. My buddies had bets on when I would put my back seat in… and they were astonished that I held through with no back seat. There I was, ready for a fun trip full of jeeping and making friends (really, only friends…girls were just trouble). MMT was only about a week away and I paid Rico for the MMT fee. Seconds later I got a notification that this Madeline Millburn ‘liked’ my payment. Madeline Millburn….I remember her, I thought to myself. After a few seconds of some basic Facebook stalking, I decided I had no choice but to message her. She gave me an opportunity to contact her by liking my payment. This might be my only and last chance to say something without coming across as a major creeper. If you listen to Maddie's story, she claimed I had no game… (really? then why are we engaged now? ;) ). I quickly messaged Maddie on FB. After some welcoming and charming messages, she replied with:
“Sounds so fun! I will see if I can figure stuff out with work and two of my girly friends. I want to jeep and rock climb! I rock climbed outside for the first time last week haha.. But it was so fun! And I miss jeeping! I haven't been for a while. Keep me posted on your plans. My number is 801-918-9227!”
Wow. That worked better than I though. Somehow I didn’t even need to ask for her number, just let her know that I would make sure I had a spot for her and her besties in the group I was caravanning down in. And she was throwing her number at me. Cha-ching.
I took advantage of having her number and texted her the next day. Somehow we concluded that we were getting married and for an engagement gift, I was going to give her a white Jeep. With power everything. (Ha. Now we are engaged….hmmm, about the white jeep... well, I guess it will have to be a late engagement gift... like years late.) Haha.
After some complicated discussions about who is riding where… we finally were off to Moab. I spent as much time with Maddie as I could. I promised her my front seat for the whole trip, besides one trail where I promised someone a ride.
We had so much fun. Even when I was completely distracted by her beauty, causing a front roll over in the jeep. Crunch. Ha. We were sitting upside down and she yelled out “I’m okay!!!” before I could say anything. I looked at her and had that feeling that I should kiss her! Well, I didn’t make a move. After, I was regretting that. But don’t worry, there was another opportunity on this trip – and I was shot down. We were on the top of Gold Bar Rim at like 1:30 a.m… Starry eyed, I moved in for a kiss.
“Um…I’m not going to kiss you. You haven’t even taken me out on a date.”
Hahaha. She felt a little bad, and was worried I was going to be upset. I wasn’t at all. Shortly after, she grabbed my hand. Don’t worry, our first date was that night, at 3 a.m., at Denny’s. The first kiss didn’t happen on this trip… That’s a story for another time.
The weekend was coming to an end, and everyone was starting to make their way back home. Back to the complicated part, arranging who rides with who. I was going to do everything in my power to have Maddie ride home in my truck. Somehow the drive home resulted with just me and Maddie in my truck! That was the fastest drive home from Moab I have ever had. We couldn’t stop talking, smiling, laughing, holding hands…. It was perfect.
After that drive home, I knew I wanted to spend as much time as possible with her, and even with her living in Logan, that wasn’t going to stop me!
The weekend after MMT, I drove up to Logan to spend the weekend. 9 months later, here we are, engaged and getting married on June 25th. I’m so grateful to have Maddie in my life. I love her with all my heart. I’m so excited to marry her and build a life with her. She is my best friend.
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