The Story of Us.

Me:

 My name is Stephanie Okelberry. My married name was the inspiration for the blog name. I work at a credit union. It gets me by but my dream job is teaching. I'm going to school at Weber State University for Elementary Education and I graduate in the Spring of 2012. I love children. I've known I've wanted to be an teacher since I was in Kindergarten. Some have told me that I'm "good with kids". What a blessing it is to have the ability to "be good" with kids. I feel like I reap all of the rewards. I am so happy with children and I love learning from them. It is such a miracle that we can grow up and learn so much in the little time we have in this earth. The only way to prove to someone that God exists is to have them spend time with a child. I know that I am still a child. I want to be like Peter-Pan and never grow up. Children pick up on so many things that adults just miss.


My family



I have an adorable mother, hilarious father, "THE BEST" big brother, one perfect (the kind where you want to be mad but your can't because she's just so kind/perfect you can't be upset about it) sister, and a genius for a little brother. Currently I have 3 beautiful nieces and 4 handsome nephews. I love them so much and I love being an aunt to such cute kiddos.

Him:


His Family



My darling husband is Austin and he's my world. Right now he's working at the hospital in the Radiology department. He loves doing anything medical and has a real knack for it. Currently he is going to school for his Bachelor's in Clinical Laboratory Science and he'll graduate in the spring of 2012. He wants to continue his education by going to Physicians Assistant school and getting his master's. Good thing he's a smarty pants. I couldn't think of a better job for him. He has a great understanding of the human body and loves learning about how it all works. He's my "fixer". Whenever I need ANYTHING, he comes to my rescue and fixes the problem. It's one of the many qualities I love about him. He is my soul-mate (cliche, I know, but it's very true). We compliment each others strengths and weaknesses. Our interests are the same in many areas. He has 3 goofy brothers that never disappoint to entertain and delight when we come to visit. His parents are two of the greatest people I know and I've felt like one of the family since I've known them. It is such a blessing to LOVE your in-laws.

Us:

We both love soccer, outdoors, Lake Powell, Call of Duty, and each other. We met on a cruise. Yes, I said a cruise. He put together a cruise for his buddies and decided that they needed to invite some local hotties to make it more interesting. That's where I come in. He played volleyball with my best friend Nat (she liked him...) and she invited me. We flirted with each other on the ship, finding quiet moments where we could sneak away from the group and just talk. We took a huge van down and on the drive back to Utah, the group discussion turned to what we enjoyed most on dates. Austin said that he loved it when girls didn't feel like they need to get ready all the time. He hates high maintenance. I reflected on how I was during the cruise: hair pulled up in messy bun, t-shirts & jeans, no make-up except for on the fancy dinner night. I guessed that I had fit that category. Then, we talked about "making the move" to hold hands. Keep in mind I was 'el presidente' of the VL (virgin lips) club, going strong on my second consecutive term. Austin said that he liked it when girls don't play games. He likes it when the girl makes the first move and there's no confusion whatsoever. Now, I'm a traditional gal and I think that the boy should be the one to do these things, but call it fate, I looked into his brilliant green eyes and boldly asked him "You mean you like it when a girl says 'Hold my hand?'" I held out my hand and immediately the spaces between my fingers were filled perfectly with his own.



Our first picture together. In hindsight, I really should have made a cuter face.

 We fell in love almost instantly and never parted from that magical vacation. We saw each other everyday since (except for those two family vacations I went on without him, sorry Aus) and every spare moment we had we were together. When we first started dating, I gave Austin a list of dates I would like to go on (he claimed he never could come up with a good date). We referenced the list whenever we were in dire need, which was frequently, for date ideas. Here is some of the pictures from our little escapades:

Eventually we knew that we couldn't continue staying up late at parents' houses and going home for bed. We knew we wanted to be together forever. Without further introduction, here's our engagement story:

"Ok, well is it ok if I come pick you up from your house then?" Austin replied over the phone.

"Sounds good. I'm ready to go whenever." I answered.

"Well we still have to help the kids finish with a few things, then I'll be over. Ok?"


"Ok. I'll be waiting"


"Bye, Steph."


"Bu-bye."


I grabbed a quick snack and sat on the couch in our family room. After a short day of work with no lunch, it felt good to just sit for a second. Soon enough, Cosmo (my dog) started alarming me that an intruder had been located on the premises and I answered the door to find Austin, as usual. I gathered my things and we set off to our destination. As we got in the car I asked "So, what are we going to do?" He replied, "Well, I wanted it to be a surprise but we are going to snowshoe up to Waterfall Canyon" I smiled back at his beautiful green eyes. " I love you so much" I thought to myself. During the ride Austin told me what him and his best friend Nate had been doing all day. He said that they had been volunteering at an elementary after-school program, helping kids make ornaments for their parents for Christmas.


As we reached our destination and we were getting out of the car Austin said " I have a surprise for you. A delicious surprise."


"Is it super delicious?" I asked (it was an inside joke we had). When we opened the trunk I saw the surprise he was talking about. Hot chocolate in a thermal, a backpack, two sets of snow-shoes, and spray paint were in the trunk of Bella (Austin's car). "Ah! I told Nate to take these home with him." He said pointing to the spray paint " Wait, I have an idea. Have you ever spray painted snow?" "No, but I've Kool-aided it before." Austin put a can in his coat pocket and a can in mine and then we started going up the trail.


After going up about a fourth of the way, he suggested that we should "blaze our own trail". We fastened our snowshoes and started going up a fresh patch of snow. There he took out his can of paint, shook it up a bit, then drew a picture of a boy and a girl holding hands. "Add something to it" he said. I then drew a Christmas tree on the side. "Ok I'm going to draw you something over there and you draw me something here then we'll show each other." "Ok" He then walked over to a new patch of snow and started drawing a picture. Not having a clue what to draw I drew a waterfall with my can of green paint. It ended up looking like a green blob so I just before he came over I stomped it out. After quickly drawing "I love Austy Poo" He came over, laughed at my first attempt and then hugged me for the second. He looked into my eyes (like he always does) and said "Ready to see mine?" "Yes..." I hesitated hoping I might be guessing what was coming next. He covered my eyes with my think headband and led me over to his picture. I could see the last line of the statement before my blindfold was lifted "me?" was all I saw. He lowered the blindfold and let me read the whole question "Steph, Marry Me?"

Before my sweet Austin could get down on one knee I jumped up and hugged him "YES! YES! YES!". He finally got down, opened the small ring box and asked "Stephanie, you make me the happiest person in the world. Will you marry me?" I said it again but softer, "Yes." Happiest overflowed me. I couldn't escape it and didn't want to. My wonderful fiance and I went to take pictures (as if I wouldn't remember), but his camera was left in the car at the bottom of the trail. So we hiked back down and up and took pictures.

After four, long months of school, work, wedding planning, and lots of waiting we were finally married on May 8th 2010. Needless to say, it was a magical day where I got to marry my best friend in the whole world. I know, I'm a lucky ducky. We continue to date each other and I learn more about my wonderful husband each day. It's a great adventure and I'm glad it will never end.