A Marriage and a Baseball Game

I often get the question about how I became a Seattle Mariners fan.  People wonder how a kid from Idaho came to like a team from Washington instead of one of the bigger name teams, like the Yankees, Red Sox, Braves, or even the Cubs.  If we go by proximity, why not the Rockies?  What can I say besides I grew up when the likes of Griffey, A-Rod, Johnson, Martinez, and Buehner were wearing the Mariners' colors, and when you throw Ichiro Suzuki into the mix, how could I not be a fan?
So, what does this have to do with anything?  Well, besides explaining myself...probably not much.  But, my devoted following of the Mariners did help Kelly and I become interested in each other when we were first chatting at the BYU Telefund, and if all I ever get from being a Mariners fan is the knowledge that it helped me win over my dear wife, then that is good enough for me.  
We've been to three games now: one in New York City against the Yankees (we lost, booo!) when I won a sweepstakes that gave me four tickets to the game, and four airplane tickets (if you want more details, we'd be happy to tell the story), a second in Chicago against the White Sox (once again, we lost, something a Mariners' fan gets used to after a while), and finally, a third in Seattle at Safeco Field.  This was a big one for me, because I've been dreaming of going to Safeco for a long time, but never made it.  Yeah, it sounds dumb, but I'd been to NYC to watch them, and the Chicago to watch them, but had I ever been to a home game?  Kinda backwards, I know.  It was worth the wait, though.  It was a great game, we had great seats, and believe it or not, the Mariners won! 
So, what does any of this have to do with a wedding?  Well, the reason I was able to live out my dream of going to Safeco Field and watch my favorite team play ball was because Kelly's sister Caitlyn got married in the Seattle LDS Temple.  I have her and her husband, Bergen, to thank for deciding to have the wedding there and not some other place.  Little did they know when they were first planning their wedding that they were actually helping me fulfill my dream, but as they both can probably confess, I let them know that they were repeatedly, and probably incessantly.  What can I say?  They gave me the opportunity, and only a fool would pass it up, and my mama didn't raise no fool. 

Buh bye Utah, hello Idaho!

Yes. You read it correctly, it's "hasta la vista" to BYU Provo, and "hola, que tal?" to good 'ol Pocatello, Idaho. It may be surprising to some that living in Idaho is very similar to living in Utah. For example, in Utah all the drivers are stupid and fast, here in Idaho they are still stupid, but slow. I still haven't decided which I prefer. Another striking similarity is what I like to call "The Mormon Bubble Effect"...I don't think there is a need to explain. Similarity #3 is that people here are as good at pronouncing their T's as those in Utah. C'mon people, it's mountain, not moun'in!
There is no doubt Utah was good to us. We found each other, fell in love, blah blah blah, you know how it goes. We also made some really good friends, ate great food, learned new things, etc... Idaho will be good for us too. When I'm bored (which has been a lot lately while looking for a job) I think about how all of those wonderful experiences we had back in Provo will come to us here as well. I'm..er, we're excited for what the future has in store for us and thankful for all the wonderful friends and experiences we had back in Utah that continue to make life so sublime.