The History of Rachael Elizabeth Keller
I was born on July 30th 1988 in St. Joseph's hospital. I was 7 pounds and 4 ounces at birth. I am the second oldest of four kids. I lived in Puyallup, WA my whole childhood. I love playing soccer, tennis, tag and basketball. My favorite foods are maple bars, chicken fried rice, and oreos. I have a fear of all insects, snakes, spiders or anything that is creepy looking and moves. I had my first surgery when I was two. I had tubes put into my ears to help my constant earaches.
Childhood Memories:
Kindergarten-3rd Grade: I went to Firgrove Elementary School
I would always chase around the boys in my class and try to kiss them at recess. I thought it was the funniest thing in the world.
In third grade I would beat 6 graders at teather ball and they would always be really embarrassed. I remember growing up in elementary school, my favorite thing for breakfast was cinnamon toast. I would look forward to it every morning.
I remember when I first learned to ride my bike without training wheels, I was so excited. We lived in a couldesac that had a pretty big hill coming down to our circle. I finally felt ready to ride down the hill from the top. As I got to the top and took off on my bike, it felt so good with the wind in my hair and it was really fun. As I was picking up speed, I couldn’t remember how to use my brakes! I was getting faster and faster and I was heading straight into our yard. I started panicing and getting really scared. Before I noticed, I was heading straight for our sticker bush in our yard. I didn’t have time to swerve out of the way and hit it head on. I was covered in scratches and it was the most miserable experience ever. From then on, I never forgot how to use the brakes on my bike.
Kindergarten-3rd Grade: I went to Firgrove Elementary School
I would always chase around the boys in my class and try to kiss them at recess. I thought it was the funniest thing in the world.
In third grade I would beat 6 graders at teather ball and they would always be really embarrassed. I remember growing up in elementary school, my favorite thing for breakfast was cinnamon toast. I would look forward to it every morning.
I remember when I first learned to ride my bike without training wheels, I was so excited. We lived in a couldesac that had a pretty big hill coming down to our circle. I finally felt ready to ride down the hill from the top. As I got to the top and took off on my bike, it felt so good with the wind in my hair and it was really fun. As I was picking up speed, I couldn’t remember how to use my brakes! I was getting faster and faster and I was heading straight into our yard. I started panicing and getting really scared. Before I noticed, I was heading straight for our sticker bush in our yard. I didn’t have time to swerve out of the way and hit it head on. I was covered in scratches and it was the most miserable experience ever. From then on, I never forgot how to use the brakes on my bike.
4th-6th Grade: I went to Zeiger Elementary School
I was baptized at the age of 8 to become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints.
I joined the school choir from 4th to 6th grade. I cannot carry a note, so I would just pretend like I was singing. All of my friends were in choir, so I didn’t want to be left out. They would also have ice cream parties during class times and I wanted to be able to go. So all three years I just lipsynced. My friends wanted to do a trio in front of the whole entire school, so I tried out with them and we got the part. The day came when we had to perform and we were all really nervous. When we walked up to the microphone, we were so nervous we couldn’t even sing. I tried to sing, but it didn’t sound good at all. It was really embarrassing and we walked off the stage.
I was on the girls basketball team in 5th and 6th grade. I met a lot of my close friends during that time and loved it. My mom would always pick me up from baskball practice at the school. One time after practice, I was waiting for my mom for an hour. I wasn't too paniced because she was usually running behind, but after the janitor left, which was the last person to leave the school building, I started to realize that she probably had forgotten. Since our church building was pretty close to our school, I walked there thinking I could use the phone there to call her or maybe I would see somebody I knew. Of course, when I started walking, it started pouring down rain. When I finally reached the church, the building doors were locked. I started to get really worried because I didn't know what to do. As I walked around the church, I saw a lady playing in the grass with her dogs. I didn't know who she was, but she came up to me and asked if I needed a ride. For some reason I felt ok with riding with her, so I said yes. She wasn't a member of our church, she just liked to play in our grass with her dogs. She brought me safely home.
In 6th grade, I was student treasurer for our class and our teacher, Mrs. Kase, used Kase Cash to reward us. I was in charge of the money and allowing people to cash in for prizes.
One time my mom bought a new pair of swimming goggles and my older brother thought it would be funny to put super glue on the eye part. He then told me to try them on, so I did. When I realized that there was super glue on them, I hurried and took them off. The glue got on my eyelashes and in my eye. My mom freaked out and washed a ton of water in my eyes to get it out. Luckily, it all came off. He also super glued the refrigerator shut…
One time my older brother through a card at me and it happen to hit my eyeball. The impact of it scratched my eye and I had to wear an eye patch for awhile until it healed.
I started girl scouts when I was in 3rd grade and stayed in it until I was in 7th grade. My mom was a leader in it for awhile and it was a lot of fun. I loved earning patches to sew on my sash. Since I am really competitive, I loved when we had to sell girl scout cookies. I would always try to sell the highest amount of cookies. There was one girl that had sold more than me, so I signed my mom up for as many boxes as it took to be able to beat this girl. I ended up selling more than her, but then we had a ton of girl scout cookies in our house. I told her I would keep selling them in the off season, but I wasn’t very successful. So we were stuck with a ton of left overs, I didn’t mind at all.
I used to love Tiger from whinnie the pooh. He was my favorite character and I had a lot clothes and toys that were of Tiger.
7th -9th grade: I went to Ballou Jr High School
I had 7th grade birthday party at Roger’s High School pool and we had a cake fight in the parking lot afterwards.
8th grade I started getting my hair permanently straightened. My hair is naturally really curly, frizzy and thick. After getting my hair straightened, I was able to do a lot more things with it and have it look cute.
In 8th grade my friend Jill and I really wanted to be surfers. We had a trip planned to go down to California and learn how to surf. We checked out books from the library all about surfing and the surfing lingo. We were so excited and thought it was the coolest thing ever. Once we told our parents our plan, they did not agree to it, which ruined everything.
In 8th grade it was really popular for girls to take irons and straighten their hair on the ironing boards.
In 9th grade, I was at a school club and they had drinks there. I remember being so thirsty and I hurried and grabbed a juice from the drinks cooler. I chugged it as fast as I could because I was so dehydrated. Right after I finished, I felt so sick and had the worst headache in the world. I realized that I had just chugged an Ice Tea, which has caffeine. That was my first time drinking caffeine and my body did not let me ever forget that experience. I stayed away from caffeine ever since then.
I played soccer, volleyball, and basketball in 7th grade. In 8th grade I tried out for volleyball, but was cut. I made the basketball and soccer team though. I didn’t have a lot of fun playing basketball because some of the girls were mean, so I didn’t try out for basketball ever again and I just stayed with soccer. In 7th grade I took a speech and drama class. I was in a play, but I don’t remember what it was called. All I remember is that I forgot my part and I was really embarrassed!
I did 4-h for one year. I learned how to sew a lot of different things and my final project was a vest and capris. I modeled my outfit at the graham fair on stage.
10th-12 grade: I went to Gov. John Rogers High School
High school I tried out for soccer and I made it. I met Katie mcnaughton, who was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, for the first time because she made the team right away too. We became really good friends right away and introduced me to her other member friends. Before I met her I only had one friend that was a member. After I met her all of my friends were members except for a few. I played goalie and she was my sweeper so we learned to really rely on each other. Our coach, Coach Mo, was really intense and would make me run up and down the field holding bricks in the air. I would always get really nervous before games, but it was still fun.
I went to EFY three different times and had so much fun. My testimony was strengthened each time I went and met people that I am still good friends with.
My friend and I thought the tennis coach was cute, so we wanted to try out for the team, but neither of us had ever played before. We started practicing and we made the team. My friend Jill and I played doubles and our coach called us the dynamic duo because we would always make a comeback and win the match.
For birthday presents to my friends, I would blow up a really big picture of me and put it on a poster board. I would put ribbon around the edging and give it to them as their present.
One night we were all sitting at home watching T. V. and when we saw something white flash across the window. We went to see what it was when we realized that a group of my friends were tping our house. We all run outside to catch them in the act and scare them. We they saw us they all started running up all steep hill. My mom then ran inside and got the car keys because she was going to chase them down. She started chasing them with her car, but they got away. It was funny how fast she was at getting into the car and chasing them!
Katie and I didn’t make the soccer team our senior year so we did cross country instead. Everytime we saw the cross country runners they were always eating popcycles so we thought it would be a lot of fun. However, when we joined, we never once had popscycles and it was very intense. Katie ended up quitting and left me to finish the season by myself. It was a really good work out and I improved my time a lot by the end .
Ever since I was little, I would pray every night that I would be able to get into BYU Provo when I was older. That is the only place I ever wanted to go to. When it came time to apply to colleges, my prayers became more sincere and I had a strong feeling that I needed to go to BYU-Idaho. After visiting the town of Rexburg with my family, I wasn’t too excited. However, I am so glad I came! I met so many wonderful friends and most importantly my husband.
I graduated high school in 2006. That summer I worked for the John's family as a nanny and house cleaner. I worked really hard and accomplished a lot of projects for them. I helped paint their living room and kitchen, I power washed their fence and drive way, I deep cleaned every area of their house and I scanned and cropped their family pictures. I learned how to clean very thoroughly while working for them. One day they asked me to watch all four kids over night while they made a short trip. I agreed, but it was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. Taking care of kids is hard work and I learned very quickly how amazing mothers are. I also watched their youngest daughter, Bella, a couple of weeks before I was going to be married. Their family went to Disneyland and didn't want to take their youngest daughter with them. That was a really fun experience and she was so good that whole week. This experience made me more excited to have kids than my previous experience with them. I ended up working for them during every summer when I would come home for college. I also worked at Daved John's dentist office. I did a lot of scanning, cropping, and shredding.
I had 7th grade birthday party at Roger’s High School pool and we had a cake fight in the parking lot afterwards.
8th grade I started getting my hair permanently straightened. My hair is naturally really curly, frizzy and thick. After getting my hair straightened, I was able to do a lot more things with it and have it look cute.
In 8th grade my friend Jill and I really wanted to be surfers. We had a trip planned to go down to California and learn how to surf. We checked out books from the library all about surfing and the surfing lingo. We were so excited and thought it was the coolest thing ever. Once we told our parents our plan, they did not agree to it, which ruined everything.
In 8th grade it was really popular for girls to take irons and straighten their hair on the ironing boards.
In 9th grade, I was at a school club and they had drinks there. I remember being so thirsty and I hurried and grabbed a juice from the drinks cooler. I chugged it as fast as I could because I was so dehydrated. Right after I finished, I felt so sick and had the worst headache in the world. I realized that I had just chugged an Ice Tea, which has caffeine. That was my first time drinking caffeine and my body did not let me ever forget that experience. I stayed away from caffeine ever since then.
I played soccer, volleyball, and basketball in 7th grade. In 8th grade I tried out for volleyball, but was cut. I made the basketball and soccer team though. I didn’t have a lot of fun playing basketball because some of the girls were mean, so I didn’t try out for basketball ever again and I just stayed with soccer. In 7th grade I took a speech and drama class. I was in a play, but I don’t remember what it was called. All I remember is that I forgot my part and I was really embarrassed!
I did 4-h for one year. I learned how to sew a lot of different things and my final project was a vest and capris. I modeled my outfit at the graham fair on stage.
10th-12 grade: I went to Gov. John Rogers High School
High school I tried out for soccer and I made it. I met Katie mcnaughton, who was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, for the first time because she made the team right away too. We became really good friends right away and introduced me to her other member friends. Before I met her I only had one friend that was a member. After I met her all of my friends were members except for a few. I played goalie and she was my sweeper so we learned to really rely on each other. Our coach, Coach Mo, was really intense and would make me run up and down the field holding bricks in the air. I would always get really nervous before games, but it was still fun.
I went to EFY three different times and had so much fun. My testimony was strengthened each time I went and met people that I am still good friends with.
My friend and I thought the tennis coach was cute, so we wanted to try out for the team, but neither of us had ever played before. We started practicing and we made the team. My friend Jill and I played doubles and our coach called us the dynamic duo because we would always make a comeback and win the match.
For birthday presents to my friends, I would blow up a really big picture of me and put it on a poster board. I would put ribbon around the edging and give it to them as their present.
One night we were all sitting at home watching T. V. and when we saw something white flash across the window. We went to see what it was when we realized that a group of my friends were tping our house. We all run outside to catch them in the act and scare them. We they saw us they all started running up all steep hill. My mom then ran inside and got the car keys because she was going to chase them down. She started chasing them with her car, but they got away. It was funny how fast she was at getting into the car and chasing them!
Katie and I didn’t make the soccer team our senior year so we did cross country instead. Everytime we saw the cross country runners they were always eating popcycles so we thought it would be a lot of fun. However, when we joined, we never once had popscycles and it was very intense. Katie ended up quitting and left me to finish the season by myself. It was a really good work out and I improved my time a lot by the end .
Ever since I was little, I would pray every night that I would be able to get into BYU Provo when I was older. That is the only place I ever wanted to go to. When it came time to apply to colleges, my prayers became more sincere and I had a strong feeling that I needed to go to BYU-Idaho. After visiting the town of Rexburg with my family, I wasn’t too excited. However, I am so glad I came! I met so many wonderful friends and most importantly my husband.
I graduated high school in 2006. That summer I worked for the John's family as a nanny and house cleaner. I worked really hard and accomplished a lot of projects for them. I helped paint their living room and kitchen, I power washed their fence and drive way, I deep cleaned every area of their house and I scanned and cropped their family pictures. I learned how to clean very thoroughly while working for them. One day they asked me to watch all four kids over night while they made a short trip. I agreed, but it was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. Taking care of kids is hard work and I learned very quickly how amazing mothers are. I also watched their youngest daughter, Bella, a couple of weeks before I was going to be married. Their family went to Disneyland and didn't want to take their youngest daughter with them. That was a really fun experience and she was so good that whole week. This experience made me more excited to have kids than my previous experience with them. I ended up working for them during every summer when I would come home for college. I also worked at Daved John's dentist office. I did a lot of scanning, cropping, and shredding.
High School Graduation
College: I went to BYU-Idaho University in fall of 2006
Freshman Year:
I lived in Kerr Hall dorms. My friend Katie and I both came to BYU-Idaho, but we decided not to room with eachother, so we could make more friends. The first night with the my roommates was a little weird because it was the first time I had met them, but we quickly broke the ice and became friends. They were a lot of fun. I went to a back to school dance with my roommate, Rebecca Crabtree. We met two guys, who asked us out on our first date of college. They were not that cute, but my roommate didn't want to say no, so we went with them. We saw the movie, Lady in the Water, in the cheap theatres. The guy I was with was really scared and kept squealing. There definitely was not a second date.
My roommates thought it was funny when I would go to the bathroom, they would tie a rope from the bathroom door knob to a bedroom door knob or they would just hold the rope so I couldn't get out. I was trapped in the bathroom, but I was eventually able to get out because of my massive strength.
We also dressed up as an Oreo for halloween. Rebecca and I wore all black and Sharon wore all white. Sharon stood in the middle of Rebecca and I. We wanted to do a mint oreo, so Sharon changed and dressed all in green.
We also dressed up as an Oreo for halloween. Rebecca and I wore all black and Sharon wore all white. Sharon stood in the middle of Rebecca and I. We wanted to do a mint oreo, so Sharon changed and dressed all in green.
Our favorite thing to do freshman year was to look guys up on our school directory, get their apartment telephone number, and then make prank phone calls. This would entertain us for hours because it never got old!
One night my friends and I were hanging out and we decided to have a contest who could come up with the craziest/funniest costumes. We all separated and were given 20 minutes to make a costume and then we would meet back up. It was so fun seeing what other people came up with and we ended up making a dance video in our crazy costumes. It was one of the funniest nights of freshman year!
One night my friends and I were hanging out and we decided to have a contest who could come up with the craziest/funniest costumes. We all separated and were given 20 minutes to make a costume and then we would meet back up. It was so fun seeing what other people came up with and we ended up making a dance video in our crazy costumes. It was one of the funniest nights of freshman year!
I became friends with my neighbor, Mallorie Jones. She started a club with the girls in the dorms called Calendar Changing Clug (CCC). We would get together on the last day of each month to celebrate the start of a new month. We would have festivities from 11:00pm to 12:00am. Our first one was for the month of March. We decorated for St. Patrick's Day and we all came dressed in white. I showed up all in pink just to be funny, but I had green on underneath. At midnight we would change our calendars to the next month. We did it every month and had a blast each time. We continued the tradition until we all were married.
My friend Trae and I were co-captains of a recreational soccer team. Our team name was Berry Colossal Crunch because we really liked that cereal. Our team was pretty good and we had a lot of fun. During one of our games it started raining. After the game we had a huge mud fight with everyone!
I went to a formal school dance with my roommate, Rebecca, and our dates. Before the dance, we had dinner at my roommate's sister's house. They dumped spaghetti and salad all over the table. There was about 12 of us there and we were all handcuffed to each other in a circle around the table. We had to eat the food off of the table while having both our hands handcuffed to someone else. We changed out of our dresses and put holes in garbage bags so we could wear them like shirts. It was really hard to eat, but it was really funny to watch people.
I found this coat in Salt Lake City, UT that I fell in love with because it was bright pink and bright pink was my FAVORITE color! I went down to Provo, UT to visit my friends, Megan, Ashley and Geoff. We rode the tracks from Provo, UT to Salt Lake Citiy, UT, which took over two hours! There was no heat and there were a lot of scary people! We had a ton of fun just goofing off. We finally made it to SLC and I bought my pink jacket! We walked around temple square and it was so pretty.
We played a game called Assassins with our whole ward. We were given a person that we had to kill (hit with a sock). We had to kill that person before someone killed us. Once we killed our target, we were given another target to kill. The object of the game was to kill everyone else and be the last one alive. Our safe zone was our apartment and no one could be killed there. I would find out my target's class schedule and I would wait for them to come out of their class to kill them. One time I followed my target on his date to a dance. At the dance while he was dancing with his date, I jumped out and killed him and ran away. There was about 100 people playing so you never knew who might be trying to kill you. I was paranoid the whole time I played this game because I didn't want to die. I made it to the final three, but I ended up being killed! It was so fun and we played a lot of rounds of it. My roommate got asked on a date and while they were on the date, the guy killed her with a sock. He just asked her out so he could kill her, which was pretty lame!
We would play a lot of Red Rover with the guys in our ward.
We would play a lot of Red Rover with the guys in our ward.
Sophomore Year:
I moved to Royal Crest apartments with my friends from freshman year. Our door handle would alway come loose and we would get trapped in our apartments. For a time, we would never use the door, but just go in and out the window because they were not very quick with maintenance. One night, all of my roommates stayed up really late just hanging out. We all got together and ducked taped one of our other roommates. It was so fun and luckily we video taped it.
I took a biology night class with my friends Mallorie and Katie. One day they left class early because they weren't feeling good. When I got home that night, all of my headbands were gone! I hung all 22 of them up on my wall on push pins and they were all gone. I couldn't find them anywhere in their apartment. The next day, each of my roommates were wearing my headbands. I came home from class and I saw through the window that Katie and Mallorie were talking to my roommates. I wanted to catch them in the act of talking about stealing my headbands, so I snuck in through a bedroom window. I heard them talking about stealing my headbands and I jumped out on them and scared them all. Everyone went running, but I caught Katie and made her tell me where my headbands were! She eventually cracked and I got my headbands back.
I moved to Royal Crest apartments with my friends from freshman year. Our door handle would alway come loose and we would get trapped in our apartments. For a time, we would never use the door, but just go in and out the window because they were not very quick with maintenance. One night, all of my roommates stayed up really late just hanging out. We all got together and ducked taped one of our other roommates. It was so fun and luckily we video taped it.
I took a biology night class with my friends Mallorie and Katie. One day they left class early because they weren't feeling good. When I got home that night, all of my headbands were gone! I hung all 22 of them up on my wall on push pins and they were all gone. I couldn't find them anywhere in their apartment. The next day, each of my roommates were wearing my headbands. I came home from class and I saw through the window that Katie and Mallorie were talking to my roommates. I wanted to catch them in the act of talking about stealing my headbands, so I snuck in through a bedroom window. I heard them talking about stealing my headbands and I jumped out on them and scared them all. Everyone went running, but I caught Katie and made her tell me where my headbands were! She eventually cracked and I got my headbands back.
One night, we dressed in dark colors and decided that we were going to steal our friend's couch and his favorite chair from his apartment because we knew that he never locked his apartment. We drove over to his apartment and the no one was home, which was perfect. The chair fit in the trunk, but Nicole had to ride in the trunk so it wouldn't fall out. We tried to fit the couch in the trunk of the car too, but it wouldn't stay. We had to carry it all the way to our apartment, which was about .5 miles away. It was so heavy! He ended up finding out that it was us and stole it back! We took a lot of pictures with his furniture!
We would build forts all of the time! It was so fun to watch movies inside the fort and eat junk food!
One night we saw some friends in our ward having a marshmallow gun fight. They had a ton of extra guns so they let us use them. We went to some guy apartments and starting shooting every person we saw with marshmallows. There was one group of guys that we attacked with marshmallos, who came back at us with water. We chased them to their apartment and got their before they could close the door all the way. We were all pushing on the door to get in and all of the guys in their apartment were pushing on the other side of the door. The wood door ended up cracking at the hinge! We felt really bad, but luckily they didn't have to pay for it.
My friend, Mallorie, and I thought it would be funny to dress up in the exact same outfit and then go to devotional together. We waited a little bit after devotional already started and everyone was seated and quiet. Then we walked side by side with out matching costumes in the middle of the whole auditorium, so everyone could see us. We thought that it would be really funny, but as we were walking and everyone was staring at us, I started to get a little embarrassed! We walked really fast to our seats and decided to never to that again!
Junior Year:
In 2008, I met my husband at a BYU-Idaho school dance.
Proposal Story:
Zach was selling alarm systems for Pinnacle Security in Portland, OR. He came up for the weekend to Puyallup and didn’t get to my house until 11pm. I was really hoping that he was coming up to propose, but I didn’t think he was going to that night since he came in so late. When he got to my house, he said let’s go out to eat. So we went to Sonic Burger, but when we pulled up a worker was putting up cones saying that they were just closing. Zach really wanted it to be a special night so he told the guy that he would pay him $5 if he let us eat. The guy agreed and moved the cones so we could go through, but then Zach didn’t even have any cash to tip the guy! We didn't even end up eating there because nothing sounded good, so we went to Del Taco instead. After that we drove around for awhile until we came to the Puyallup Fair. Zach knows that I love the Puyallup Fair and that it is one of my favorite places in the world. Unfortunately, it was off season and so the fair was not open. Zach parked and said that we needed to get out. He then started to jump the fence to the fair, which is so unlike his character. I knew then that he really wanted this to be a special night. We got in and we started going to all of my favorite rides. We started playing tag, which is my favorite game when we saw headlights coming towards us. We realized it was security cop in a golf cart. We then started running trying to find somewhere to hide. The security guard yelled on his megaphone that he had already called the cops and the dogs are on their way. Zach came out with his hands in the air. I have never had such an adrenaline rush! The security guard ended up being really nice and he walked us off the property. He was lying about calling the cops. After we went back over the fence, we were walking around the fair grounds. Zach got down on one knee and asked me to marry him and busted out the prettiest ring I have ever seen!! I was so excited, but just then two guys on a tandem bike came riding right by us. It was almost 1 am by this time and we both started laughing because it was so random. I of course said yes and we went home.
I was married in the Portland, Oregon LDS Temple on August 28, 2009. We had our reception at the Warmoth home in Puyallup, WA. The most memorable part of the reception was when Zach suggested instead of us shoving our cupcake in eachother's face, we should throw it at the guests! A cupcake fight quickly followed. For our honeymoon, we went on a cruise to Catalina Island, CA and Ensanada, Mexico. We had a ton of fun and gained a lot of weight because of the "all you can eat" buffet on the cruise ship. We went snorkeling and rode bikes on Catalina Island, CA. We bought squirt guns while we rode our bikes, so we could squirt eachother to stay coooled down. Sometimes we would spray people on the streets and then quickly ride away on our bikes. In Ensanada, Mexico we went to all of the tourist shops. I bought earrings and Zach bought aviator sunglasses. We saw this poor, little girl trying to braid people's hair for money. After a lot of effort of convincing Zach, we both had our hair braided in corn rows. We went out of the tourist area so we could eat authentic food. We found an ice cream shop and it was delicious. We also went to the mexican candy store and Zach picked a lot of different candies out. He was in heaven. The worker at the candy store was a redheaded mexican, so we had to get a picture with him. On the cruise ship, Zach entered into a kareoke contest and made it to the top 5 finale! He had the crowd going wild for him!
In 2008, I met my husband at a BYU-Idaho school dance.
Proposal Story:
Zach was selling alarm systems for Pinnacle Security in Portland, OR. He came up for the weekend to Puyallup and didn’t get to my house until 11pm. I was really hoping that he was coming up to propose, but I didn’t think he was going to that night since he came in so late. When he got to my house, he said let’s go out to eat. So we went to Sonic Burger, but when we pulled up a worker was putting up cones saying that they were just closing. Zach really wanted it to be a special night so he told the guy that he would pay him $5 if he let us eat. The guy agreed and moved the cones so we could go through, but then Zach didn’t even have any cash to tip the guy! We didn't even end up eating there because nothing sounded good, so we went to Del Taco instead. After that we drove around for awhile until we came to the Puyallup Fair. Zach knows that I love the Puyallup Fair and that it is one of my favorite places in the world. Unfortunately, it was off season and so the fair was not open. Zach parked and said that we needed to get out. He then started to jump the fence to the fair, which is so unlike his character. I knew then that he really wanted this to be a special night. We got in and we started going to all of my favorite rides. We started playing tag, which is my favorite game when we saw headlights coming towards us. We realized it was security cop in a golf cart. We then started running trying to find somewhere to hide. The security guard yelled on his megaphone that he had already called the cops and the dogs are on their way. Zach came out with his hands in the air. I have never had such an adrenaline rush! The security guard ended up being really nice and he walked us off the property. He was lying about calling the cops. After we went back over the fence, we were walking around the fair grounds. Zach got down on one knee and asked me to marry him and busted out the prettiest ring I have ever seen!! I was so excited, but just then two guys on a tandem bike came riding right by us. It was almost 1 am by this time and we both started laughing because it was so random. I of course said yes and we went home.
I was married in the Portland, Oregon LDS Temple on August 28, 2009. We had our reception at the Warmoth home in Puyallup, WA. The most memorable part of the reception was when Zach suggested instead of us shoving our cupcake in eachother's face, we should throw it at the guests! A cupcake fight quickly followed. For our honeymoon, we went on a cruise to Catalina Island, CA and Ensanada, Mexico. We had a ton of fun and gained a lot of weight because of the "all you can eat" buffet on the cruise ship. We went snorkeling and rode bikes on Catalina Island, CA. We bought squirt guns while we rode our bikes, so we could squirt eachother to stay coooled down. Sometimes we would spray people on the streets and then quickly ride away on our bikes. In Ensanada, Mexico we went to all of the tourist shops. I bought earrings and Zach bought aviator sunglasses. We saw this poor, little girl trying to braid people's hair for money. After a lot of effort of convincing Zach, we both had our hair braided in corn rows. We went out of the tourist area so we could eat authentic food. We found an ice cream shop and it was delicious. We also went to the mexican candy store and Zach picked a lot of different candies out. He was in heaven. The worker at the candy store was a redheaded mexican, so we had to get a picture with him. On the cruise ship, Zach entered into a kareoke contest and made it to the top 5 finale! He had the crowd going wild for him!
Senior Year:
After our honeymoon, we moved into our first apartment at 234 West 1st South APT #207 in Rexburg, ID, which is called Willowbrooke. We had no idea what it looked like before we moved in. All that we knew about it was that it was cheap, but it turned out to be a good apartment! We lived right by a park and we were not too far away from campus. Since we came to Rexburg, ID the day before school started, we were not able to furnish our apartment before school. We had to sleep on the floor for a week until we had time to get a bed and other furniture.
We lived with Zach's parents for summer of 2010 to save money. We rented out our apartment to another couple and left all of our furniture.
Super Senior Year:
My dad sneakily called Joe and I and arranged for us to fly in for mother’s day as a surprise for my mom. We both had been away from home for awhile since we were at college. My dad picked us up from the airport and we came home around 11pm at night. My mom was already in bed and so we jumped in bed with her. At first she didn’t realize it was us and once she did realize she was so happy! It was a fun weekend and she definitely put us to work by helping clear out the attic in the garage.
My Testimony
I know that the Church of Jesus Christ is the only true church on this earth. I know that my Savior, Jesus Christ, lives! He chose to come to this earth and live a life full of temptation and persecution for us. He chose to bleed for our sins and to die on the cross for us. He chose to go through so many pains and sorrows while still loving everyone around him. I know that I will see my Savior again and it will be a glorious day if I continuously strive to make righteous choices now! I know that our Heavenly Father sent us to this earth to obtain bodies, gain knowledge and overcome trials as we rely on Him. I know that we can be given the precious gift and glory of becoming Gods one day, if we strive whole heartedly to put aside the temptations of the world and commit to being a disciple of Christ. I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God. I know that he had so much strength and faith in order to endure all of the hardships he faced during his days. When I think about all that he went through and the saints of his day for the gospel, it quickly helps motivate me to work harder and be stronger against Satan’s temptations. Sometimes life gets busy, stressful and hard, but I know that when we put God first before everything, we will be blessed and be given strength and joy to endure our trials. I know that marriage is ordained of God and only through marriage will we be able to gain celestial glory. This is why strengthening my relationship with my spouse is so important and why Satan tries so hard to create contention and frustration between us. If I am not constantly remembering my Savior, it is so easy to fall for Satan’s traps and be filled with pride and selfishness. Satan does not want us to be eternally happy because he will never have that blessing. He wants us to be miserable like him. By putting aside our selfish desires, I know that peace and joy will come into our lives. I know that we will experience joy beyond anything we can comprehend one day, and it will make everything we struggled through so worth it. I know this church is true!
Life Goals
1. Always strive to keep the commandments of God and to be like Him.
2. Do all that I can to teach my children righteous principles.
3. Read the Bible Dictionary.
4. Make a journal of the significance of every scripture in the Book of Mormon.
5. Write in my journal every day.
6. Be healthy and active.
7. Go on a mission with my husband.
8. Fulfill every calling I have.
9. Have the courage to share my testimony with everyone I come in contact with.
10. Be happy and act on every opportunity to serve.
11. Listen to the Holy Ghost and always abide by its promptings.
1. Always strive to keep the commandments of God and to be like Him.
2. Do all that I can to teach my children righteous principles.
3. Read the Bible Dictionary.
4. Make a journal of the significance of every scripture in the Book of Mormon.
5. Write in my journal every day.
6. Be healthy and active.
7. Go on a mission with my husband.
8. Fulfill every calling I have.
9. Have the courage to share my testimony with everyone I come in contact with.
10. Be happy and act on every opportunity to serve.
11. Listen to the Holy Ghost and always abide by its promptings.