Our Story

Kari & Brad:

          We first met in the winter of 1987 in Emmett, Idaho.  Kari was in 7th grade, Brad was a freshman in high school.  Kari's family had just moved to Emmett, just about 5 houses down from Brad's family on Sunny Lane.  Kari's dad was the pastor of the Christian Church in town; Brad's dad was the mayor of Emmett.  There wasn't much opportunity for interaction at first, even at the Emmett Christian Church youth group (Kari in Jr. High, Brad in Sr. High)...so they were friends from a distance.

          Kari entered her freshman year at Emmett High School in 1990, she and Brad developed a great friendship while in youth group and in the band.  Brad was in the percussion section, Kari was in the flute section.  Brad would frequently drive Kari home after school, and from band and youth group functions in his beige 1978 Camaro.  Brad remembers being enchanted with Kari's smile, and enjoing the candid converstaions they would have during the afternoon drive.  Kari remembers being very comfortable talking with Brad, his sweet smile and brown eyes.  The problem with Kari's memory is: Brad very clearly has bright blue eyes. Kari insists that his eyes used to be brown, but his many years of watching multiple BSU games (Brad's favorite team) on home turf (which is bright blue) have turned his eyes from brown to blue.  There were also a few vanilla cokes along the way from Roe-Ann's drive-inn!     

          About a year ago, Kari and Brad found each other again on Facebook and began emailing.  As of the spring of 2010 Kari was living in Seattle; Brad was in the process of moving to Medford, Oregon.  We began chatting and soon it became clear the opportunity to meet in person was at hand. Brad travelled to Seattle in mid July: the connection was immediate, we were both smitten!

          That first weekend, Kari and Brad played tourist...Seattle's Pike Place Market, sharing fresh snap peas out of the paper bag...Seattle Experience Music Project, laughing, playing and having fun with our mutual love for music...The Sci-Fi Museum, realizing we are both serious geeks to the core...Lincoln Park in West Seattle, where we did some "urban hiking", watched the ferry boats and walked along the water at sunset...Shared Garlic Jim's Pizza and Ben& Jerry's Cherry Garcia Fro-Yo, two of our favorite things together...

          We began talking on the phone from a distance for hours on end, and visiting in person when we could.  It is true what people say: "When you know, you know."   Brad took Kari to the Sculpture Park one clear Seattle evening.  Under the "Schubert Sonata" sculpture where we had first kissed, Brad read a special something he wrote, got down on one knee and proposed!

          God is Good.  He brought us together. Through years of joyful and painful experiences, He has molded us into the people we are today, absolutely perfect for one another. There is so much to be thankful for, and we simply love every moment God has given us.  Some of the things we enjoy together:
* Spending time with our families and friends
* Sharing a Ben&Jerry's Cherry Garcia Fro-Yo
* Coffee, breakfast and listening to NPR on Saturday mornings (This American Life, Wait-Wait-Don't Tell Me, A Prairie Home Companion, etc...)
* Going on a walk together, "urban hiking"
* Road tripping, exploring and going to the local museums
* Playing tourist, being geeks
* Antique shopping
* Cooking together (Kari cooks, Brad does the dishes)
* Scrabble
* Listening to music...all kinds
* Harry Potter movies (Brad has inspired Kari to read the books now!)
* Playing Wii and Playstation3
* Watching movies, especially Classic movies and Film Noir
* Camping and Hiking

...And that's just the beginning!