When Wade Met Amy - Chapter 2 - First Date

All anticipation evaporated into reality as I meet Amy at her house in Sugar City. I drove my dad’s pickup with my bicycle in back. The “date” was to begin with an extended bicycle tour of Sugar City, guided by Amy, as Sugar has always been so close, yet so foreign. Partway through, we ran into Amy’s parents, exiting some function at the new high school. They visited with Amy briefly while I stood by, and we cycled back to the homestead to take off in m’dad’s truck. Amy recovered from her coughing fit just in time as we approached the house. As I unloaded my bike, I told Amy the house was empty, and she boldly went inside to wait for me. Turned out it wasn’t empty, but Dad was just inside the entry, reading a book. No doubt it was a little surprise for both of them, but no harm done. Dad said, “Well, you must be a friend of Wade’s!"

From there, this date had a surface of plain vanilla. We saw “Peter Pan” at the Westwood Theater. I told Amy it was OK to put her foot on the seats in front of us (after all, we practically owned the place), and a passing usher told her to put it down. We returned to the house afterward for ice cream sundaes, and then I took her home. I took her the longest reasonable route to Sugar City, up Mill Hollow, down Pole Line Road, circling Rexburg to spend a little more time with her. My brain was practically fizzing with the realization that I was, right then, on this much anticipated date with Amy, though I kept my composure and held a demeanor of mild-mannered enthusiasm. At the “doorstep,” I offered my hand to shake in farewell, which she took, then said something about me still acting like a missionary, and pulled me into a brief hug. Wow. I wasn’t expecting this. She went in the house and I back to the car. I was hooked.

Epilogue: It would be 10 months and at least as many dates before I got another brief hug from Amy, and a solid year before our first kiss. Throughout that summer I tried to see her as much as possible without seeming over-eager or ingratiating, but I’m sure I didn’t hide it well. At times I was sure she dreaded me, but where she hadn’t specifically said it, I felt driven to the pursuit. Now, part of the game was to not bet everything on this one girl, so I dutifully dated others. No one else even came close, even if it looked good on paper. Somehow, Amy and I had disembarked onto the same platform, having traveled parallel tracks that took us through much of the same territory, but never let our paths cross until now. It was all clear to me, and if it wasn’t to her yet, that was OK. I would see her in the fall at BYU.

When we met, and then...

The first time I remember meeting Wade was in elementary school in Mrs. Ashleman's class first grade class at Lincoln Elementary. She repeatedly emphasized to her class that we never, ever smoke (anything!). If we would promise to never smoke, she gave us a stick of gum. So, back to the story...in 1973, my family moved to Rexburg, Idaho for my dad to work at Ricks College. We lived close to campus, just a few blocks away from the DeMordaunts. We came from Bountiful, Utah where I had finished Kindergarten with flying colors after learning about how pupils dilate (it was in a very cool class experiment), which turned out to be important in understanding the work of my future spouse.

Wade also sat in front of me in Miss Hammond's 2nd grade class. This is quite vague in my memory, but he remembers details like this from his youth very clearly. In February that school year, my family moved out to Sugar City (Salem, to be precise). The class was writing farewell notes to me, and I was feeling nervous-- Wade even remembers something I said that day about having butterflies in my stomach.

Fast forward to high school and the era of being seen at other schools periodically, usually when I was there for track meets. I remember seeing Wade intermittently, but most specifically at State Youth Legislature in Boise where Wade was a Court Justice. He sat on the bench as a judge! We have a group that was photo taken on the steps at the state capitol building that I hope I can find.

Suddenly 3 years passed and it was 1989. I had graduated from Ricks College, attended 1 year at BYU and was home for the summer, working as a tour guide at the Admissions Office. I had very big, blonde hair! Wade had attended BYU for 1 year, returned from a mission to Madrid, Spain and was home taking classes at Ricks College for the summer. He was starting to lose his hair, and looked very young and lean with sparkly eyes, and was very handsome. We both started going to a student summer ward that met in the Kirkham Auditorium/building. I bore my testimony one Fast Sunday, then Wade gave a talk another time. He was asked to speak at the last minute, since another speaker fell through. I think he talked about his mission. Anyway, it was funny that it was so easy to recognize him, and other kids that I went to elementary school with in Rexburg, after so many years. We were all just the (almost) grown up versions of ourselves. Right now you may be wondering..."Are they ever going to meet/talk?" Well, yes.

Our ward was having an outdoor fireside at Smith Park one Sunday evening. The speaker was a former seminary teacher from Madison High School, Bro. Parker. Wade was asked by a friend to go help give a girl a blessing that afternoon, so he was all dressed up, and the friend (was it Martin Searcy?) asked if he was attending the fireside. He wasn't until then, and I can't remember if he came with a friend or not. My sister, Carol, was going with a date, so I drove over with Camille Keller, a friend of Carol's from Sugar City.

After the talk, Wade intercepted me as I was on my way to get some refreshments. He said something like, "Hey, aren't you Amy?" I responded with something like, "Yeah, and you're Wade." Then we probably commented that we had seen the other speak/bear testimony in church, etc. Then up in the gazebo where the food was, Wade intercepted me once again and asked if I would like to go out sometime. I cheerily responded, " Sounds great!" or something similarly encouraging.

Some time later Wade called to ask me on a date. He had in mind that I enjoyed physical activities, so planned a bike ride. We chose a route out and about Salem, then back to Sugar City. We then went to his house where I met his Dad before we went to a movie (Peter Pan, Disney version), which was a blast. We went back to his home for dessert (ice cream, perhaps?) and I met more of his family. Later when he took me home and he walked me to the door, he held out his hand as he thanked me for the date. Realizing he was still "hot off the grill" from his mission, I gave him a hug instead of the handshake. Apparently he walked away thrilled with the date. I thought it was completely enjoyable despite my coughing fit in the truck on the way back to his house after the outdoor bike ride. It was certainly allergy related. I just kept coughing until my eyes were all watery and I appeared to be crying. It made conversation awkward, but I got better and the date continued without a hitch. It ranks as one of the best dates in history.

Altogether meeting Wade in college and that first date was the beginning of a dream come true. I am so glad I was home that summer and went to the student ward that I did. It was a blessing for me to start that friendship with Wade, though it took almost a year to blossom into something more. But that is a story for another day.

When Wade Met Amy - Chapter 1 - Genesis

Having returned from my mission to Spain just two weeks earlier, I was eager to meet and date girls. My self-esteem was high but delicately balanced. It was a Ricks College summer student ward fast and testimony meeting in the Kirkham Auditorum. The testimony meetings that summer were notable for a young man reciting page after page of what he was sure to be memorized scripture well into overtime, and a sister who brought a jar of dried leaves to crush under her fist as some kind of object lesson, then calling on the congregation to applaud the Bishop. A voice of clarity, Amy Price shared her testimony, in which she mentioned being grateful to be back in Rexburg with her sister for the summer. Having attended first and second grade with Amy, I had recognized her several times since without thinking much of it: a track meet at Madison, Youth Legislature in Boise, like seeing a familiar face on a passing train. So, as I watched her return to her seat, I wondered to myself, “should I try to meet her?” Answer: “No, she’s Amy Price, the girl everyone knows from grade school, turned track star. It can’t be done, shouldn’t be tried.” To which I answered in turn, “Of course I should, consider the possibilities!”

So I looked for her after church…nothing. I searched again the following week, and she was long gone. Then, a chain of events began, fully inside my control, but whose trajectory I couldn’t have known. Saturday night, Bishop Hadlock called, asking me to speak Sunday morning. “Short notice,” I said, which he acknowledged, apologizing in behalf of someone’s short notice cancellation. I think my talk that Sunday was Amy’s first indication that I existed, and she disappeared in usual fashion afterward. That afternoon, I studied for Science class, when Martin Searcy called: “Will you assist me giving a blessing right now?” Mental reaction: “Gotta study…but it’s Sunday, Church service takes priority.” So, as Martin dropped me off afterward, he asked if I was attending the fireside that evening. Hadn’t heard of it, but again decided I had better put Church first that day, plus: social situation with girls. So, sitting on the hill at Smith Park, listening to some seminary teacher, I look across and see…Amy! What a profile, and glorious blonde hair. During refreshments afterward, I’m grasping for an excuse to get her attention. I tell this to Bryan Magleby, who says I should just go up and say hello.

So I did, just walked up and tapped her shoulder. She spun around, “Hey Wade!” Good. She made it easy to visit and catch up. Would she like to “go do something sometime?” Answer: “Sounds great!” spoken like Tony the Tiger. I had asked many girls out before, with all kinds of responses, mostly reluctant, and this felt way different. Butterflies tickled my stomach all week as this turned over in my head. So, when and where would we be married? Is she already serious with someone? Will she like me…why not? I consult both older brothers to plan “the date” while trying to somehow keep my feet in reality.

Statement of Purpose

The idea behind this blog is for us to share the story of our lives together. Everyone has a fairytale. This is ours.

The posts will not be in chronological order, but we will talk about the times of our lives, how we came together to be a family and how we live and love now.