A step back in time...(part I)

In the last post, I mentioned that Brian and I (clearly it's Krystle writing this thing... come on, folks) have been dating for five years. However, there are some of you who may not know the full story of how Brian managed to land such a classy girl, like myself. Since I'm guessing you're dying to know, and let's face it - I'm a little bored today, I'll give you the facts.

Once upon a time, a girl named Krystle had a dream to go to Australia. Some folks said it couldn't be done. Too bad for them - she did it anyway. So she got into a study abroad program (Australearn) and started planning her trip. Luckily, her parents had several thousand frequent flier miles and gifted her the ticket. The only downside - she would fly separate from the rest of the group. So she got on a plane, by herself, and was off. While in the sky a creepy dude who had gotten deported from the US rubber her feet while she was asleep. Yup, that was her first introduction to Australia. Brian is pretty lucky she didn't just turn around there. Annnnnnnnnyways... after spending a night alone in Syndey, she was finally going to meet up with the rest of the group. Upon spotting a fellow WWU student (Megan Strobel, now Megan Lervick), she got pretty excited and apparently (and CLEARLY not typical) started talking rather loudly. Little did she know that two awesome dudes from MA overheard this exchange and were commenting to each other about how loud that girl is over there (they probably thought it was pretty cool... right?).

Little did Brian (who was one of those dudes from MA - the other is the best man) know - that was the girl he'd choose to spend the rest of his life with. So as they all took off to go north to Cairns and spend a week up there - lives were changed for ever. (No... I don't think I'm being over-dramatic) They hung out in a large group together in Cairns and then headed down to the beautiful section of Australia known as Townsville. It was in this army-base, barren, nothing-like-the-pamphlet town that Krystle and Brian really got to know each other. Soon enough Brian asked Krystle out to dinner (they went to an Italian restarant and had very awkard conversation), they walked on the beach, and continued to date throughout their time in Australia. As the trip was approaching it's end (they spent about 5 months in Townsville) - Krystle made the bold move of suggesting they try to stay together back in the states. The only problem? Krystle lived in WA, while Brian lived in MA. Upon heading back to the states - they worked hard to have a relationship over the phone, Brian came to visit in January, Krystle went to visit Brian in March (and have an interview at Emerson College in Boston to get her master's degree), Brian opted out of a trip to Hawaii to watch Krystle graduate from WWU... and they kept the relationship going. As life continued, Krystle moved to Boston - got her degree, worked at a horrendous company; Brian got his degree, started teaching...and life looked pretty good. Then Krystle decided to up and move to San Francisco for another job. Too bad Brian refused to life in CA. So he did the best he could - moved to Seattle and waited for Krystle to return. Luckily, a client needed onsite support in Seattle and Krystle got to move back 9 months into her stay in SF.

Yes, this is a long story... it's a complicated story... but it's made us who we are today.

In the next edition - their first apartment in Issaquah, the proposal, and where we are today.