The Engagement

This was the picture we took shortly after our engagement to show our families.

Well, here goes attempt number two to get this part of the blog up and going.  The site doesn't like to upload pictures for some reason.

Anyway, as I said before, when I came out here to Pinon I thought I might or might not meet someone special; I was coming more to work than to date anyway.  If I did find someone I imagined it would be a Navajo, Hopi, or Apache.  I was also open for the possibility of meeting someone special in Flagstaff.  The last thing I expected was to fall for an Irish girl from Ohio.

We met on the first day of work back in August.  They introduced the new teachers from each school and Pam was the new music director for the high school where I was the new history teacher.  After the meeting was over I introduced myself to her and we spent the afternoon exploring the building together.

The music department at Pinon High, was a mess.  Most instruments were broken, the last band teacher had made too stacks for them, Need Repair, and Beyond Repair/Hope.

Pam's job was to get a dysfunctional program out of being dysfunctional and into working well so that the school could have a band and choir it could be proud of.  My job was to teach the entire sophomore class about history.  Needless to say we both had and have our work cut out for us.

The next time we really hung out was about a week later when Pam came to visit me in my classroom after school.  Pam was already becoming more convinced that I was special, from the way that I introduced myself to the way that I talked about history.

Every now and then I would hang out with Pam, in a lot of our conversations the church would come up.  Pam, to put it lightly, hates being Catholic, and was looking for something else.

What really brought us together was the puppies.  We both adopted two adorable little puppies, Angel and Clara.  They were born under the porch of someone who works at district.  The puppies were still so small when we got them that they were able to fit through just about anything.  Making it impossible for us to leave them inside or outside while we were at work.  We found a wonderful puppy sitter and friend in Pam Fowles.  Yes, there are two Pams.  Yes, it does get confusing.

Taking the puppies there every day and then picking them up every evening meant that Pam and I would see each other almost every day.  The Fowles are both members of the church and Jeff is our Elders Quoarm President.  Pam's interest in the church and in me were increasing.  We invited her to watch General Conference with us and during one of the sessions she announced that she wanted to go to church with us the following week.

It was obvious to everyone but me that I was also growing more and more fond of Pam.  Pam and I started cooking for each other, taking care of each other during illnesses, helping each other with cleaning, and walking together.  Needless to say, when we actually started dating not a whole lot changed.  We spent even more time together, started kissing, and that's really about it.

I proposed on October 30th.  Pam calls it, "The best Halloween ever."

Speaking of Halloween there we are in costume.  I was a knight, most of my tin foil armor was blown away, there was a pretty big wind storm that day.  She was a lady and we came in her white stallion.  That was taken shortly after the Trunk or Treat was over.



Since getting engaged we've already done a lot of work.  We set a date that may or may not work out depending on whether we can get some time off, April 23rd.  We've also picked a location, the 1850's Guest House in Dallas, Illinois, which is about ten miles from Nauvoo.  The wedding colors are lavendar, yellow, and light blue.  We took the time to get registered at both Target and Bed, Bath, and Beyond.