fresh picked whimsy: Valentines since 1987

We met in 7th grade. But, we didn't start dating until our freshman year at Purdue.

Our story actually began years before either of us was born...when my grandfather met and briefly worked with Mark's dad at Eli Lilly. Fast forward to the early 80's when my family was transferred to Indy for my Dad's job at Lilly. We buy a house around the corner from Mark's family and his Dad becomes my Dad's mentor at work. On the way to our first day at our new school, as my sister Kim and I are sitting together on the bus when Mark (who we don't know yet) gets on the bus and kim elbows me and says "that boy looks like he could be your brother!" It's the topic of conversation at the dinner table that night.

Fast forward again to 1986...fall of our senior year in high school. I sign up for a spirit club that supports our football team...the Greyhound Girls. Each girl selects one boy on the team and we decorate their locker each week and leave them a baked treat in their locker, too. The boys don't know who their GG is until the end of the season. There are over 100 boys on the team and as fate would have it, i randomly chose Mark. I don't really know why...i just did. I had so much fun making the signs (shocker, i know) and treats for him every week...often standing/hiding down the hallway to watch him arrive at his locker on game day mornings to see his reaction to what i left him. We ended up going all the way to State (and winning!) that year and prior to that State game, i called his parents and asked if i could come over and decorate his room for him while he was at practice. They said yes, of course, and i brought my little sister susan with me to do it. His mom took pictures and here it is...

The awesome thing about this picture is that we now live in that house...the that Mark grew up in and Susan and i were decorating what would one day be Griffin's room. Isn't that cool?!

By graduation, i was fully crushing on him. We had a fun, flirty summer and i was so happy that we would both be going to Purdue. Our first date was his fraternity barndance that fall, and the rest is history...

hey, don't make fun of our clothes/hair/glasses in the following pictures...it was the 80's & 90's...that's our excuse!