The story of Rich and Karyn...

In 2000, Richard applied for a job at Papa Murphy's pizza, where I worked. When the manager went through the list of applicants, Rich got passed over. However, the next week he came in for some pizza and the manager told him that he had the job. The person that they had originally hired never showed up. We shared some of the same friends and often hung out together in group activities.

Some of my girlfriends and I found out that Richard had never been on a 'real date' before, so we set him up (I had a HUGE secret crush on him). All 5 of us girls dressed up, blindfolded him, and took him to a candle-lit dinner at my parent's house. We had made dinner (Papa Murphy's lasagna), made homemade peach pie, and dimmed the lights. Then we served him dinner on china and had Kenny G playing softly in the background. After dinner, the five of us introduced Rich to the movie 'Little Women' and told him to get used to 'chick flicks' if he was going to start dating. After a few weeks of continuous jokes about 'Speakman Date Night', Richard told me he 'owed me one'. He set a date and took me to a movie, for a walk at Ellis Lake, and out for ice cream. While sitting on a bench at the lake, I told him that I knew, even though it was only the first date, that I was going to marry him and that we would be together forever. That would have freaked out any normal person, but we were really close friends already at that point. That night, we shared our first kiss and have been joined at the hip ever since. After we got engaged, I always teased him by saying, "I told you so". That is now engraved into the inner part of his wedding ring.

Less than one month after our first date, Richard moved to Cal Poly, 5 hours away. Two months into the first semester, he decided that once the school year was over, he would transfer to Chico State to be closer to me. While he was away, we spent so many hours on the phone that we would fall asleep with it attached to our ears. Needless to say, the first thing our parents made us do was sign up for cell phones with free long distance and unlimited mobile-to-mobile.

In the year that he was gone, he came up for visits and we made the most of our time together.

On August 8th, 2001, the one year anniversary of our dating, Rich took me for a day trip to Bidwell Park in Chico. There are dirt trails throughout the park that follow a stream and we frequently spent days there during the summer. He took me to a quiet spot in the stream, where it was deep enough to swim. We set up a picnic on the rocky island in the middle of the water, had some lunch and then went swimming. Richard swam over to a tree that was growing sideways out of the water's bank and said he wanted to show me something. I reluctantly went over to the tree, noticing an old ratty shirt that was draped over its trunk. I lifted up the shirt and saw 'Karyn, will you marry me?' carved into the tree in huge letters. When I turned around, Richard was on his knees in the water with a ring in his hand. I grabbed him and said, 'Of course I will.' He soon asked if he could get up off of his knee because it was bleeding from kneeling on a sharp rock in the water. Later that week, we had a BBQ at my parent’s house to let the family in on the secret. Richard and I had both agreed that is was necessary for him to ask for my father's blessing. Right before the BBQ and before the rest of the family arrived, Rich was supposed to have 'the talk' with my dad. Since my dad could be very intimidating, Rich locked himself in the bathroom, scared to death. Eventually, he came out, grabbed my hand and told me I had to come with him. After giving us a hard time about being too young and too broke, my dad said, 'I suppose.' (his famous line). He adored Richard, but felt it was his fatherly duty to give him a hard time before giving him the okay. Originally, we were going to be married within a couple of months of our engagement, but then we decided to wait until Rich graduated from school. Since he would be graduating in May, we figured a July wedding would be perfect.

My dad passed away in 2002 and we were married in 2005, so my best friend Heather's dad (Dennis) did me the honor of walking me down the isle.

Since our wedding, Rich was hired on as a Sales Consultant for Toyota and we've purchased a house. In December of 2006, the Toyota dealership sent Rich and I on a 5-day trip to Cabo San Lucas, where we snorkeled, parasailed and swam in the Sea of Cortez...all the while enjoying each other's company and realizing further just how deeply we love one another.Our relationship is blessed beyond measure. He is my best friend, my comforter and the only person that I wish to share all of life's joys and sorrows with. With him, there is nothing I feel I need to hold back. We thank God every day for the fact that, no matter what, we always make it through...just the two of us.