Life as a Couple

Karen: We met in 2000. Brady was hanging out with my roommate in our apartment, playing away on the guitar. I found that pretty attractive! We went on a date, but it wasn't wildly successful. Thankfully, we kept running into each other on campus, and ended up going out again, when we hit it off.

Brady: We were married the following summer in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple. Our early married years consisted of full-time school and part-time apartment managing, with intersperced camping trips, football and basketball games, and friends. It was busy, but a fun time.

Karen: Some of our favorite times together as a couple were camping in Moab, hiking under a full moon at Bryce Canyon, spending a week camping at Yellowstone, cruising the Carribean, and hiking Half Dome at Yosemite. We loved spring bike rides down the canyon, fall hikes, running together, snowshoeing, and the occasional ski trip.

Brady: After I graduated, we moved to California, in the East Bay area. We loved the area--particularly San Francisco and Marin County. Karen taught school, and I enjoyed my project building homes. After time in California, we were offered an opportunity to live in Hawaii and work on a condominum project. We jumped on the chance, and have lived here now for two and a half years.

Karen: Hawaii has been as good as we hoped. We love all the outdoors offerings: camping, swimming, snorkeling, surfing, boogie boarding, hiking, and running. We love the beautiful weather, and we love the scenary. Having Zachary to enjoy it with us has been a dream. It has been a very natural and easy transition. He is a little adventurer, and seemingly has no fear. He loves outings! We loved our time as a couple, but we love our time as a little family even more.

About Karen

Brady: Karen grew up being the oldest of nine children. Her relationship with her parents, brothers and sisters has always been important to her. Karen is a dedicated sister. I've been impressed by her weekly letters to two of her brothers through their entire missionary service. She enjoys catching up with her sisters just younger than her and is a role model to those sisters still at home. Family is a priority and it's obvious around Karen.

Karen attended college at Brigham Young University and studied to become a high school teacher in Health and History. She loved school and performed very well academically. She has taught at four different schools and been involved in a variety of different curriculums. Karen has a talent to relate to others and her students are no exception. Fortunately, as a teacher, she has only been asked for her hall pass once.

After Zachary was placed with us, Karen determined she was most needed at home to teach our son. She is so gentle and radiates so much love towards Zachary--he has changed her life. It has been one of my greatest joys in life to see Karen as a mother. I'm biased I know, but as blessed as we are to have Zachary, Zachary is blessed to have Karen as his mother.

Perhaps Karen's character can be summed by one word, passionate. Karen is very passionate at everything she does--from mothering our son to her daily exercise routines. She has a vast array of interests and her passion has been instrumental in helping her succeed. Karen's motivation and dedication is inspiring. Some of her passions include the following:

• Zachary
• Running
• Piano/Organ
• Road Biking
• Surfing
• Boogie Boarding
• Tennis
• Reading
• Teaching
• Hiking
• Snorkeling
• Cooking
• Competing-race events

About Brady

Karen: Eight years into our marriage, I am still as crazy for Brady as I was when we were dating. Brady is thoughtful, sincere, and exceptionally selfless. He cares so much about other people. He will be the first person to introduce himself in a group, and the first person to make friends with someone who is shy or reserved. He will always laugh at your jokes!

Brady loves to work--at his career, doing service, and around our home. He was a maintenance supervisor for 4 years during college, so he has quite a bit of experience as a fix-it man. In fact, recently he helped repair his brother's dishwasher--over the phone.

Brady also loves to play with children. It was a family joke that we would never see Brady when the family got together. He was always outside throwing footballs with the kids, taking them on "horse rides" and wrestling.

One thing I love about Brady are his many interests and hobbies. Some of the things he loves include:

• Photography
• Hiking
• Playing the guitar
• Playing the piano
• Reading
• Snorkeling
• Scuba Diving
• Surfing
• Running
• Lifting
• Financial Management
• Camping
• Biking
• Working with youth

More than anything in our marriage, I have loved watching Brady become a father. He is exactly as I pictured. There is nothing that lights me up inside more than seeing Zachary run for the door yelling, "DADDY!" and giving him hugs. I love watching Zac laugh and laugh while he plays with his dad. The past two years with Zachary have been easy because of so much help from Brady. He is a hands-on father who loves to help Zachary learn and grow. I am excited to see him as a father in the future to more children. He is loving, generouos, and capable.

About Zachary

Zachary's birth mother contacted us about six months prior to his birth. We enjoyed correspondance with her, and loved getting to know her. As the time ticked by, we set up the nursery and awaited his birth.

Zachary was born a few weeks after Christmas. He was perfect and the cutest child we had ever seen. Holding him in the hospital hours after he was born was one of the most beautiful experiences of our lives. He had a sweet little cry, but mostly slept contently.

The placement was a day of joy for us, and also sadness. We knew it was so hard on Zac's birth mother, and we wished so much for her comfort. We knew we had a special little boy.

Zachary has been an ambitious and independent boy. He loves to try things himself. As a small baby, he was most content outside or in the water. He crawled and walked early, bound and determined to see the world.

In particular order, Zachary loves: 1. Kicking Balls 2. Jumping 3. Sand 4. Doggies 5. Playgrounds 5. Water

Zachary is a charmer. He goes up to people everywhere and says, "Hi, guys!" His favorite word for a long time was "WOW." He said it about everything, and it cracked people up. He loves to smile and wave at anyone. (His favorite word currently is "ball"--he wakes up asking for them and he has to hold it everywhere he goes.)

Our best moment as a family was getting sealed together in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple last August. It was a precious time for us, especially since we had been married there seven years before. Zachary grinned, said "WOW" and looked all around the room throughout the ceremony. The experience was unforgettable, especially the feelings we had about this special boy and being an eternal family.

Zac will be two years old in January. Each day, he surprises us with new words, and he is always so excited to kiss, hug, laugh, and play. He prays every day, and points to pictures saying, "Jesus." He never goes to bed without getting out his scripture stories and sitting down to read them with us. He loves doing the actions to the Primary songs. It warms our hearts to see him love life so much!

We look forward to having another son or daughter. Zachary is a social little guy and loves playing with other children, his cousins, and anyone that happens to be at the beach or playground. Every time we see another child, he points and excitedly says, "BABY!" He is delighted when we have visitors, and scans the house for days after they leave, checking to see if maybe they are in a different room. He will be a terrific older brother with plenty of love, kisses and hugs for a sibling.