Their Story
How and where did you meet Nicolle?
My wife and I were new in town and she was our first baby sitter for our less than 1 year old adopted son. Back then I didn't pay much attention to her and we barely spoke when I would drive her home. I was this dad that didn't say much and could never remember where she lived.
What first attracted you to Nicolle? Who made the first move?
She was so good and loving to my kids. After my wife left me with two young sons to raise on my own I needed a lot of help. She would come to our house to babysit and it seemed that everything was brighter and the daily struggles just melted away.
When she would arrive it was like an angel walked into the room.
I was falling in love but I struggled with feeling like a dirty old man as she was still in high school and I was almost 40, so I kept my feelings to myself.
Then one night after I got back from some meeting we sat on the couch and she told me that she had feelings for me.
Where was your first date? How did it go?
Our first date could have been a disaster. My bother had given me his 1971 Honda CB500 motorcycle that I road around. I thought it would be fun to take it out for a ride down river. So we started off for a day of riding. But on our first exit I drifted to the middle of the road just before a stop sign and someone had lost their oil pan there as the middle was coated with oil and down we went.
In all the time I have had that motorcycle that is only one of two times I have laid it down. Luckily, I was going slowly so none of us were hurt but knowing my wife now, I am so surprised she got back on that bike with me. Now, she would walk home and leave me in the dust.
After that, the rest of the date went well. She got impatient with me taking pictures and we laid in the tall grass looking up at the sky and talking about life.
How did the proposal happen?
The proposal almost didn't happen. She had stuck around for 5 years waiting for me to ask her and I was still conflicted about the dirty old man thing.
I had asked a friend in Oregon to design a ring for me and we were going through the process of picking out a diamond and designing a ring long distance, so it was taking a while.
She had spent the summer as a camp nurse as I was figuring out the ring and she said if I didn't make a decision soon that she was moving on. The ring finally arrived and I had booked a room at our favorite B&B. We had a nice dinner and came back to our B&B for a romantic evening.
Our favorite time of the day is bed time when the four of us are all in the kid's bed room telling stories and singing songs. Our final song is always "Little Buckaroo" as that is what my dad would sing to me and my brothers.
So I got out my guitar and started singing Little Buckaroo in the living room of the B&B. I had written a new verse that when she heard it she thought I had had a bit too much wine, but it ended with "my dear sweet angel won't you marry me?"
She said yes...
Where did you go on your honeymoon? What was the best part of it?
I had business in Singapore and so she came along. After Singapore we flew to Bali. We had no reservations and no particular plan. We rented a car from a guy at the airport that rented out his friends cars and off we went.
Our first interaction with the police was right after leaving the airport. An officer pulled us over and wanted to see my international drivers licence and the rental agreement. We had neither. My wife started arguing with the guy so he pulled me out of the car and brought me back to his little hut. Mean while my wife is wondering how she was going to get back home if I never came back.
After an exchange of a bit of money he congratulated us on our wedding and gave us directions on how to get to Ubud.
We climbed a volcano, swam naked in a water fall, shared a few big beers and had a woman on the beach try to sell us her baby after we commented on how cute she was.
We had several other encounters with the police stopping us but were able to talk our way out of it without giving them money.
But the best part was spending it with my wife.
Diamond Details
Owners: Steve & Nicolle
Storyteller: Steve
