Doug and Mariah come to NYC

In the summer of 2003 I was living in Provo. I wanted to switch things up by moving into a ward and apartment without anyone I knew. I found a really great deal at an apartment complex called "The Enclave." I moved in with two girls named Cheri and Mariah. Both of them were amazing. I only lived there for a summer, but it was one of the best summer of my life.

I look back on that one little decision and I am amazed how much it has helped me and influenced my life. I had no clue at the time that Mariah would become one of my best friends for life.

Since Mariah and I met, our lives have somewhat mirrored each other--

Mariah and I decided to go on missions at the same time. We left on our missions within a month of each other. We wrote each other during this year and half and we were amazed at how similar our experiences were even though we were serving in totally different parts of the world. We became roommates when we got back from our missions. We started dating our "now husbands" at the same time. We got engaged during the same time. We got married within a few months of each other. We lived in the same apartment complex after we were married and attended the same church.

During all these major life events, it was a godsend to have someone there who understood exactly what I was going through. However, it was not only nice to have someone there experiencing the same things as me, but it was a tender mercy to have someone as compassionate, loyal, virtuous, hardworking, kind, fun and loving as Mariah is to be there during the challenging and exciting times.

Mariah's husband, Doug, had some business in New York. Doug arrived on Wednesday evening, but we didn't see much of him because he works CRAZY hours--we joked he was the best gues we ever had because we never even saw him. However, once Mariah arrived, late Friday night, he actually didn't have to work all weekend which was a literal miracle.

For those that know me, I do not like staying up late. However, I wanted to make the most of the short time Mariah was here, so while she was here we didn't go to bed before 3am.

Friday night Mariah arrived at 11pm. Since she was on "California Time" we went out to dinner at Max Brenner. It was fun to finally see that NYC is really the city that never sleeps as we went at 2am and the streets were still buzzing.

The next day was jam packed with filled with New York City Fun. Our first stop was Lombardi's, so Doug and Mariah could experience America's first Pizzeria.

(the only work that Doug ended up having to do was a 1/2 hour conference call)

I love this girl.