Our Story

Growing Up Together

Once upon a time in a very small Wyoming town, there was a little girl named Rykki and a little boy named Coulter. They went to primary together. Coulter recalls, "Rykki was the pretty girl who came to church that all the boys were too scared to talk to. She didn't talk to any of us either. She was quiet and mysterious."

2000 - 2001: Best of Friends

When they were older, Coulter and Rykki went on a youth handcart trek over Rocky Ridge. They ended up pushing at the back of the cart together. While putting their shoulder to the wheel and joking about the incredibly dirty bucket of water they were all drinking from, a new and wonderful friendship began to develop between them. The quiet girl came out of her shell.

Coulter convinced her to join the Speech and Debate team, and they were inseparable that year. He went to her LD Debate rounds, and she tagged along to his drama rounds. They annoyed everyone with their supposedly Prussian accent and their theorizing about reality, or rather, the mere perception of a non-existent reality. Sugared up by Skittles and Sunkist, it was Rykki's favorite year of high school.

2001 - 2008: The Seven Year Grudge

The following summer, Coulter's family moved away to Dubois. Rykki was left alone and began to develop a bitter resentment towards Coulter for leaving her. They continued to see each other occasionally through speech activities and mutual friends, but Rykki held firmly to her grudge. Coulter was hurt by such hatred coming from what had once been such a special friend (and crush).

While on his mission, however, Coulter was surprised to receive an apologetic letter from Rykki. She apologized for her irrational hatred towards him and how she had treated him over the last several years. They spoke briefly and awkwardly after he returned home, but then they didn't see much of each other for a while.

August - October 2008: Weird Things are Happening

Coulter moved to Utah to attend Weber State University during the fall of 2008. He went through several financial setbacks, but coming to Utah set in motion an incredibly unexpected series of circumstances that inexplicably led to his finding of true love. On a decidedly "non-date", Coulter took Rykki out to Javier's. They soon discovered that they could be friends once again. They began to spend more and more time together. Despite both of their best efforts to thwart it, other feelings began to emerge. Their relationship deepened further on a trip to St. George to see Les Misérables.

October 13, 2008: I Have a Boyfriend!

A few days after the trip, Rykki was texting Coulter, complaining about someone who was hitting on her. The conversation then went like this:
Coulter: "Just tell him that you have a boyfriend."
Rykki (after a long pause): "Do I?"
Coulter: "I think it's pretty safe to say that you do."

And then, as everyone recalls, Rykki went around saying, "I have a boyfriend! I have a boyfriend! Guess what... I have a boyfriend!" Fortunately, Coulter was not scared off by this burst of enthusiasm or by the day-of announcement of their relationship status on Facebook.

Thanksgiving 2008: The L-Word

In the beginning, Coulter and Rykki each had doubts about their relationship. However, after a Thanksgiving dinner with Rykki's family, they watched "O Brother Where Art Thou" at Coulter's house. They gazed deep into each others eyes and fell really and truly in love.
The both-feet-in kind of love.