Major Milestones; The Story of US

Lance and I have a major milestone approaching. On the 24th of this month we will celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary. As that date approaches I have found myself taking some major trips down memory lane. Zander went to camp last week, and that brought back a huge wave of memories, as Lance and I met as camp counselors in 1997.

My first memory of Lance was actually from before we really met. I was preparing to go to Camp Chief Ouray in Granby, Colorado for the summer to work as a camp counselor. A few weeks before it was time to go I got a letter from camp introducing all of the leadership staff for the summer. My mom and I read over it and both commented on the name "Lance Leffel". As a northern girl I had never even heard of anyone named Lance. The information also said he was getting a degree in Letters from University of Oklahoma. Again, a degree I had never heard of from a University I knew nothing about. We were both intrigued.

I flew out to Colorado to start staff training and my Uncle Randy picked me up at the airport to take me into the mountains. Randy and I have always been really close, and he is a gun-totin', no-nonsense, 10 years younger version of my dad. We took the long way to camp going over Trail Ridge Road though Rocky Mountain National Park, so we got to camp a little on the late side. The first person I met as I entered the building to check in? Lance Leffel, of course. We still laugh about that first impression. Lance remembers thinking, "That girl's dad looks like serious business!". I think it was the gun on his belt....

I ended up being assigned to Lance's group for the start of camp and really liked his personality. I wrote in my journal for the summer that I thought he was really cute, too. However, after camp got started we kind of drifted into our own worlds for the summer. That might have been the end of the story if it weren't for Brian Kurz.

Brian was one of Lance's best friends at camp. They had worked together the whole summer before I came to camp. Brian was also an Iowa Hawkeye, just like me. Brian and I stayed in touch at school after my first summer at camp and made a plan to get together in Colorado on New Year's Eve. Brian and Lance would be there together on a ski trip. I was there with my family on a ski trip too. My dad refused to take me to Winter Park like he had promised to meet up with everyone, and before I knew it Lance and Brian were on their way to pick me up for the night. The rest... is history:)

We really hit it off that night and stayed up all night long talking. We emailed all Spring and wound up at Camp the next summer. It took us about five minutes to start dating and we never looked back. Winter Park is basically the scene of the crime for us, with every restaurant, bar, hiking trail, and more holding a great memory of our early time together. So, as we get ready to celebrate our 10 year anniversary there is really no place better for us to pass the day that marks our union. We will head back to Winter Park. I can't wait to take the literal trip down memory lane, just the two of us together for the week.

I am a seriously blessed woman. I get to spend every day with my best friend. My love and respect for him only grow as the years go on. Our good times together have always FAR outweighed our challenges. Happy Anniversary, Lance. I love you so much and look forward to spending the next 60 years together watching our kids grow.