September 1, 2003 from my personal journal
We had an ice cream social for Family Home Evening. It's weird to have a college ward. It doesn't feel like a ward at all.
March 14, 2018 from my post "The Story of Us: When We First Met" on my photography blogOn Monday, September 1, 2003, I joined the other members of my singles’ ward (our church congregation comprised of the ladies in my dorm hall and the men in the dorm hall next to ours) for our opening social and ward Family Home Evening event.
Family Home Evening is a program in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for families to be together once a week. Since we were all single and living away from our families, they assigned each of us to a Family Home Evening (FHE) group. They paired one women’s apartment with one men’s apartment for the semester. They paired my third floor apartment with one of the men’s third floor apartments. At the opening social, in addition to welcoming us all to BYU and to our new ward, they informed us of our new FHE assignments and designated spots on the lawn for each group to gather.
I am shy by nature, and I was especially shy when it came to talking to boys, but I was determined to beat my shyness. I walked right up to the best-looking guy in the group and began the introduction that would change my life forever. Our conversation went something like this:
Me: Hi, I’m DevriHim: Like the University?Me: No, that’s DeVry. I’m Devri. Like "every". In fact, my name in Piglatin is Everyday.Him: Oh cool. I’m Brian.Me: Where are you from, Brian?Him: I’m from Topeka, Kansas.Me: Well, you’re not in Kansas anymore.Him: Yeah. Never heard that one.
After an inward face-palm, I tried to salvage my dignity and convince him that I was cool. Or something.
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| Brian and Devri 2004 |
On September 1, 2023, Brian and I celebrated the 20th anniversary of the day we met by having a date night in Provo. We would have wandered Heritage Halls, our old Freshman year stomping grounds, but BYU tore down our old dorm halls and built new ones 10+ years ago. Instead, we ate dinner at Brick Oven, but not before taking a picture by Brian's post mission apartment at the Elms (now called something weird).
Want to read more about our Freshman year together? It's not super exciting, but I skimmed through my journal for every mention of Brian and included them below, as well as excerpts from a blog series I wrote on my photography blog.
September 8, 2003 from my personal journal
We had Family Home Evening at our FHE brothers' apartment. They're crazy, but they are all great. It will be a fun year.
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| A stellar photo of Allison and Devri at Brian's apartment for FHE |
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| Apt 2010 of Kimball Hall: Kathryn, Amy, Jessica, Allison, Natalie, Devri- September 19, 2003 |
September 22, 2003 from my personal journal
For FHE, we went to our brothers' home and they taught us how to cha-cha. It was a lot of fun.
March 14, 2018 from my post "The Story of Us: Freshman Frolics" on my photography blogSo there I was: it was Monday, and our FHE brothers were in charge of FHE for the night. I was looking forward to hanging out with this particular group of guys again, especially for the opportunity to see that Brian guy again. Please note that I was not giddy to see him. I’m the type of person to look forward to anything that sounds remotely fun. So, when I arrived at the FHE activity, I was disappointed that Brian wasn’t there. I wasn’t devastated by any means, but I was disappointed enough that I remembered that day even through the haze of time that passed in between that night and when we actually ended up together nearly five years later. It was especially disappointing because one of the guys was teaching us how to ballroom dance, and I wanted to dance with Brian. They had a substitute for Brian so that everyone had a partner. It was a really fun activity, but I can still see the room where we were dancing and the face of the stand-in for Brian, and I can feel that disappointment that it wasn’t as good-looking as Brian’s face.
September 29, 2003 from my personal journal
Today was busy for me. I had class til 3:00 & then a lecture at 4:00 followed by the play Oedipus at Colonus. Then I had FHE, which is one of my favorite parts of the week. My FHE brothers are cool guys.
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| Michael Simmons and Brian prepping for dinner with one of the apartment of girls from Kimball Hall. |
October 1, 2003 from my personal journal
One of my FHE brothers came & fixed my computer so I can have internet and my printer works.
March 14, 2018 from my post "The Story of Us: Freshman Frolics" on my photography blogAround that time, I inherited a dinosaur of a desktop computer. So dinosaur that it had a modem connection for the internet. I consulted my business information major sister, and she told me that I needed to get this thing called an ethernet card, and she suggested that I ask a cute computer guy to come over to help me install it. Confession, I had never heard of ethernet before then! (No, I wasn’t living under a rock, but I did hail from Smalltown, Idaho that was so far from a city that cable wasn’t an option.) Well, I called the only cute computer guy I knew–Brian. He kindly came over, took apart the dinosaur, and installed the ethernet card. Since I was a starving college student, I offered him the only thing I could think of–my thanks and praise! I told him, "You’re my hero, Brian!" This silly phrase, uttered so flippantly, became almost prophetic. How could I have known at the time that he would one day be my live-in IT guy, and, fittingly, the first gift he ever gave me years later was a wireless card for my laptop!Not too long after the missed dance lesson and the ethernet card install (or maybe during the ethernet card install), I learned that Brian had a girlfriend. Well, I wasn’t going to mess with that, so I mentally wrote him off as a potential crush, but we became great friends. Looking back now, I think this was a blessing to both of us. I could just be a friend without it being anything more. Since neither of us were ready for marriage way back then, a crush or a relationship would have ruined everything we have now. Instead, we developed this incredibly comfortable friendship. We weren’t confidants by any stretch of the imagination, but we were pals. Just two freshman navigating being on our own at the same time. I’d pass him on the way to (or back from) campus, and he’d be talking on his phone through his super cool ear piece, and he’d pause his conversation for a minute to say hi.
October 25, 2003 from my personal journal
Before I [crashed for the night], a thought or feeling about my future husband came out of no where. It was like I knew he was thinking about me. I wonder if he really was.
March 14, 2018 from my post "The Story of Us: Freshman Frolics" on my photography blogSomewhere in the middle of our first semester [October], he broke up with his girlfriend of nearly 3 years. He started to be more available for things, but by then, I’d already decided I wasn’t interested, and so we simply remained friends. Super boring, right? Sometimes he’d walk me home after I had spent the evening with him and his roommates in their apartment, but it was nothing.
October 31. 2003 from my personal journal
I went to my FHE brothers' house or rather apartment and watched movies and played games. Then I came home.
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| Jessica Kenner and Devri at Brian's Apartment (Gates 1913) |
November 7, 2003 from my personal journal
I kinda served my roommates tonight. They all had dates to Preference, and I fixed the table for them & cleaned everything up.
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| 2010 Kimball Hall (Devri's Apartment). Clockwise around table: T.J. Glancy, Allison, Natalie, Brian, Amy, Amy's date, Kathryn, Kathryn's date. |
December 6, 2003 from my personal journal
We, my roommates & I and a couple of guys, went to the 10:15 PM showing of Freaky Friday at the dollar theater. It was funny.
March 14, 2018 from my post "The Story of Us: Freshman Frolics" on my photography blogWe went to movies in groups (once I ran a red light, and he was in the car. Neither of us has forgotten, and we laugh every time we are at that same intersection). It was all just a string of nice, friendly memories strung next to the other lovely memories of even lovelier people in the year that I started out on my own.
January 9, 2004 from my personal journal
Nat and I got the roommate blues tonight, so we decided not to hang with them, and we went over to our FHE brothers' and then went out to eat with Scott, Brian, & T.J. Then we came back to their apartment, watched part of Indiana Jones, then played some games. It was very nice and fun.
January 12, 2004 from my personal journal
We had our last FHE with Jeff, Scott, Michael, T.J., Brian, and Adam. I'm kinda sad. It's been so great.
January 24, 2004 from my personal journal
Nat and I went to Olive Garden, along with Brian Saville and T.J. Glancy and Natalee Clark--all from the ward. It was fun, but comical when we went to order and the waiters asked whose orders were together. They were in shock to find out that Brian was alone and Nat was paying for my dinner. We later decided that Brian was my date and Nat was just a chaperone. We then told the waiters that Nat owed me dinner because of a bet or deal we made. Then they understood. After dinner, we went to Brian & T.J.'s apartment to watch The Italian Job. It was fairly good.
March 14, 2018 from my post "The Story of Us: Freshman Frolics" on my photography blogIn late January, my roommate Natalie decided that she wasn’t going to date for awhile, so naturally everyone started calling her to ask her out. Well, Natalie had lost a bet to me over Christmas, so she owed me dinner. We decided to make it a date, and made plans for her to pay-up on a particular Friday or Saturday. Of course, that night happened to be a night that Brian’s apartment was planning a big group date, and Brian called Natalie to ask her along to it. She told him that she had a date with me, but he was welcome to join us if he wanted.Next thing we know, Natalie, Brian, Brian’s roommate and his date, and I are sitting around a table for six at Olive Garden, with a glaringly obviously empty chair at the table, and it looks like we’re waiting for my date to arrive. It gets worse when the waiter starts taking our orders and finds out who is paying for what. He looked confused when he found out that Brian wasn’t paying for just himself, Natalie was paying for me, and Brian’s roommate was paying for his own date. After the waiter left, we decided that Brian and I should be on a date, and Natalie was the group chaperone.After dinner, we were heading back to our car (or maybe to a movie–they were in the same parking lot, and it’s been awhile, so I don’t remember!). Brian was walking by me and said, "So, since you’re my date, do you want to make out?" I immediately responded with, "Sure!" and moved towards him like I really was going to make-out with him. We laughed together over our joke. I was a little surprised that I could joke with someone about making out without getting embarrassed, but that’s just how things were with Brian, especially after that. What I didn’t know was that I rose up the coolness ranks in Brian’s mind after our fake date. He loved so much that I would joke with him like that.
February 28, 2004 from my personal journal
Pride and Prejudice: A Latter-day Comedy got into the dollar theater tonight. I have been wanting to go so I asked T.J. & Brian if they wanted to go with me, strictly as a hanging out thing and not a date. It was hysterically funny. I love it. After the movie, I went over to their apartment and played MarioKart. That was fun.
March 14, 2018 from my post "The Story of Us: Freshman Frolics" on my photography blogNatalie and Brian commiserated a lot together those January and February days since they had both come out of a long-time relationship. I felt silly that I was a little jealous of all the time they were spending together, but I shook it off.When I started dating my first boyfriend in February, I broke the news to Brian like this:Me: So, I guess you heard that I’m cheating on you.Brian: Yeah, I did hear that. What’s his name?When Brian got his mission call:Me: Congrats on your mission call! That’s so exciting!! I’ll totally send you a "Dear John" on your mission!Brian: YES! You should definitely send me a Dear John! That would be so awesome! You have to make it really good.Me: Oh, I’ll make it really good. It will be amazing!Brian moved back to Kansas after the school year was over so he could prepare for his two-year-mission to the Nevada Las Vegas West mission, but he came for a visit not long before he entered the Missionary Training Center.
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| Brian and Natalie |
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| One of our last nights of Freshman year, Gates Hall-Devri, Meghan, Michael, not sure, and T.J. |
June 2, 2004 from my personal journal
Nat and I met up with Brian Saville, our old FHE brother, drove to Sandy, and then met up with Michael Simmons and Jessica Kenner and went to the Jordan River Temple & did baptisms.
March 14, 2018 from my post "The Story of Us: Freshman Frolics" on my photography blogWe went to the temple together with some other friends. After the temple, I drove him back to his sister’s house in Springville.
June 4, 2004 from my personal journal
Tonight, I went to Bridal Veil Falls with Brian Saville, Michael Simmons, Jessica Kenner, and others, and Nat. We roasted marshmallows, had s'mores, and roasted hot dogs. It took forever to start the fire, but it was such fun when we finally got it going...Brian was parked here at the Glenwood, so we had a nice chat on the way back here. Then, we hugged and I sent him on his way. I am going to miss him so much. We had such fun together, and I know that he is going to be a great missionary.
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| Brian, Devri, Michael at Bridal Veil Falls |
March 14, 2018 from my post "The Story of Us: Freshman Frolics" on my photography blogWe had a picnic/bonfire at Bridal Veil Falls with a group of friends...The conversation wasn’t terribly memorable or life-changing. Just friends saying goodbye for two years.
