On a whim, 17-year-old volleyball player Dallin decided to try out for The Addams Family. He thought nothing would come out of it— after all, he had never even done theatre— but getting a part would be only the smallest outcome of that audition.
On August 15, 2014, Katie was having a rough day when her mom told her to support her little brother at his birthday party. Honestly, she didn’t want to go, but drudgingly she dressed herself up and hung in the background. That’s when someone said, “There’s Dallin!”
She had heard Dallin’s name a couple times from her siblings’ theatre friends who thought he was cute. She had always laughed at the girly gossip, especially because she didn’t think one could rank a boy’s looks when he was on stage plastered with ghost makeup.
Now, Katie peeked her head around the crowd to see this Dallin boy playing the piano. Oh dang, she thought. He actually is cute. After his hands lifted from the keys, she decided to approach him. They started chatting, and soon enough they were sitting next to each other for the rest of the party. He told her about going shark caging, and she told him about swimming with piranhas in the Amazon. Attractive AND adventurous, they thought. When he decided to stay an hour after everyone else left, she giddily assumed that he was desperate for more time with her! In actuality, he had wanted to help Katie’s mom take out the trash and clean cake off the floor. But honestly, that made him even more of a catch.
The only problem: he had forgotten to ask for her number.
Luckily, they saw each other a week later and went on the date that weekend. He told her that he had never been rollerblading before and used her as a crutch until he hit the rink and started skating like a pro. What a trickster. Later, she felt so nervous as they talked over shave ice that she kept spilling. Dallin didn’t notice it— Katie was just adorable, and he was bound and determined to pull a move, even if it meant getting eaten alive at the pond. 49 mosquito bites later, they shared a first kiss. Katie was so awkward and clumsy that she was sure he would never want to talk to her again!
But a week later he invited her to teach her how to longboard. She felt so cool around him, and he thought she was hot. The latter never changed. So they continued going on dates.
“You know,” Katie told her friend. “He’s not the kind of guy I would marry*, because he said he doesn’t care to travel**. But I love just being able to go out for fun !”
*oh the irony. **after taking a trip to Europe, he did in fact change his mind about traveling. But not before she had changed her mind about him.
One night, Dallin discovered Katie’s blog and stayed up till 4 in the morning reading stories about her life. He realized that there was more to this shy girl than what met the eye! She too realized that he was not the hot jock she had mistaken him for. He was kind and gentle and gave her confidence that helped her come out of her shell.
After a wild New Year’s Party, Dallin asked her, “Will you be my girlfriend?” She stared at him in shock. When they first met, they had agreed that they weren’t looking for a relationship because they knew they would be graduating and leaving home within the year. After a solid minute of Katie gaping, Dallin added nervously, “You can take some time to think about it!” So Katie raced into the house and asked her brother, “What do I do?!” Adam looked at her like she had lost her marbles. “GO TELL HIM YES!” But alas, Dallin had already taken off, and since he was leaving on a ski trip the next morning, Katie made the poor fellow wait a couple agonizing days to receive his answer.
From then on, they were hooked at the hip—at least, they were on the two days a week that they could drive to each other. Dallin’s mom frequently invited Katie to watch his HS volleyball games and eat dinner with the family. On February 7, 2015, they came back to Katie’s house when her parents were asleep, and he asked her to show him her artwork and the novel she had been writing. Opening up and sharing something so precious, and then hearing him praise her work, made her heart melt. As they laid on the couch holding newborn puppies, he whispered “I love you,” and she said it back. Maybe they were young, but they meant it.
After graduation, Katie was accepted into BYU-Hawaii, and Dallin received his mission call to the Chicago West Mission. They were beyond excited, but knowing that they would miss each other for almost all of June because of overlapping vacations made them even more anxious about their separation. In the days before his mission, they spent every spare hour together until their last tearful goodbye. They had agreed that they would live their lives independently for these two years, but they promised each other at least one date when they returned.
July 2016-August 2017 were some of the most incredible times of their lives. He served the Lord and the people of Illinois diligently, and she enjoyed two semesters of paradise on Oahu before receiving her own badge and serving in the Alpine German-Speaking Mission (in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland). They wrote each other every week for 25 months, the best of friends.
They returned home within three weeks of each other. Although Dallin had already moved up to Utah to attend UVU and play volleyball, he flew home to see Katie. She didn’t even know what to do when he knocked on her door— she just hugged him. For the space of an hour, words failed them as they kept looking at each other trying to decide if this moment— which they had been waiting for for so long— was actually real. After dinner they laid down on the grass and started chatting, almost like old times. Then Katie couldn’t help it. She started inching closer to him. She placed her hand on his arm. Then she rested her head on his chest. And then— Dallin didn’t think she would actually do it! She had always been so shy before! — she kissed him! Dallin couldn’t stop smiling when he got home and told his family, “She really is something.” I think I love her, he thought.
They only saw each other about once a month, until Katie moved up to BYU-Provo in January. Over the next several months, they experienced many adventures in addition to real challenges. Katie could not have pulled through her struggles without Dallin’s endless patience, compassion and determination to ensure her happiness. Oh how he made her happy, and every time they tried to say goodbye it lasted an hour. In July of 2018 they were on the brink of engagement.
Then in September, they hit a rough patch. Feeling unsure of everything, they broke up. Katie’s unintentional theme song became “The Heart Wants What It Wants” when, every time she tried to be angry or move forward like they were “never ever getting back together, like ever,” her stubborn brain replayed memories of him like a broken record when she was trying to sleep. 5 of the longest weeks ever, Dallin came to her and said that he had been praying to find an answer about their relationship, and now he wanted her to do the same. So she did. She read her scriptures, prayed, and took a walk to the Provo City Center Temple, where she received her answer. They agreed giddily that they wanted a future together. From then on out, they hardly left each others’ sides.
On January 17, 2019, Dallin invited Katie to dinner at Carrabba’s. Rain drizzled out as they drove up to the mountain for a view of the city. Dallin read her a romantic journal entry of what it was like to see her again after his mission. He asked her if she would like to step outside, and then he knelt on one knee in the grass and asked, “Will you marry me?” She of course said “YES!”
