What do you mean he don't eat no meat? Oh that okay, I make lamb!*

Today it's time to meet Chadd and Tami.  Tami was a neighbor of mine in college.  She knew my roommate, I was still in my stranger danger mode (I never left) and my roommate told me I had to be friends with Tami.  Why I let my roommate boss me around, I don't know, but Tami is seriously one of my favorite people and I'm so grateful that I listened to my roommate and went upstairs to the third floor to hang out with Tami...and to randomly go to Utah one weekend because we couldn't find anything to do...

That's for a different blog post I suppose.  Quick note: I don't know Chadd as well, but any guy that Tami would choose to marry has to be pretty awesome.  I just wanted to throw out here that I absolutely loved his answers to these questions.  Okay now, back to the happy couple. 

Chadd and Tami dated "long enough" (14 months) and were engaged for 5 months.  They have been married now 5 years, 3 months, give or take 2 days from when Tami sent this back to me and she says she'll spare us the exact hours and minutes.  No one is counting here...

Here's their questionnaire:

Thoughts on Dating

What was the hardest part about dating?

Chadd: Is dating hard? I don't remember it being hard.  Waiting for Tami's missionary to come home. (Lildonbro's note: poor Russell)

Tami: Deciding if he was someone I could love forever.  And of course keeping personal boundaries ::wink::wink::

What was your favorite part about dating?

Chadd: Breaking down personal boundaries. (smiley face)

Tami: Having someone to always do something with.  Not having to pay for anything.

How did you meet?

Chadd: I saw her and I made it happen.

Tami: Officially, while polar bear swimming at his parents’ house around January 2003. We grew up in the same stake and his dad was our Stake President. I knew WHO Chadd was (his family of 11 was pretty well known) but he was soooooo old (4 years older than myself) that he wasn’t anything/one special growing up.  I took his sister bridge jumping in Rexburg and she mentioned it to Chadd who was currently in Iraq. He asked for me to e-mail him, but I didn’t get around to it for several months. By the time I did he was home. He brought his sister back up to school after Thanksgiving. During this time we hung out and we’ve been together ever since.

What were some qualities in your spouse that attracted you to them?

Chadd: Outgoing. Fun to play off of. Made me want to be better. Didn’t let anyone give her crap. Able to take it and dish it.

Tami: Patient, easy going, adventurous, he had a way of letting me THINK I was the boss (Even though he is/was), slight rebel appeal ( he was in the Marine Corps.), and  he had a nice rig.

Engagement

How long were you engaged?
5 months

When/how did you know you wanted to marry them?

Chadd:  In Rexburg during our 1^st week of dating. There were no “I like this girl, but…”’s

Tami: I couldn’t imagine life without him. And after my missionary came home and it didn’t feel right, I knew Chadd was the one.

Did you have any reservations?

Chadd: No.

Tami:  DUH! OF COURSE! The thought of being with ONE person the REST of my life freaked my fickle little self out!

Marriage

How do you make big decisions?

Chadd: Talk through things. Weigh the options.

Tami: Ditto

What is something you weren't expecting in marriage?

Chadd: Nothing

Tami: How much better it gets. How much the love changes and grows. Especially when you add kids!

What is the favorite part about marriage?

Chadd: Having someone by my side.

Tami: Living with my best friend.

What kind of things do you do to keep the "Spark"?

Chadd: Making time for each other. Answering “Yes dear.” And “I love you!”

Tami: Leave little notes, think of him throughout the day, send texts, and do fun things together.

How do you work through disagreements?

Chadd: There’s no “working”, just agreeing with the wife. Making her think it’s what she wants.

  Tami: We can’t think of many disagreements. Chadd is THAT good! We typically just talk about it.

Parenthood

Do you have any kids?
 2 - Gavinn and Teagan

How do you meld two different parting philosophies?

Both: We talked about it before we got married. There was never 2 different philosophies, It’s the same.

What is your favorite part about Parenthood? Least favorite?

Chadd: Seeing them learn something new! The excitement of new things. Least:
Struggling to get them dressed.

Tami: Exposing them to new experiences. How cute they are! Least: Tantrums/discipline. Them not doing what you’d like them to do.

Do you have any advice for others?

Nope.


That's all folks - that's Chadd and Tami.  Be sure to check out their blog at http://theottleys.blogspot.com/.