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| taken by mr. adam phipps. |
Q: Where are you from? How did you come to live in Niwot?
Spencer: I was born in Boulder. November 22, 1985. The year leaded gas was banned in the US and Nintendo made its debut (not that I remember). I can't recall exactly when it was my family and I moved to Niwot. Those are some of what I consider to be my earliest memories. I think I was pre-school age since I did attend kindergarten at Niwot Elementary. I do remember our house in Boulder fairly well, along with the many different playgrounds my Mom would bring my brother and I to (thanks MOM!). One of them included a giant wooden barrel that rolled in place, the other a maze made out of rocks with tons of caves and tunnels. I remember Niwot too, especially the big trees at our new home that offered endless hours of entertainment. I went on to attend elementary school in Niwot, junior high in Longmont, and then high school back in Niwot again. I love Niwot with all my heart.
Anne: I was born in Denver, and raised in Boulder County. Until I was 7, my family moved up and down the Front Range every few years as my dad built a successful career as a stockbroker. We finally settled in Boulder County around ’94 and have never left. We moved to Niwot from North Boulder in 2000.
High School (The Beginning)
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| spencer on his bike |
S: I think my first memory of Anne was from gym class. We were in our volleyball portion of the class and all of the classes had been combined together into several different teams. Gym was unique in the sense that different grades and ages often got combined (Anne is about 2 years younger than me). I was a junior and she was a freshman. I remember seeing her from across the gym and thinking “she's cute. But I have never seen her before”. She did look young. I admit I had some reservations about my interest in her simply because I felt like I was robbing the cradle (maybe a little). Anne was good friends with one of my best friend's girlfriend, so naturally we started hanging out. Our first group date was arguably a visit to a local corn maze during the fall. Subsequent movie nights and other events followed till I finally asked her to be my girlfriend up at a friend's cabin in Winterpark.
A: My first memory of Spencer is from my freshman year of high school. We were in the same gym class, and I have very fuzzy recollections of playing ping-pong and flag football with him. However, my first standout memory was the following semester of that same year. My mom dropped me off at school (yes, she dropped me off. I was only 15… which means I first met Spence when I was 14!?! Yikes… it sure feels like a long time when you put it that way…), and I remember getting out of the car, walking to the front door, and I noticed Spencer also walking in from his car in the parking lot. He had shaggy blond hair, and looked really cool. I remember thinking, ‘He was in my gym class! He’s pretty cute, actually.’ We met officially at a haunted corn maze in October of the next schoolyear. We were both invited by each of our best friends, Mark and Ali, who just happened to be dating. I am pretty sure I used that haunted corn maze for all it was worth, screaming and darting behind friends, including Spencer. We started dating a few weeks later.
Q: What are two of your favorite memories of Anne (or Spencer) from high school?
I remember I always used to come and visit her at the library. She “worked” there as an aide for one of her classes. I would always stop by to visit, since being of different ages we didn't really have classtogether, this was one of my few opportunities to see her during the school day. We would hang out atthe library counter chatting, joking around, and probably flirting, a lot. I also remember one time Christmas) studying at her house in her Dad's office. I was working my way through Hamlet and Anne was working on a history project. We had the Christmas tunes going and I think that was the first time I ever heard the song “Santa Baby”. To this day hearing that song reminds me of that afternoon we spent studying at her house (don't get any ideas, we really were studying).
A: Before Spencer and I were “official,” we used to talk online after school. During one conversation, we began talking about a school project I was working on for a class he had been in a few years before. He offered to help me, and I bravely suggested that we work on it together that very afternoon! Surprisingly, the parents consented and off I drove, down Niwot Road to the house of the boy that I liked so very much. Spencer was unlike any boy I’d met – so thoughtful. He had dug out old boxes of his schoolwork for me to look through, and had even brought his family’s new little kitten, Louie, and into his room for me to oooh and ahhh over. We chatted for awhile, and he gave me some papers to look through later, and the his mom invited me to dinner. I felt so welcome in the Biddle family from the get go, and loved talking with them. That night was such a beautiful and insightful look into the man that I love and his wonderful family. Also, Spencer and I wrote letters to each other in high school very often, and I still have them today. I think those letters combined are my second favorite memory of us in high school. He was, and still is, poetic and heartfelt with his words.
The College Years
S: Anne and I did not stay together when we went to college. I think this was for the best. And although there were several years between when we parted in high school and eventually got back together I don't think that Anne ever really left my heart. I had found something special in her and my fondness for her survived somewhere inside me.
Q: How? Where? Why did you go to college?
S: I ended up at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado (Coors Town!). I had always loved machines of all sorts, building things, and working with my hands. I got decent grades in school so engineering seemed a sensible choice. This way I could pursue the things I loved and not have to spend my life working in the sun, rain or snow if I didn't want to (thanks DAD for this wisdom).
Q: How did you and Anne (Spencer) start communicating again? Why?
S: I don't think we ever really stopped communicating. It just became disjointed when we went off to school. I think in large part we stayed in touch because we were both still interested in each other although we probably would not have admitted it. Again, there was always something special about her that attracted me. I started to write her letters (knowing deep down inside that she thought the prospect of handwritten letters was romantic) when I was a junior in college. I can't say exactly why, again I think I was helplessly attracted to her and finally just decided to let myself be swept away by my feelings for her. And thats what happened, with every letter my true feelings for her became more apparent to the both of us.
A: Spencer started writing me letters that fall of my freshman year at Gordon. I remember getting like, five letters in one week. I called him up and asked him what the deal was, why all the letters. I think he said that he was just looking for a friend, that it had been a difficult summer and that he missed our companionship. Seeing as how we were 2,000 miles apart, I thought ‘what harm could it do?’ I was far away from home, and needed someone in my life who could understood me in both places, Colorado and Boston. But talking once a month quickly turned into a phone call every other week, and then once a week. By Thanksgiving, we were talking every few days, and it was clear that we were ready to reexamine our feelings for one another. I think the time apart gave us the chance to have a clean slate. We put everything behind us and started over.
Q: What was a long distance relationship like?
S: Hard. Its really hard to be away from someone you love. Especially the more you see them. Visiting Anne the first time in Boston was great, and it was not particularly hard to leave. But, the more we came to see each other in Colorado or Boston the more difficult and painful it became to have to return to our separate lives. But, I do like to see the bright side in things and if distance did do one thing for us it allowed us to grow as individuals, make our own friends, pursue our own hobbies and interests. I think we are both more dynamic people because of our college years and I think coming together after them is the best for us as a couple. Not sure we would have made it if we had both gone to the same school or followed the other person somewhere for their college years.
A: It sucked, haha. It was really, really, really hard. I think the only reason we survived is because, when I seriously thought about it, there was no one else that I could ever picture myself being with. No one that I wanted to talk to about my day or my interests more than him. We talked on the phone and wrote letters, and he visited a few times a year. Combined with my trips home, we actually saw each other about once a month. The longest we ever went without seeing each other was six weeks, and it was awful. I also think it was refining for us, because we could be independent and have our own individual lives, but in order to prioritize our relationship, we had to be very sincere and very honest with one another. We grew in our individuality while we learned more about the other.
Q: What were two of your favorite memories of Anne's (Spencer's) college experience?
A: I had a lot of fun hanging out with Spencer and his friends in college. They had so much fun together, snowboarding in the backyard during late night rail sessions and competing in the cardboard boat race during E-Days (Engineering Days) every April. It took some getting used to for me, as the shy and reserved girl from Gordon. But at some point, it just hit me that Spencer has this zest for life and a love for his friends that is nearly unrivaled. He’s fiercely loyal, and really just loves life. And I love that about him. Another memory is from summer before sophomore year of college (Spencer’s senior year), we went up to Lake Granby with his family and a few friends to go camping. This was the camping trip of all camping trips, in my book. We learned to water ski and wakeboard, spent hours out on the lake, stayed up late around the camp fire, and just in general, forgot what day and hour it was and lived life in the present. That was the first of many great camping trips with the Biddle’s, and it really holds a special place in my heart.
And So Forth...
Q: What is a fond memory you have of the other person's family?
S: I remember going to the CU Buff basketball games with Anne and her Dad. Those are always fun. Her Dad always knows all the players, coaches, and other fans (anyone who is anybody). It really made for a great time. As for her Mom I've always loved finding her in her studio working. I am not a real art-sy person in my opinion but I always love popping in to see what she is painting. Some times it was just a smear of color only beginning to take shape, other times a vivid and complete painting she was putting the final touches on. I also remember snowboarding with Anne and her sister out in front of their house on a snowy spring day on a box I built for Katie.
A: Oh little Hannah Biddle. Sweet little Hannah. Spencer’s baby sister, Hannah, was nine when I met her, and it really is nuts how much she has grown since. I think I’ve spent more time with Hannah than anyone else in Spencer’s family (other than him), mostly because I used to help out Diane every now and then and hang out with Hannah in the mornings before she went to school. I also helped her make up a dance for her elementary school talent show, have had a few Guitar Hero contests with her, and she’s taught me pretty much all the card games I know. I love all the Biddle’s, but I consider Hannah to be a partner in crime. Now, Haley, Spencer’s other sister, has a knack for making me laugh myself into tears. She chooses her moments wisely and I never know when to expect it, but she is hilarious and so witty. Spencer just reminded me of a joke Haley used to tell (act out) called the “Victoria Secret Chicken Show”. I also am quite fond of the Animorphs sketch she does, which incorporates animal calls with contortionism. Finally, she does a mean moonwalk to the Mamma Mia! soundtrack. We love you, Haley! David and I had some crazy times running through Niwot with mutual friends in high school, and I think he taught me how to drive stick, too, at one point. Good times.
Q: What was a fond travel or trip memory?
S: Anne and I drive a lot together. In fact, in one summer we managed to effectively drive the entire length of the United States. First, from Colorado to drop Anne off in Oregon were she had a summer job as a camp counselor at Tilikum. Second, from Colorado to Boston to take Anne back to school that fall. We had some awesome times along the way, like driving her Audi through a redwood tree, dinner,
drinks, and a stay at a main street apartment in Lawrence, Kansas, and Napa wine country. All in all the most memorable things were the conversations we had while driving. Some were really fun and enjoyable, others were really hard and tear filled. I think it was in these hours driving together alone in the car that we learned to have true patience with each other, really let our feelings for each other come out, talked about our faith, fears, and love for each other. Looking back on all those long hours in the car I realize I was with a partner, not just a girlfriend.
A: Spencer came to visit me while I was living in Newberg, Oregon, just outside of Portland. I was working as a camp counselor, and he was able to visit me while I was still on call at camp, as well as hang out with me for my weekend off. I am really grateful that he was able to see both sides of my life there. While I was still working, he met my group of kids, and they all really took to him. We gave him a camp name, Sprocket, and I loved watching as they played ball, asked him inquisitive questions, and generally just idolized him as a super cool guy. He came swimming with all of us while I was on lifeguard duty at the lake, and we all played games on the floating dock, including one that ended up flipping the dock and throwing everyone (including me – that was a no no) into the water. Some of the kids came back for another session later in the summer, and asked where Sprocket was. It was so cute. When the workweek ended, Spence and I went in to Portland to stay downtown, went wine tasting in the Wilamette Valley, and even spent the 4th of July at the local rodeo. It was a very different environment for the both of us, in a part of the country neither of us knew very well, but the adventure of it all grew us and showed us that our love existed outside of the familiar places we knew so well.
Q: How did you get engaged?
S: Visit again soon...!
