Our Story
Matt
Julie
I was born in a log cabin in Condon, Montana on July 16th,
1974. My father, Joseph E. Raible Jr., delivered me at 4:30 a.m. in the
southeast corner of the cabin. I grew up with my sister, Kalin, and loving
parents at "the cabin" for 16
years. I then moved to Salem, Oregon and graduated from North Salem High
School in 1992.
In September of 1992, I began school at the University of Denver, and joined the Chi Phi Fraternity. I visited Russia a couple of times during school, and met a plethora of lifetime friends. Many of them will be at our wedding and serving as my groomsmen. I graduated from DU in June 1997, and accepted a Programmer Analyst position with MCI Systemhouse in Boulder, Colorado.
In January of 1998, I attended a two-week training session for rookies in Colorado Springs. And that's where it all began...
My life began in Chicago Heights, Illinois on May 13th, 1975 at 3:30 a.m.
When I was two, we moved to Augusta, Georgia, where my sister, Holly, was
born. We moved to Florida when I was four, and I went to kindergarten in
Jupiter. I graducated from the Bengamin School in 1993.
In September of 1993, I began my college career at the University of Florida, and joined the Delta Gamma Sorority. I had a blast in college and graduated in December 1997. I accepted a Programmer position with MCI Systemhouse in Orlando, Florida.
My first day of work was in Colorado Springs, and that was the day I met the love of my life...
How Matt and Julie First Met...
Matt, week 1: I first saw her on Sunday night when everyone arrived at the hotel. I walked downstairs to meet the group, and there she was - a beautiful blonde vixen that I would never stand a chance with. Boy was she good looking! We all jumped into our rental cars and went to dinner at a hotel in Colorado Springs. We all knew it was going to be a good week when we entered the room for our "company training" dinner, and they had an open bar serving Heineken! The blonde and I ate dinner at the same table that night, separated by a guy named Doug. Turns out, he and I were both trying to sit by the hot chick, but he beat me to it.
On Monday night, I began to come down with the flu, so I went to bed early - and continued this trend (sniffling and strung out on NyQuil) for the rest of the week. That weekend, I returned to Denver and partied my buns off with the boys from Chi Phi. I barely recovered from my hangover on Sunday, and returned to Colorado Springs on Sunday night.
Matt, week 2: The first few days of class were fairly normal - and on Wednesday, things began to get interesting. I was coming back from working out that evening, and as I stepped out of my car to walk to the hotel, a car full of my fellow rookies drove up and yelled at me to follow them to dinner. So I said I would (complete in my workout garb), and Doug jumped in my car (the ol' Acura) for a ride. At the restaurant (Joe's Crab Shack) Julie and all the girls asked me to sit with them at one end of the table - but I politely declined since they were all smoking.
We ordered dinner and a couple of beers. You have to remember that this is the first night I'd hung out with these folks. On Monday, I'd went out to dinner at Old Chicago's with Murphy - and on Tuesday, I again hung out with Murphy since he was in town. So after dinner, I went to a payphone and called Murphy to see what he was doing that night. He declined going out and I walked humbly back to the table. At the table, my classmates prodded me to join them for boozing after dinner. I said no, that my friend was staying in, and I felt like doing the same. They then told me, "You should REALLY come with us tonight." I again refused, and they prodded again - and this time Julie the hottie walked behind them as they were saying it. And they said, "Matt, I don't think you understand, but you should REALLY come with us tonight!", and one of them gave a nod towards the vixen.
I began to get the hint, and told them, "OK, I'll join you!" From dinner, we jumped in our cars, and headed for the Sports Bar right next to our hotel, better known as "Coach's." At Coach's, I was informed that Julie had taken a liking to me - and my heart leapt into my throat. "How could such a hottie think that I'm a hottie?" I asked myself. One thing led to another, and I found myself telling her my life story (chicks always dig the 'cabin story'), and drinking beer in her hotel room at 3 in the mornin'. I decided to go for it, and asked Julie if she wanted to lay down and watch TV. She accepted with a yawn and our eyes quickly became heavy. I asked Julie if I could kiss her -- she gave me a funny look and said "No." I said, "but I have mints!" -- and she said "I'll take one." After a few minutes, Julie said, "Ask me again." At which point, I did, and we embraced in our first kiss. Soon thereafter, at 5 in the morning, I groggily wandered back to my room.
The next night was Thursday night, and our last night in town together. The entire group went to dinner at a kick ass micro-brewery in Colorado Springs, picked up enough beer to damage our livers, and returned to the hotel. At the hotel, we proceeded to play drinking games, and tell stories throughout the night. At about 6 in the morning, Julie realized that she only had 15 minutes to get ready and go to the airport. I saw this as my opportunity, and I asked her if she would stay the weekend with me. She said she would if I could get her another flight on Sunday. So I leaped over the bed, tackled the phone, and began wrestling with the flight bookie on the other end of the line. Lo and behold - I found a flight, she stayed the weekend, and the Broncos won their very first Superbowl!
Matt and Julie, the rest of
the story:
We spent the next eight months flying
back and forth between Colorado and Florida every other weekend. In
the last week of August 1998, Matt flew down to Florida to road-trip back to
Denver with Julie and Daisy. We became a family together in a small,
one-bedroom apartment across the street from Chi Phi.
In February 1999, Matt proposed to Julie in an elaborate ceremony of candles, roses, music and a poem. Julie accepted with tears in her eyes.
In May 1999, we bought our first house in the Foothills, near Morrison, Colorado - and became a common-law married couple.
On April 22, 2000, we will be officially married at the BEST Party of the Year in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The Beginning