Broulims Fresh Foods in Afton and Alpine is sponsoring a Sweet Heart Love Story Competition for the Valentines season. Resident’s of Star Valley were encouraged to submit their love story. The Broulim’s staff have selected their favorite stories, which are posted below. You now have the chance to read each story and vote for your two favorites, one from the Upper Valley and one from the Lower Valley.

Winners will receive a Valentines Bouget of flowers and chocolates valued at over $100. Winners will be announced live during the Weekday Wake-up on at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, February 12.

Simply read the stories below, then fill out the form to vote! Voting deadline is Friday morning at 7:30 a.m.

Upper Valley #1

“While working at Jacob Lake Inn in Arizona, I found myself very curious about a young man that worked with me. He was always whistling in the kitchen and eager to help. Everyone adored him! I was irritated by my attraction to him and determined that nobody was genuinely that happy and kind. Despite my coolness toward him, he invited me to go on a drive with some coworkers to the river between shifts. In a moment of flirtation, I teasingly pretended to push him into the water. He scooped me into his arms and tossed my FULLY CLOTHED into the river! I was completely shocked, but instantly in love. Maybe the nice kid could handle me after all! I like to say that I fell in more ways that one that day. 17 years, 9 months and 1 day ago, I married the best human I have ever met. His kindness is genuine, and in all of our time together, has never raised his voice to me, but has shown great patience and love in every interaction between. There are a lot of great love stories, but ours is my favorite.

Upper Valley #2

Three months earlier….I prayed “Lord you know there is a man out there for me.”

One day my daughter called me and invited me to meet her in Lyman, Wyoming to spend the weekend while her boyfriend was helping with calf branding. I said yes. Pulling out of the driveway I said to myself “Maybe I’ll meet a nice cowboy?” Fast forward to the drive home to Rexburg, I stopped at Maverick to get gas. When I noticed a Chinese restaurant at Colter’s I decided to go in. They seated me in a booth facing a friendly man in the next booth. He said “Ma’am, would you like to join me for supper?” I said “Why not.” That supper lasted a couple of hours. He wanted to give me his phone number and I said “I don’t take men’s phone numbers.” So he said, “Can I have yours?” He called me every day for a week. To make a long story short we met in May and we married in September.

Lower Valley #1

Last March, when we were all quarantined at home, I did something I thought I would never do. Online dating.

I had given myself the name of Country Girl and was interested in Country Boy from Idaho. After talking a few times, we agreed to meet in Soda and go for a picnic and hike. My kids gave me a curfew and said if I was late they would send Search and Rescue. I pulled into our designated meeting spot a few minutes early with butterflies. I was tempted to drive away but he was already there on the other side of the building so he’d seen me pull in so it was too late to back out. After a few minutes of driving, me nerves calmed down and I learned that we had a lot in common. He told me about being in Star Valley in the early 90’s when he competed in Cutter Races. I usually attended the races, so I felt like our lives had probably already crossed. At that point, I had no idea that I would be marrying this man a few months later.

The day passed quickly and we didn’t want it to end. We talked all the way home and from then on we spent every moment we could together. Knowing how important the church was to me, he agreed to start attending again. He also knew that I wanted to be married in the temple so he took the necessary steps to get his recommend. On Memorial Day he took me to where he grew up and we hiked to his favorite waterfall. At the top he proposed to me, but had left his phone so we had no pictures to capture our happy moment. He embarrassed me by asking a family to take some pictures and email him so that we could have memories of that special day.

We got married July 18 in our backyard at 3:07. Once the temple opened to Phase 2, we were sealed in the Star Valley Temple on September 12. We feel like it was divine intervention that brought us together. Together we have 6 children and we are expecting our 5th grandbaby this August. It is hard to share our love story in just a few words but it is just beginning and we look forward to spending eternity together.

Lower Valley #2

Living on a ranch in Star Valley could be challenging as a teenager in the 70’s, especially if you were a girl. Sometimes it didn’t seem very impressive to tell the boys that you had to ride a horse to get to softball practice, drive a tractor to help haul hay, and feed bum lambs. It was especially embarrassing to have a skunk run out from under the porch when a date walked you to the door.

I loved my Crow Creek home but feared it would be hard to find a special someone who would appreciate all those ranch hand skills I had acquired.

Then one evening, while at my apartment at Rick’s College, a young man came to pick up my roommate for a date. I didn’t pay much attention to him so I was surprised to get a call from him a night or two later. He started asking me a series of questions. That seemed a bit odd to me, but I answered them best I could. One question was “Have you ever milked a cow?” That one made me stutter. I had avoided learning to milk the cow because I had heard that once you learned it would be your job ever after. However, I did like to play a joke on my California cousins that came to visit every summer. I would ask them, “Have you ever seen the start in the cow’s teat?” It was great fun to squirt milk in their eyes! Did that count as knowing how to milk a cow? My answer must have satisfied this young man named Blake because it sparked our romance.

When the big step came for me to meet his family, I remember thinking, “How can I know if this man is the right one to marry?” My question was answered as I walked through his parents back porch. Setting right there was a scrap bucket! I wasn’t a SWILL bucket but pretty close. It was scraps for the chickens and if they would of had pigs at the time it would have been a swill bucket. I had believed all my life that my parents were the only ones that had a swill bucket on their back porch. Not true. I had found my match, a true love that could appreciate a swill bucket!