We met in July of 2022 at a party. Neither of us really wanted to go to the party, but we both decided to hoping to meet some friends. We never thought we'd meet our forever partner at that party. Ryan introduced himself when he heard Alexa talking about her new teaching job and told her that his dad is a teacher too. We talked for hours that night, and the next morning, Ryan sent her a DM on Instagram to ask her out.

Our first date was at The Library (the restaurant... Alexa doesn't like books THAT much). We talked for a long time that night, too, but then Ryan was out of town for three weeks. We were both worried that we would lose contact in that timeframe, but we texted each a lot. When he got back, we picked up right where we left off.

We watched all the Harry Potter movies, went bowling, mini golfing, and a bunch of other dates. We started dating on August 28, 2022.

I knew that Ryan had asked my mom about proposing in December, so every time we went out, I was wondering if it would be THE date. We went to a lot of nice restaurants, recreated some of our first dates, and he made a lot of romantic plans. Something about February 25th still felt different.

Two days before, he told me he was going for a run, but then I watched him get in my car and drive off. A few blocks down the road, he stopped sharing his location with me. He did the same thing the next day.

On Sunday, we went to Tellers in OKC, which was the fanciest restaurant we had ever went to. Our reservation was at 4pm, and I asked him what we were doing after. He said, "Oh, I figured we'd just go home. Maybe play Mario Party or something." I was immediately suspicious, but then he actually started driving home. He drove right past the house after I spent 30 minutes wondering what his plan was and drove to a park I'd never heard of.

We walked around the park for a while, and I saw Sean and Anna hiding behind a tree with a camera. We walked out in a field, and the sun was setting behind us. He had a beautiful speech prepared, and I started crying as soon as he grabbed my hand and looked into my eyes.

One of my favorite memories with Ryan is when we went to Silver Dollar City with my mom and Jimma. Since he grew up in Texas near a Six Flags, he had never been, so I was really excited to show him around. But what made it even more fun is that he had no idea what any of the rides were like.

We were there the last summer that the original Fire in the Hole would be open. Most of you probably know that this is a super old rollercoaster that is marketed as "family friendly." The most exciting thing that happens on it is that you go down a hill.

While we were in line, my mom said, "I can't wait for this coaster. It's the scariest one in the whole park." Jimma and I both tried to hide our smiles as Ryan said, "Really?" He had already been tricked by Powder Keg, so this made him a little nervous.

My mom kept going, saying things like, "Yeah. it's pitch black in there, and it's like a haunted house. People will jump out at you, and you have no idea when they're coming."

Ryan and I sat in the front row of the ride, and Mom and Jimma sat right behind us. We pulled down the lap bar, and he said, "Wait, that's it? Is this safe? This doesn't seem like enough to hold us." And his knuckles turned white from gripping the bar so hard.

We slowly, slowly rolled into the darkness of the ride. The cave was silent except the creaking of the coaster.

And then my mom screamed as loud as she could. Ryan screamed back and grabbed my hand and frantically looked around trying to see what was coming for him. It took him a long time to realize that we were all laughing at him, along with several strangers on the ride.

When we got off the ride, he said, "That was so mean. She really got me." I laughed and said, "Yep. That means you're part of the family."

I know it's cheesy, but I genuinely think my favorite memory with Alexa is the moment we locked eyes right before I proposed. We had walked what felt like ages out to an open field just off a trail at Saxon Park. I had finally calmed down after frantically trying to find my photographers, Sean and Anna, hiding in the trees (I had to follow step-by-step instructions in real time to get in the right spot). Then, I took a deep breath and just gazed into her eyes, and she already had tears in her eyes. My heart dropped, but in the best way possible. That moment, before the speech, before the proposal, before the pictures--just the realization seeping in that everything was about to change for the better. That is my favorite moment with Alexa.

She read what I wrote above and said, "You're gonna make me look bad! I was making fun of you in mine." So here is a less sappy response. We get really competitive when we are playing games, and one of our favorite games to play is Mario Party. One time, we were neck and neck in a VS. game where I put all of her coins on the line (at this point, there was no way she could get more stars than me). We were racing intensely and yelling "Come on! Come on!" at our characters, and she squeaked past the finish line a millisecond before me. As soon as the screen said she won, she let out a primal, guttural scream of victory that I never thought she would be able to muster. I think I laughed for ten minutes straight after that. I still won the game overall, but she was so happy to win that one minigame.

I love that something as small as playing a video game together made us so joyful. Even in intense competition, we were still having fun. Every aspect of my life is enhanced by being with Alexa, from getting a job promotion to sitting on the patio on a warm spring afternoon reading together. No matter the activity or circumstance, I enjoy it more with you. I can't wait for infinitely more moments like this for the rest of our lives.