New Wife Ranch: After only bumping into each other a few times on summer staff in 2021 at New Life Ranch, the summer of 2023 was an unexpected "reunion" of sorts. After meeting during staff training at New Life Ranch we went on a "secret" first date to Fayetteville AR on the one day that we had off before camp started!

Throughout the summer we exchanged lots of looks from across the ballfield, MCP and the packed dining hall, and a few short off-time and Saturday dates. All while trying not to expose ourselves to the turmoil of a public camp relationship. Then during the final week of camp we had an off-time date to Pour Jons in Siloam where Jaden asked if Alli would be his girlfriend and try long distance when she moved back to Conway AR.

A week after summer ended, Jaden invited Alli to join him at a wedding in Kansas with his family. In true “trial by fire” fashion, he ended up leaving her to hang out with his family more than with him for the whole weekend!

One of our first long distance dates was spent hiking and exploring together, and it was so fun to just do life together, because getting to know each other in camp was just so different than the real world.

Throughout the fall of 2023 we found a pretty consistent rhythm of seeing each other about every 2 weeks. This photo is from a fun trip to Little Rock where we talked a lot about what life together could be like!

As long-distance was getting really hard, but our times together were sweet! This photo was from Alli's birthday, where we had a quiet (cold/windy) dinner on some cliffs while watching the sunset! Alli made the bold decision to move back up to NWA to be closer to Jaden after she graduated from UCA. Being closer had its own challenges though, because summer was a hard season due to the busyness that Jaden had during the summer with camp, and Alli had just started a job as a RBT in Fayetteville!

Right after the summer season ended, we were blessed with some rest and time away with the Starburg family. We spent two weeks traveling throughout Norway, exploring and enjoying time together.

Settling into a regular rhythm of life together was wonderful. We joined a community group, went to church together, and enjoyed a fun season of weekend adventures. In December, we began thinking seriously about our future and decided to join a pre-marital group in January.

We had many date nights talking about what our life together was going to look like, and living closer together meant more weekend adventures as well!

Much to Alli's surprise, Jaden pulled off a complete surprise proposal on a rainy and cold April 5th. It was such a blur but was an incredible memory that we will talk about forever!

In a whirlwind month, our season of engagement took an unexpected turn! In mid-April, Alli was asked to step up and serve as Junior Camp Manager at New Life Ranch’s Frontier Cove for the summer—a mirror of Jaden’s role at Senior Camp. It came with challenges, but the Lord worked in our hearts, showing us there was no better way to start our marriage than serving others together. From May 3 to August 2, we had about a day and a half off each week to spend time together and plan the entire wedding! (this photo is from our engagement photos taken in June!)

We want our lives to be marked by love and service, trusting that the Lord is working in the details—even through the absolutely wild summer we just experienced. Between camp and wedding planning, we’re simply trying to enjoy this season despite how exhausted we are! Currently, we’ve already repainted most of our house’s interior, wedding plans are falling into place, and we’re excited to celebrate the end of a crazy season and that start of something incredible. Please pray for us when you think of it!