~ The One with the First Kiss ~ Nathan and Allyssa went to a Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers game as friends. Allyssa was going through a difficult time, and the city of Pittsburgh has always been her escape from reality. Nathan got them tickets that were a few rows off the Steelers sideline. Truthfully, this was the first time they ever hung out together. Well, in the fourth quarter, Ben Roethlisberger threw a touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson. Out of pure excitement and celebration, Nathan and Allyssa grabbed each other and kissed. After the kiss, they both looked at each other, shrugged, and kept celebrating in true Steelers fashion. The Steelers went on to win that night.

~The One with the First Official Date~ Yes, it's true, their first kiss was before their first official date. In true fashion, their first real date was to the Titans vs. Steelers game. This was when Allyssa realized she had true feelings for Nathan. The Steelers also won that day!

~The One Where We Became Official~ About two months after our first official date, Nathan and I would joke around that we were at the point of being "unofficially official". It became time when I felt comfortable to take this a step forward in which we decided we were ready to drop the "unofficial" from the title. Since we both are impatient people with gifts, we exchanged Valentine's Day gifts with each other on February 11th shortly after he arrived for our weekend visit. After opening gifts, he stalled his way until midnight where the date officially was February 12, 2022. Nathan told me he had one more gift for me and handed me a card. Inside the card, he wrote a nice little message and told me to circle "Yes" or "No" to dropping the "unofficially" of our title.

~The One with the Walk-Through~ It was official that Allyssa was going to close on her first house in April. After all, if everything went according to what we hoped, eventually Nathan would end up moving in when they were ready to take that step. It was only fitting that Allyssa completed her final walk through with Nathan. It was on this day that she told Nathan that if he could make it through April with her due to closing, packing, and moving, that she would keep him around or "something like that."

~The One with the Move-In & Surprise Engagement~ On March 17, Nathan officially moved down to Virginia and took their relationship a step further. To celebrate the big occasion, they had our immediate family come to visit for the weekend. After all, Nathan's family had not seen the house yet at the time. To really celebrate the occasion, Nathan planned an outing to Potomac Winery for March 18 which so happened to be the location of their first fancy date night in July 2022. It was a beautiful spring day and they couldn't have asked for better weather. Everyone enjoyed some great wine, bites, and lots of laughs. As they were leaving, Nathan planned to have each couple take a picture in front of the four barrels that spelled "LOVE". When it was Nathan and Allyssa's turn, they posed for the camera. Then, Nathan turned Allyssa to face him and he started to make a speech. His speech started by reminding her that she once said if he could survive April 2022 that she would keep him around or something like that. As soon as he said that line, Allyssa got giddy and started hitting him on the shoulder while stating, "I knew it!" Needless to say, Nathan had a beautiful speech planned that she did not hear due to the giddiness. However, she heard the most important part of, "will you marry me?" With no hesitation, she responded with a yes and ugly tears. What went from a moving in celebration turned into now an engagement celebration. To add to the surprise, they came back to the house to see it all decorated with balloons and banners by their wonderful neighbors. Another neighbor even baked a surprise cake! It was the perfect engagement day surrounded by beautiful weather and our cherished loved ones.

~The One with the Fur Babies ~ Heath (the cat) has been Allyssa's right-hand man since July 2015. After Nathan moved in and Allyssa left teaching and transitioned into a work-from-home job, Harris, the corgi, was brought into the family to make four. Nathan had been wanting a dog, and Allyssa was unsure at the moment. However, Nathan knew Allyssa would never turn down a corgi. It has taken a few months, but Heath and Harris have learned to coexist as they both love their humans.