On this day, we decided to officially start dating. Before then, we had been talking constantly, getting to know each other and discovering all the hobbies and interests we shared. Because we were long distance, we had to find creative ways to make it work and stay connected. Around that time, I got a little fortune from a fortune cookie that gave me hope we would be able to meet sooner rather than later. It felt like a small sign that everything was going to fall into place.

Nick had brought me a bunch of gifts, including 3 special bells to add to my bell collection I had been making. He also introduced me to cheese curds. I had also received a build a bear that was special to me. We hadn't been able to celebrate Christmas this year, but still made up the time we could.

On Valentines day, Nick had sent me a bouquet of flowers with a cute heart in it. I had sent him flowers too. We both had decided to put them in vases on our dining tables. I was very excited about the flowers I received.

We decided to meet up again, this time for a longer duration. We went to Jungle Jim's, the Aquarium, Dave & Buster's, saw Kung Fu Panda 4, went to dinner at Proof & Table 124, La Rosa's for pizza, Build-a-Bear, The Lego Store, and many other fun places. We also made a pizza from scratch. I introduced him to Nintendo Switch Sports as well for some bowling fun.

I decided to finally face my fears of flying and took my first flight, all the way to LAX. We went to Downtown Disney, Din Tai Fung, went Duffy Boating, to the Beach, and many more exciting things. This was my first time being in California as well as seeing a Tesla. We celebrated my birthday when I visited too. The trip consisted of fun night drives, going to the beach and pier often, and experiencing things I've never done before or even knew existed, like Joe's Italian Ice in Anaheim.

I took a flight to Charlotte to vacation with Nick. We celebrated our 1 year anniversary and his birthday. He gave me this special heart locket, and we got promise rings together. We had a lot of fun at Pins Mechanical, and I tried new things like BJ's Brewhouse, Mama Ricottas and even experience hurricane weather with a power outage included! I remember when I first got to CLT airport and we were trying to find each other. Nick walked all the way to my gate, then had to turn around and walk all the way back to me because I made it to the food court before he was able to get to my gate. He finally found me and said "You can't be standing here!" as a joke since I was nervous about where I could and couldn't stand in the airport (I didn't know at the time).

In December, I took my 5th flight back to LAX to spend Christmas with Nick and his family and explore more of California. We went sightseeing through different neighborhoods filled with Christmas light displays, spent more time at the beach, and explored so many new places. I remember us driving back to LAX so I could head home. The airport was slammed after Christmas, but Nick stayed with me every step of the way to make sure I made it to my flight on time. We also went to a new mall where I bought him a pink poop hat. We built our first gingerbread house together that year, though Nick had much more experience from all the gingerbread houses he’d made at his work Christmas parties.

On Valentine's day, Nick sent me a bouquet of flowers again. I had done the same, as it started becoming our thing. I felt like it was a special thing to do now even though it seemed out of the norm to others. I truly love giving people gifts, especially to him. I felt like it was a special thing to do now even though it seemed out of the norm to others. I truly love giving people gifts, especially to him.

Nick came to visit me again. We went back to BJ’s, returned to Jungle Jim’s to explore even more, and I introduced him to Five Guys while also showing him my favorite calzone place. We made a stop at Micro Center to buy a new 3D printer after mine broke. I had been working during that time, and he picked me up after work every day so we could spend time together and go out on little adventures. One day, we finally made it to the plane watching park at CVG. By then, I had completely fallen in love with planes after my first six flights, and getting to share that excitement with Nick made the moment even more special.

In early 2025, I decided to move to California and officially begin the moving process. By June, we had started our 5 day (40 hour) drive across the country. There was so much sightseeing along the way and so much to prepare for. We brought my cat, Dizzy, with us and experienced so many new places: El Paso, Texas, the Bass Pro Shop Pyramid, Chandler, Arizona, a ghost town in Arkansas, Buc-ee’s, Texarkana, 111-degree weather, and miles and miles of desert. Honestly... maybe a little too much desert. There was something so fascinating about seeing all the different cactus shapes after 16+ hours surrounded by desert. It was exhausting, exciting, and the beginning of something completely new.

We had finally started to settle in after unboxing all of my things and getting my important documents and accounts switched over to California. Nick reintroduced me to his friends there, some of whom I had met before. One night, we all went to Seal Beach, where they have evenings when grunion fish come up onto the shoreline and flop around in the sand. I thought it was hilarious and exciting, but Nick had absolutely no interest in the grunions (didn't want to touch them). We also spent time drawing funny pictures in the sand together.

In July, Nick had to drive all the way to Utah. I joined him on the trip, along with our friend Rachel. This picture was taken in Yermo at a place called Eddie’s World. It felt like we were in the middle of nowhere, but not completely alone. It was funny and surprising to find such a big candy shop right in the middle of the desert. We stopped there to charge the car before continuing on to Utah. While we were in Utah, we did so many fun things. We visited a dinosaur museum, I went to DAISO for the first time, and we celebrated Rachel’s birthday together. It was another little adventure that made the summer feel full and unforgettable.

Nick went with me to the DMV on the day of my driving test, which I had scheduled about a month after getting my permit. I was honestly very nervous about driving in California, but Nick helped me learn my way around and gave me the confidence to handle California traffic. I even took the test in a car I barely had any experience driving. Somehow, I passed on my first try with almost no errors, I was completely shocked, but so excited. Nick supported me so much during that time, and my very first solo driving mission was a trip to Ralphs for the two of us.

On this night, we went back to Seal Beach Pier to spend time together and enjoy the beautiful weather. A few hours earlier, we had celebrated our 2 year anniversary with dinner at BJ’s Brewhouse. We always loved going to the beach on our days off, but this time felt a little different. I finally wore the new dress we had bought a few weeks before, and we wore matching outfits in celebration. While we were at the pier, we walked over to a cute garden area along the beach with a palm tree arch. It was quiet and peaceful. That’s where the question was popped, and we got engaged. At the exact same moment, the garden sprinklers unexpectedly turned on. It was totally unexpected, but it made the moment a little humorous, something we'll remember forever.

We flew back to visit my family soon after, where we were able to spend time together and celebrate our engagement with everyone. During the trip, we also celebrated Nick’s birthday, making the visit even more special. As part of the celebration, we rented a Tesla Model X Plaid just for fun.

For Christmas we celebrated with Nick's family. I have always loved wrapping gifts, and had wrapped them for this year. We had built the pink rose bouquet Lego set together as well as built a gingerbread house together.

We tried to bake cookies together from the Stardew Valley cook book, but I made a mistake. The recipe was for Oatmeal cookies, and I had only wanted chocolate chip, so i just didnt include the oats. Nick said "What if we just make a pan cookie" as a joke. Turns out if you do forget the oats, you get a pan cookie.

We took a trip to Las Vegas and celebrated Valentine’s Day together. One of our favorite stops was Minus5 Ice Experience, an ice bar made entirely out of ice. We visited M&M’s World, explored the surrounding area, and enjoyed the mountain views from our resort. Las Vegas isn’t usually my kind of place, but the trip gave Nick plenty of funny quotes from my reactions since it was my first time there. During this trip, we also officially finalized our wedding details and chose our venue.