2015-2016
After finally coming to terms that Cristiano Ronaldo was neither a personality type, nor a sexual orientation, Emma would make a life-defining decision this year; she cleverly lured Mason into going to her house under the guise of wanting to show off her new puppy, Louie. This was the first step, in many, she would take to secure the then-bachelor pictured below. You cant blame her; look at that hunk!

2016-2017

This year included several pivotal moments in the lives of Emma and Mason. They graduated from North Oldham High School together, concluded their competitive soccer and track careers (and diving for Mason), and Emma began her college journey in Kentucky while Mason left their home state for college in Maryland. This marked the beginning of an 8-year span of long distance they have endured, the conclusion of which will be celebrated on May 31st with you!

2017-2018

Oh the joys of freshman year of college! Mason put on his freshman 50 while Emma got her first taste of college lifestyle. Determined to share her newfound love for party-life, Emma threw a party for Mason's friends after joining him as his date to a ball. The Navy would soon find out about their grave moral crime of having 3 (give or take a few) Coors Lights at age 19 and punish Mason and 20 of his best friends with a slew of restrictions. Emma couldn't be formally prosecuted by the Navy for being such a malicious influence on the previously-innocent and virtuous Midshipmen, but her sentencing was arguably more severe; being forced to undergo more time apart from Mason. Tragic.

2018-2019

After finally getting used to the challenges of distance, Emma would do what she does best and make things more complicated for the fun of it. Emma left the States for Spain, studying abroad in Sevilla. Mason made his first trip across the pond in order to visit her, bringing with him their parents. Upon arrival, Emma's mother, Sue, would quickly make known her observation that Emma may have been drinking a bit too much Spanish wine and eating too much bread causing her to plump up a bit. Mason never noticed such a thing though, he was just happy to spend some time with her after such a long stretch apart.

2019-2020

Misaligned spring breaks can make distance even more of a challenge. Emma's classes were still in session while Mason was busy shredding the gnar in Breckinridge, Colorado. After attending a life-altering midget wrestling tournament, Mason and his friends would check their phones to learn of the impending national shutdown due to COVID-19 and cut their leave short to return to their families. In many ways this time was less than ideal for people all over the world. The silver lining wasn't so hard to find for Emma and Mason as they got 2 unexpected months together in Kentucky, still the longest stretch of time they've had together since high school.

2020-2021

In their final year of college, Emma and Mason would battle COVID restrictions that turned a promising year of many weekend visits into their most separated year yet. At each opportunity, Mason would sneak away from Annapolis and meet Emma halfway for a night of camping, though these opportunities came few and far between. Restrictions finally started to lift as they closed in on graduation. Emma was able to support Mason and many of his friends as they graduated from college, and Mason was able to watch Emma, Katie Kepple (Maid of Honor), and Nick Groene (Groomsman), all graduate from the University of Kentucky.

2021-2022

Emma would begin her 4 years as a student at the University of Kentucky Dental School (nerd), while Mason set off for Southern California to start his career. This marks the third distinct shift from one chapter of their lives to the next that they would endure together while hundreds of miles apart. Emma would once again have a bald boyfriend, and the occasional not-so-subtle hint would be dropped from the Boyd clan suggesting that they were ready for Mason to start thinking about rings.

2022-2023

Impulse decision. In the eighth year of their relationship, Mason would romantically propose on the side of U.S. Highway 421, Leestown Road. Having worried that they may have rushed into things, Emma and Mason set the wedding date out over 2 years from the engagement, just to make sure. If you're reading this, it means Mason really was able to convince Emma to marry him. Hearts break around the world.

2023-2024

At this point, Emma almost has all 32 teeth memorized! Well, she's at least close enough that she's passed her dental boards! Finally, the investment Mason made years ago is beginning to look like it might pay off as he may have a dentist sugar momma by May of next year. Conveniently, the wedding is just a couple weeks after her graduation from Dental School, so Mason always has the opportunity to back out and marry a real doctor if things don't pan out for Emma.

2024-Present

After a record 8 months continuously apart, at the end of an 8 year stretch, the soon-to-be Rice's cannot wait to celebrate their marriage just a few miles from where their story began. The next step is to finally enjoy some time together and move Emma out to San Diego where their first house is waiting for her.