Our story begins in January of 2022. I planned to go on a ski trip out in the Black Hills with my roommate and a group from her church. I was excited and had a feeling that this could be a really good opportunity to meet some new people… Well, the ski trip got canceled because of bad weather. Instead, I got to fulfill my other weekend plans, which I was also excited about, and go to my friend Ty’s birthday party. And at this birthday party, I met my future husband instead.

The birthday party started at Empire Bowl in Sioux Falls, and my friend Megan and I showed up at the birthday party together. I never really put much thought into who else would be at this party. We got our shoes and started looking around for Ty. We spotted him, and shortly after, he spotted us and waved, which prompted the rest of the group to turn and look at who was coming. Megan and I watched the group of guys as they went into what looked like a quick huddle and as Ty appeared to inform the other guys about who was who. I thought, hm, this could be more fun than the ski trip. After a few rounds of bowling, I had my eyes on this tall guy with curly hair and was trying to think of something to say to him… something funny but not teasing. I looked at his bowling score and said, “So, do you do this often, or is this just a good day?” To which he looked a little bashful and said, “Just a good day.” And I wish I could tell you that this was the start of a great conversation between the two of us, but if you know my wonderful fiancé, you know that he is a man of few words….and he didn’t say anything to me for the rest of the night.

Regardless, we had a great time that evening, and I kept an eye on him to try to figure him out. I could tell he was humble but self-assured and quiet but liked to have fun. I also could tell that he seemed to be trying to figure me out too. It turns out that we ordered the same thing at supper down to the side of the ranch. At the end of the night, almost everyone had already left, and Ty said to me that Josh had asked him more about me and Ty asked me if he should tell Josh more or if this was off the table. I was excited and said, “Sure, go for it”. Josh messaged me the next day, and the rest is history. I do remember, though, at the end of our first date, I said something along the lines of “Thanks for the fun time, and we should do this again!” To which Josh replied with a flat, “Yeah.” And then silence. So I got out of his truck and thought, gosh, I thought that went well...?? In his defense, our date made him late to buy his new truck at the dealership, so understandably, he had other big things on his mind, but he called me back that evening, and he has been ever since that night.