Our story begins back in the summer of 2016, I had just graduated from high school and was starting a summer job as a camp counselor at the local YMCA. Jon and I were co counselors in the Jr Wiggi Camp. Jon was one of the only guy counselors working with this group and I remember noticing how kind, patient, and goofy he was with the kiddos and other counselors - I definitely had a little crush on him! I later found out the feelings were mutual when Jon slid into my twitter DMs and invited me to Chili's with the other counselors. I later found out that was actually his way of asking me on a date! I respectfully declined thinking it was just a group thing with camp friends! After that summer, Jon and I went in opposite directions for a few years, finishing school in Newport and Durham.

I came back home for the summer before Senior year and had told my friends I had a goal of putting myself out there a bit more while being back home and said it would my “Summer of Dates”, they all laughed because they knew that wasn’t really my style. But I did download a few of the dating apps and luckily matched with Jon! We messaged back and forth for a few weeks and finally made a plan to get together for dinner/drinks……Jon did suggest Chili's again! We met for dinner and closed the place down, talking for several hours and catching up about the last few years! It was the best first date I had been on - it was so easy to talk and laugh with him. Jon and I continued to see each other throughout the summer and we planned for him to come visit me in Newport after my first week of classes. Jon came down for the weekend to meet my friends and tour Newport! The weekend was a success, Jon got the approval from all my friends and we had a blast visiting all my favorites spots in town.

We spent that next few months visiting each other on weekends, Jon came to Newport quite a bit and that’s where we really got to know each other and start to fall in love. During my holiday breaks we spent lots of time together and finally got to know each others family’s! Jon invited me on his trip to Quebec and I of course accepted - my family and friends knew I really liked him when I agreed to vacation in such a cold place! Despite the snow we had a great time on our first solo trip and enjoyed exploring a new city together. After break, I returned to school to finish out my senior year until COVID hit and I came back home in March 2020. We were luckily allowed in each other “bubbles” and went back and forth from Franklin to Shrewsbury spending lots of quality time with one another and our families! Covid was crazy time but it did give us the opportunity to really get to know each other's families which was so important to both of us.

In September 2020, I started my first nursing job and Jon started work at new engineering company. Both in right place and ready for the next step we decided to move in together! We found a cute little one bedroom in Mansfield, the middle spot between our jobs and recruited family and friends to help us move in! Similar to our first date and start of our relationship - living together was fun and came naturally (even the whole month we spent quarantined with Covid). In October 2021 we took the next step and rescued a puppy from a shelter in CT! Finn has become our best bud and we aren’t afraid to admit that we are total millennial dog parents!

A few months later Jon proposed in Newport on our favorite beach, it was the perfect day! Our families, friends and even Finn were all there to celebrate! We enjoyed dinner at our favorite restaurant, Diego's, and then celebrated in downtown Newport at the dueling piano bar! It was the most special weekend full of love, laughter and celebration and we couldn’t be more excited to continue the celebration this August!

The story begins in 2016, I had just finished my freshman year at college and began working at the YMCA in Franklin. Julia and I were camp counselors together. I instantly liked Julia because of her adorable laugh and smile. I found myself trying to talk to her any chance I could. As I started to crush harder I found it more difficult to talk to her. I finally built up the courage to ask her out on a date to Chilis with some of the other counselors by sliding into her Twitter DMs. She, unfortunately, said no.....

It took 3 years but I finally got another shot. After graduating from college I moved back home with my mom and sister. Shortly after getting home, I decided to try the popular dating app Tinder. After a few days, I matched with Julia on June 23rd, 2019. After texting back and forth we finally went on our first date to the Red Heat Tavern. That same laugh and smile brought me back to the summer of 2016. We talked about camp, school, and our latest trips to Disney and Ireland. The date was a success. As the summer continued we went on more and more dates. As the summer came to an end Julia went back to school. I was excited when she asked me to visit her in Newport.

My first weekend visiting was filled with meeting her friends, touring Newport, and going out on the town. I continued to visit almost every weekend and my love for Julia grew. I finally built up the courage to tell her this after the family Christmas tree cutting party. After, Christmas Julia and I took a trip to Quebec City, Canada. It was our first trip we took alone together. To say the least, Quebec in the winter is not Julia's cup of tea. It was 5 degrees and snowed everyday. Julia was a good sport as I took her to the Ice Hotel, Ice Skating and on a toboggan ride. We ended the day walking around the little shops as people sang Christmas music on the streets. It was a perfect weekend that led into an even more perfect week as we celebrated New Years.

As we kicked off 2020 our relationship really seemed to takeoff. Prior to COVID I had the pleasure to do some more traveling. We traveled to DC to see Jim’s family and meet Julia’s siblings. The weekend was so much fun. We did some site seeing and played a card game called Presidents, which is a Ledwith family favorite. After a great visit we left not realizing this would be the last normal outing for a while. Julia went back to school for only another month before COVID took over. This resulted in her having to finish her senior year remote from home.

The following months allowed us to see each more than expected as Julia was in our “Inner Circle”. Julia graduated in May and begin studying for her NCLEX which she passed (not surprising). Over the next 6 months we both started new jobs and moved into our first apartment together. I really enjoyed coming home after a long day to someone I was falling completely in love with. As we ushered 2020 out the door we looked forward to a bigger and better 2021.

Together 2021 and 2022 would fly by with some fun adventures and trips. We went to Myrtle beach and saw Michael, Jessie, JoJo, Ginger, Allie, Zach, Toby, Jim and Anne. It was fun to hang by the beach and get sushi for Julia’s Birthday. This was the moment I began to plan how I was going to propose. That October after a lot of discussion, we made an impromptu decision and welcomed Finn into our family. He was even part of the proposal.

To be continued………