We sit in disbelief that our paths never crossed before March of 2021.

That all changed when Lauren got a text from Brittany Moore on February 28th, 2021. Lauren originally read the message on her Apple Watch and all that came up was a picture of a handsome guy holding a cute baby. Perplexed, Lauren opened the message on her phone and read the message from Brittany--something along the lines of "What do you think of my cousin?". Intrigued, Lauren entertained Brittany's question and said she thought he was cute. At the same time, Brittany had sent a picture to Jackson of Lauren posing in a vineyard during a fun weekend in KC. She posed the same question to Jackson.

The next day, March 1st, Jackson was substitute teaching at United and was mustering up the courage to reach out to Lauren.

"Hey, Lauren. This is Jackson Kane. How are you? My cousins seem to think we should chat."

The rest is history and they have the Three Musketeers (and cousins) to thank for crossing their paths: Ashton, Brittany, and Hannah.

Jackson and Lauren's first date was at Vitale's on March 13th, 2021--but not before Lauren danced the night away with Jackson's family the night before at Captain Geech. When the dinner was over at Vitale's, Jackson asked what the game plan was for the evening. Lauren informed Jackson that she was going to meet up with her friends and he was welcome to tag along. Jackson politely declined and said he thought it was too early to introduce Lauren to his family. Jackson went home and Lauren went to hang out with some of her best friends (Jackson's cousins) and a table full of people who couldn't wait to hear how the date went.

There were more dates and Jackson and Lauren began to "officially" date on April 3rd, 2021.

The days since have been filled with a lot of laughter, a lot of love, and some life changes. Jackson moved in with Lauren in August of 2021. They sold that house in August of 2022 and bought a new house in October.

Jackson proposed to Lauren on December 3rd, 2022.