We have known each other for a very long time. We went to Junior High School and High School together. Ryan was dating his high school sweetheart and I had mine, but a friendship grew that would lead us into a future neither of us would have ever thought about.

After graduation, Ryan enlisted in the United States Navy and Lauren went off to college at the University of Northern Colorado. Years went by and we both experienced life in very different ways. However, one fateful Thanksgiving in 2006 brought us back together as Ryan had come home to spend time with his family and Lauren was home for break. Shane Haggard held a small party over the holiday and we rekindled our friendship. We started talking a bit after this and Ryan decided he would be coming back for Christmas. There was a terrible snow storm but he was determined to drive from California and come home. This is when our story truly starts....

From Christmas on our friendship continued to grow and something new came with it. Ryan was getting ready to deploy on a 9 month deployment at the end of January 2007, we didn't have much time. What was very unique about our situation is our relationship grew through intermittent letters and maybe a phone call a month that would last about 5 minutes due to calling cards and Ryan's work schedule. We kept each other company through regular letters and email. We had to learn to communicate with each other in a way most couples don't have to. We learned to read through the lines to better understand one another. Our friendship grew and our love continued to blossom.

We spent the first 3 years of our relationship apart. Ryan went on two deployments while we started our relationship and Lauren graduated from college starting on another path. We hit the point where we wanted to know if this was going further and if we had a longer future together, we started talking about our options. Ryan had re-enlisted for another year and a half and would serve in the Navy for close to 6 years. By the fall of 2010 we decided that we wanted to be closer, it was a question of whether Lauren would move out to California...or wherever Ryan would get stationed next, or Ryan would get out of the Navy and come back to Colorado. We are both very family oriented people and his draw to come home won out. He wanted to spend time with his Grandfather Dobson and have time with his family and friends in a way he hadn't in so long.

By the spring of 2010 we moved to Grand Junction together. This time the roles reversed a bit. Ryan was enrolled in Mesa State to get his Bachelor's degree and Lauren started a career in pharmaceutical sales. We spent the next 4 and a half years in Grand Junction. We bought a house, welcomed our beautiful daughter Cambria and built a life together. Grand Junction was home for us. Beneath its red rock walls and desert weather we became a family and established our lives together. Lauren got a chance to take a job with Colorado Parks and Wildlife that would set her course to the career path of her dreams, but Ryan still had school to finish.

We decided we would again take our relationship to long distance...this time it was different. We had a daughter to consider and Ryan would not be a daily figure in her life for more than 9 months. The time took us back to the start of our relationship and we relied on the fact that we have done it before, we can do it again. This time however, Ryan was only a 5 hour drive away, not half way across the world. For close to 10 months we carried on our life as best we could until we could reunite and build our next path forward. Lauren's new job brought us back home and it was a place we wanted to stay for a while. We bought our second home and the rest is unfolding beautifully before us. We are wrapped in the love of our families and raising our daughter in our hometown which adds a special touch.

We look forward to celebrating our wedding with everyone....it's been over 10 years, long distance, many miles, new beginnings, the addition of our daughter and a couple dogs, but here we are, together, right where we should be.

With Love,

Ryan, Lauren & Cambria