Our story actually began about 15+ years ago. Aaron and his family had just moved from the tropical paradise Oahu, Hawaii to the mainland desert of Phoenix, Arizona (but not just Phoenix rather Ahwatukee, the suburb near South Mountain where our family had lived since the 90s). There was a pre-teen hangout spot in our town called GameOn where kids could hit the batting cages, play dodgeball & arcade games, and simply hangout. It was the summer before 7th grade for both of us and we were trying to beat the heat inside at GameOn. It wasn't a busy day and there was no one in building besides a few workers, Aaron & his friend, and me & my friend. Naturally, being the only 12 year old's in the place, we struck up a conversation in the booths of the snack bar area. I was a pubescent, goody-toe shoes and Aaron was the very attractive & confident "bad boy" so unfortunately for me the conversation did not last long. (Aaron actually has no recollection of this meeting.) We went to different middle school and rival high schools (Desert Vista vs Mountain Pointe) but the whole time I remembered the cute kid from GameOn.

Flash forward to college, and we both ended up at the University of Arizona in Tucson, AZ in the same general education class Freshman year. Now I only attended about 3 classes of this weekly semester long class but according to Aaron, he noticed me in those few classes I attended. He says that he thought to himself "if I only knew her name, I will be happy". Well luckily for him, sophomore year we met through mutual friends but the exchange was very short and casual. It was not until the beginning of Junior year when my roommate Morgan Day was in a honorary club, Chimes, with Aaron that our paths crossed again. After being reintroduced we developed a strong friendship. He came over to our house almost on a daily basis once we realized we lived only a few blocks from each other. These evenings would turn into long nights of us talking about everything under the sun. I kept him in the friend zone for a few months because I knew that if I allowed this man into my heart it would be game over. This was the time we also discovered we both knew who the other was. It wasn't long before we could not deny our inclination towards each other and by December of Junior year we had become boyfriend & girlfriend.

Seven years from that day this past December, we have gone through a lot: both graduating college, 2 years of long distance (Dallas <> Phoenix), Aaron having to pass multiple certifications for his Finance career, Aaron moving to Dallas a month before COVID, me losing my job during COVID and being jobless for over a year, me changing careers, multiple losses and experiences of grief, and a lot of happiness and laughs. While it has not been perfect, I can honestly say we are each other best friends. Life will always be challenging, unpredictable, and beautiful; and we are lucky that we get to do the rest of it with each other. We are so excited that we get to celebrate our love with all our friends & family, some who have seen it from the very beginning! See you in March!

With love,

Libby