~How We Met~

We first met Christmas shopping in Snellville at Kohls in 2015. Randy was with his dad buying gifts for his mom and sister. Randy asked what I thought of the sweaters and we chatted for awhile. Randy asked if I wanted to walk around the store. The rest was history... We exchanged numbers and talked for awhile before we started dating. Our first dinner date was at PURE Taqueria and our first event date was a Hawks game! We quickly found out we both LOVE the Braves and LOVE to travel so we decided to let the adventures begin!

~First Vacation~

Randy took us on one of his Europe backpacking adventures. I had to go buy a back pack and figure out how to pack 2 weeks worth of clothes in one bag... I thought he was nuts, but I actually enjoyed having everything on my back and not struggling with a big suitcase. I wasn't so keen on staying in Hostels, but some of them were pretty fun! We did have to switch to a hotel in Brussels! We visited Paris, France; Brussels, Bruges, Antwerp and Gent, in Belgium; Geneva, Interlaken, and Lucerne, Switzerland; and Rome, Vatican City, Venice, Italy. I saw the Eiffel Tower twinkle for the first time at night, loved the romance in Bruges and had our own spot on the river by the most beautiful tree drinking cherry beer, went paragliding in Interlaken (between the lakes), Randy jumped into Lake Geneva, saw all the sites in Rome, took a gondola ride by the Rialto Bridge, and ate lots of great Italian food and drank delicious red wine. We got to see a Regala in Venice while we ate next to the canal, celebrated our 7 months on an outdoor patio with Notre Dame in our view followed by a night time walk by the Louvre. We also had one epic night at the Hard Rock in Rome!

~Other vacations~

Savannah, Chicago, Asheville, Charleston, Destin, Biloxi, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, Chattanooga, Nashville, San Diego(coming up).

~Major Life Events~

We got our sweet Hank, we bought a house, I graduated from PT school, started a job, I went on two medical mission trips to Dominican Republic and Uganda, Randy went to Boston and went on a lighthouse tour in Maine and toured Acadia National Park, completed many projects around the new home, and Randy's success at his job!

~The Proposal~

For our proposal, we think it was pretty much a fairy tale!! It all started back home when the cruise excursion for Santorini was booked the week before the cruise, so Randy and I found a private tour online. We met our guide Dimitrios at the top of the capital, Fira, where the cable car dropped us off. He is a local and instructed us to stand on roofs for great picture opportunities. He gave us fresh figs from a garden! We drove to Oia (pronounced E-ia) to see the famous blue-domed churches. There was a rope along the path that says do not enter because the property around the churches is private. As the rule follower I am, I was nervous about going into the restricted area and afraid we were going to get in trouble! I gave the guide my camera to take some pictures of the three of us right in front of the blue domes. Mom continues down the stairs to get some more pictures... The guide asked if Randy and I were a couple. We say yes and pose for a picture. Randy asked the guide for one more picture and I start to see Randy pull something out of his pocket. He looked incredibly nervous and was shaking. Randy opens the box and gets down on one knee!! I was getting so emotional, that mom started to think I was getting sick and tried to rush back up the stairs. Randy "popped" the question and I said YES and we were caught up in the moment for a few minutes! Mom tried to get pictures and a video. Randy did not tell Mom or the guide about his plan ahead of time. We are so thankful the guide had the camera and was able to get some great shots of the actual proposal. Afterwards we walked through more of the restricted area of Oia and took pictures on more roofs. Following all the excitement, the guide brought us to a little cafe where we shared some wine and took in all the emotions and beautiful views of the caldera. Then the guide took us to a private winery and we did a tasting. Mom bought us a bottle of sweet red wine to take home to celebrate the special occasion. July 25, 2018 will always be remembered!

~2nd Europe Trip~

Randy met Mom and I in Venice the day before we left on the cruise. We took a gondola ride the morning of the cruise then had to get a quick taxi to the ship. We loved our balcony room and waking up to the sea every morning. We enjoyed all the great food, shows, games, pool time, and drinks at the rooftop bar making new friends. We stopped in Kotor, Montenegro; Corfu, Santorini, and Mykonos in Greece; and Dubrovnik, Croatia. It was another trip of a life time! So many historic old towns, saw the windmills in Mykonos, and climbed the famous stairs in Game of Thrones. After the cruise, Mom followed us to Salzburg and we went on an awesome Sound of Music Tour! After she departed, we continued the trip and went to Vienna and Hallstatt, Austria; Bratislavia, Slovakia; and Budapest, Hungary. We enjoyed all of the gardens in Vienna, rented a boat in Hallstatt, explored a winery in Vienna and the Augustiner Biergarten in Salzburg (Thanks Brian L. for the recommendation!), went to a Rick Steve's recommended bakery in Bratislava with the most decadent hot chocolate ever, and our many walks across the bridge and up to Fisherman's Bastion for the best pictures of Budapest and the Hungarian Parliament Building. Our Airbnb overlooked the river and Buda Castle!

And the story continues...