While this picture isn't actually from July 5, 2020, it's the perfect picture to explain how our relationship began. Not many of you know the full story of how we came to be [and for my friends that do, I (Jordyn) am very thankful for your patience with me when I was head over heels for Owen and he didn't have a clue.] So let me explain. Owen and I started talking during the summer between freshman and sophomore year of high school, and when I say talking, I mean snapchatting with little to no words exchanged. Something about him had me intrigued, and I started crushing on him, HARD. For the next 3 years, I liked him and couldn't build up the nerve to say anything. Finally, in March of 2020 on our spring break, I got Owen to go to a movie with me. Three days later, the world shut down and our senior year was stolen from us. No more track season for Owen, no more senior prom (He was actually going to ask me!), and no more graduation. To cope with this heartbreak, I had bonfires with friends at my house 2 or 3 times a week. Of course I had to invite Owen, and this is where our relationship started to shift into something more. On July 5th, 2020 he asked me to be his girlfriend, and that was the best day of my life, that is, until he proposed.

Here we are celebrating at my grad party shortly after we started dating. He stayed the whole time. He also came early to help set up, and stayed after to take everything down...my family was starting to like him already! ;)

This photo is from Owen's first birthday after we started dating. Funny enough, he shares a birthday with my dad. (My dad likes to joke that they look the same age, too). Pictured here is Kulshan. He is one of many very special huskies where Owen has helped to take care of the pups for years. We ended up spending a good amount of time with them over the years, and their home became the site of our engagement years later (shoutout to Bonnie and Dave for having a cute little cabin on the lake, and some huskies that have stolen our hearts).

This is one of the first big adventures we took together...but definitely not our last. We took a trip to Arizona with my brother Cody, and sister-in-law Bridget! (Pictured is our stop at the Grand Canyon)

A couple of days later, we went to hike Camelback Mountain. Another BIG adventure together. This hike was crazy. If you ever get the chance to hike this mountain, we highly recommend it but be prepared, it definitely can be a challenge.

This photo marks one whole year together. So thankful.

Christmas 2021, we spent Christmas in South Dakota with my family. I will forever be grateful that Owen joined us this year for Christmas, as it was the last Christmas we had with my Grandpa Benny. What a special time.

The following summer, we took a trip with Owen's family up to Cayuna, MN. This was a beautiful trip where we went mountain biking and kayaking and enjoyed a couple of nights out by the fire. This is also when we decided to start kayaking more, and it has become sort of a tradition. (By the way, we hauled that giant tree around with us for most of the time on the water.)

A couple days later when we got home, we went for ice cream with our foster puppy. There is nothing particularly special about this photo, but we love Junior so much that he had to be a part of our story. Now Junior is all grown up and is training to be a service dog. However, if he doesn't make the cut, I am sure we will scoop him up in a heartbeat.

This photo marks two whole years together. Owen treated me to Capital Grille and MAN was that some great food. (Also, their bread basket was delish :))

Big jump in time, but we had to include this one in here. Owen got me to do a 5k?? This is crazy. But, we got glow sticks and bright glasses, and there was a concert afterward! What a great compromise.

Another kayak excursion! We went on a short trip to Madison and had to squeeze in some kayaking. We have continued to grow more fond of this activity and try to find a spot to kayak in every new place we visit!

This marks 3 years! To celebrate, we went to a Twins game after making homemade pizza. We were a bit more relaxed than in previous years, and we wouldn't change a thing.

In July of 2023, we went to Oregon to visit my brother and sister-in-law. This photo is from a vineyard that we had deemed our favorite before visiting, and it definitely did not disappoint. We visited again this summer...still a favorite spot.

Another stop on the Oregon trip was a super cool hike that brought us to 8 different waterfalls, crazy cool! Afterwards, we stopped at a food truck pavillion and got birria tacos (yum!). [Thanks, Nate and Kris, for being such great hosts!]

Fast forward another handful of months to Easter 2024. This was a huge moment in Owen's life and our relationship. We had just spent the past six months in RCIA classes as Owen prepared to join the Catholic Church. We managed to get a photo of the moment Owen was confirmed by Fr. Park, who will also be the celebrant at our wedding.

And that brings us to the proposal, the new greatest day of my life! (That is, until the wedding!) As I mentioned earlier, Owen proposed at a little cabin that is where we have spent a good amount of time. This cabin is where Owen stays when he is watching the huskies, and I go to visit him and the pups often. We had just gotten done feeding and kenneling the dogs for the night, and we went back down to the cabin. Next thing I knew, when I turned around, there he was getting down on one knee and asking me to marry him. We didn't get any photos of the proposal, as it was just us, but Bridget was kind enough to snap a few photos the following weekend so I could share the great news! And now, time to plan a wedding!!