Our story begins with the help of our good ol’ friend Tinder. For those who don’t know, tinder is a dating app for people in your area who you can “Swipe” right(yes) or left(no).

Tayton was traveling with work, while I (Rhiley) was working my way through nursing school. Tayton was passing through Grand Junction, Colorado on his way to California, and it just so happened we were on the app at the same time, and it matched us together! Tayton still gives me grief over “Ghosting” him for the first week after we matched, but hey, I came back. We continued to talk for just over a month before we decided to meet in person. Our first time meeting, we met at a park and had ice cream, but our first true date was days later when we decided to go to Cheyenne Frontier Days in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

After this, I went back to Grand Junction, Co and he stayed in Arvada, Co (4 hours away) and we continued a long distance relationship. Once I graduated with my LPN license, I had a 2 semester break before going back for my BSN, so we decided to move in together in Arvada.

Now our first place was a shack out on some land, where we were helping take care of some friends animals-goats, horses, and a friendly bull. When I say shack…I mean shack! This tiny property had JUST enough room for a queen bed and one dresser. It had a 2 burner stove top, a microwave and fridge that were all reachable while sitting in bed. This shack had no AC, and had a single propane heater in it. In the middle of winter of Colorado, we had to drop matches in it in efforts to get it lit. Living conditions were not ideal, but it was what we could afford at the time, and we got to enjoy the time together and make many fun memories-except the time I had to birth two baby goats by myself, or dodging bats at night lol!

Once it was time for me to go back to college and finish my degree, Tayton and I went back to a long distance relationship. This only lasted a short time due to Covid. When Covid struck, we thought it would be best that Tayton moved in with me in Grand Junction, Colorado. We lived together in Grand Junction until I finished my degree and got my Bachelor in Science of Nursing. At this time, Tayton had been offered a good job opportunity to build his business as a Farrier in Texas. Being a nurse, jobs are everywhere, so we took this as an opportunity for a new adventure!

In 2021 we moved to Texas. We have met so many amazing new people and both are loving our jobs. We just purchased our first home in 2024, and now have chickens! We can’t wait to see what the future holds for us.

R&T

Wedding Day