Well, we got married. I always told Derrick, "You better be ready to marry me the moment you propose." I don't think he believed me, but he didn't hesitate when I casually mentioned tying the knot less than a month later. We both love our families and friends, which made us feel conflicted when we spoke of elopement. If you are reading this as someone within our inner circle, we truly missed you and you were in our thoughts during our day. We love you and we promise there will be a party.

Anyway, back to us. I think most people know that Derrick and I met through the military. Not some “meet cute” or love at first sight, just work. Don't get me wrong, I thought he was smokin' hot from the moment I saw him, but things began slowly. We started out as friends who enjoyed working out, eating post dinner cereal and playing volleyball. The next thing we knew, our schedules were filled with events that we attended together. Wednesday evenings had to be the favorite with spin class followed by wing night and the greatest grilled cheese sandwiches you could never even imagine. We developed inside jokes, brought each other essentials when we got sick and became best friends. I didn't know I loved Derrick until I had to leave him.

Our journey was not an easy one. We spent a lot of time apart with long periods of uncertainty as to when we would be able to start our lives together. It's amazing our phones survived the amount of video time spent on them. We had created an idea of what we wanted our future to look like as we talked and called it "Alternate Universe." If you are wondering what this secret life was that only Derrick and I discussed, well… we are living it!

We live in the mountains of Colorado with our two dogs, Melly and Veggie (veggie was not the name we had imagined for our second dog, but that's what we got). We purchased our project of a house that will eventually become our dream home. I have gotten to know Derrick's two amazing children Kylie and Easton, and we spend as much time with them as we can when they visit from Idaho. Derrick retired from the military after 22 years and I got my dream job. Derrick and I found out we were pregnant with a beautiful baby girl in November of 2023 and have been anxiously anticipating her arrival ever since. Our plan had fallen together perfectly.

Derrick proposed on May 11th 2024 while standing in our freshly built kitchen addition. So fresh that it was

missing walls. I think part of his proposal was “well, this is our life.” I couldn’t have agreed more. We said our vows in our backyard on June 9th with Kylie and Easton at our sides. We dodged rain drops as we exchanged rings and “paw stamped” our marriage license. Can you believe your dogs can witness your marriage in Colorado? Seems about right. It was perfect and we can’t wait to celebrate with our family, friends and baby girl soon.