Our love story begins with a Monday night 5:00 p.m. swing dance lesson! We were both in the same class and it was our turn to practice a dance move together that we were learning in the class that night. Both of us enjoyed running, and that night Nay was wearing a 5K Race shirt and that’s what engaged a conversation that developed into much more! We found that we had many things in common including running, music, exploring foods, hiking, trying out new activities, restaurants, and much more! We continued to dance together and enjoyed just being with one another. One thing led to another, and we had our first kiss on New Year’s Eve 2016-2017 at a New Year’s Eve Dance at Sons of Hermann Hall in Deep Ellum. It was very exciting then and now it is even more exciting because it has turned into a lifetime together. Our first dates consisted of long-distance runs together of 15-20 miles and then going out to eat brunch at awesome places with delicious mimosas! We encouraged and supported each other while training to run 5ks, Half-Marathons, and Marathons together. We experienced many music concerts, trips, restaurants, and activities including glass blowing, plays, ballets, comedy shows, and much more together. By the time COVID-19 hit the U.S. in 2020, we were living together. We had been thinking about getting a dog at that point and the pandemic happening is what made the ultimate decision to adopt a pup. On June 28th, 2020 we adopted one of the biggest joys of our lives, our little chihuahua pup, Diesel “Dees.” This little fur-baby just made everything make sense and made our little home feel whole, ya know except for the not being married and having kids yet… =) While Val continued school to earn her Paralegal Degree and Nay decided to go back to school at UT to earn his MBA, we both supported one another through the sweating, tears, and hard work to accomplish the degrees we were both working towards. Our relationship continued to grow more and more and Nay had planned to “pop the question” on multiple occasions, but other life events happened and the timing never felt right…until Christmas Day of 2022, finally, the timing was perfect!