Well it took alot longer than some people expected but I did finally get up the courage to ask Victoria out. When I eventually did it, it didn’t take very much thinking something just kinda clicked and I asked and thankfully she said yes.

We went to build a bear on our first date and built a velociraptor and trex. Then our second (technically) date her stomach was hurting and cramping and so i convinced her to “get in da car” and we went to Steak ‘n Shake. She thought that was all but then i took her to this park west of huntsville in the mountains and we looked at the stars while we had our shakes.

Fast forward about a year and a half and she had been dropping ring hints and things of that nature for a little so I thought yeah im ready and went ahead and made a group chat with her friends called the “ring 🧸ers” and we got to workin. They helped me pick one that we thought shed like and i got it made and planned it.

Fortunately we had already planned to go to Gatlinburg with my friend George and his family and so it was a perfectly hidden surprise to the trip. The last day we were up there was the day of the national championship so we walked around downtown with his family and then they went to the cabin to watch the game and we went up to anakesta to “look around”. While we were up there we were looking in a little store and there was a jewelry area and she was looking at the little rings and goes “no, no, no, see these are nines, I wear a ten, gotta remember that”. Little did she know the ring was literally in my pocket the entire day. So maybe 20 minutes later we got the back of the area and theres this I think four story lookout post and i told her we should go take pictures up there and so we climbed it, took a few photos and then wha bam, done deal.

Most of you know how we met through our youth service organizations of the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls and DeMolay International. It wasn't until my Senior year of high school though that I had the thought "He will be mine" ...and I was right.

But it took a while for him to realize the same thing. We remained friends during my senior year while he attended college in the area. I went away to college myself the next year but it was only a hour and 38 minutes drive from my dorm. (I knew that number by heart).

After a year, I eventually got tired of making this drive to see a "friend" so I told him that I wanted more. After some intense negotiations and heart to heart conversations we decided to see where dating would take us. We jumped in head first and haven't looked back since.

Since then we have traveled, laughed, cried and grown together. We have adopted 2 children together. Hugo and Flynn are two adorable pit bulls littermates who have stolen our hearts and infuriate us at the same time.

I have always know Kyle was "the one" and would not so subtly hint at a forever together. From tying paper straw wrappers around his finger at restaurants to telling him that his sons (our dogs) should have his last name too. I can't wait to begin our forever!