We met in the summer of 2017 while working at the Texas A&M fundraising call center. We spent the summer as coworkers, initially spending time together outside of work with mutual friends before developing a friendship of our own. As the summer went on we began to spend more time together and our flirting became more obvious. All of our friends at the call center were convinced that we liked each other. Each of us could’ve sworn the other had a crush, but we couldn’t see our own feelings yet. The week before the fall semester started we were hanging out almost daily, which started fittingly with a playdate between our dogs, Heidi and Raven. Things started to heat up with a trip to the Halloween store where we were trying on masks, playing with costume props, and making each other laugh more than we ever had. The day ended with a home-cooked meal and an audacious kiss initiated by Sam. Sparks flew, and after a few formal dates our momentum kept building, so we decided to make it official. The rest is history!

While visiting Sam’s parents, we decided to take one day to visit the Denver Botanic Gardens. The day started off with breakfast at Madison’s favorite cafe in Evergreen - Muddy Buck. After enjoying breakfast and taking in the beauty of downtown Evergreen, we decided to make our way down into Denver to the Botanic Garden, with the goal to get there right as they opened so it wouldn’t be busy. On the drive down, Madison noticed Sam was acting strange and was fidgeting a lot, which she promptly called him out on. Sam nervously responded, “I am, aren’t I?”, which made Madison laugh, and of course, also a little curious. Once at the Botanic Garden, Sam suggested they start at the back and work their way to the front. Madison agreed, and we both made our way to back, beginning the day in the Japanese Zen Garden. After walking around for a little bit, we approached a bridge where there were the cutest ducklings swimming around. While Madison was watching them, Sam got down on one knee and proposed. Of course, Madison said yes immediately. Afterward, they spent their morning exploring the rest of the Botanic Garden and taking in the beauty of that day.