For about year, my little brother and his friend kept trying to set me up with her cousin. I didn't really think anything of it, until at the National dance competition I saw some random, cute guy helping out around my brother's team. His aunt quickly introduced us and left us to talk, and we talked for hours! He got my number from his aunt who got it from my mom, and asked me out the next week. We've been dating ever since ;)

Daeg came to my big concert and sat with my family. They had a good time getting to know each other and watching the show. Afterwards, while saying hi to everyone who came to watch me dance, my sweet mom wasn't really sure how to introduce Daegon to our family friends. She'd say, "This is Daegon!...he...served in the Philippines..." or, "he's studying molecular biology..." The next day, Daegon said he wanted to be introduced more clearly, so we became official!

The first time I met his family was at his graduation, but I really got to know them when we spent a weekend with them last spring. Gia (Daeg's mom) and I went to the store to run errands, and as I shut the car door, I didn't move my thumb in time and slammed it super hard. I was so surprised I didn't scream, so no one knew until a few hours later when it had started swelling and turned purple. The next morning, it was black and purple, blistering, and had tripled in size. We tried to relieve the pressure by poking a hole with a hot safety pin, but it didn't work (it hurt and I was too scared). So Daegon goes into the garage, gets a drill, holds my arm down and DRILLS a tiny little hole in my thumbnail! I was shaking so bad. I didn't cry but I let out a little scream when it popped, and I honestly thought I was going to lose my whole thumb. But it all worked out, I kept my hand, and they still tease me for not screaming because I was too embarrassed to say I jammed my own thumb in their car door.

At the beginning of the year, Daegon and his sister told me they were taking family pictures and made sure I cleared my schedule for February 25th so I could be there too. At that point, we already knew we would get married, but I still thought, "a girlfriend in family photos? Hmm..." After that, she talked about the color scheme, the location, meeting up before hand for lunch, staying at a hotel afterwards and told me to pack an overnight bag, etc. I got all dolled up for family photos, and I was super excited to see everyone. When we got there, his parents said the rest of the group was going to be late but we're on their way, so we would just start without them. They take a couple photos, then it's our turn. We walk down onto the lake, hit some poses, get some pics. Then the photographer prompts us to do a "hug attack" pose, where Daeg would run up behind me, wrap his arms around me, and I'd grab on for a cute shot. But he took literally forever to "hug attack" me. I kept turning around to ask him what was taking so long, and he kept telling me to turn around, "I'm coming, I'm coming!" After a minute, the photographer said we should try something else. She told me to turn around, and that's when I see Daegon on one knee, ring in hand, with the biggest smile I've ever seen on his face. I was so surprised! I really didn't think he would ask me that day, and especially not at family photos. Turns out, his sister and her family weren't even in town. It was all a set up. And they set me up good. We both cried a little as he asked me to marry him, and as I said yes!