I first laid eyes on her in my first biology lab of freshman spring semester, and I knew I had to find a way to sit by her. We became great lab partners and even better friends over the next few years of college. School and work brought us to different cities across the country, but her face would enter my mind every now and again, and I'd wonder how she was doing. We crossed paths twice over the next 3 years, each time enjoying deep conversation over dinner or coffee. It was 2017, Hurricane Harvey had hit my hometown. It had been 2 years since I last was in contact with her before she reached out to me. She asked how my family and I were doing after the storm and if we were ok. She was worried about us. I didn't let her know at the time, but that had meant a lot to me. Another 2 years flew by, her working as a PA in Dallas and I as a resident in Houston, until her birthday was a couple of weeks away. I knew there was no way I couldn't wish her a happy birthday, she was still crossing my mind. I'm glad I did, because that sparked a conversation that would lead to our first date. :) That weekend of our first date was one of the best weekends of my life. She reminded me of everything I had loved about her from before, the way she made me laugh, her smile, and the way she looked at me with those big beautiful brown eyes. I didn't know it at the time that she would eventually become my fiancee. However, I kind of felt like I always knew, even back when I shoved that kid out of the way to sit next to her in bio lab.

Scott and I said "I love you" about 4 months after dating, while in College Station for an Aggie game-- the place where it all began. I knew he was "the one" early on, and we had talked here and there about our future, but I didn't know when he would propose. Friends and family kept asking, but I had no idea. I definitely didn't suspect Valentine's Day. He had planned a nice weekend trip to Fredericksburg for Valentine's Day and rented a beautiful cabin between Fredericksburg and Enchanted Rock, where we later went hiking. Since we were both traveling from different towns, we decided to meet in Georgetown on the way, so we could freshen up and travel in one car. After we arrived, I took my time getting ready, and Scott mentioned he wanted to stop at this place in Austin, called Mt. Bonnell, on the way. I had no idea what it was, and was all dressed up for dinner, but agreed to go. As we got to Mt. Bonnell, a beautiful lookout over the Colorado River, I noticed everyone was in hiking gear, as they made their way up a long set of stairs. I decided for comfort reasons to change into my Birkenstocks from my heels, and although Scott tried to persuade me to stay in my heels (boys, right?), I put my Birkenstocks on, which I would later regret. As we got up to the lookout, we stopped for a few seconds to admire the beautiful view but Scott quickly continued to lead me to different areas, and just a few moments later, I saw a guy with his back turned, wearing a hat and playing guitar all by himself. I then knew... this was it! The guitarist was playing songs that were special to us, and moments later, Scott got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife. Of course, being the romantic guy and planner that Scott is, he had also already arranged for a photographer to capture those special moments. After a quick photo session, we relived our first date in Austin, starting at Homeslice Pizza and ending in Fredericksburg. It was a weekend I will never forget.