We met at Foothill Elementary School, in Corona, California. We were both students and occasionally shared classrooms over the years. We did not speak much to each other, but took notice of each other. Once in middle school at Citrus Hills Intermediate, we became close friends. We would often chat on Facebook, text, and Skype video chat until 3 in the morning!! On December 12, 2012 we began our relationship while sitting next to the fountain at a popular outdoor shopping center.

Ryley came to visit Alexis in Texas in August of 2018. It was a very hot and humid Summer day with thunderstorms in the forecast. They spent the day together driving around the North Texas area, stopping at the Modern Art Museum and the Fort Worth Botanic Garden. After enjoying the artwork and most of the gardens, they stopped at the Japanese Zen Garden. There, Ryley got down on one knee and asked Alexis to be his with a beautiful opal ring. Opal is their birthstone, so this was extra special!

I remember the first time that I really noticed Ryley, he was playing on the playground field with his friend at Foothill Elementary School during recess. I was with my friends, walking around the same general area. He looked like he was having such a good time acting out his own Star Wars storyline!! I wanted to play, too, but my friends thought it was silly so we walked past him to the back of the playground. I remember thinking to myself that I felt oddly drawn to him. We had never spoken before. I’m so glad that later on down the road, we would talk all the time and become such close friends!