We met in Mrs. Matroni's third grade class in 2001. The relationship at that point consisted of Alison picking Alex to go next for show and tell, and one short game of tag on a field trip to Charlotte beach. Things didn't become official until 5th grade, when it became cool to have a boyfriend or girlfriend. Dating in 5th grade meant strictly communicating via AOL Instant Messenger, and then furiously blushing and avoiding eye contact when you'd see each other at school. Actual "boyfriend and girlfriend" dating didn't start until 2008, the summer between 10th and 11th grade.

Celebrating our anniversary on July 2, 2017, we took a weekend trip to East Aurora, NY. The trip started off strong, with Alex admitting that he had been planning to propose this weekend, but with the car needing a ton of work recently, he couldn't buy the ring in time. It didn't spoil the trip, and the day was spent drifting from a cafe here to nickel and dime shop there, eventually coming upon a cool antique shop, where we found a beautiful ring with a sparkling blue-green gem. We decided it was the right ring, so we bought it. Then, Alex stuffed the ring in his pocket. "I don't get to wear it?" "No. I'm going to give it to you at the right place and time. Now forget about it!" 3 beers later, it was almost forgotten. Afterwards we headed over to Knox Farm State Park and casually meandered from one hill to another, trying to find the "right place". It ended up being next to a sunny frog pond.