The story of how they met, begins in Idaho. Andrew and Vanessa met as kids through their home-school group, during their younger years. While they didn't exactly run in the same friend groups often, they still occasionally shared the same classes. At Co-op every Monday afternoon they would play with their friends, during recess after lunch. In their early high school years, the couple became each other’s “high school crush”. It was obvious to almost all of their friends, except the couple themselves. Well at least to Andrew anyways. Vanessa always knew Andrew had a crush on her, and she knew she had a crush on him too. However Vanessa never really lead on to it. “I always liked her from the moment I met her. Although I was oblivious to the fact that she had a crush on me, the whole time. At Co-op, I would occasionally tease Vanessa by surprising her in the halls. I would run by her on the way to our classes, and give her a little jump-scare. I would find her reactions adorable. Call it a crazy boy crush, if you will. In dance class I always tried to pick her as a dance partner, because she was cute and a good dancer. I realized that Vanessa had a crush on me, when everyone started to point out that she would glance at me from across the room. I tried to catch her quick little glances, but she was good at being subtle. It wasn’t until after she moved, I realized how much I liked her. Having her around the made everything so much better, and I missed her a lot.” -Andrew Before Vanessa and her family left their Homeschool Co-op, Andrew admitted to Vanessa that he had a crush on her and was going to miss her and her family. It was sweet memory shared, but it was not their time, as of yet. In December of 2016 Vanessa and her family officially moved out of State. In result, Andrew and Vanessa lost touch for a while, and the flame kind of died away. In April of 2023, they reconnected with the intent to remain friends, and nothing more. They started out by getting to know each other, and they got along pretty well. In May 2023, Vanessa visited Idaho for a wedding and she tried reconnecting with some old friends again. During a group hike at Jump Creek, let’s just say the flame rekindled again. “I remember it just like it was yesterday. I went on a hike to Jump Creek with Andrew, my friend Sarah, and a few of Andrew’s siblings. We made it to the waterfall, and we wanted to have a picnic by the water. After we had eaten, some of us waded into the water. Andrew and I chatted about old homeschool memories, as we waded in, and it felt like old times again. As we chatted, I happened to step on a loose stone and started to lose my balance. Andrew, almost instinctively extended his arm to me, to try and help. I was hesitant at first, but when I almost face planted into the nearby boulder I quickly reached back for him and he caught me. It honestly felt like something out of Hallmark Movie. It was in that moment that the flame rekindled for me. I knew in that moment, that he was the one that was meant for me.” -Vanessa In October 2023 they officially started dating. Andrew flew over to the Twin Cities and formally asked Vanessa’s father for permission to date, and to ask Vanessa officially to be his girlfriend. Over the next few months they started to really get to know each other, to see if they were compatible partners. Fast forward a year later, Andrew proposed to Vanessa on a beautiful fall morning on Lake Superior, October 5th 2024. They are now counting down the days until their wedding.