Ashlynn and I met long before we ever started dating. Our families have lived across the street from each other for about 9 years! We first met when my dad found a snake in our yard and called our new neighbors, the Sorrells, over to come check it out. I didn’t know it at the time, but that day was the day I met my future wife. Fast forward four or five years to my senior year of high school. My best friend Patrick had some big news for me, “ Hey man, you’ll never believe this” he said, “ I was talking to Lexi (Ashlynn's best friend) and she said that Ashlynn Sorrells has a crush on you. Do you want her number?” I couldn’t believe that SHE even noticed me! I had never really even talked to her before! So I happily accepted and got her number. After texting for a few days and awkwardly waving to her as we passed in the hallways, I eventually asked her to go on our first date. We went to eat at Mama Baris, then tortilla tossing at the suspension bridge. The rest is history.

I’ve known for a while that Ashlynn was the girl I wanted to marry and spend the rest of my life with. Now that I have the perfect girl, I wanted to create the perfect proposal. I had racked my brain for months. I asked some friends, and of course, googled it. But even after all my research, I had absolutely nothing to show for it. I had no idea what I was going to do! Eventually, I came up with the idea of taking it back to our first date and going tortilla tossing off the suspension bridge. I told her to get dressed in something nice and I’d pick her up in a couple hours for a “surprise” date. I had done this same "surprise date" thing several times in the past, specifically to throw her off when it really was time. As soon as we pulled into the grocery store parking lot, she knew we were going tortilla tossing. She thought she had it all figured out! When we got there, I was a nervous wreck. I’m not sure how she didn’t notice! I walked back and forth across the bridge, waiting for the perfect opportunity that felt like if would never come. After what felt like an eternity, I gathered up the courage and got down on one knee to ask her to marry me. She said yes!