Summer 2022: Aynslee's first summer at camp, Hunter's 3rd, and last, summer at camp (or so he thought ;)) Aynslee and Hunter served on the same leadership team for the Mentoring Alliance Summer Camps in Tyler. At the beginning of the summer, Hunter confessed feelings for Aynslee and asked if he could take her on a date when the summer ended. She obviously said yes, I mean, LOOK AT HIM. He's so charming!!!

I was so nervous and excited to go on a date with Hunter! We had waited all summer to go on this date, and it was finally some one-on-one time with Hunter that I had been really looking forward to. It was a Friday, after my last day of camp, and we had each rushed to our friend's houses to get ready for our date. I was still sweating when Hunter got to the door. He showed up with flowers and we began the night at Javis, one of our favorite Mexican restaurants in Tyler (he knew I love Mexican food). After our date, we went to the mini golf course. There were a LOT of awkward high fives and swinging golf balls out of bounds. The night ended with us watching a movie with our friends, feeling nervous but excited for what was next for our relationship!!!!

I proposed to Aynslee Barber on April 27th, 2024. There was about a month and a half of planning and it consisted of layers and layers of “fibs” to convince her to come visit Tyler. One of Aynslee’s best friends, Hope Haney, who is also a talented artist, convinced Aynslee that she was participating in an art exhibition in her hometown, conveniently 45 minutes away from Tyler. With all of her college friends in on this fake story, they all dressed up and headed to East Texas to “support Hope”. Dinner with me was simply a pitstop because I had “other plans” to attend an event at Pine Cove where I had done the Forge program the previous year. After the ladies dropped her off with me to have a quick dinner, I made sure we had some “spare time” to run by Pine Cove real quick to say hey to some old friends. When we arrived, I took her down to the dock where we used to spend time together when I lived there, and I asked her if she would marry me. We then went to our engagement party with all of our friends and family and concluded the evening!