Part of growing up in a small town and attending a small school is knowing who everyone is. Some you talk to everyday, and others you may only pass by in the halls. Bethany’s first memory of Riley dates to the third grade when she threw a pencil across the classroom and it hit him in the ear (yikes). Riley’s first memory of Bethany was watching her play softball at the Minden ballfield- where he spent most of his summers growing up. Once high school came around, they both tried entertaining the idea of a relationship multiple times but when one was interested, the timing was not right with the other. After graduation, Riley attended Buena Vista University to play baseball and Bethany began making plans to join her older sister in Denver. After injuries halted his baseball career and having little interest in more education, Riley moved back home and swept his future wife up before she could leave town. They ate Jimmy Johns for their first “date” and began hanging out every chance they could until they moved to Lincoln together and got their son, Loaf, an English Bulldog who is the glue that holds them together. After six years together and trips to Puerto Rico, Texas, California, and many to Colorado- Riley proposed to Bethany at Red Rocks. He and Bethany’s sister, Rachel, planned to get her to dress up to go to a place where you would normally be in hiking clothes. They set up a “practice photoshoot” with a friend who is a photographer, stating that she needed to go up there and test the lighting and specific angles, that way they could capture the special moment on camera. Riley took the extra step and faked a trip to New York City over the next Christmas so Bethany would expect the proposal would happen there instead of Red Rocks (because she is WAY too good at figuring things out). Bethany and Riley plan to tie the knot in Omaha this October to begin their life together filled with traveling, many more fur babies and whatever else comes their way!