Jared and I met in July of 2021 when I decided to move halfway across the country from Orlando, FL to the tiny town of Bertram, TX. I had dropped out of college, the pandemic had just finally died downed, I was struggling financially, and just needed a fresh start. My dad kindly lent a helping hand by offering up his spare camper to me, in my exhausted attempts to find affordable housing. I packed up my things and drove 22 hours to Texas just 2 weeks later, leaving my old life behind to start a brand new one. Being new to a small town I knew it would be challenging to make friends and that there would not be a whole lot to do in the area. I had an anxious feeling my new life would be extremely isolating and possibly lonely. My dad, almost immediately upon my arrival, did his best to inform me of places to visit, hike, kayak and even socialize. My dad being my dad, of course gave me the low down on all the neighbors, specifically mentioning that Jared was possibly close in age if I was looking to try and make any friends. I remember him saying “he’s a little quiet, but he’s a good guy”…or something to that extent. A few weeks into settling in, I had stopped to pick up dinner while heading home from my new job, and as I am exiting my truck, this rambunctious Australian Shepard comes running my way with his butt wiggling in excitement. He helped himself to a giant sniff of my to-go bag and wouldn’t leave my side. He followed me all the way to my door step and just plopped down without a single sign of leaving. I decided to walk next door to my dad’s camper to ask if he knew who the dog belonged to (he's nosey like that). When I asked whose dog it was, he replied “Oh that’s Cooper, Jared’s dog! Last lot down at the end”. I decided if Cooper wasn’t going to go home on his own, I’d kindly take him home myself. I knocked on Jared’s door with Cooper at my side, and introduced myself as “Rachel, Mike’s daughter” when he opened the door. Jared stepped out, put Cooper up inside, and stuck around to talk to me for a while. He later brought Cooper out and we played frisbee with him while we casually got to know one another. From then on we would bump into one another outside and talk a little here and there and hangout for a little in the evenings playing frisbee with Cooper. I had come to find out that Jared was somewhat of a solitary nomad which can also be somewhat isolating and lonely. We found companionship in each other during a time in our lives where we were both starting off fresh after the wake of the pandemic. Our conversations and evening hangouts started to reveal that we also had a lot of interests in common. Hiking, kayaking, camping, and just our overall preference of spending our free time outdoors. Our conversations eventually turned into consistent weekend plans to go hiking and kayaking. Weeknights consisted of cooking meals together outside on the grill or over a fire and playing frisbee with Cooper. We maintained a totally platonic friendship up until we realized we were entirely inseparable in February of 2022. It was just a week before Valentines Day when we both decided there was more than just a friendship to be had amongst us. We then fell hard and fast like a cliche rom-com movie. All the feelings we had developed for one another over several months of friendship just instantly began to rage out of us like a wild fire. With the intensity we had for one another, it was hardly a surprise when all of sudden we were unexpectedly...expecting. We couldn't have been more excited or more committed to that next chapter of our lives and knew it was just the beginning to building forever with one another. After 3 years of figuring out the hardest and most challenging chapter of our lives as parents, navigating the highs and lows, and never falling to be united and lock-step with another through it all, it's safe to say we couldn't be more excited to be tying the knot!