Although we were fellow Jackrabbits, our paths didn't cross until a couple months after we both graduated, Christian was living in North Carolina, and I had begun my life in Minneapolis. It was at a friend's wedding that we met in July, 2018, and soon after that we went on our first date — a football game in Mankato. Barely even knowing each other, he picked me up (with flowers) and we headed on a two hour drive to watch the game. Less than a week later, we were heading on our second date to the state fair!

I should've seen it coming. It was a random Tuesday night (our favorite time for a date) and Christian had planned to come over so we could go for a walk around the lake near my apartment. We walked through the rose garden and bird sanctuary – two of my favorite places I'd been wanting to take Christian. When I asked if we could go get tacos, Christian started leading us deeper into the woods claiming that the trail would lead us back... We came to a bench completely secluded from the rest of the park and he handed me a journal (how he was hiding it is still a mystery). This journal had a numbered and detailed list of every date we'd ever been on *cue the tears*. The last date, #144, was for July 30, 2019. Christian had written "I'm going to ask Leslie to marry me tonight". He got down on one knee, of course I said yes!

We have a lot of adventures together, and plan to keep it that way for many years to come. Some of our favorite moments are spent traveling, visiting family, exploring new breweries, working on house projects (bye bye purple porch), and cooking meals together. We've had many laughs and we still continue to swing dance even though he has dropped me twice. Maybe we'll unveil some new moves on the dance floor...