We had no idea sitting together in a math class would be the start of our story, but it does explain why Merilea can't solve equations. After meeting at Umpqua Community College, wasting some time "studying," and laughing a ton, a lasting friendship was made. Over the years, life kept bringing us together, from unannounced Christmas caroling in Mer's living room to crazy OSU Halloween parties. It finally took a Memorial Day weekend camping trip for us to recognize that there was a spark between us. Cody stayed an extra night at Rock Creek, and we spent the evening one-on-one playing cards, sipping whiskey, and talking about our families by the fire. He used the opportunity to "forget" camping gear so Mer had to hand deliver it to Portland, making way for our first date and many more special adventures together. Over that summer, I believe we fell in love. When Mer had to move away for OT school, Cody decided to seal the deal, flying from Alaska to Oakland, California to ask Mer to be his official lady. The long distance journey was challenging, often all we had were the occasional weekends together, Skype dates, and late night phone calls. We kept our hopes focused on the future, soaking in times we shared, and realizing every day that we had something special growing. Three years and three states later, we had been through good times and bad, learned a lot about each other, and supported one another. After all these years, we were back at Rock Creek, close with family and friends, to start the second chapter of our story together, engaged to be husband and wife. Communication, patience, laughter, faith, hard work, and a puppy brought us this far, and we can't wait for the rest of this beautiful life together to begin.