The Whiteners

The summer of 2017, Katelyn decided to become a full time camp counselor at the YMCA, while Robert only worked part time in between his summer internship and teaching tennis. Training started at the end of May, and that is when Robert will tell you he first met/saw Katelyn...Katelyn openly admits to not remembering this life changing moment at all! Katelyn was placed with the Kindercampers and Robert helped during swim time and after care. The first time Katelyn remembers meeting Robert, he was in the pool, throwing her favorite kindercamper up in the air. Another counselor called Katelyn over the walkie talkie and told her to ask some boy named Robert when his sister was coming back to camp to be a counselor in training. She turned to the pool and found the only adult and assumed that was the mysterious Robert. From then on, this Robert kid managed to appear everywhere all the time. Robert invited Katelyn to a counselor waterslide at his house, to which she only went because her best friend Jenn went, and Katelyn denied her feelings to herself the entire day because this was her "being an independent woman summer." At the end of the summer, there was no denial and Katelyn admitted her crush via text to another counselor friend while Robert sat across from them at the staff party and the friend screamed...making it so obvious. Robert and Katelyn Facebook messaged all the time, went on an "unofficial" date to McAlister's until they closed and got kicked out. Katelyn dragged Robert over to meet her dogs and the ENTIRE family was home. When Robert left, Katelyn's dad said "He's a keeper!" They went on an "official first date" to the drive in movies the night before Katelyn moved in to school for her sophomore year of college. Then two days later, the night before Robert left for school 5 hours away, he asked Katelyn to be his girlfriend. And after 4 years of long distance, many long drives/plane & train rides, hours on FaceTime, countdowns till Robert came home to visit, Robert came home for good....or so they thought. He got a job at Amazon post graduation and traveled for another year, adding one more year to the distance. January 2022, Robert got a job offer at Boeing and the distance was finally over! May 21st, 2022, Robert got down on one knee and asked Katelyn to continue going on adventures with him and spend the rest of her life with him, and of course she said yes!