I finished my training and started drilling with my first unit in Antigo, WI in 2016. This is where Cody and I first met, but we didn't really talk to each other. Our first actual conversation was a whole year later at the unit Christmas party. Then Cody volunteered and was selected for a deployment that following month, which transferred him to another unit. I didn't think I would see him anymore since we weren't going to be drilling together anymore, but I gave him my snapchat and said goodbye. In March, I went to see my friend from basic training in La Crosse and spent spring break with her. Cody reached out and asked me out on a date. Our first date was at a little Mexican restaurant in La Crosse, which if you knew me at the time, you would think that's funny because I did not eat Mexican then. We talked and talked and talked. When he dropped me back off at Krysten's, I wasn't sure what to think or if he'd even want to see me again. But, he did want to see me again. He asked me to be his girlfriend on April 18th, 2018. That summer, he left for his deployment and I wasn't sure if we would make it long distance. I was worried, but I also knew I already loved him. We video chatted almost every week and before I knew it, it was May 2019 and he had finally returned to Wisconsin. We had made it through the deployment. In September, we got our first pet together, a cat named Jasper, after Cody moved into his new house. I slowly started moving into his house until all of my things were there. We did some traveling like a road trip to Washington D.C. and New York and then later a flight to New Orleans (which was shortened by a pandemic). Then COVID-19 hit in March 2020 and we went through that together too. In July, we got our first dog, Lily. Fast forward another year and we got our second dog together, Seeley. In March of 2022, Cody and I took a short trip to Florida for Disney World and NASA. Much to my surprise, Cody proposed in front of the Magic Kingdom castle. We had been trying to start a family since December with no luck and now that we were engaged and going to be planning a wedding, we decided we would stop trying until after the wedding. Apparently someone didn't get the memo because in May, we found out that we were pregnant. Although no cat could replace Jasper, we also got another kitten in June named Thumper to complete our family. It was a hard pregnancy, but we were so lucky that Mason came into this world perfectly fine and healthy on January 11th, 2023. Cody and I will have been together for five years in April of 2023. We just have one last thing left to do and that is tie the knot!