It was five years ago our paths crossed at the annual New Braunfels Crawfish festival. Impressed by Garrett sporting a Hawaiian shirt and mountain-man beard, I introduced myself. Not knowing our paths had actually crossed several times before this, I embarrassingly apologized to him for my now (third) introduction... I was definitely remembering him this time! Not long after we’d met, we found ourselves on a flight to Clearwater, FL for a surprise skydiving trip. (Sorry Mom!) However, Florida weather prevailed and it rained, all day, every day. But Garrett and his optimistic self turned the trip into something even greater, finding every fun restaurant to try, and hidden place to explore. We made friends with the locals, shopped the gift shops, and jokingly sent a photo of us wearing $7.99 “wedding rings” to our sibilings! (Talk about foreshadowing) The two of us sat down for brunch one morning to watch the storms come in. Hours of conversation went by, and brunch eventually turned into lunch, and lunch into dinner. We shared our love for traveling, family, live music, and being middle children of 3. How we both dreamed of a house full of children, and football playing in the background every weekend. We quickly realized in whatever capacity was meant to be, we hoped to be in eachothers lives for quite some time. Over the years, lots of trips and many milestones have been shared. New houses, jobs, cities, and additions to our families were celebrated. Letters written to Garrett from Madrid and postcards sent to Audrey from Prague, will forever be keepsakes to remind us; even with distance and time, unconditional love never fails. Time spent both together and apart has paved a path that we are so incredibly grateful for. A year ago, we moved in together to the house we now call home in New Braunfels, TX. Filled with all the DIY’s, two very large dogs, and lots of love, life is good and that is the way it should be. We can’t wait for the Renken adventure to begin!

From the first night we met, I knew I had met the woman I wanted to spend my life with. I didn’t know when, where, or how; but I did know that one day I would be proposing to her. While most know I hate being the center of attention and would prefer to pop the question in our kitchen after work, I of course knew this wouldn't fly! Sharing a love of travel and new places, I wanted to propose somewhere special. As I reflected on some of our favorite trips... College Station trips for Aggie football; good ole’ New Orleans; Breckenridge, CO to ski; flying overseas to Spain; a last minute surprise trip to San Diego, and many more, the choice proved difficult. When I finally purchased the ring, wanting to surprise her, I made a conscious decision to let very few people know. While trying to bait Audrey into believing that maybe common law marriage was the way to go, I started to formulate a plan. With the help of her brother and sister-in-law, I decided Breckenridge would be our place. While Audrey thought we were there to visit family and hit the slopes, she didn’t know I had a shiny little thing taking the trip with us. When we had stayed in Breckenridge years ago, we had ventured off by Peak 9 down to the river. It was just us, surrounded by snow and serenity. We took pictures and later reminisced on how much we loved the spot. So this time, we conveniently picked a condo that placed our “spot” on the walking path into town. After a day of skiing, sun, and a lot of laughs; we left the condo for “dinner”. I could finally see the proposal clearly in my mind. And although it might sound crazy, I had been looking forward to this since our first date. Expecting to be nervous, instead I felt a strange sense of calmness come over me. It felt like a long time coming, and surely had been, but in the moment I felt life had happened exactly as it was meant to. As I got down on one knee, I soaked in the moment and asked the love of my life to marry me.