a day to remember

It all started on a hot Thursday night in the middle of a Texas summer—the kind of evening where the air feels lazy and time seems to slow down. I (Hannah) was still in cosmetology school, juggling school and work when my friend invited me over to hang out with some of her and her boyfriend’s friends. We were out on the back patio, laughing and playing music, when he walked in—Miles. The handsome, southern Texas boy with that smile you notice instantly (and maybe pretend not to). He was only supposed to stop by for a few minutes before heading home—he had work the next morning—but somehow in that short 15 minutes, we ended up deep in conversation, sharing songs on the speaker, and laughing like we’d known each other for years. By the time he left, I turned to my friend and said, “He is so handsome.” The very next day, Miles got my number. By Sunday, he had invited me to church and brunch, which turned out to be our first official date. We both knew—this was something special. That afternoon, he completely surprised me by taking me to meet both his mom and dad (plus his stepbrothers). I was overwhelmed—this was definitely not your typical “let’s take it slow” kind of guy—but Miles just smiled and said, “I knew you were the one, and I couldn’t wait for them to meet you.” From that moment, we were inseparable. If I wasn’t in class or at work, I was with Miles. Within just four months, we moved in together. Not long after, we adopted our sweet Archie boy, who instantly promoted us to dog parents. (Archie takes his job of keeping us humble very seriously, mostly by his puppy eyes sitting pretty by the kitchen table). Life since that summer night has been full of love, laughter, and way too much dog hair around the house. We’ve built a life together that we wouldn’t trade for anything—and it all started with a random Thursday night, a shared speaker, and a boy from Texas who swept me off my feet. Fast forward to February after my 21st birthday—we had planned a trip to Nashville, which I thought was just for celebrating. But somewhere between the music, the lights, and the best birthday weekend ever, Miles got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I couldn’t believe he had kept the surprise (he’s usually terrible at hiding anything from me) In that moment, it felt like my life had changed forever. Months later, we decided to pack up and move to my hometown. Now, we’re living in Post Falls, Idaho, where we’re surrounded by mountains, cool crisp air, and a whole lot of beauty. Archie has fully embraced his PNW dog life, and we’ve fallen in love with this season of our story. We’ve had so many life changes for the better, grown so much together, and we can’t wait to spend the rest of our lives chasing adventures—side by side.