In 2011, both of our families celebrated spring vacation in Kauai, Hawaii. We were all staying at the same condominiums. Taylor was an adorable and flirtatious 7th grader and Natalie was a high school freshman on the cheer team. Throughout the week, our paths crossed. We showed up for the same cancelled boat tour and ended up at “big wave beach” .aka “terrible beach.” Aka Poli Hali (Note: do not go in the water if the locals are not in the water) One afternoon Taylor and his brother, Jake, were “chilling” in the hot tub. Natalie’s cousin Danny plunked into the hot tub, and Taylor asked, “Do you think your cousin wants my number?” Danny didn’t know, so he asked Natalie, and when pointing to the hot tub, Danny pointed to Jake (5th grade) rather than Taylor (7th grade). Natalie replied, “no!” Taylor was disappointed. Later, while reliving the story with Auntie Beth, Danny clarified that was pointing at the blonde boy (Taylor) not the younger boy (Jake). Natalie returned to the pool and with some help from Jake, Taylor returned to the pool. We quickly learned that we had a great deal in common, including the fact that we lived within 45 minutes of each other and that our families shared a rich and intertwined history in the region’s natural resource industries. We exchanged numbers and while we kept in touch, we didn’t talk too much. In August 2017, we started to correspond with each other again. And finally, Taylor, saw an opportunity. Natalie, returning from cousin Alexa’s bachelorette party, was in need of a ride. A rainy August day afforded Taylor with a day off from farm work, and Natalie needed a favor so Taylor offered to play “Uber”. Taylor was so nervous, and couldn’t believe he had a chance to connect with this girl who had been on his mind since 2011. Six years after we first met in Hawaii and a year after that rainy day in August, Taylor proposed. We look forward to building our life, with our dog Harley, in our home in Scio, Oregon.