It was my fourth year and Jackson’s fifth year at Colorado State University when we met on November 11th, 2016 at Bondi Beach Bar (iykyk) in Fort Collins, CO. After a night of drinks and dancing, Jackson and I went to Krazy Karl’s where he bought me mac-n-cheese bites and pizza. And that is when I knew he would be the one for me. Krazy Karl’s soon became our go-to date night dinners while we both still lived in Fort Collins. Fast-forward a few months, when we made it “official” on January 4th, 2017 just a couple of days after spending New Years Eve Weekend in Copper, CO with his entire family (very bold of me)! Jackson graduated later that year and moved back to Centennial, CO while I finished up my last year of school in Fort Collins, all while visiting each other nearly every weekend. A few months after I graduated in 2018, we moved to Lakewood together which is when I finally convinced Jackson to let me adopt two kittens, Zola and Zander (he still says he isn’t a “cat-guy”, which is totally not the case anymore). In August 2020, we packed up our tiny apartment and our cats and moved to Highlands Ranch, CO as new homeowners! We love making this house a home and being near family and friends. Our house is just 2 minutes away from where Jackson proposed! He totally surprised me, and it was perfect! On April 22, 2022, I thought that we were going to Prost for dinner and drinks with my sister, Hannah, and her boyfriend, Buck. Jackson and Buck left early to “get a table” at Prost and planned to have Hannah and I meet them there. Hannah had told me that she knew someone attending a wedding at the Highlands Ranch Mansion just up the road from our house and asked if we could check it out. She expected me to be more difficult (as I usually do not like changes in plans), but I casually just said “sure!”. We start walking around the area of the Highlands Ranch Mansion, while I am online shopping on my phone for shoes for Hannah (you’re welcome, Hannah!) when she told me to look up so that I wouldn’t trip. As soon as I looked up, I saw Jackson standing with flowers at the end of a path, I gasped, and I think I asked Hannah if this was really happening at least 10 times. Jackson got down on one knee and asked me to marry him and I said “YES!”. I turned around and saw Buck sneakily hiding in the bushes with my older sister, Maddie, on FaceTime so that she could be there with us for this special moment. I was then surprised a second time with our friends and family at my Dad’s house ready to celebrate us! It was a perfect day, and we are excited to spend forever together! Since then we have been keeping busy with wedding planning and our two new puppies, Zhia and Evie, while Jackson has been at the Lackland Air Force Base completing his Basic Military Training and Security Forces Technical School. We cannot wait to celebrate with all of you in September 2023!