James and I had just arrived at NAS, Pensacola for initial training in the Air Force! As luck would have it, James had the pleasure of working the night shift on the Fourth of July. He enjoyed the incredible fireworks show from the view of a work computer, until his shift was over at around midnight. I happily enjoyed the fireworks over the bay of downtown Pensacola with new, soon to be great, friends Natalie Mertz, Rachel Hammons, and Chloe Thomas. James finally made an appearance after all the festivities, and we hit it off immediately! After this night, we remained close friends until December of 2020, when we decided to give dating a shot and the rest is history!

Almost exactly four years after we met, James surprised me with a trip to Salzburg, Austria! We saw the Salzburg Castle, a nearby German town to enjoy some brats and schnitzel, the Sound of Music film locations, and on the last day we did an EPIC hike up Untersberg Mountain. It took us nearly 5 hours of climbing to summit! It was very steep and slippery near the top, and with the speed only a man scared of heights could muster, James reached the top well before me. The views were stunning, and this was the coolest hike I’ve ever done in my life! When I finally reached the top, we enjoyed a picnic of sandwiches and delicious Austrian beer! Near the end of our picnic, James asked if we could take a quick picture together and right after, he proposed! It was the perfect engagement!! That night we celebrated with dinner back in the city with a view of the Salzburg castle. We're so excited to celebrate with you! See you in Texas!!