Our story starts out the way every little girl imagined she would find her prince, with a very fairytale encounter...on the internet. On April 5, 2021, Darin liked a picture of my dog and me. Still not convinced about online dating, and unsure about the cat holding, cutoff wearing, "short guy" who wanted to chat (I was stupid because he's a babe), I let this poor man sit for a couple days before pouring a glass of wine and "inviting him to start a conversation." Even in my hesitation to partake in any of this, I knew I'd be crazy not to give the guy a chance who liked the casual picture with my dog, who I love so much, vs pictures of me with my hair and makeup done. We never stopped talking from that moment on, but I was hesitant to ruin our great conversation by actually meeting so I put it off for weeks (Darin's patience is one of the many reasons I love him so much).

On May 19th, after feeling like we just needed to get it over with, I invited Darin to come over after work. He worked second shift, so nothing was open at that time and meeting at my house was the only real option (we both told someone our plans in case we wound up on Dateline). He last minute took a half day and came over earlier for a little deck party. We laughed A LOT, we danced, and we started to fall for each other. I always joke that I haven't been able to get rid of him since, but I quickly found myself wanting him around all the time. On the rare occasion that he wasn't, we never stopped texting and talking.

We went on many adventures, said "I love you," and started to plan a life together before the summer was over. The pups and I asked Darin to move in in October and ring shopping started right after. Fast forward through winter holidays, a trip to California with the craziness that is my mom's side of the family, and a 10-month anniversary trip to the Poconos, and on March 25th, Darin proposed. I came home to the surprise of him being off from work and greeting me with the same little love letter trail I set up for him on the first night we met, except x1 million. I cried, he said amazing things, and pulled off the most special, thoughtful, and meaningful proposal a woman could ask for. I've never known a bond so strong and am thankful that I get to spend the rest of my life with this amazing man. We can't wait to celebrate with all of our close friends and family in November.