Our love story began at the pool in my condo complex, all thanks to my neighbor's matchmaking skills. I wasn't exactly thrilled about it, as meeting someone new was not high on my to-do list, but I decided to give it a shot, with my guard firmly in place. Little did I know that he would waltz in and charm the socks right off of me. We took it slow, starting with dinners and drinks. It only took a couple of weeks before I convinced him to join me in a completely sane and rational activity - sky diving. Yes. I talked him into jumping out of a perfectly good plane, because why not. From there, our escapades knew no bounds. We attended countless concerts, spent time with the kids, cheered on the Cardinals at games, and lounged by the pool as often as we could. Each memory was a new adventure, filled with laughter and love.

Our story began a year before we actually met. My coworker was relentless, always bugging me to come to her pool and meet her condo friends. She thought I needed to get out more and had the perfect person in mind for me. She showed me some Facebook pics of a stunning redhead, and I was immediately intrigued. Unfortunately, she wasn't available at the time. Over the year, I received periodic updates from my coworker about when the timing would be right and how things were progressing. I patiently waited for my moment. Finally, the day arrived, and I was in. Little did I know, Angela wasn't exactly on the same page. It took her several hours to get to the pool, and by the time she did, I was a few drinks in, my guard was down and words freely flowed. Those pool people really knew how to party. Angela swears she came with no intention of meeting anyone, especially a recently divorced, old, hairy, bald guy with a 14-year-old. But, of course, my irresistible charm won her over. I got Angela's number with Angela's approval from my coworker/her friend, although she swears, I never asked. I am pretty sure it slipped her mind due to those drinks I mentioned. We set our first date two weeks later and texted throughout the weeks. I was already hooked, not sure about her, but I knew I'd win her over. The first date was a whirlwind where I, in true me-fashion, spilled way too many life facts in rapid succession (you say "crazy," I say "efficient information sharing"). Oddly enough, that didn't scare her off. Then came the ball game, some pool days and skydiving. Yes, she convinced me right off the bat that if we still got along in a month I would go skydiving with her on her birthday. Yes perfectly good plane and I jumped, gotta impress them somehow. Then concerts, fancy dinners, not-so-fancy dinners, more pool days, and our first vacation together—a trip to Branson. It was there I knew traveling together would always be one of our things (other than concerts, many, many, many concerts). And the story continues, looking forward to this amazing life ahead with this amazing lady!