Justin and I met in 2014 in Great Lakes, IL when we were both going through A school for the Navy and staying on the same ship, the Essex. We quickly became friends and continued to stay friends over the years!

This was the first time we had seen each other since the early summer of 2014. He had been home on leave and I made a weekend trip down to Oklahoma from Michigan over the 4th of July to see him and also visit with my cousins! He wanted to try indoor skydiving and I agreed wothout really knowing what i was getting myself into 😂 We had a blast! That “date” was the start of our journey to defy the odds of long distance relationships and now look where we are two years later!

In August of 2017 i made a spur of the moment weekend trip down to Virginia Beach to visit Justin while he was attending a C School. That weekend was great! I got to meet two of his best friends and his godson! They are amazing by the way! We got to spend some quality time together, enjoy the beach and time with his friends. It was after this weekend that we decided there would never be a “right” time for us so we were just going to try to make this work. And that we did!

A few months into our relationship I made the very long journey to Sasebo, Japan to spend New Years with Justin! It took 23 hours to get there and 33 hours to get back home! Those were some very long trips! I spent a week out in Japan with Justin! We went sightseeing, exploring and got to enjoy each others company! That week went by way to fast for both of us and before we knew it I was glying back to Michigan. While I was there Justin surprised me with a promise ring!

In June of 2018 Justin flew back to the States on leave and we got to spend a week in Michigan and a week in Oklahoma! I got to show him some of my favorite places and introduce him to my crazy family! He also got to meet some of my best friends and my godson! We had a blast and were on the go almost nonstop that whole week. Then we drove from Michigan all the way down to Oklahoma to spend a week with his family and friends! We relaxed a bit more down in Oklahoma and enjoyed some quality and entertaining time with his family and friends! And again time went by way to fast and this time I was putting the one putting him on a plane to head back across the world

Bali was amazing! We got to explore a place neither one of us had ever been to and do it together as a couple! We tried all sorts of new foods, got to enjoy a number of beaches, learned to surf, went snorkling to see some of the coral reefs, went waterfall hiking, went to a safari and rode an elephant, went to a monkey forest, & got to explore some beautiful temples and gardens! But the best part of our trip by far was getting ENGAGED!!!! I knew it was coming but was completly surprised the night he proposed! We had had a very long day out sightseeing with our tour guide for the day and he suggested this beautiful resturant right on the beach for dinner. Mind you this was after a long day of sightseeing and swimming in the 90+ degree heat & high humidity so we were both a hot mess lol He got our waiter to film hos proposal, which I didn’t think anything of since we were always taking pictures with all the different meals we were trying, and he got down on one knee and as he proposed fireworks started going off in the background. We of course didn’t realize that until after though 😂 I couldn’t ask for a better fiancé!