The first time we met was at Riverbend Church in the High School Youth Group. Kennon was oblivious to when Nick first started flirting with her. It took almost a year of offering Kennon rides, seeing her at youth group, asking to hang out before she finally took the hint. The sad thing was, Kennon secretly had a crush on Nick the entire time but was too scared to talk to him. We finally went on a couple dates (dancing, watching sunsets, going to dinner...) before Nick BROKE UP WITH KENNON (now I know what you're thinking ... HE'S INSANE)!!!! Nick spent the next 6 months finishing up his last semester of high school, and kennon her second semester of junior year. That summer Nick finally realized he made the most biggest humongous ginormous mistake of his entire life and asked Kennon on a date (can you tell who is typing this?!). Our first date of "round 2" was buying fireworks on July 3. We have since made July 3 our anniversary. We then dated for 2 months before we became long distance off and on for the next 6 years. Year 1 - Nick began his gap year and Kennon her senior year of high school. Kennon visited Nick up in Colorado to for her 18th birthday & to go on "college visits" (but really to ski). Year 2 - Freshman year of college! Nick started at Vanderbilt in Nashville & Kennon at Texas A&M in College Station. We would alternate who would go to visit the other based on that semesters schedule (the very first semester of college Kennon only had class Tues-Thurs so there were a lot of trips to Nashville that semester). One of our favorite trips of year 2 was when Kennon came to Nashville and we went to a Predators Ice Hockey game & saw the Head and the Heart perform downtown. Another top memory is when Kennon surprised Nick for his 20th birthday & he almost cried when he saw her. Long distance was really hard but the time we got to spend together made it all worth it. The summer after freshman year we both worked as camp counselors at Laity Lodge Youth Camp and it was an absolute blast! Year 3 - Sophomore year. This was the year we went on a 2 week camping trip through Utah & Arizona. Kennon also made nick a cooler to go to Nick Delt formal in Panama City Beach (it was super embarrassing when I showed up to the airport to fly with a fraternity cooler). Year 4 - BIG YEAR! This was maybe our favorite part of all of college... we studied abroad together for the fall semester in Florence Italy! We backpacked all across Europe for the month before and tacked on a bit of travel of the back end as well. Hands-down one of the best experiences ever. Then covid hit second semester and we spent the longest time apart (besides freshman year) we have ever had to. Nick was in Colorado with his family for 6 weeks and Kennon in Austin with hers. Year 5 - Senior year. Nick attended Kennon's ring dunk and got trapped in College Station from snow-vid. We spent that Valentine's day bundled up (because it was like 45 degrees inside) and watched a movie on the floor with Kennon's roommate Ellie with no power. This entire year was 1 massive celebration. Year 6 - Nick moved back to Austin to start working & Kennon moved to San Antonio to finish becoming a Dietitian. This year was what we would consider to be half long-distance because we saw each other virtually every weekend. This is the final long distance year and we are EAGER to reach the finish line. Year 7 - We moved in together, bought a house together, and are ENGAGED!!!! This has been by far the most wonderful year together to date. We have graduated from being together for mostly the big things to now together for all the things, big & small. It is clear that life will only get better from here. Year 8 - Marriage! Stay tuned for what's in store next, but you can expect a whole lot of laughter.