It's crazy to think Pete and I started dating when we were 17 and 19 and the rest is history. I remember seeing him in the hallways at Lincoln East High School and thinking he was cute… but not knowing who he was. Luckily, one of my friends dated one of his friends, so we eventually met through mutual friends and started running into each other more and more. Before long, it turned into just the two of us hanging out. I even told my parents, “There’s a guy in one of my classes helping me with homework,” which I’m sure was very believable…. except Pete and I didn’t actually have a single class together throughout high school. I remember when he officially asked me on our first date to the movies. He picked Guardians of the Galaxy 2, which I had absolutely no context of because I hadn’t seen the first one, but of course I wanted to go anyway. I could tell Pete was nervous especially when he started to put his arm around me and accidentally elbowed me in the head, good thing I thought he was cute. The summer before my senior year of high school, Pete took me to the restaurant The Oven. I was completely oblivious to how nervous he was and spent most of the dinner laughing at him because he dropped his fork on the floor four times… which, in hindsight, may have been nerves. That dinner he asked me to make it official and be his girlfriend, and I’ve been with him ever since. The past 8 years together Pete has been my constant, my best friend and has been there for all the life changes and I can’t imagine my life without him! At a young age, I knew there was something different about him and we just clicked! There’s something really special about growing up alongside someone you love, experiencing every version of life together, and continuing to choose each other through it all. And I can’t wait to see where life takes us next.

Like many great love stories, ours started in the glamorous halls of a high school. Macey and I never had a class together, but I did have a class with some mutual friends of hers. I remember seeing Macey in the hallway and wondering who this gorgeous girl was. We ended up passing each other on the stairs everyday after my home economics class, and I eventually mustered up the courage to say hi to her. From then on it became our routine. We started hanging out with groups of our mutual friends, and I began to really like her. After about a month or so, I had the opportunity to go to a concert with some friends in Omaha, the only problem was it was a school night. I asked Macey to go with me, but unfortunately her parents weren’t too keen on the idea (which was fair). I ended up going with my other friends, having a great time. The next day, I was looking forward to telling Macey about the concert but she was nowhere to be found. The next day came around, no Macey... The day after that, still no Macey. Of course, I had to figure out what was going on. I decided to take a different route after Home Ec, and guess who I saw. Turns out she was avoiding me because she didn't want to talk about all of the fun she missed out on. It makes me laugh every time I think about it. Well, one thing led to another, I asked her out on our first official date to the movies, where I proceeded to elbow her in the head when I tried to put my arm around her, and the rest you already know. I will say, when I asked her out at the restaurant, I did drop my fork because I was nervous, but when the waiter gave me a replacement, he set it right on the edge, where I proceeded to knock it over again – so I blame the waiter. And I don’t remember it being 4 times. Who knows. Macey and I have been through a lot of life changes together, meeting in high school, graduating college, Macey getting her doctorate, living in different cities, starting careers, buying our first house, and now marriage. It has been an incredible journey and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else. She has been one of the hardest working people I know, and I’m excited for what’s ahead.

Fast forward to today, we have had many big changes in our lives over the past couple years. Pete proposed in May of 2024 at Estes Park CO at Bear Lake while it was blizzarding on the mountain, something we definitely did not plan for since we had only brought jackets. But it ended up being a gorgeous snow fall up in the mountains that we will never forget. Since then, Pete has been the most supportive fiancè for me during PT school, long clinicals and studying for early boards - all while moving into our very first home and planning a wedding. I have officially passed boards, received my license and look forward to seeing patients in July at my new job. Pete continues to build a strong career at Medtronic, completing his 4th year this past May, where he has worked with patients and their Medtronic heart devices on a daily basis. It has been a whirlwind these past couple of months but I am so glad I have him by my side. We’re so excited for this next chapter and can’t wait to celebrate with all of you in our favorite place! August can’t come soon enough!