I first met Andrew in FEB ’19. Our mutual friend invited us to do a final CrossFit workout at her gym in Wailua known as “19.1” I was there to support my friend & stayed to hang out with some of my friends after. I really didn't pay attention to this new guy & didn’t really think much of him honestly. A few months pass & I realized that Andrew started going to my gym. I’m not sure if I noticed him or Pablo first. But I still never hung out with Andrew. I remember he was out training a lot for work so another mutual friend of ours & I would pick up Pablo from his roommate & take him on hikes & to the beach. It’s safe to say that I hung out with Pablo way before I hung out with Andrew. There are photos to prove it. “Why did he get a dog if he’s always gone?” I asked. Our friend responded, “So he could get girls.” (Insert eye roll here) I remember Andrew asking me out through a Direct Message on Instagram around JUN/JUL 2019. I felt kind of bad saying no politely (I hope it was polite) because I wasn’t interested in being in a relationship at the time. Since then Andrew would randomly invite me to events/group outings that he knew people I knew would also be in attendance. But I really had other plans every time he invited me to things! Fast forward to SEP/OCT ’20 Andrew asked for a ride from the airport. I didn’t have plans since it was the midst of COVID-19 so I told him “yes.” But then he also asked me to pick up his truck from his house! I thought, “Wow, this guy is really asking for a lot” but he added the part where he wanted to pick up Pablo from Kailua so I figured why not. I used to drive a little Chevy Spark so driving a Chevy Silverado was really out of my element. Right when I got to the airport I told him that I was never driving his truck again. So I pick him up from the airport & we started to talk. We picked up Pablo from Kailua & drove back to Schofield. We drove around for about 1.5 hours total. It was then that I realized that I never really had 1-on-1 conversation with the guy & that he wasn’t “that bad”. He tried to pay me for the favor but I told him that I wouldn’t take his money & that he could just buy me a meal or drinks like I do with all my other friends. About a week later, Andrew invited me over for some steak & beer. I’ll be honest… not the best steak. He was testing out his new air fryer which wasn’t the greatest idea. I remember it tasting like sweet potatoes. I should also add that I got a flat tire on the way to his place. What luck! But I did leave the flat tire with him so that I could see him again. Andrew being Andrew didn’t think much of that I guess. I even remember asking his roommate to give me a call (I didn’t want it to be screen-shotted) so I could ask if my chances with Andrew were still there. From then on we started to see each other more often. Everything happened pretty naturally and I’d say things were pretty official between us Thanksgiving ’20. We dated for about 6 months until I had to leave island for a lot of Army training in ’21-’22. I took every opportunity to see him when I could. Andrew met my family Thanksgiving ’21 & I met his around Christmas/New Year that same year. Andrew isn’t the best surprise/secret keeper so I already knew he was going to propose. I’m sure he had a plan to make some grand proposal at Disney Land but the weather didn’t compromise & I was not feeling too hot a majority of the trip. We returned early from Disney so that I could get some rest and decided on Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles for dinner. There were some issues at the restaurant when he went to go pick up the food & when he returned to the hotel they forgot the syrup! Murphy’s Law at its finest. While things weren’t going so great… Andrew finally gathered the courage to get on one knee & propose. I could tell he was really nervous. It was really sweet. Now 2 years later we are ready to celebrate with our family & friends on this beautiful island where everything all started!

I met my wife 02/25/19 at CrossFit Waialua. Marjorie finished a workout when I showed up to the gym. My initial reaction was “Wow, this chick is freakin fit! And kinda cute.” I had no idea what her name was or why she was there but I knew I liked her. We laughed that day while Steve & I wrestled & overhead squatted our friends. And that was it. That day I left knowing nothing but her name but I had to know more. That following Tuesday I left for Special Forces Selection. I returned mid-March & continued going to the same gym as her. That’s when I started to notice her more. I told our friend “I kind of like Marj, do you think I’m her type?” By asking that, I unintentionally signed ourselves up for a sort of romance game where our friends would try & set us up whenever & wherever they could. Our friends thought we’d make a great couple, I thought we’d make a great couple, BUT Marj didn’t! The next few months were me trying to be around her as much as possible. Then I left again. My unit left for 3 months. That August I sent her a message “Hey Marj, I know we don’t talk much but I think you are the cutest girl at the gym. Do you think we could go out when I get back from?” She responded back “Hey thanks, I’m just too busy right now.” I was DEVASTATED… you can ask Steve. I spent the rest of the month thinking about what I could’ve done differently. The months went by and I continued to invite her to things, she’d say no… our friends invited her to events knowing that I would be there… she’d say no. That went on ALL YEAR LONG. Then COVID happened. I got promoted & was sent off to GA again. At this point I thought my chances were low. I thought “I’ve been pursuing this woman for over a year now, there’s no way she says yes to this!” It’s now OCT ’20 and coming back from GA I needed a ride from the airport. It wasn’t a big deal and I could’ve asked anyone to pick me up. I asked her if she could get my truck in North Shore, drive down to the airport, and then up to Kailua to pick up Pablo and she said YES! When I landed in Honolulu, the first thing I saw was my truck. Then Marj’s forehead barely over the steering wheel doing her best to maneuver my truck. I’m greeted with “Hey welcome back” & a hug. On our drive, we finally talked. We laughed, played music, talked about the Army, had little deeper conversations about life, & our goals. We clicked! Who would’ve thought all it took was a drive. We started to hang out more & I started to fall for her. She became a local at my house. She came over for beer & steak frequently. Wine Wednesdays was a favorite of hers. So was Wine Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays… Our relationship was growing fast. We made life easy for each other. We officially become a couple around Thanksgiving. She fell asleep on my lap in a food coma surrounded by her closest friends. And it really sank in— we were a couple. We met each others families NOV&DEC ‘21. DEC is when I popped the question. I had a super romantic plan of proposing at Disneyland in front of Sleeping Beauty’s castle but Mother Nature had other plans. It rained A LOT. Marj was also had some sort of respiratory infection so she spent a lot of time in the hotel while I drove around to get food & medicine. The night before we left I thought I’m only going to do this once & let’s hope she says yes. On 12/29/21, I got down on one knee in our hotel room & proposed. She said yes! After that trip we parted ways again while she attended more school. She finally returned to HI and moved in with me in my small studio in JUN ‘22. This was when we really tested each other. We pushed through it, had some hard talks & learned to communicate better. On 08/08/22, we went to town and got married. I’m now able to say that the cute girl I met at the gym “that one day” is now my wife. She’s my best friend & will be with me ’til death do us part.