Growing up I would always spend a couple weeks in the summer with my grandparents in Iowa on their dairy farm. Each morning and evening I would go out to the farm to help with chores. Many years ago, they hired on a cute high school boy to help feed calves and milk cows. He caught my eye, so each visit I would sneak into my uncle's office to check the schedule to see if this boy would be working. For the next four years, whenever he was working, I'd try to strategically help with whichever shift he was working (but I was always too shy to really introduce myself). Finally, during one of his summer shifts, I mustered up the courage to really talk to him. From that point we talked every day for about a year before deciding to try to make our long distance friendship into something more. How lucky am I have a grandpa and uncles with good taste! ;)

I first saw Lauren from a distance on her Grandparent's farm, where I worked feeding calves in high school, but we never really spoke until later. I had decided to pick up a milking shift one weekend while I was home from college. I remember looking out the parlor window and immediately getting butterflies seeing this gorgeous girl with blonde curly hair crossing the road. I had to stop myself from staring, and quick get back to work. All the while my heart was racing. I was trying to play it cool -- or at least as cool as you can while covered in cow manure. But as we talked, I forgot about the butterflies and thought how can a girl this sweet and amazing be talking to me? The more we talked, the more I wanted to know everything about her. She just had this glow about her that made me feel like the best man in the world, and she still does.