Before we officially met, our paths had already crossed. As drum majors of neighboring high school marching bands, we briefly met at a Toms River East home football game, where Nicole, ever the gracious host, brought over Oreos to share with Kevin and his visiting Howell High School bandmates. We had no idea that small act of cookie diplomacy would be the opening note of our love story. Two years later, in the fall of 2014, we were formally introduced in the University of Delaware Music Department. Nicole was a sophomore, Kevin a freshman, and our shared love of music quickly created a bond. We performed together in ensembles, attended SAI and PMA events, hung out on the Amy green, listened to pop punk classics together, and even trauma-bonded one chilly winter session night over a late-night viewing of The Shining. Our first official date in 2017 took us to Longwood Gardens, but it was the UDSO China tour where our relationship truly blossomed. From performing across cities like Beijing and Shanghai to climbing the Great Wall, dancing at a 7-Eleven-themed club, and eating far too much orange chicken, every moment brought us closer. Before Nicole left for a family trip to France, she asked Kevin to promise he would still be there when she returned. He kept that promise, and we've been together ever since. Since then, our journey has taken us around the world, including Puerto Rico, Ireland, Japan, and the Dominican Republic - and we can't wait to be forever travel buddies. We continue to share our love of music in the concert band and marching arts communities, performing together in community band, teaching on the same staffs at both the high school and drum & bugle corps levels, and even marching a season together with Fusion Core in 2019. Back home, our little family grew with the arrival of our cat Clove, who brings us endless joy (and also frequent chaos, depending on her hunger levels). We also rediscovered our mutual lifelong love for reading, proudly building a home library together with over 200 books already. In April 2024, our biggest adventure yet began. Kevin, after over a year of secret planning, proposed to Nicole in Tokyo, under the cherry blossoms of Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. Though his freshly chopped man-bun and sudden enthusiasm for a photo shoot raised suspicions, the moment was perfect. We celebrated by taking in the views from Tokyo Skytree, indulging in McDonald’s (because why not?), and visiting two Pokemon Centers in the same night - the start of a 5-Pokemon-Center spree during our trip. From marching fields to music halls, world travels to cozy nights at home, our story is still unfolding, and we cannot wait to write the next chapter together.