We met for the first time at Hawthorne Inn in Labadie, MO. It was our first date and we were both nervous. On top of it, Ryan was still feeling the previous night out. But he played it off well, clearly, because the first date lasted 4 hours. We talked about everything: family and faith, business and dreams, our past, and where we wanted to go in the future. The following weekend, the second date lasted 12 hours. We planned to just do lunch and ended up shopping for clothes, getting ice cream, and playing mini golf. After that, we found a bar to get our second meal of the date, because I really wanted to watch the Cardinals playoff game (we lost, of course). If you know Ryan, you know he must have really liked me to sit and watch baseball for almost 4 hours. Anyway, the rest is beautiful history. We've been working hard ever since to build a life together, and can't wait to finally make it official and receive the sacrament of marriage before God and all the people we love!!