Taking it back to 2008, freshman year of high school, Ryan and I met for the first time in Algebra. Even back then, I remember thinking, "Ooh, he's cute." Although we barely spoke and honestly didn't become friends until he sat in front of me sophomore year in Spanish class. We were dating other people, busy with our own activities, and then Ryan went off to Roddick's Tennis Academy in San Antonio for junior year. Senior year though... he came back and all the girls were turning heads and talking about it. A random run-in with each other after school one day changed the course of our relationship. It started with a, "Hey, it's been a long time! We should catch up!" to driving his '94 red Jeep Wrangler to my parents house, just to talk for hours in the driveway about everything - our family, friends, sharing music, quoting movies, our dreams and goals, wondering what it’ll be like in the future... I still remember walking back into my house with a great big smile on my face. We'd talk like this until he finally asked me out on our first date - Chili’s! Senior year was better than I could have dreamed of because of Ryan. We went to each other’s Banquets, Prom and of course, Graduation. What's extra special about Graduation is that he saved his Graduation money to gift me a necklace that I still wear today. We traveled around Canada for a summer trip before starting our new separate chapters in college - you could probably say this is where our love for traveling together started. Ryan attended Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO on a tennis scholarship, while I attended Tyler Junior College in Tyler, TX on a dance scholarship with the Apache Belles. Long distance is especially tough for college students, but we made the best of it for as long as we could. Some of our favorite memories are spending weekends with Ryan's grandparents, JeanJean & Papa, in Longview, TX (only a short flight and 2 hr drive for Ryan lol). Although the timing wasn't right for us back then, we learned so much about ourselves as we continued to paint different paths for our future. What's funny is that it all painted us back to each other. Years passed and Ryan and I stayed in touch, but it wasn't until 2018 when I all of a sudden felt like I was 17 again. May 9, 2018, we went on a date to The Houston Zoo then went to eat at a Japanese BBQ restaurant and all that I can remember is laughing and wearing that great big smile on my face again. As we grew more serious, we marked May 9th as our anniversary, but it has since then played as a more significant date in our relationship than we imagined. Our 2nd year anniversary was coincidentally the same day that we moved into our first apartment together. Then our 4th year anniversary was the same day that our dog Nova was born! It only makes sense to continue the significance... so 2025 will be 7 years together and our wedding weekend! Throughout our relationship, Ryan and I have always made (sometimes sketchy) goals together. From moving into our first apartment together at the beginning of COVID, to buying our first home in the height of the market. Bringing stray kittens home, to driving to Montana in a weekend to pick up a puppy from Canada. Starting small on our travel trips, to literally quitting our jobs to travel the world… which led to Ryan proposing in Positano, Italy on August 19, 2023. Through it all, doing life with each other has always been our favorite. We feel as though anything is possible together. Thank you everyone for loving and supporting us through it all. We love you and cannot wait to forever share this memory together in one place as we start the next adventure of our lives together. Cheers! xoxo - Soon To Be Reeves