Andrew and I met in 8th grade when Andrew was picking on one of our mutual friends while waiting for History class to start. In High School we had Algebra 2 together. Our teacher always paired the two of us together for assignments, one of them being a Planning/Budgeting a Wedding Project (which got an A). During lunches Andrew would save a seat next to himself for me and would ask me to sit with him. Andrew would also walk with me after his Woods class and my Gym class. Eventually he asked me out but tragically I shot him down and friend zoned him. A year after graduation we reconnected and Andrew gave me his hedgehog he was trying to re-home. Two years after that we saw each other at a stoplight of all places. We started talking that day giving the old life update. I had just bought my house almost a month before and it needed some fixing up. Andrew offered to help out and help teach me. Then it all went from there.

A couple days before Andrew asked me to be his girlfriend he had asked my dad for permission to date me and asked my mom to help him pick out a necklace. He went to three jewelry stores to find the one. The day of, Andrew picked me up and took me to Jack Stack. Once we were done eating he came to my side of the booth and said his cute speech he had, then asked me to be his girlfriend with the necklace he got. It was a gold necklace with two hearts shaped in an infinity. He said it was perfect because the two hearts represented us and the love we would share for hopefully forever. He told me everything he did to get to that moment which was exactly what I always pictured as the type of man I wanted. I wore that necklace every day since until the stones started falling out and he had to replace it for the one I wear now.

I was so ready to ask Alyssa to be my fiancé and to take my hand in marriage. I was ecstatic to ask but filled with nervousness. I guess that's how you know I really wanted it. Alyssa can figure almost everything out and is very perceptive of a situation and her surroundings. I wanted it to be a suprize so I had to make some things up to do to get her to not think I was proposing and we were just going to go out and hang out. For a week I tried to find a place that I could propose to her. I asked my brother Luis to go with me to check a few places out, and we went to the Kauffman Memorial Gardens for the first place. Neither of us had been there but as soon as we walked in I knew it was the place. There were beautiful, bountiful flowers and fountains that I felt would be great to "take pictures with", to distract Alyssa while I prepared to get on my knee and ask to marry her. I couldn't just take her there for pictures though because she would know something was up so I had to come up with another place to take her before hand. On the morning of May 7th we went to Sea Life Aquarium in KC and had a fun time taking pictures and holding hands while talking about all the sea creatures. Afterwards I told Alyssa, "hey let's go to this place and check it out I heard it's really pretty". She obliged and we went to the Kauffman Memorial Gardens. I was super nervous the whole time walking around admiring the flowers and couldn't hold her hand I was shaking so bad. We got to the spot I knew would look good to set up the camera to take a video of us so we could screenshot it to get the pictures she wanted. We set the phone up, started the video, and took a few frames of cute couples pictures. Then I moved her in the center of the camera and pulled out the ring box, got on my knee and had her turn around. I had a whole speech ready to go but that went out the window when she turned around and all of my words left my brain,  because all that I could think about was how gorgeous and perfect Alyssa is for me. All that came out of my mouth was "Alyssa Marie Bates, will you marry me and be my wife." She put her hands on her hips and said "it's about time, YES!" We kissed and held eachother while I was still shaking in happiness that my soulmate just said yes to marrying me. She loved her ring and took lots of pictures of it with the flowers and fountains. We walked around the rest of the gardens and we’re I was then able to tell her the rest of the speech I had planned. We then left the gardens and celebrated with a meal at The Cheesecake Factory. We talked about every thing that happened that day and some about how we wanted our wedding to go. We went home and spent a few hours still lost in in eachother and remembering every little detail that happened. That evening we went to Topgolf and had a small engagement party with a few friends to end an amazing day. I love you Alyssa Marie Shelton. I can't wait to spend the rest of my days growing grey and old with you by my side.