Though we both attended Texas A&M, we didn't meet until traveling to Raleigh for support raising training, where we happened to be staying at the same host home and ended up on the same flight back to Texas. After moving to Raleigh we hung out a couple of times and bonded being SEC exiles in ACC country. Both of us had interest in each other at different times over the next couple of years, but we remained friends and continued getting to know each other.

We didn't see much of each other during the summer of 2024, but when we got together to watch an A&M football game, Chris was reminded of how much we enjoyed spending time together and felt like there was something different than the previous times we had hung out. Sidney didn't pick up on anything until a couple of months later on our residency's fall retreat in Winston-Salem, when she texted her mom, "I think Chris is trying to sit next to me." And it was only a short week later when Chris asked Sidney on a date while they were taking out the trash at Summit's central offices. We ate at Don Julio's and got ice cream at Freddy's, and on November 14th we were officially dating.

When we started to talk about getting engaged, Sidney was absolutely convinced that Chris would not be able to surprise her, but he was determined to pull it off. He talked to her parents and asked if he could crash her family's upcoming girl's weekend in Greer, South Carolina. After dinner on that Saturday night, Sidney's cousin led the group through the streets of Greer "looking for an ice cream shop", and though they passed multiple ice cream shops, Sidney was still completely clueless. They went down a few steps, a gazebo came into sight, and Sidney remarked "I wonder how many people have gotten engaged here". Only 10 seconds later Chris stepped out from around the corner and Sidney was stopped in her tracks. He led her to that same gazebo, said some very sweet things (which neither of us can remember), and dropped to one knee. He pulled out a ring and she, still in shock, said yes. Surprise achieved!