“...I knew I did from that first moment we met. It was...not love at first sight exactly, but - familiarity. Like: oh, hello, it's you. It's going to be you." - You Had Me At Hello We were almost strangers, but I looked forward to his “Tinder Facts” series on Facebook. Despite the fact that his posts were some of the funniest commentaries on life as a single 30-something year old person, I adamantly swiped left on anyone I recognized as a former c/o 2004 Austin Bulldog. Been there, done that! He admits he “unfollowed me” on Facebook because I only posted about my daughter and that he was dating someone else when I first “slid into his DMs.” He had actually decided right before meeting me to swear off single moms. ...He had been there, done that. His claim that I “slid into his DMs” and flirted with him about his OCD tendency to color code and use an actual laundry folder to organize his 3,658 t-shirts may or may not be true. However, within a month of meeting in person, almost 15 years after our graduation and on my 33rd birthday, I bravely whispered words I never thought I’d mean again, but that I had no doubt would be reciprocated. Even when we think we know what we are looking for, God gets to write the story. This page turner is so much better than I could have imagined. Thankfully Thomas’ online quest for the right girl led him to the two right girls. He is the perfect person to complete our trio. He is patient and more thoughtful than anyone we have ever known. As it turns out, he saved the infamous photo of a 2-week old Coco escaping her swaddle on his phone years before he met her because it was the funniest picture of a baby he’d ever seen. He’s a natural born homework helper, soccer dad, and jungle gym — a selfless partner. The three of us fit together perfectly because it is God who spoke the Rios Trio into existence. We can't wait to celebrate this love story with all of you.

It was a week after our 1 year anniversary when I bought the ring. I had known for a while that I wanted to marry Ivy, but I wanted the ring to be perfect. Before I even bought the ring, I knew when I was going to ask. I just didn't know where. Ivy had told me (numerous times) that she had always wanted to have a New Year's Eve wedding. I figured that was unlikely, but I still wanted to make that day special to her. Now to figure out where. Ivy wanted to go out of town after Christmas. She likes to be distracted when Coco is away. I had been telling her for a while that an engagement wasn't happening anytime soon, & when I didn't propose in New Orleans, I think the idea had finally sunk in. Perfect! To keep up the facade, I let her decide the location, while I worked out the details. She chose Dripping Springs, TX. Wine Country, how romantic! We spent a few days out there in a Bed & Breakfast, with our last night being New Year's Eve. For the most part, we had no set plans. We visited a few wineries, and went out to eat. I told Ivy I was taking her somewhere on our last night, but it was a surprise. Ivy loves Christmas, & Johnson City, TX (a short 30 min drive) is home to a 1 square block canopy of oak trees covered in over 1.5 million Christmas Lights (& nothing else.) I kept this a secret & let the glow of lights reveal my surprise. Little did she know, that wasn't the only thing I had in my back pocket. We walked around a bit, & then decided to let a stranger with his family take our picture. He snapped a few, & handed the phone back. I asked him to take a few more & I proceeded to pull away from Ivy. Confused, she says "What are you doing?" as I quickly dropped down to one knee. "Ivy Janitza, will you marry me?" After she said yes, Ivy wiped away (my) tears & asked me a question, "Where are we going to dinner?" ...a detail I had neglected. After finding a place to eat, we popped a bottle of champagne, & watched the fireworks from the barn of our B&B.