"Whatever souls are made of, his and mine are the same." ~Emily Bronte

After several weeks of online messages, phone calls and face-time, we decided to finally meet in person out in Denver, Colorado. Our first date started out with a delicious weekend brunch at our now favorite brunch restaurant on the south side of Denver. The atmosphere was classy and relaxed, full of great conversation and plenty of time for sparks to fly. To keep the momentum going, the following day we decided to do a classic Colorado activity: scale a 14-thousand foot mountain peak. By the end of that date, we had both almost died (literally) but we were still laughing. We both took that as a good sign! Over the next several months, we visited multiple times back-and-forth between Denver and Lincoln, sending thousands of text messages along the way. Needless to say, in March, 2018, it was a very happy day when Tori made a big move to the great city of Lincoln! We have been enjoying getting to know both family and friends over the last several months. In the midst of the chaos of both of us moving, starting new jobs (hello night shift!), taking classes at the hospital, and a massive backyard landscaping effort, Austin still managed to formulate a devious engagement plan. On a hot July evening, Austin's plan went into motion, despite Tori's objections to the 98 degree temperature. We went to a beautiful botanical garden in downtown Lincoln. Austin's friend, Jason, had kindly agreed to do "a super casual, no pressure," photo shoot of us there. Tori, being completely unaware of an ulterior motive for the shoot, was completely surprised when Austin later dropped to one knee and pulled out an exquisite diamond ring. We are so glad Jason was there to capture that magical moment! Our world has been a whirlwind since that special night, with full of phone calls, chatting and planning. We are so excited to see what the future holds for us and we can't wait to celebrate with all of you in Branson!