We both attended Cornell College. We didn’t have any classes together until I (Leah) was a sophomore. (Wyatt was a Junior at the time.) I decided I really wanted to go on the Belize Education Course that Cornell was offering. I moved my schedule around, and was able to make it happen. However, my advisor and I had to rearrange the order of my education courses, making it so I could go to Belize. This led me to Children’s Literature and a reading course- both of which Wyatt was taking at that same time. The only time I really recall Wyatt being in either of those classes is when I had to read a children's book out loud to the class for a read-aloud assignment, and the class was instructed to truly act as if they were in 1st grade. I distinctly remember Wyatt talking through my read-aloud, not raising his hand to talk, and not using an inside voice. Let's just say 2013 Leah didn't think it was very cute. (My opinion on his cuteness may has changed since…) The next year we were off to Belize. This was the first time we really interacted with each other outside of the classroom. After Belize, I don’t think we saw or talked with each other again. Fast-forward to December of 2016. I was living in Arizona at the time, Wyatt living here in Iowa. I was home for Holiday Break. After having a little wine, wine-happy Leah got on Facebook, saw a huge piece of chocolate cake, saw it was Wyatt's picture, and clicked "Like." Yes... I initiated contact by liking a picture of a piece of cake. About 2 hours later, Wyatt messages me and opens with “You back in the state for break?” We messaged for a while, and then I gave him my number. And that’s the beginning of our relationship. January 17th 2017 was when we became officially boyfriend/girlfriend. (I believe this was around the time Wyatt had a pepperoni/olive pizza delivered to my apartment... yes, he ordered pizza from Iowa, and I was eating it in Arizona! Cue the awwwws!)

During my friend Dane's party (at his house), Leah had said how much she loved the lights that Dane had strung up amongst his pine trees. That was when I knew how I would do it. On Christmas eve, I had asked her parent's blessing to have their daughter's hand in marriage. On Christmas, we had dinner at my mother’s house in Brooklyn. I had been getting a little nervous as the got closer to the big Q. This was obvious to Leah because she was getting a little angry that I wasn’t talking much at all. We started to go home to let the dogs out and she wanted to go inside. She was saying she didn’t want to go out and take something to Danes. I had to force her to get in the truck to go but she did finally agree, begrudgingly. I had gotten ahold of Dane earlier to turn on the lights and to have his iPad out to take pictures. We got to Dane's and I led her from the truck to where the lights were under the pine trees. I turned her to face me and said, “Leah, aren’t these lights pretty? I know that you said one day long ago that you would love to get married under these exact lights. To have our friends and family here would be something that I can’t wait to happen. I love you Leah, so would you marry me?” She said yes! After we had kissed, she had completely turned a 180 and was maybe the happiest I had ever seen her.