Scott and Yareli were destined to meet. Yareli was in San Antonio visiting Dawn, one of her dear friends and work colleagues, little did she know that in a few clicks, she would meet her life partner and very best friend. Scott relocated from Germany in July and was looking to meet new people. They both hoped for love, and voila, there it was waiting for each of them in opposite parts of Texas!! After their initial phone conversation and because of the distance, Scott very graciously asked if they could do a video call. Yareli of course agreed although she had reservations about a long distance relationship, she really enjoyed learning about Scott's experiences as a military historian. As those early days went by, each conversation flowed naturally. They talked about life, family, travel, careers, and after each time they hung up, each walked away feeling like there was a definite spark. When they finally met in person, they knew they were in real trouble. Scott even brought Kyna to the 1st in person date to close the deal. They felt like they had known each other a long time. That first hug filled the space and all the potential obstacles of who lived where disappeared. Soon after, the holidays came rolling and their love flourished. As many have said to them individually, "I've never seen you this happy" and well, we couldn't agree more.

We knew early on that we were meant for each other. We talked about getting married within the early months of the relationship, but with our busy careers and living in two places, we didn't have an exact timeline. Scott surprised Yareli at the beginning of the river cruise that started in Passau, a German city on the Austrian border, lies at the confluence of the Danube, Inn and Ilz rivers. Known as the Three Rivers City, it's overlooked by the Veste Oberhaus, a 13th-century fortress. Scott picked the perfect place.... a park bench right at the place where the three rivers meet. Yareli felt it was symbolic of their lives meeting into one.