We met in the summer of 2017, when she had just started as the leasing agent at my apartment complex. Every afternoon I’d wander down to the lobby for free tea and cookies, and one day the new girl behind the desk caught my eye. The next afternoon was slow, so we ended up talking for three straight hours—long enough that I forgot the tea and she nearly forgot to close up.

From then on it felt easy: weekend walks, late-night tacos, and our first trip to Breckenridge, where she carved up the mountain so confidently I realized she was the one and blurted out “I love you” on the lift ride down. We adopted Joey in July 2019, bought our first boat a year later, and moved our life—and the dog—to Austin in February 2021. In September 2024 we pointed the Suburban north on a 900-mile road trip back to Breck. A few months earlier, at the top of Peak 10, she’d joked that it would be a perfect place to propose. So in the off-season I found an old jeep trail, coaxed the truck 90 percent of the way up, and we hiked the final switchbacks to the summit. While she was snapping photos of the ridgeline, I dropped to one knee; when she turned around, words failed her but “yes” came easy.

Now we’re inviting everyone we love to breathe that same alpine air with us—no agenda beyond good views, good laughs, and a chance to slow down together before the next stretch of road we’ll tackle side by side.