Laura and I have known each other since 3rd grade at Horn Elementary, but didn’t connect until a few years ago.

I was invited to a wedding in Colorado, and decided at the last minute to stay an extra day for vacation time with friends and family.

We were walking the strip in downtown Boulder, CO, and I saw this slightly overweight guy wearing a full-body leopard spandex suit on the sidewalk promoting “Wok & Roll”, and I thought he looked both so ridiculous & hilarious and said, “Hey Chris, get a picture of me and this guy.”

Thank you leopard-spandex, sandwich-sign-man-guy!

A couple months later I was visiting Houston for the holidays, and I invited Laura out to a friend’s holiday party, but she declined. 🙁

So the next day, I invited her to a New Year’s Eve Party and she declined that too 🙁

I was bummed, but finally on New Year’s day, she invited me out to a friend’s birthday party (not sure who took this pic, but thank you!).

That night I told her I’d been planning to move back to Houston, and we’ve been in touch every day since.

The day after I moved back to Houston on April 1, 2014, we went out with her family and took our first picture together as a couple:

6 months later we went to Yellowstone with her dad and sister.

and the Grand Tetons!

Then we moved in together.

A few months later, we adopted our tripod dog, Astro!

One year later, I asked her dad, John, for his permission at Siphon Coffee in Montrose (where Laura and I used to go almost on a daily basis)

On February 2nd 2016, I took her to our elementary school where we first met to get a picture of us together before dinner.

The plan was to surprise her in the field with a ring while the pictures were being taken, but we were locked out and opted for the parking lot instead.

I always told her I would propose to her with a Ring Pop.

We went to New York a few months later to pick out a real engagement ring from Anna Sheffield’s only shop.

And here we are!

Thanks for Reading!

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