<3

I awoke from my newborn baby slumber to my mom's voice saying "everyone meet Thais" I peered around the room at the smiling faces. There was Auntie Di, carrying a large baby version of Amanda and Uncle Dave carrying Alex. She eyed me suspiciously appearing to be deep in thought. I blinked because well that's about all you can do when you're swaddled in a blanket. She relaxed, smiled and waved, and I did the only other thing I could do. I nodded, in a "sup cousin, I think we’re gonna be good friends" kinda way. And here we are 23 years later on this here wedding page. 

No one particular memory stands out as my favorite. There's a combination of memories with Alex like days spent at grandma’s discovering Rollie pollies, climbing on the swing set, riding bikes (the times I didn't hurt myself), exploring the wash in the back yard when we weren't supposed to, building forts in the basement, etc. Memories of our childhood sit in my mind like one continuous Rugrats episode...So I guess my favorite memory is the feeling I'd get every time right after we separate. I would leave the Locke house or whatever adventure we were on and I remember feeling secure in the fact that not only did I have a cousin but also, I had a life-long friend I could discover with, climb with, ride with, explore with, build with, and grow with <3

Began with homemade board games, tent forts, and reconstructed swingsets in California, to bar hoping in Virginia.

Drop the mic.

Ms. Yi. - General Hospital - Xenon: Girl of the 21st Century - Cheetos.

Enough said.

I met A Lo in Oakton yearbook and we've been close friends ever since.

 Picking one memory from 11 years of friendship is nearly impossible so I'll just mention a few of my favorites. As little baby 18 year olds we travelled up to NJ and had a blast on the Jersey Shore with some of her old friends. Snooki and her crew have nothing on us! We coined A few more nicknames and created some unforgettable memories.  Years later, she also helped introduce me to the wonderful (and sometimes heartbreaking) world of Nationals fandom after I moved back here from Florida. I went to my very first game with her and countless since. My favorite has to be game 4 of the 2012 playoffs, I'll never forget celebrating Werth's walkoff homer with Alex and her Dad. We've shared endless other memories that made our friendship as strong as it is and I can't wait to add her wedding to Jeff to my list of favorites!

Alex and I met our freshman year at JMU, played a game beer pong together and based on our stellar skills, we decided we would be friends forever! I've not met a better partner since!

I don't have just one favorite memory together! There are so many... late night dance parties and porch sitting, evenings of Alex patiently recapping seasons of Heroes, HAWAII parachuting and rock-sitting under the low flying planes, camping in the hills of West Virginia/Virginia line, falling into the river on one of those many camping trips, and the list goes on! They're all favorites that I'll cherish forever.

When two people meet because they are both doing a good deed you know they are going to be best friends! Alex and I met while playing kickball in the spring of 2012. Alex was the charity chair and I was the social chair during that season which meant we were forced to work together. Well once we met it was anything but force, we became instant friends! Alex moved in that August, yeah I know what you are thinking, that was fast! But it was meant to be! 

In the past 4 years Alex and I have had quite the adventure. From multiple different roommates that challenged our sanity almost on a daily basis, to exploring the world of Paris and Amsterdam. We have not been friends for too long but if there is one thing I have learned, it’s what a lifetime friendship looks like. Congrats Alex and Jeff. I am so excited to share this special day with you both! 

Jeff and I met playing kickball. He was the captain of a different team. The next season, both of our teams did not have enough people to play so we merged the two teams. We quickly became the best team ever with 5 straight championship seasons! We started chilling with each other more and more until we practically saw each other every day. When he graduated and moved to DC I was pretty bummed. But it was all for the best. He is thriving in DC and has met the love of his life. Anyway a friend of Jeff's is a friend of mine and I can't wait to meet all of you wonderful people at the wedding! 

It was the summer of 2013, I stood next to a dry field before our first kickball game assessing my new teammates, when all of sudden I locked eyes with a tall, lanky dude that referred to himself as Jeffrey. I was a kickball “free agent,” and that means the league placed me on a team because I didn’t know anyone in the league. By the end of the game I could either have 14 new friends in my life or 14 more strangers. While Alex may have been a little hesitant at first, (rightfully so, lots of free agents can be very shady) Jeff made sure I always felt welcome. After the game we met up at Carpool and the rest is history. I can’t remember if it was the golf trip, the lake house weekend or all the kickball games and parties, but at some point I knew that Jeff and Alex would be two of my closest new friends.

I met Jeff in the fall of 2013 my first season of playing kickball. Through mutual friends we played on the same team. After the games I remember reminiscing with him about sports and his love for Ohio State and the Cleveland Browns. After talking to him a couple of times after kickball games I knew we were goanna develop a strong friendship. He was one of the first people to introduce me to the game of golf and ever since then we have gone to many golf outings. 

A Memory I have with Jeff was a time Jeff, Ronnie and I went out for drinks for happy hour after an hour or so we started talking about videogames and Jeff mentioned he had a Nintendo 64. I thought to myself are they even still around, and Jeff had the idea of playing it that night so Ronnie and I went back to his place and played 64 games till midnight on work night. 

I specifically remember one game we played WrestleMania and I thought to myself man this was my game back in the day and I could totally beat these guys let’s just say Jeff laid the smack down on me.