Keaton and I met on match.com. After exchanging emails back and forth for some time, we went on our first date on February 4, 2015. He took me one of my favorite restaurants in Kansas City-- El Patron! I remember thinking that he was intriguing, very handsome and super sweet. Although we went on a few dates, I wasn't ready for the relationship that I have come to know and love today. So, we parted ways but always remained friends. We would go out to dinner together to catch up, watch movies, drink wine, and laugh but I never realized that he would be the man of my dreams until one weekend when everything changed.

While Keaton and I were "just friends" I would occasionally seek his advice about any number of things. One Friday night, after wrestling with a particularly familiar topic--dating bad guys-- I thought that I would call Keaton. I knew he was one of the best men that I knew (now, THE BEST <3) and I knew that he cared a lot for me so I thought, why not?! We met up at one of his friend's houses where he and his friends were having their fun Friday night. I feel like we talked forever sitting on the front porch swing in the beautiful April weather!

A couple of days later, he called asking if I would go eat Mexican with him and watch a Royals game. **Even at that point, he already knew the way to my heart!** We went out to dinner at Jalapenos in Brookside. Little did I know what was in store for me next... After dinner he asked if I wanted to go to Summit for a glass of wine and to watch the end of the Royals game. While at Summit, he turned to me, said some really cute, genuine mushy gushy stuff and at that moment I fell-- utterly, completely in love.

Now, I realize that saying I knew the instant that I fell in love with Keaton sounds a little too good to be true. And truth be told, at that moment, I didn't know if I would marry him but we started spending more time together, dating, experiencing life, traveling, meeting each other's friends and family and living the day to day together and through all that I realized that I can't picture spending my life with anyone else. The day that Keaton proposed was the best day of my life (thus far) and I can't wait to spend the rest of it with him!

Brooke and I met on Match. She was actually the first person that I met from the cyber dating scene. To this day I remember our first date vividly. We went to El Patron for dinner and margaritas, which was a solid move on my part because, come to find out, her dog Margi has that name because Brooke likes margaritas so much. I remember having a very good time that evening. I also remember there were some small, weird, similarities that we had. She was traveling to my home town, Hutchinson, for work that week, we both came from golfing families, and my dad and her step dad both share the name Kent to name a few. After a month or two of going out we parted ways because she "didn't see a future with me." Challenge accepted!

We kept in touch and stayed good friends for months after that. We would go to dinner from time to time. We caught a Royals game or 2. I'd invite her over to my place for wine and House of Cards binge watching sessions. For whatever reason I could never completely break through. I even found myself wondering why I was still keeping at it.

Since we always had remained good friends she would occasionally ask me for dating advice. One Friday night she called me, very upset about her latest questionable character. And probably a little upset at me because my advice didn't work. Totally unintentional I swear.... I invited her out to the bars with some friends and we finally came back to their house where we had a long chat on the porch. A few days later we went out for dinner at Jalepeno's and then for a drink at Summit, her favorite Waldo joint. It was here where I finally took some of the advice I'd been giving her. If you see something you want you have to just speak from the heart and go get it. And that's all she wrote.