How it all began...

I feel the urge to share the story of how the fiance and I met, because if you haven't already heard it, its quite a cute story in my opinion!

It started in September of 2008. I was just about to leave the job I was in, and I was gearing up for my grad school application process (which, in itself, was a full time job). I don't have many friends in the area, so I had made it a custom to take my Morkie (maltese-yorkie) Theodore to the pet beach with me every weekend. He's pretty much my best bud, and we always had a fun time amazing all of the onlookers at his swimming skills.  This little dude is 10 lbs and he is fearless in the water; he swims with the big dogs!

My little man - isn't he cute?

There are always regulars at the pet beach, and you know who they are.  So, it was no surprise that one week I spotted a newcomer.  Camped up away from the water was a guy with a makeshift tent made out of an umbrella, with an 8 week old puppy sitting underneath.  Chick magnet, right? I parked myself down by the water with Theo, hoping that he'd bring the puppy out from under the shade. But alas, it was not meant to be that day.

Fast forward to the following week. Puppy guy was there again, and my DAD ends up talking to him/meeting the pup.  I am slightly jealous that I did not happen to run into him, but left the beach hoping that our paths will cross again.

Finally, the 3rd week, our luck decided to change.  As Theo and I made our sandy trek to the shore, at the end of the trail, who happens to be walking by at the exact time we make our entrance??? You guessed it!  Of course, I make an effort to start talking to him, and we make our way down the beach together.  This conversation turned into about 3-4 hours of talking, and it soon came time for us to leave.  In my head I'm thinking, "awesome! This guy is so nice...he's totally going to ask for my phone number." After an awkward few minutes in the parking lot, we end up parting ways, and he says that hopefully we'll run into each other again in 2 weeks when he comes back.  I have to admit, my ego was a bit deflated, but I was still intrigued. (He since has informed me that he was kicking himself for not getting my number that day)

So, 2 weeks later, guess where I was?  Clearly, the beach.  And guess what, so was he (Although, on a side note...he was almost bullied out of going!  His then-roommate had heard the story of "the girl at the beach" 2 weeks prior, and was convinced that I would not be returning.  Instead, he suggested that Justin attend a football game that they had tickets for.  But, thankfully, the fiance was convinced that I would be there, and was determined to have the chance to see me again)!  Once again, we spent a few hours on the beach with the pups...and then, with a little bit of suggestion from myself, we decided to meet at this awesome little Italian restaurant in town for dinner that night.  I was overjoyed!  Of course, I hemmed and hawed over what I was going to wear (achieving the "I'm extremely well dressed, but I'm not trying hard" look sometimes takes skill).  We had dinner that night and ended up staying at the restaurant for over 4 hours; I'm pretty sure that the owners wanted to kick us out, as we had eaten dinner at 6:30pm.  I was amazed at how easy it was to talk to him...this one was a keeper!

Justin and I at the beach!

Anyway, to make a long story short, that is the tale of how my fiance and I met...I can't imagine it being any other way!