3 years, Austin trips, Shady Grove

Three years ago I went on my first official/unofficial date with Andy. I say official because for all intents and purposes it was a perfect first date - he picked me up, he drove, he paid, etc. Yet it was completely unofficial, because he wasn't calling it a date and I sure as heck wasn't about to either!

He and I were both 20 years old and weren't even halfway through college. We were just starting to get to know each other, when Andy invited me to Austin to keep in company because he needed to go pick up a bike for his brother. We decided to make a fun day out of the trip. We mountain biked, had a picnic by the creek, shopped and ate dinner at Shady Grove. By the end of the day I felt (and I think he did too) that we knew each other so much better. This Austin trip definitely solidified that we had something special :)

For months and months to come I would talk about this day and ask Andy if we could do a repeat of it. And for one reason or another we never got around to going back to Austin until this past weekend!

Saturday morning we loaded up the car and headed to Austin to celebrate our three-year anniversary. The day was so fun, even better than the first time we went. Side note---I always used to tell Andy that the best part of a relationship is the beginning of it, and he would always disagree. He would say our relationship is the best now because we know each other so much better, and that makes it more fun. I totally agree with him now. ---End side note. All that to say, it was really fun because we spent the entire time joking and goofing off, and that’s something we didn’t really do when we first started dating! We even managed to eat at the same restaurant that we ate at three years earlier! Talk about cool!!

Anyways, I am so lucky! I’ve loved having the best person in the world by my side for the past three years. Andy, thank you for all that you do for me! I love you!