We met the way a lot of great stories start… at summer camp. Abbey grew up going to a Christian camp called Camp Ozark for eight years before eventually coming back to serve as a counselor for two summers and then as top staff during her final year. I grew up going to a different camp called Kanakuk for about the same amount of time. During college I decided to take a job at Camp Ozark as a counselor. Funny thing is that our paths almost crossed for a year before they actually did. Abbey’s first summer as a counselor was the one year I wasn’t there. Her second summer was my first summer at Ozark (summer 2024), and somehow we both worked three sessions of camp and never bumped into each other. Finally, the next summer (2025), Abbey was top staff while I was back for my second year as a counselor.

We officially met during the final session of camp while working “MishMash,” a two-hour free period in the afternoon. I was assigned to work at the wiffleball field, and Abbey was the top staff (manager) over that area. The first day we met, she came over and kindly offered to bring me water or snacks. I hate to admit it, but I was pretty distracted at the time and a little dismissive of her… (can’t blame him he was doing his job watching the kids! - Abbey) Thankfully she gave me another chance the next day. We started talking about a movie we both loved, Tick, Tick… Boom!, and from that point on we spent the rest of camp talking every chance we got. By the end of the session I finally worked up the courage to ask for her number, and she said yes.

After camp ended, we started dating in August. I had just graduated from college and had been planning to move to Tennessee. But Abbey still had one more year at Baylor, and it didn’t take long for me to realize I needed to be closer to her. Just ten days after we started dating, I packed up and moved to Abilene, Texas to be closer to a girl I had met only three weeks earlier. Somehow I just had a feeling she was going to be the girl I’d marry. Eight months later, in April 2026, we are engaged, and we’re now counting down to our wedding on October 10, 2026.