How We Met
Payne and I met when we were 9 and 10 years old. My family had just moved into a new neighborhood and I was outside playing with my older sister, Alexis when two boys rode by on their bikes. We chatted with them for a little while and made plans to play after school the next day. This turned into us playing with them, as well as all nine other children in the neighborhood, almost everyday. Payne picks that he only wanted to hang out with me because I had an electric scooter and dirt bike, but I know it was because he thought I was super cute. (Joking because this was my awkward age) A couple of years go by and we moved out of the neighborhood. Even though Payne was a grade below me, we still remained friends through school. We even “dated” in middle school for a little while.. I’ll spare you the embarrassing story of him breaking up with me.
Anyways, I was a cheerleader and Payne was the quarterback of the football team. I had the biggest crush on him all throughout high school, but it wasn’t until my senior year that we started “talking”. Payne spent that entire football season winking at me on the sideline and I can remember other cheerleaders wondering if they were who he was winking at. Payne and I would laugh so hard after the games over that. After a few months of talking, he asked me to be his girlfriend. (New Years 2012) I’m glad he asked me that night because I had already told my friends that if he didn’t ask me that night I was going to stop talking to him lol. (I was getting impatient and over the “talking” phase) The next school year I went to cheer in college while he enjoyed his senior year of high school. We were 3 hours away from one another, but that didn’t change anything.
Before graduation, Payne received a scholarship to play football at another community college, so like any good girlfriend I tried out for cheer there and followed him. That year I soaked in every football game that I got to cheer for Payne, loving every sideline wink passed my way. Although I was always cheering Payne on, he got his opportunity to cheer for me during the homecoming game that year when I was crowned homecoming queen. It was the perfect year together and one that I’ll always be grateful for. We met some of our best friends that year who will be standing by our sides on our wedding day. After graduating from community college, we attended the University of Mississippi together (HOTTY TODDY)! I was an AOII and Payne was KA Vice President — thank God for Greek life because it gave us so many memories and gave me my closest friends. Fast forward to now.. I’m in my second year of teaching 5th grade at Lafayette Upper Elementary where I’m also the cheer coach for the high school, and Payne is finishing his second year of law school at Ole Miss. We hope to get married in Oxford, MS sometime in 2020.
How They Asked
It was spring break and we had traveled to Breckenridge, CO with another couple. It was March 10, our first day on the slopes. This was my first time skiing and although I caught on fairly quick, I was nowhere ready to get off the green slopes. However, I managed to find myself walking halfway down a mountain because Payne got us on the wrong ski lift that took us to anything but green slopes. I was SO mad walking down that mountain (yes walking), skis in hand, falling down, having people stop and ask if I was ok, people yelling at me from the ski lift asking if I was ok, and not to mention CHILDREN flying past me like this mountain was not the biggest thing they’d ever seen.
Anyway, we survived that and I even joked to our friends when we got to the bottom that Payne almost just became a single man. (Haha so dramatic, I know) We went down a few more GREEN slopes and decided to call it a day. We got to our Airbnb and I laid down for a nap. TWO hours (I never nap, so this was huge) later, Payne was nagging me to get up and shower for dinner. I insisted that it wasn’t that big of a deal, that I’d get ready super quick and to let me keep napping.
Instead of accepting this, he continued the nagging until I got up. I noticed everyone was already ready and I kept asking what the rush was because dinner wasn’t until 7:15 and it was only 5:00! Carlee said she wanted to take pictures at this spot in the mountains that she’s heard about so I hurried, finished getting ready, halfway curled my hair, and threw on some clothes. We came up to the photo spot and they insisted we keep following the trail and look for somewhere else because there were too many people at that spot. So here I am in knee-high boots walking through a snow-covered trail to only find out there’s no other photo spot besides the one we already passed. We walked a mile to get back to the original spot and everyone had left! Payne and I posed for a picture and that’s when he got on one knee and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. I was crying so hard I couldn’t do anything but shake my head yes and hug him. I was so glad that Carlee and Brandon were there to caption the moment because I was so shocked that I wouldn’t have remembered most of it if it weren’t for them snapping pics and videoing!
