In May of 2001, when Julie came back to San Antonio for the summer from Texas A&M, we were introduced by a mutual friend (Jason Jinks) while attending the Texas Music concert series hosted by The County Line BBQ. We quickly discovered a shared love for Texas Music as well as the game of volleyball. That night, the party moved to Midnight Rodeo, as it usually did . . . we danced, we talked, I dropped her off at home and I got her number.
The first date was the typical movie date, we saw “One Night at McCool’s”. However, when we pulled up at her house to say goodnight, I pulled a volleyball out of the truck and got her to “pepper” right there in the front yard! Apparently this has never been attempted on a first date, nor had she touched a volleyball since high school.
On June 14, 2001, Julie’s Golden Retriever, Shiloh, gave birth to 10 pure-bred puppies. She placed one of her favorites aside for me and I named him Logan. (It just so happens that Logan’s naming credit also goes to my friend Jason that introduced us.) From then on, we kept in touch about the dogs and the friendship began.
Three and a half years pass…
Julie moved back to San Antonio in January 2005. No sooner did she step foot back into her parents house than I asked her out again.
We dated for the next few months while we both got involved coaching a 13 year old girls club volleyball team. It was my plan to begin with, but I never expected her to love it as much as she did. She latched on to the girls and vice-versa. Once the team found out we were dating it was all over! You give a 13 year old that kind of info and you will never recover!
Once the season was over, we had a lot more time to ourselves, but we knew enough to know that we had found the person we wanted to spend the rest of our life with. Our relationship had grown stronger and the four year old friendship was ready to take the next step.
July 3, 2005…I proposed at Lake LBJ on top of the boat dock at sunset. Both of our entire families were there to witness the occasion. The lake has been a staple in Julie’s family for so long, I knew that this was the right place for this kind of memory.