Hey babe,

On Monday, November 12, it has now been two years since our first date; walking around Blackstone in forty degrees weather and me wanting cotton candy ice cream from the shop behind the jewelry store. You must have thought in that exact moment "this girl is crazy eating ice cream in forty degree weather," but two years later, here we are. I still eat ice cream in forty degrees weather, and you still think I'm crazy.

You love me for who I am, flaws and all, and we both know I have a few. You have become my voice of reason when I get overwhelmed with school and life in general, and you are not afraid to tell me like it is. You listen to me rant about people, school, and everything else in between. You always brighten my day with some kind of story that happened to you during work, and I love how your first instinct when you see a dog (besides petting it), is that you need to send me a picture of it. You listen to my crazy ideas for the future, and never fail to entertain them. Most of them consist of us living with twenty dogs of varying breeds, and just enjoying life together.

We've had our ups and downs like any couple, some days better than others. We may fight, yell, and stress each other out, but I know you're always going to be there for me. You put up with me constantly taking pictures of us, or just of you, especially when you're snuggling with Ella, and know that sometimes all I want is to lay on the couch and watch Youtube videos with you.

I love all our memories, especially the ones from the early days of our relationship where we were still trying to get to know one another. Our second date story is my favorite story to tell as you know. It's a life lesson to younger people of always taking your phone with you no matter what, especially if you are an 18-year-old girl going on a date with a boy your family has only met twice and your best friend once. That and the dislocating my knee while swimming story, which I still don't fully understand how it happened, but it did and now I will never go back into the James River unless its to dip my feet in.

You don't understand my obsession with fluffy blankets, but buy them for me anyways. The grey one will forever be my favorite since it's king-sized, and you thought you had bought a twin. You listen to me rant about books that have upset me, let me quote movie lines to you, and love waking me up when I try to sleep in.

You have never failed to support me in anything I try to do and you were a good sport for sitting through a 4-hour long dance recital, even though you tried to make me laugh on stage when I needed to be serious. You let me cry when I need to, but afterward, you tell me I need to pick myself up and keep moving forward with what I need to get done.

We do our own things sometimes when I'm back from school, and even before I left. You could be playing video games, and I'm perfectly content to sit on the couch and watch you or have a book in my hand or on my phone. You try to explain video games to me, and I understand most of it, especially Skyrim, even though we both know I'm terrible at it. The only games I'm halfway decent at are Steep and Diablo 3, only because I don't have to attempt to aim or turn my head.

Thank you for being there for me, and for just being yourself. I couldn't ask for anything better. To quote Luke Bryan, "yeah I'll be right beside you on the roll or off the tracks, to the ends of the earth, to the moon and back"

I love you to the ends of the Earth and I'll see you when I come home for break.

Love,

Em