How WE met.

My BFF, Leah Patricia, asked me in 2001..."Do you want to go on a cruise with the Baker Clan?" And of course, I wouldn't miss any type of trip that had to do with #1: Mexico & #2: Alcohol. I had a terrible, rough, unorganized, failing, first semester of college, however since my parents are such loyal and understanding peeps they gave me another chance with semester 2. Since I could prove I was doing so well in semester 2, they allowed me to go on the Spring Break cruise with the Bakers.
Onto it...so the fam drives down to Galveston...gets on the boat...get a beer and participate in the safety course everyone must partake in on the boat. We were all lovin life! The boat set sail to Mexico. Leah and I were layin out on the deck enjoying the warm breeze in our hair, drinking fun cocktails, laughing, smoking, and having the best time ever. We soon gathered our thoughts and really payed attention to the crowd around us...ummm...they were ALL rather young, all girls, in cheerleading outfits...we soon realized, we were on a ship that was holding a CHEER COMPETITION, crushing. Of course, we were still going to have a great time, but we were just wanting other company. The 2nd day we were on the ship...there was a group of LONGHORN fans out on the deck by the pool. Leah and I were like "Look, they must be from Texas or at least go to UT." We were also thinking...they must need adult female attention and must be sick of looking at 9 year olds. Leah and I discussed how we could become friends with this group. And, I decided I would ask them to take OUR picture (HOW FIRST GRADE.) But, I asked, they took it, and we instantly became buddies with this group. Leah was infatuated with one of the guys, I wasn't infatuated with anyone because E wasn't there (HE loves to gamble...sigh), and I just wanted to have a fabulous time. We decided to all meet up that night at THE club. And that's when I saw E...his gorgeous blue eyes, perfect hair, and red Hawaiian shirt. He and I danced the night away (And he hates dancing BTW), drank the night away and stayed up until the sun came up talking about life. We had everything in common...when I say everything...I mean everything: He liked Dr. Pepper, He had a brother, His parents were still married, He loved the Texas Longhorns, Was a Texas Longhorn, He lived in Austin, Was smart, Loved to read, His brother had a Tahoe, He loved to travel, He loved to drink, He loved to party, He loved football, He loved cold weather...He loved everything I loved. As the cruise continued, E's group, Leah and I became very close and had a blast together. At the end, E asked for my phone number. We all said our goodbyes and I shed a few tears...Then Leah and I returned to Katy. I went to my mom's place of work...told her all about the trip...showed her the pictures...AND TOLD HER I met the man I was going to marry. My mom's response was..."Oh Julez, It's boat love..."E contacted me a few days later and we continued our relationship through our college careers. Words cannot describe the amount of fun we had over those years...making new relationships with new friends, growing in our relationship, and both becoming educated at 2 phenomenal schools. And then...he proposed on his boat under the sunset on Lake Austin when I graduated from college. After partying, planning, picking, growing, crying, losing, winning, singing, dancing, laughing, loving for 4 years...
My father walked me down the aisle to say my I do's to Eric, I looked at my father and said..."It's just boat love."