Kaleb and Natalie had many friends in common, so they had casually crossed paths a lot during high school. But they REALLY met in the dog food aisle at Walmart. Sounds like a movie, right? They talked a little bit there and then he sent her a message online later. Those messages kept going back and forth all summer long. They started hanging out, then they made it official the day before their sophomore year of school started.

Now she's studying to be a veterinarian in Alabama. She's had a lifelong passion for taking care of animals - even during the brutal veterinarian schedule, she's able to care for two of their dogs during the year while Kaleb takes care of the third dog. However, while she's been home from break this summer, he's been taking care of all three - and she says it's like having kids, with him calling her all the time to tell her what the latest cute/silly/stupid thing the dogs are doing now. Kaleb is a mechanic by trade, a very skilled craftsman with an engineer's mind, who was able to build a home for them to move into together after they get married with his own hands. 

He asked her father's permission and proposed this year, and they're planning on getting married next fall as soon as Natalie graduates. We're so glad that they took time out of their busy schedules to capture this stage of their relationship. They love the outdoors and nature, so they took us up to a 400+ acre ranch that her parent's used to live on in the hills outside of Newcastle. 

It. Was. Gorgeous. And so are these two.

Years from now, when their kids will be looking back at these images, they're going to recognize those dirty fingernails.

Kaleb scrubbed and scrubbed his nails, but no matter what he did he couldn't get them clean. But it's not going to be dirt to those kids. It's going to tell the story of the long hours, the oil and grime, and the sweat that he throws into his work every day.  It's going to show how much he loves them.