Erik and I met on my first day of 7th grade. New to Frankenmuth, I was eyeing my middle school gym class. I could tell right away who I would be ducking high velocity dodge balls from. On the other hand there were a few waifish kids in there that I knew I would be able to dominate. Erik, being one year my senior, made no indication that he wanted to establish dominance over me by way of a fast moving rubber ball. Rather, he saw potential in me and always would choose me for his teams.

In college, Erik and I continued our friendship at Central Michigan University and ended up living and graduating together. He has always been someone that I have looked up to and always will. Currently he resides in New Orleans, LA continuing the practice of "Potential Realization" as a High school Biology, Physical Education Teacher and Coach. Kristi and I will be joining Erik and his beautiful fiancée Lauren in New Orleans for their wedding in late November.

Matt is Kristi’s older brother and is married to Courtney. Their son, Gideon, is an amazing little man that will be acting as ring bearer in our wedding.

Matt is officiating our wedding, and I couldn’t think of a more well-spoken, special individual to preside over his younger sister's marriage. He has always been the one to speak wisdom to Kristi and continues to do so for both of us. We both admire how he keeps an open mind and we love his unique thoughts and creativity towards life. On top of that he has taken to his role as father to Gideon in a way that should be written in an educational book for all fathers to learn from! We can only hope to have kids as cute as Gideon and learn to parent as well as Matt & Court!

Andrew is Kristi’s younger brother. Don’t let the fact that he is younger fool you. Andrew has acted as Kristi’s closest friend and protector for the majority of their lives. Andrew and I haven’t gotten to spend as much time together as the rest of the family but I can tell you that we have a lot in common. I see traits in Andrew such as compassion, honesty, a great sense of humor, and an energetic approach to life.

Andrew is and has been very active in sports and is now a tennis instructor and tennis programs director at a club in Indiana. He and his wife Kristine met in college and their relationship developed primarily on the tennis court at Taylor University. Also, Andrew is pretty much a lock for NCAA draft picks every year. I have only been involved in the Miller family pool for two years and he, along with Kristi’s father, are always battling for the lead.

My favorite part about Andrew and what I look forward to the most is the fact that he has been bitten by the “great outdoors bug.” Our wedding gift to him and Kristine was a tent and we have since gotten Andrew a backpack. I truly look forward to spending some quality time on the trail with him for years to come.

Mitch Pegan is informally the newest member to my family as he proposed to my sister the very same day that I proposed to Kristi. Yes, that does mean her name will be Megan Pegan!

Mitch is one of the most generous, fun loving guys I have ever met and I couldn’t be happier that he is going to be my future brother-in-law. As a testament to the entire Pegan family, Mitch’s sister has only met me twice and is now running a marathon in San Francisco on the day of our wedding in my name to benefit Hodgkin’s Lymphoma research. Thanks again Mitch for taking part in our wedding in October!

Ahhh….David…. David and I have literally grown up together, physically, mentally and emotionally. Both of us have experienced health problems at a young age, a parents death before the age of 20 and in my opinion we have come out of it stronger, more mature, and with a better appreciation for life overall.

David and I were for a while the youngest cousins in our family. This meant that we had to put up with multiple forms of torture, abuse, and general disregard from our other cousins. We have millions of stories to back this up but one of my favorites took place when our entire family would drop all the cousins off at one home when they all went out for the night in teams to participate in a Road Rally (it was an 80's thing.) Some of the older cousins told us that eating any of the apple-pie or other delicious leftovers would give us nightmares. What made it bearable was the fact that we had each other and once we learned how to push some buttons within the “cousin heiarchy” we ran with it.

David’s father took us camping to some of the most wonderful places around Michigan and Canada. I can definitely attribute my love for the outdoors to some of those weekends. To this day I still think about the amazing blue water and all of the shipwrecks off of the tip of Tobermory, Canada. If you camp and want a unique beautiful location Near Michigan/Indiana check it out. Thanks, David, for sharing with me my childhood, adolescent years, and the future as a husband!

Rick is currently my roommate here in Colorado. With Irish names like Patrick Michael Fitzgerald and Ryan Patrick Murphy you would think that we would both have red hair, an affinity for whisky, and that we would always be looking for a fight…that is definitely not the case. Rick and I grew up together in Frankenmuth, MI where his father moved the family when he became a pastor at the Lutheran church in town. Rick and I met in high school and have been great friends ever since.

Rick is one of those guys that has MacGuiver-type skills and is always available and willing to help. He is also adventurous and has been on almost every single trip that I have ever organized to go rafting, camping, hiking, and skiing. Rick has taught me so much over the last year that we have lived together and I am really happy to have such a great friend that will be living close by here in Colorado.

For as long as I have known Steve he has been one of my closest friends. Steve and I share so many common interests that our friendship was inevitable. When I think of my top interests right now almost all of them stem from this guy. Music was something that I enjoyed from a “Top 40” standpoint until I met him. He introduced me to genres, and sub genres that I still listen to today. The same can be said for movies. Almost all of my favorite films are Documentaries, Independent films, and cult classics that I am not sure I would have even considered without Steve’s recommendations. Because of this respect that I have developed for Steve’s opinions on everything, I still to this day lean on him for advice.