Natalie’s side:

It all began when my cousins invited me to stay a couple of nights at L'Auberge du Lac in Lake Charles!  I was attending UL at the time, but enjoyed hanging out with family on these random, little trips.  It was the beginning of June, so the sun was really hot and all I was concerned with was getting a tan on the lazy river at the casino. Little did I know that's where my life would change forever. 

As I was enjoying my day, I noticed that there were these two people in the river that kept popping up everywhere!  I didn't really think about it because we were in an automatic flowing river, so I assumed it was a coincidence.  However, my attention was diverted when this girl told me she liked my bathing suit, and started talking to me about shopping.  After a couple of minutes I was introduced to a really cute guy named Paul!

As the day progressed, Paul and I talked about EVERYTHING; we basically knew each others' life stories!  Seven hours later we found each other still talking and still floating.  There were only three things we both needed:  Water, food, and SUNSCREEN! After eating with my cousins, exchanging numbers, and traveling from Lafayette to Lake Charles over several weeks, we made our relationship official on July 2, 2008 - the day before Paul's birthday! We were married November 13, 2010 and welcomed our first baby August 26, 2011! Life is GREAT, and he’s my sweetheart!!!

Paul’s Side:

Natalie and I met so randomly at L'Auberge du Lac several years ago.  A friend of mine had access to the pool anytime he wanted so we were going there at least five times a week.  Everyday we went was basically the same as the day before except for this one time.  When I first got to the pool that day, I was floating around the lazy river talking to a friend about how I was tired of horrible relationships and how I wanted to meet someone worth investing time with.  Just so happen that as I was having this conversation a beautiful girl floated right past me that I had never seen before... First impression, "Cute butt!"  Obviously that wouldn't have been the right thing to say, so I started trying to figure what my approach was going to be.  Luckily, I had a friend with me that could initiate a female conversation easily, CLOTHES!  The girls talked about bathing suits and cool shops as I sat patiently on my raft.  When the time was right I joined the conversation and found out that this girl was not only beautiful, but quite interesting.  We both had so much to share with each other and instantly had this really strong connection.  We floated around in the river talking for what felt like just an hour but turned out to be seven!  When I couldn't stand being pruned any longer I cordially asked Natalie to join me for dinner and drinks.  From then on I have seen Natalie's beautiful face ever since and feel like the luckiest man on earth! I’m thankful everyday for giving me Natalie and now our sweet little girl, Ella-James.