People let me tell ya bout my bestttt friend!
As if she really needs an introduction but for the sake of formalities...a woman of many names (Lyley to Jax, Ry, RyDog, Ry Nye the Science Guy, the list goes on and on), Ryley Baker is my Maid of Honor. Surprise.
Ry and I have been inseparable since 2013 when Wurstfest brought us together (and that's pretty much set the tone for our entire friendship). We're roommates turned family and I couldn't ask for a better sister. We've adventured, we've stayed home, we've laughed, cried, and just about anything in between. She has been there for it all. Seriously y'all, this girl drove 30 hours in a car with me, Jaxon, my dog Tucker, and all of our necessities in my tiny clown car when we moved home from Pittsburgh...and she did it on purpose.
She and Matt have the best relationship and I promise Jax loves her most of all. She went ring shopping with Matt, she helped plan our engagement, and she is hitting the ground running helping us plan the wedding. From our nights home alone drinking cheap beer and watching Frozen on repeat to learning how to bustle the train on my wedding dress - I can't even begin to try and picture life without her in it and I am so thankful she is willing to stand up there right next to me on our wedding day.
You will never meet a better guy. Haas has the best and most genuinely kind heart of anyone I've ever met. I actually met Mrs. Haas before I met Tyler. She was one of my teachers in the 8th grade. When Haas and I got to high school, we fell into the same friend group and became fast friends.
Our friendship has, thankfully, carried into our adult years. He moved to Austin for school and life took me to Pittsburgh at one point. He was there on the day Jaxon was born. Distance or different seasons in life have never hindered our friendship. Josh and I still try and go up to Austin as often as possible and Haas even came to visit me in Pittsburgh while I was there.
While it might be a little unconventional to have him stand on my side, the day wouldn't feel complete without him. He's been by my side for everything else, I don't see why our wedding should be any different.
Y’all wanna talk about fast friends? This girl immediately became one of my favorite people in Pittsburgh when I lived there in 2016-17. We worked together and were constantly getting mistaken for each other - the rest is history!
I’m pretty sure she took a liking to Jax before me (fair) and she has been the BEST Auntie Bri.
With her own little one on the way, I have no doubt she will be the best mother. She didn’t know at the time, but she helped pick me up in the hardest time of my life and was one of the hardest people to leave when it came time to come back to Texas.
Bri is strong, fun,and fierce, she loves hard and is one of the most loyal people I’ve ever met. She is a staple in our family and we love her so much. I am so excited to have her stand with me on our big day.
Adam is my youngest brother. With 9 years between us, we had a really unique relationship growing up. I got to actively help my mom care for him when he was a baby and, when we moved to Pittsburgh, he did the same in helping me care for Jaxon. There's nothing more important than family and I am so happy that he was so willing to stand with me while we officially add Matt to our family.
motivation (noun) Definition:
1: act or process of motivating
2: -motivating- a force, stimulus, or influence : INCENTIVE/DRIVE
My brother Josh, is 4 years older than I, I've been blessed to see him go through life practically every leg of life...he's been my literal crystal ball. This man has either seen, knows, or actively been a part of practically everything in my life. I've seen him for basically 30 years do things I didn't think were possible, with a level of strength, confidence, & intensity that continues to put me in awe. Each day i wake up and there is an internal voice that pushes me to finish strong, exceed expectation, achieve a set goal, always stay motivated. That voice is my brothers voice. Josh has the type of mindset people watch you tube videos to gain, read books to learn how to mimic, its a mixture of passion/priority/ and hatred for complacency. Kids look up to there elder sibling in sense of wanting to like the same things as them or to do the same things as them. I look up to Josh, always have always will, for those same reasons but theirs a unique reason though that i like up to him...it's easy to talk yourself out of something, give up on something, do enough to get by on stuff, but to be able to look deep within and push forward and push those around you to take that next step to not quit or become complacent that leadership, drive, motivation is something you're born within not learned. I will always continue the pursuit of the Best Matt possible in all aspects of life because I know it can be done, it all can be handled because he has shown me. I wouldn't be the man I am without his motivation, Thank you E for always being my next step!!!
Definition of perseverance: continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition : the action or condition of persevering : STEADFASTNESS
That definition should also include the name Levi Baublet. My big brother!
Levi use to tell me growing up "I did that so you would know what not to do" in all honesty though I learned more in life that I want to do and be because of him than not. Levi has shown me that there is no obstacle, task, or curve ball in life that can keep you down or hold you back from what you feel needs to be done. The man I am today, a man Liz wants to marry is because I learned how to persevere, how to cherish, lead, focus, raise a child and many more things from him. From being a 4 year old child that is learning a rap song in Levis truck, to an 8 year old kid being taught how to slide head first in baseball, to a 15 year old teen being shown how to throw a hay bale for money, to a 29 year old man learning how to appreciate the life around me and love my family. I will forever be grateful to my pitbull of a brother for showing me how to persevere and continuously be the best man for my family!
Family >noun
A group of people, usually of the same blood (but do not have to be), who genuinely love, trust, care about, and look out for each other.
I like this Urban Dictionary definition a lot more than Websters version. As a kid In school It was easy to realize I was visual learner at the education level, but as i get older i realize I am a visual learner in most aspects of life.
I see, I listen, I watch, I practice, I analyze, I learn a lot from people around me and even more from people I respect. Felix Diaz and i became friends gradually the man started off inviting me to go fishing at Caleveras, to even his wedding, now days all his kids birthdays, sporting events, all the way to BBqs with his high school friends "Tha Fat Boys". Unbeknownst to him he has taught me an abundant amount about unity, family, fatherhood, priorities all while never missing out on cracking a joke even if was about me. This guy has welcomed me into his life his family, even welcomed some of the closest people to my heart, not because he has to but because he wants to. This life I have and the man I am can be credited to this guy for taking 2 minutes of his time back in 2010 and asking me "hey you're one of the Under Armour bros right, you play baseball?" My life will never be the same as it was, and i can never say thank you enough to him. Mi Familia!
Comfort (verb)
1: to give strength/hope. To put one at ease
2: to ease the grief or trouble
ASSISTANCE, SUPPORT
I moved to New Braunfels at the age of 17 four days after graduating high school, I honestly only knew 4 people who lived within a 3 hour radius of me. I started working at a Distribution Center to save up for tuition and a jeep. That job I had was working 12+ hour shifts on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, loading a 50+ foot long trailer in a distribution center, gives you a lot of time to think. I was young, worried, missing my friends, financially strapped and not playing college baseball. lol. So loading boxes by hand, practically playing a physical version of Tetris for 40 hrs in 3 days had me thinking if I was cut out for this challenge in life. At that DC I met Mike, just some skinny kid my age who seemed to laugh with anyone I saw him talk to, we had to cover each other for breaks one day and the rest is history. Mike was my 1st friend, my 1st piece of comfort, the 1st realization this might be home if i give it a shot. Mike and his family felt like friends my brother and I had since childhood. They welcomed us in, made memories, and opened my eyes to this place i now call home. Parts of who I am, alot of reasons why I am where I am, and some good memories along the way are due to this man. My first piece of east texas, my first piece of comfort Mike Carson will always be my dog!
Reassume (verb)
: to assume (something) again : to take up or adopt (something).A continuation or resurgence
Benjamin and I met my sophomore year of high school, he and my older brother Josh worked together at Applebees. During HS we were decently cool but not close friends, after Ben graduated and moved I didn't see him for around 2 years, but when i did it was just as the last time i saw him when we were in school. I moved to New Braunfels a few years later we caught up like no time passed. We were roommates, battle buddies, co workers, and always able to find a way to waste time and money. A few years after that Ben joined the Army, after he graduated we didn't see each other much with me in college and him in practically the desert but when we did the humor, appreciation, and simplicity was there just as all the past years. Distance was common in our friendship and it was inevitable with me going 90 mph hour in 3 different directions and Ben finding a career, becoming a father, and buying a home for his growing family. But From high school, to living together, to visits in our mid 20s, to now family get togethers, Ben has been a rock for me, a brother to me, a great escape when I need it most, to a friend that no matter where life takes me i know our friendship will always Reassume. Cheers Buddy!
Guffaw (noun)
: a loud or boisterous burst of laughter
commonly referenced as a laugh from within/belly
Daniel Hernandez, my freaking dude, I was friends with Daniel just through some mutuals and saw him every now and then. In a time in my life where I had a lot of moving parts, alot of goals, many aspirations, and somehow felt like never enough time. There was one night i got invite to go to a buddies house for a kick back, I didn't know everyone there but I recognized Daniel. We ended up on the same side of a beer pong table that night as teammates and it felt like I had been friends with him since grade school. This guy had me laughing to a point where I thought I had asthma. From there we became true friends not just acquaintances. In this friendship we have ate way more Herbert's together than we should've, dominated some scrubs on some online video games, helped one another push through whatever difficult times were at hand, we have lived together, and even got sister dogs together. I say all of that to say theirs never a dull moment when this guy is around, but mainly I want to point out the perspective I gained from this brotherhood. Since that belly laugh in a garage, that I cant even remember what it was about, life started to slow down. He may not know it but I cherish the little things more now because of him, thank you my man.
I love all of my groomsmen to a great level all uniquely, but I would be lying if i said i didn't just have to get up and wipe some tears for the first time writing these, thinking about what to say about the literal coolest kid I know. I've always been envious, in all honestly angry at times, of the people who know what they were put on this earth do be, what to do for a living.
But there was a day that I will never forget in a small duplex with 3 dogs and b-e-a-utiful girlfriend, where you fell down outside. That day you didn't cry for "Mama" you cried for "Daddy-Matt" and stared at me with a plea of urgency to pick you up, I scooped you up and consoled you by rubbing your back saying "You're good bud, its ok" but the wild thing is time stopped in that moment. I had one thing to do and only one thing on my mind, You. I found my purpose my reason I'm here, so thank you lil thug. Thank you to the sweetest, smartest, most non stop talking goober I know! Thanking you for making me a Dad!
My heart beat is rising as type on this one...there are alot of things in this world that I understand better now because of this pudgey little ace.
(That took me 20 minutes to type) Lol.
It is hard to put into words the emotions I feel when I think/look at this guy. So i'll name some:
Peace, Happiness, Pride, Admiration, Worry, Humor, Humility, Strength, Fear, Curiosity, LOVE, give me a dictionary and I can keep going until the book ends. But appreciation is another one that I think is important I feel that with him but I feel that with you reading this. Every thing that you or I have done individually or together that has impacted my life in some major or minor ways, it effected my life trajectory. As I sit in front of this computer with Liz, Jaxon, Skye&Coop, and Decker downstairs I can't but be appreciative. Thank You for being you and enduring this life thing, Thank You for our relationship! I love this little dude!!!
Shits Cool man! ( Sorry Mom, sorry Pop).