So it is hard to try to pick 1 story or 1 memory. There are just too many of them, so instead I just want to talk a little bit about Brandon. Brandon and I were not super religious people. We both would always say we were spiritual. We prayed and we did our best every single day to treat people the way we wanted to be treated. Brandon was an amazing, one of a kind guy. From the night I met him, he made me laugh. He had such a desire to fully live life. He dreamed dreams that most wouldn't even dare to imagine and we had so many plans. To travel, to see the world, to go find treasure, and to appease me, to go ghost hunting, although he always said I would have to go in first. For people who really knew and appreciated Brandon, he couldn't be Brandon without doing it big and doing it the hard way. He truly wanted to be successful and understood that did not mean what you had, it meant who you were. We often talked about when our business took off that we would open a place to help the homeless. That we could offer free computer training, food, a place to stay....help. He was smart, so smart. I remember after our first business sold him telling me, "thank you for making me see how smart I am". And I still do not believe he actually knew how smart he was. He could teach himself anything and would freely teach it to anyone who wanted to learn. Always with patience and encouragement. He was a wonderful artist and I treasure all the drawings and paintings he did for me and my family. Brandon however was not defined by any one of these things...he was defined by everything he did, everything he experienced, everything he went through, everything he failed at, and everything he succeeded at. Although he wished we met sooner, I would tell him no, because his life experiences made him the man he was. I love that man. I love him not in spite of quirks or failures but because of them. I loved him because he tried, he might fail but he would keep trying until he did it. The real person, the good person can admit faults, admit failures and still will succeed. That was Brandon. We were an amazing team and we had an amazing life. I feel so lucky to have been half of Brandon and Nicole. He was my world and I was his. Brandon became the man he always wanted to be and never lost sight of who he was or what really mattered. He was never phony, fake or hypocritical....just Brandon. My favorite memories are just us being together watching a movie. Laughing after he jumped out of his skin scared, pausing it a zillion times to go smoke, asking me to make him midnight munchies....just us being together with one another. We didn't need a lot or to spend a lot because we so enjoyed just being together. He taught me so much and still continues to. He taught me about rolling with the flow, about taking naps, about taking the risk, about dreams, about family, about judgment, about picking my battles, and about love. I know he is with me and I know he loved me as much as any one person can love another and I get peace in knowing that every minute of every single day he knew how treasured and loved he was by me. I know he is in heaven happy, figuring out ways to haunt me. I know he is there not because he prayed, not because he finally had become who he wanted to be, but because at the core of Brandon, his soul was so good, so kind and so loving. He will always be missed, always be loved, and always be with me and I will achieve all those things we wanted to because I know he would want me to. I know he would want me to make my life everything I want it to be and I will, with him right there with me. My life will never be the same. I love you monkey and miss you every moment of every single day. nicole