John and I met the summer of 2011, I was just out of high school. I had known of John from school but had never spoken to him. That changed one day as my friend Taelor and I were finishing up a run near Turtle Bay. We were about to get in our car when our friend Mikel pulled up with John in the car. They invited us to join them on John's sailboat on Whiskey Town Lake, and of course we said yes. We spent almost the entire summer on that boat hanging out with friends enjoying the sun and water. John and I became close friends and soon after started dating. We attend his senior prom together, enjoyed summer breaks in Redding together and even endured years of a long distance relationship as we both attended college in different cities. We have been each others rock through good times and bad and I absolutely love him for that.

Even before the big day, John started things right. He personally asked my dad for permission to Marry me. Both my Dad and my Mom gave him their full blessing! The engagement day…It was Saturday, March 23, 2019 to be exact. The day before, John had asked me if I would be interested in heading up to to Mount Shasta with the dogs to go snowshoeing. I, of course said yes I absolutely love our mini adventures, especially if Chuck and Shasta are involved. We loaded the dogs in the car Saturday morning and set off for the mountain. It had been pretty stormy that week in Redding so I wasn't sure how the weather would be once we got up there. John assured me it should be fine. We drove through a combination of fog and clouds sitting low on the mountains. It looked like we were in a movie the entire way there. Once we passed through the town of Mount Shasta and headed toward the top of the mountain, the walls of snow on each side of the road became bigger and bigger. It was a winter wonderland. Once we reached our destination at Bunny Flats, we unloaded the dogs and started up to the trail. It was snowing lightly but the sunshine poked through the clouds every once in a while. It was breathtaking. We went off the trail a few times to explore other areas then stopped to take photos of the dogs as they played in the snow. I gave John my gloves so I could maneuver my phone a little better. He turned to put them in is back pack and grabbed his sweater. It was rolled up. He started unwrapping it and I noticed he was holding my gold dipped rose (a precious gift he had given me 7 years ago when he asked me to his senior prom) along with a little black box. My heart dropped. He opened the box and I heard the words, "Will you marry me?" It was such a magical moment. I will never forget. It was so perfect. No expectations, just the two of us, having fun with the pups. I said YES! We are so happy. John and I are beyond thrilled to start our new life together!