We met working together at the end of the summer of 2009. I was a host and Charlie was a busser at a restaurant called D. Michael B's in Albertville. My older sister had gotten me a job here, and was also friends with Charlie. The first time I met him, he was over at my house helping Nikki with her school project. They were in the dining room and I was in the computer room right next to them rocking out to music, dancing and singing, (embarrasingly I'm sure ;) ). Charlie said that is the moment he knew he had to get to know me. Our first shift together closing at the restaurant, we hit it off almost instantly. He kept helping me with my cleaning tasks, and we played 21 questions so we could get to know each other a little better. The next day he asked my sister for my number and the rest is history! :)

Our first date is definitely a night to remember. It took us a few weeks to set up a day because of my busy basketball and school schedule and his work schedule, but one night I got home from basketball practice early and Charlie invited me to dinner. We started the night at Maynards in Rogers and drove to Arbor Lakes after to walk around the shops. With an almost empty mall and music playing on the speakers outside, Charlie asked if I would slow dance with him. He took my hand, we walked next to the beautiful water fountain, and we danced. Right then and there, I knew that he was going to be someone special. We then drove to the top of the parking ramp and laid on the hood of his car to look at the stars. We talked about everything. Our passions, goals, greatest fears, etc. It felt like we've known each other our entire lives. Then we shared our first kiss. Even though we were so young at the time, I think we both knew in that moment that it was going to be the start of something beautiful.

Having the ring less than 24 hours, I couldn't stand to hold onto it any longer. I had to come up with a plan. I had never been to Minnehaha Falls before, but heard it was beautiful this time of year. It was July 20, 2018. I quickly convinced our friends Jack and Lauren to help out for the perfect photo opportunity. As I put the plans together and told little lies to keep the suspicion down, the nerves started to hit me. I convinced Allie we should go downtown to take pictures that Friday. One of our hobbies, especially hers. On the way down we made small talk as usual, but the bump in my pocket of the ring case couldn't keep my mind off of what was about to happen. As we got closer to the park, I had no idea where to go or what I would see. We drove around the parking lot to find a space and I saw Jack's car which I immediately had to redirect so Allie wouldn't recognize it. I quickly put the ring box in my back pocket when we got out of the car, hoping I could keep Allie in front of me the whole time so she wouldn't notice. As we walked along the path to the falls, I went the wrong way only to get a text from Jack steering me in the right direction. The nerves were building. This was something I was waiting to do for such a long time and it was finally here. I wanted everything to go perfect! We got to the spot where I felt like I could get the perfect shot, I got into position. I pointed out to Allie different shots she could take with her camera to distract her, without causing too much suspicion. I felt like the time was right. Our friends notified me that they were in position to get the perfect picture at the perfect time. I began to kneel on one knee, as a little girl and her brother came running up onto the bridge, along with their parents and grandparents. Abort mission! I thought to myself, and moved Allie to take pictures at a different location along the river.

I kept her in front of me and texted Jack to let me know when the coast was clear. The farther we got away, the less signal I began to have and my battery started to get low. Thoughts of missing this opportunity started to whirlwind in my head and I began to get nervous. My phone went silent, the trail got narrower and started to end when suddenly I got a text from Jack that the bridge was clear. I quickly grabbed Allie's hand and told her there were pictures we missed and that we had to go back to the bridge. She looked confused, wondering what I was talking about. I made small talk trying to keep her mind off of it, all while trying to keep her in front of me so she wouldn't see the ring box in my back pocket. As we got closer I could see that the bridge was clear and we started moving quickly. I could see more people coming down so I knew our window was closing fast. As we got to the bridge, I pointed up to the trees telling her how great of a picture this could be. She agreed and started snapping away. At that moment with all the nerves in the world, I began to kneel down beside her and in the split second I turned around to see Jack and Lauren giving me a thumbs up. I turned back around, got down on one knee and waited for Allie to turn around and see me...then I waited...and waited...and waited. She still kept snapping and after a heart pounding minute, she turned to look at me down on one knee asking her hand in marriage. She was so surprised and in shock. She put her hands on her face and began to cry. I told her that I loved her more than anything in the world and that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her and asked if she would marry me. She said YES!! We hugged and shared a kiss as our friends took photos. It felt like we were the only ones in the world at that moment!