Where did you met? At work! Clayton was just hired on as a software salesmen and was scheduled to shadow different departments to learn about the company's software. One mid-afternoon day in April, he walks into Amanda's department, looking for a specific person, who was going to show him the software and processes. The joke was on Clayton, as the department desk didn't always display name tags. I'm sure you guessed the next move, Clayton walks around the department a few times, when Amanda looks up and says "Can I help you find something?" He coolie responds with "No, I'm good." What you must know, before the story continues, is Amanda's department was 95% females, she had worked with the company for awhile and knew all the employees, but no one recognized or knew Clayton. Quick to respond, Amanda tells Clayton to get out of her department and to stop circling her colleagues. He smiles, walks away, only to find the person he was shadowing with, sits down, and proceeds to stair her down for the next thirty minutes. By the end of April, he had wiggles his way into her friend group, and the rest is history!

Sitting on a couch trying not to blurt out ILY

Setting the scene: Sept. 5th 2022 | Beautiful summer afternoon. Warm weather, birds chirping, & a gentile breeze. Amanda's in the drive way washing her car. Clayton pulls into the drive after a nice motorcycle ride. The proposal: Clayton hops off his bike and runs into the house, shortly returning to the driveway. Amanda looks up and said "how was the ride?" Clayton begins explaining the ride, like a typical, relaxing, beautiful ride, and then mentions having a close call. Another vehicle wasn't paying attention and crossed over into his lane in the middle of a curve and he had to swerve out of its path - a close call. Pulling over into a gas station, catching his breathe, he realized life is too short. All the while Amanda's still cleaning her car, returning conversation, not putting the subtle hints together, until she hears a quiver in his voice when he says "Amanda Jean Clarke" (she drops the cleaning rage and turns to face him) I have been waiting for the right time and have realized the right time is now. He gets down on one knee, opens a small box, and ask, will you marry me? After a moment or two of silence, Amanda said Yes! After several minutes of tears, laughter, hugs, two bottles of Corona were opened and clicked to our new adventure; marriage. A mini photo shoot took place in the driveway, which captured the image we sent out to our families to make the announcement. Same picture as the one above. We later learned that Champaign was the appropriate drink and popped the cork later that afternoon.