In the summer of 2017, we traveled to Sacramento for the wedding of one of Courtney’s cousins. After learning that we were traveling cross country, Cousin Doug told us that we needed to make the trip a long vacation and that we HAD to go to Lake Tahoe since it was so close. The morning after the wedding, we made the 2 hour windy drive up and down the mountain (well Courtney slept the entire ride and missed all the scenery). As soon as we arrived in Tahoe, we both immediately fell in love with it. We stayed for several days in an AirBnB and went hiking on trails and driving all the way around the lake, continuously seeking the incredible views. It was then we decided that Tahoe would be our little spot away from the hustle and bustle of the world. We had always talked about going back to Tahoe and sure enough, another one of her cousins was getting married on the family ranch in Sacramento. Courtney decided she wanted to make the trip cross country to see the family and be at Sara’s wedding. As soon as we decided to travel back to Tahoe, Daniel started to plan the trip. What Courtney didn’t know was that Daniel was planning much more than just a trip. Daniel went to talk to his parents about his plan to propose to Courtney on the trip and got his Grammaude’s wedding ring. He took the diamond out of his Grammaude’s ring and decided to incorporate it into the ring he was building for Courtney. At the jewelry store, Daniel picked out the rest of the diamonds and the setting and told the saleswoman that it HAD to be done by September 23rd as that was the day we were traveling to California. We traveled to Sandbridge and the end of August with Courtney’s family for a beach vacation. Courtney set up and appointment to have family pictures taken on the beach. Everybody in her family KNEW Daniel was going to propose to Courtney at that time, including Courtney (or so they thought)...

The photographer came and took pictures and left and Courtney had a look on her face of total disappointment. One of her brothers broke the ice and said “Damn I thought he was going to propose!” As everybody else in the family echoed the same thoughts. During vacation, Daniel got a call from the jeweler saying that they couldn’t match the diamonds to his Grammaude’s ring which had slowed the progress (you can see this coming a mile away). Daniel kept in contact frequently with the jeweler asking about the progress. The ring was FINALLY ready the night before the flight to Tahoe and Daniel made it there minutes before closing and got the ring. The real work began in hiding the ring because Courtney is always suspicious before a trip. To try to make Courtney less suspicious, Daniel planned a fake vacation to the Caribbean and told Courtney all the dates and flights for a special trip to paradise. The wedding in Sacramento came and went and Daniel got asked a million times why he wasn’t engaged or what he was waiting for, etc. He never let on to anything. We got to Tahoe with Briana, Jordan, and Cooper who were in on the whole thing. Daniel planned a couple decoy hikes at scenic places just to try to throw Courtney off. Daniel had planned his proposal location out for months, finding the perfect spot to propose. On the day before we left, we set out on a hike that we had done before, but wanted to show the beach to Briana and Jordan. Going down the trail, we came to a fork. Courtney recognized the fork down to Chimney Beach and wasn’t suspicious since we had been there. Daniel said they should go left and check out the beach that way, and Courtney was adamant about going to Chimney Beach. Daniel told her they would compromise and go to the other beach first and then go back to Chimney beach. After about a mile hike down the rocks, we came upon the spot Daniel had his eye on for months. Secret Cove.

This was it. A beautiful beach with crystal clear water and snowy mountains in the background. As soon as we get there, Courtney decided she HAD to go swimming and jumped in the ice cold water. She kept trying to get Daniel to come swimming but he was hiding the ring and trying to figure out how to pull this off as the beach started to get more crowded. Daniel even tried to trick her that Cooper needed a diaper change so she would come ashore, but she didn’t bite. We stayed for a little while at Secret Cove and then decided to pack up and head back to Chimney Beach. As they climbed up the rocks off the beach, Daniel went to the edge of the cliff overlooking the beach and the lake, trying to see if Courtney would follow. Daniel made a signal to Jordan and we all decided to take some pictures with the cove in the background. Right as we finished up pictures, Courtney started to walk away. Daniel pulled the ring out and got down on one knee asking Courtney to be his wife. In her excitement she almost knocked Daniel down and off the cliff! All was well and the months of secret keeping and planning finally paid off. And suddenly, Courtney didn’t care about Chimney Beach anymore!