Our first date was in Marion, Indiana where Blake was from. Being from Bluffton, Indiana, I had never been to Marion before. Our date started off with Applebees, where we instantly clicked and started to get to know each other. The date continued to the mall, followed by a walk through Matter Park. Blake told me about a drive thru convenient store nearby. I had never heard of a drive thru convenient store in my entire life, so I thought he was just messing with me. We took the short drive and low and behold, drive thru convenient stores are indeed real. We continued the date by going to a nearby petting zoo, and it was then and there that Blake saw my love for animals. Neither of us wanted the date to end, so we drove on some back roads and just talked. We ended the date at Ivanhoe's for ice cream. With it being so packed inside, we took our ice cream outside and sat on the tailgate of his truck. A guy was in an older car that needed a push for it to get going, and he was having trouble leaving by himself. Blake jumped off of the tailgate and pushed the man's car without even thinking. That selfless act is was made me realize that Blake was going to be more than just a boyfriend.

I have always had such a love for sunflowers and pictures. I really wanted some good pictures of Blake and I with sunflowers. Blake is not a huge fan of pictures by any means, but agreed to it. He found a sunflower patch in Converse, I asked my best friend/cousin Angelica if she would take some pictures for us and she was happy to. I had no idea at the time that Blake and Angelica were secretly planning for the proposal to happen during the pictures. The day came and Angelica, her daughter (and my goddaughter) Parker, and Parker's dad Greg came with us. I took some pictures of Parker, Angelica, and Greg. Then Angelica took some pictures of Blake and I, and then some of Parker and I. Angelica had me pick Parker up and took a picture of us from behind. I put Parker down and turned around, and Blake was on one knee. Of course I said YES!! We are so excited to celebrate this next chapter of our lives with you!