As of May 16th, 2020, we will have been together for 7 years. Considering this is only the start of our journey, it seems like such a long time ago since we started dating. Like most couples in this digital age, we met online and remained skeptical on if it would be a relationship of substance, or just a fleeting romance. As most of you can tell now, it wasn't just a fleeting romance; instead it is a romance filled with laughter, growth, compassion, understanding, honesty and most importantly, love. This next step is scary, but we are ready to take the plunge, and as most things have been done with us, it will be together. We are so excited to share this day with everyone we are able to, and look forward to proclaiming our vows in front of our family, and our friends.

For our 5th year anniversary, I decided to surprise Shaun with a trip to Portland, OR: somewhere we have been wanting to go for quite some time. I used to live in Astoria, which is about an hour away from Portland. One of my favorite memories of my time growing up in Astoria is visiting the Astoria Column with my dad and flying Balsa wood airplanes off the top. This was something I wanted to share with Shaun, so on our second day in Oregon, I drove him to my old town of Astoria and showed him all the things I could remember; our old house, school, the corner store we would walk to in order to spend our hard-earned garage sale money on candies and Charleston Chews. Lastly I showed him the Column. I didn't expect him to be on board for climbing the 164 metal steps in a spiraling, cramped column. He did. Once we made it to the top, Balsa wood planes in hand, (and after he had a moment to catch his breath) we found a spot to admire the view and to throw our planes. While we watched our planes glide down to the ground, I pulled out the rings I had been hiding in my pocket. After telling him how much he meant to me, and how meaningful our time has together has been, I asked him if he would marry me. He thought I was messing with him; until he saw the rings in my hand. Then he cried. A lot.