Reilly and I unknowingly attended Bluewater Covenant Bible Camp together for years before we officially met. During his first summer on staff at camp (following both of our 10th grade years), I remember noticing his mohawk and loud singing tendencies. Little did I know that the two of us would be on staff together beginning in the summer of 2016. We staffed our first summer together as strictly friends and talked minimally the following school year: although I remember being drawn to him as I watched him interact and love on the people around him, so much so that I even told my friends that "I wouldn't be mad if I married Reilly one day." Both of us returned to staff the summer of 2017 and immediately we began to spend time talking one-on-one. The more time we spent together, the more I was sure that I liked him. We had our first conversation about our feelings on June 17th, 2017 but both of us decided that we wanted to focus on our relationships with God, as well as pour into the campers and staff during our time at camp. Because of this, we spent the rest summer cultivating our relationship and growing as friends and we finally went on our first official date on August 17th, 2017. The rest is history!

Reilly got his mom to ask me to be a part of their family photos. She told me they were going to be traveling to Minneapolis for a hockey tournament and that they were planning to take their family pictures at camp because it was on the way. I was honored that they wanted me to be in some of the pictures so I agreed and Reilly and I left for camp together on December 26th with intentions of meeting the rest of his family there. On the road, Reilly's mom called him to let him know that they were going to be a little late (something else Reilly had planned) but that Troian (Reilly's sister) and Jordan (Reilly's friend who was going to be taking the pictures) would be there when we got there because they drove separately. When we arrived, Reilly suggested that we take a few couple photos before everyone else got there, first by the lake and then up on top of the hill (the same place that we shared our first date). When we reached the top of the hill, Reilly began to walk me down the snowy path headed the to the ball field. Lining the trees were lights and several pictures that began with the first picture we ever took together and ended with a frame of the words "a day we will never forget." We walked over to a banner that said "will you marry me" and he proposed!