Let's get this party started!

We met when I (Monica) was throwing a kegger at a mutual friends house. Brooks' cousin was trying to set us up, and she got lucky because we were both already intrigued by one another! We danced and chatted the night away, Brooks was most impressed by my passion for drinking games and I liked his dimples. We went on a "first date" the next night, and I was chauffeured by friends Jenna and Lindee. About half way through the date I told them they could leave since Brooks was not an axe murderer after all. In the month to follow we celebrated birthdays, joined each others family gatherings, and Brooks endured his first busy season dating an accountant, and the rest was history!

Brooks' take: It worked out just the way it was meant to! I, per usual, was just going with the flow and didn't have a specific plan. We were headed to Hawaii for my cousin Jalon's wedding so the only plan I had, was to wait until after wedding, to make sure that Jalon and his bride-to-be, Lisa, had everyone's full attention. As the trip progressed we learned of a beautiful mountain range called the I'ao valley and so I made the plan to go on a morning trip on Sunday, the day after the wedding. It was a complete surprise to Monica and I was completely speechless, even asking if I really had to get down on a knee..... It was the perfect end to an amazing trip and the rest of the day was spent soaking up our last day of sun on the beach before heading back to Oregon. Monica's take: After 12 days in Hawaii, and a lot of days in close quarters with many friends and family members, I was elated when Brooks suggested we go on an early morning hike excursion with a small group of us on our last morning. On the drive to the trail head our song, Steady, came on the radio on shuffle, which I didn't think anything of at the time, but after realized how serendipitous that was. It rained early on in the hike, but as we got to the top of the view point, the clouds cleared and we got the most stunning view. We took it in, and I noticed Brooks heart was racing on my back, and started to suspect something was going on. He blanked on words, forgot to take a knee, and I was somewhat sure he was proposing with no ring. Eventually, he got on his knee, popped the question and pulled out the most incredibly perfect ring I could imagine! His mom had packed mimosa's so we had a nice little moment just the group of us celebrating in the valley. We then spent the day on the beach with the whole Dalebroux clan, followed by a yummy dinner that night with the whole family.