It was a morning in May of 2020, and Clayton was at home with his kids eating breakfast when he received a notification on his phone. He opened the notification which led to a message from Brynn, a would-be suitor. The message contained a GIF of Jimmy Fallon talking to a horse that simply read, “Haaayy,” as he tossed a handful of hay over his shoulder. That was all it took for Clayton because he knew right away that Brynn understood his sense of humor and communication style. Within a week, Brynn and Clayton had their first date at Chamber’s Bay where they sat in the grass on a nice spring day and got to know each other. Neither of them wanted that first date to end, and so they scheduled their second date right away. Dating during the height of the pandemic meant that the series of dates to follow would be spent outdoors, to include weekend hiking adventures to numerous waterfalls and Mount Rainier and eating takeout dinner while watching exceptional sunsets from the back of Clayton’s truck bed. Spending significant amounts of time driving to and from these adventures allowed the pair to build their friendship. They took it slow, but they also took it seriously. Navigating schedules between Olympia and Tacoma took planning and effort but it never seemed like work. Time spent together was always something to look forward to regardless of what was being done. In early March of 2022, Clayton met with Brynn’s parents to express his desire to marry their daughter and ask for their blessing. It was nearly two years after they met, on March 18th, 2022, when Clayton surprised Brynn with a taco dinner on the roof of her downtown Tacoma condo building. Brynn was suspicious but settled into the nice gesture of dinner and margaritas with a view. But her instincts were correct as Clayton got down on one knee, with nobody else around, to express his love and ask for Brynn’s hand in marriage. And you know the rest because if you are reading this, you have been hand-selected to celebrate this joyous covenant occasion with them.