Our story began like any typical college couple, at a house party over drinking games. Carlie and Evan were student-athletes at Texas Tech with many mutual friends, so they attended a lot of the same sporting events, parties, and outings with friends. During the Summer of 2015, Evan and his roommates threw a house party for all of the student-athletes to attend. One of Carlie's friends (shoutout to Meghan Stacy), brought Carlie to the party after a long weekend of volleyball coaching. Midway through the night Evan saw Carlie from across the living room and thought she was absolutely stunning. He approached her and they hit it off instantly, talking for hours throughout the night. Several days later, Carlie invited Evan over to her house for dinner. Carlie was making her ratatouille in an attempt to impress Evan and show off her fancy cooking skills. Unfortunately for Carlie, as she picked up her porcelain pot of ratatouille from the slow cooker, the base of the pot completely detached from the handles, sending her French goodness all over the kitchen floor. After cleaning up this crockpot catastrophe, Carlie and Evan had a wonderful night. They had pizza and snow cones for dinner and spent hours together telling stories sitting atop Evan's roof. That following weekend was what sealed the deal. They went on their first hiking trip together near Carlie's hometown in Palo Duro Canyon. They had an incredible time together in nature and visited one of Carlie's favorite childhood restaurants for dinner. After this day spent together Carlie and Evan knew they had something special. The remainder of their Summer was incredible, featuring an amazing 4th of July and a trip to Austin. From here the rest is history!

Towards the end of medical school I realized that Carlie is the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. Her beauty, intelligence, and compassion for others are some of my favorite qualities she embodies, and I knew I wanted to wake up to these every morning for the rest of my life. My next challenge was to figure out how to ask her if she was willing to return the favor. Frankly, at first I had no idea how to plan a proposal. I am not the most creative to say the least, and I wanted to propose in a way that's romantic, unique, and embodies our relationship. All I knew is I wanted to do it the week we were moving to Lexington, Kentucky. While browsing the internet I stumbled across a tour of a horse farm that breeds white thoroughbred horses. I immediately realized that would be the perfect proposal. We love spending time outdoors, Carlie grew up around horses, and the white thoroughbreds would remind her of her white German Shepard Chopper. I contacted the owner of the farm and she was thrilled to be included in the proposal. We concocted a covert proposal plan like two bank robbers planning a heist. I also had an undercover photographer available to capture the special moment. When we got to the horse farm the owner insisted on giving us a tour. Carlie was in awe of the scenic beauty and the horses. Meanwhile with the impending proposal on my mind I was just trying to not have a heart attack. The tour ended and the owner insisted we walk around on our own to pet the horses. The photographers crept nearby and in near perfect harmony a group of three horses were in view. I knelt down on one knee, presented the ring, and once she noticed what was happening barely mustered out the words, "Will you marry me?" After she said yes, I was elated, overjoyed, and relieved. We shared a glass of wine, spent more time with the horses, and had an incredible dinner afterwards. I can say without a doubt our proposal was the perfect way to kick off our life together.