So... Summer 2015, gorgeous day, walking by the pool and see a beautiful woman laying out. I was feeling unusually confident, decided I'd try to talk to her. I flashed my cute little smile and she immediately fell in love with me and the rest is history. Wait... hold on, that's not quite right. She completely shut me down and wouldn't give me the time of day. So... Summer 2016, gorgeous day, walking by the pool and see a beautiful woman laying out. This time slightly less confident. She looked amazing, had eyes that were both sexy and bad ass at the same time. I figured it was easier to go get shot down again then to regret not trying to talk to her and waiting another year to see her. This time, she did talk to me for a minute, but obviously she wasn't picking up on my boyish charm or the palpable sexual tension. That could possible be because she thought I was just a huge douche (her words, not mine). And, I got her name... Carolina! At this point, I definitely couldn't give up, besides, third time is supposed to be a charm. So, I found out that the reason she was at the pool was because she was visiting her parents. I realized I was gonna have to do some research. Some might call that stalking, but I call it... well stalking I guess, so what. The next weekend, guess who was bbqing with one lovely young lady's dad by the pool? Now towards the end of the day, she showed up to say hi to her dad, and a very handsome young gentleman just happened to be there hanging out. That's me, the handsome guy. I barely got a hello out of her, but I was wearing her down. The next few weeks, I was around the pool, and around her dad a lot. The more and more I got to know her dad, I think the more he realized I was a decent guy (and not the major douche she pegged me as). So, I asked him to put in a good word for me. At this point Carolina had gone out of town on vacation, but upon calling her dad, he began to work his magic for me. "You should give him a chance", he said.

So the night she got back to town, we were hanging out by the pool (this seems like I had no life outside of hanging out by a pool. I swear I did other stuff). She was only there for a minute, but when she left she actually gave me a hug goodbye. And it was one of those hugs that was just a little too long, and a little too close to be just friendly. Best. Hug. Ever. Somehow, the next day, she was able to get my phone number from one of my friends. Geez, talk about a stalker. She sent me a text asking about some gym stuff. We ended up setting up a training for Thursday. My one stipulation... I'd train her if she'd go out on a date with me. After training I walked her to her car (like a gentleman) and even went in for a kiss (maybe not completely gentlemanly). And said I'd see her that night for our date. Our first date... August 18, 2016 - La Vida Cantina, Newport Ca. Drinks and appetizers, It was great. We talked for hours, she was smart and funny, strong and sweet, goofy and gorgeous, just amazing. (Told ya it might get cheesy.) I'm gonna cut the recap of the night there, cause I am a gentleman (and so my wife doesn't kick my ass). But that night I saw how perfect of a woman I had met, someone special that was unlike anybody I'd ever met before, or even imagined meeting. Not someone that I just wanted to go out with again sometime, but someone that I couldn't wait to see again, if even just to give her a kiss for a quick second. My life changed that day and I've been lucky enough to kiss the girl of my dreams goodnight ever since. I love you baby. Now, if she'd just have realized how awesome I was the first time I hit on her, we'd have had yet another amazing year together. I probably should have been slightly less douchey with my pickup game.

Well, I was not expecting it at all. I was super surprised and I thought we were having fun with the kids. It happened on December 23rd right after we came back home from the mall. Jason had surgery 2 days before so I din't want him to walk around or drive but everybody insisted and we ended up doing some Xmas shopping. While we were at the mall we split to do our fun shopping. In the meantime Mr. Worldwide got in the car and drove all the way to the jewelry store to pickup the ring...sneaky eh!? We went home and we started to play this game where I had to go around the house finding clues. We all laughed so much and the kids were having a great time so I continued playing "The Game". After finding more than 10 clues all over the house I when to get the last one inside the microwave and it said "Go to the living room" and when I walked in that direction the kids where holding a sign "Turn around Mrs. Karpynec" and there he was, on his knees asking me to marry him. I still get teary eyes when I tell the story . How amazing this guy is that not only included our kids in something that important, he also used all his energy to get me the ring even after being at the hospital 2 days before. I'm thankful everyday for us and for the love we share. We're definitely meant to be!