We’re getting married!

After Nate courted Clancy via Facebook Messenger in the beginning of 2016, we eventually figured out we would both be at the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska in June 2016. FINALLY! We could meet! Au naturale. Nate was with his college friends and Clancy was with hers. We were texting each other, "go to the white tent near the entrance," but never ended up crossing paths. (Nate’s fault) The following day, he asked if he could make up for it by taking her out to dinner that week at Firebirds in West Des Moines. She said yes, we met at the restaurant and by the end of dinner, we both thought "this could really be something." She was shy at first and Nate sometimes couldn't hear her soft voice from across the table, but he said it was love at first sight. Nate was confident, but not boastful, (tall, dark and handsome), and charming. We sat there and laughed for hours. We just clicked. The night ended with an awkward hug, followed by immediate plans for the next night. As they say, the rest is history!

For our Valentine's Day celebration, we went back to our first date spot, Firebirds. We were seated at a small table in the middle of the room and Nate seemed confused, he said he had to go to the restroom. He came back and a waiter said there's a booth available if we would prefer that. Then, we were seated at the very same booth where we had our first date. Nate said, "must be our lucky day!", when, really, he had been to the restaurant three times in the past month to make sure the night went as planned. Our waiter brought out dessert with, to my surprise, a ring sitting in the middle of it. Nate came around the table and got on one knee. He had a few lines prepared before asking me to marry him, but I can’t recall a single thing he said. All I could say was, "Nate?!?!", then remembered that I had to say "YES," and we were engaged. After dinner (and the sweetest dessert), Nate wanted to go home to "surprise" his parents with the big news who were staying at our house before they flew out to Florida the next day. I walked in the door and started crying instantly as my family, his family and our friends were there waiting to celebrate with us. They knew for weeks! He was successful in pulling off the biggest and best surprise of all time. We're so excited to celebrate this next chapter in our lives with you. See you in Des Moines!