Oh, what a year!

Early on in our dating, I asked Courtney, “Where are your favorite places in Columbus?” To which she said, “My Grandma's farmhouse just north of town.” I tucked away this info just in case it came in handy later. Over Labor Day weekend, we picked out a ring and during the 5 week lead-time, we were VERY productive. Courtney went dress shopping and her dad (Ted) jokingly told me something about a cart getting ahead of a horse. I told him the horse had been ordered and I couldn't make it come any faster. Ted and I grabbed dinner Sept. 27th and over a couple hours of very good conversation, he gave me his and his wife's blessing to marry his daughter. He also told me his wife (Lucretia) wanted to know what the plan was for the proposal, so I shared I wanted to surprise Courtney at the farmhouse. Without Courtney knowing, on Sat., Oct. 10th in the morning, Ted and Lucretia took me to the farmhouse to scope out the place and find the optimal location to lay down some flower petals and propose. We found a nice spot in clear view of a big window so some friends and family could be hiding inside to share the moment with us and capture some pictures. Lucretia helped coordinate with my parents and some of Courtney's friends to hide out on Thurs., Oct. 15th in the evening. Later (on the 10th), Courtney and I were talking about what to do with the nice weather and she said, "Do you want to go up to the farmhouse and take a drive?" (Keep in mind, I was JUST out there with her parents. AND the ring wasn't supposed to come in until Tuesday afternoon. AND I was planning on taking her there on Thurs. for the proposal.) I responded by saying, "Yeah, that could be fun," but then I "strategically" let the afternoon slip away so we didn't make it out that afternoon. The next day, we went through our plans for the week and I brought up the farmhouse. “We” decided Wednesday would be a good day to go. So I told Lucretia, “Change of plans!" The proposal would be Wed. instead of Thurs.

Wednesday morning (the 14th) I told my manager I would be a little bit late to get online for work since I needed to pick up a ring. Throughout the day, I enjoyed looking at the shiny piece of jewelry I planned on giving away that evening. After work was through, I went over to Courtney's apartment. After running an errand, we drove up to the farmhouse. (Keep in mind, Courtney thought visiting the farmhouse was her idea). Courtney made plans with her cousin (Sawyer) to have the Kubota fueled up and ready for us. Sawyer greeted us and Courtney started driving me around the farmland. As we drove around, my parents, her parents, and a small group of friends snuck through the neighboring cornfield and into the farmhouse. Courtney's friends set up the flower petals and the group waited for Courtney and me to return. Once Courtney and I completed a lap around the property (about 20 minutes), we got back to the farmhouse and Courtney asked me, "Do you want to take another lap?" And I responded, "Um, nah." (I was trying to time the proposal with sunset. We didn't have time for another lap!) Then Courtney backed the vehicle up right up to the window where people were hiding. Sawyer, in a super smooth way, came out of the house and asked Courtney to park it elsewhere. Then, once we got the Kubota parked Courtney asked Sawyer, "Can we take a look around inside?" Sawyer very smoothly denied the request. Well done, Sawyer. I walked Courtney over to the flower petals, said a few words, knelt down, and she said yes.