It was Halloween weekend 2010 and both of us were in our junior year at Washington State University. Rachel joined new friends at a corn maze and returned to a friend's apartment later in the evening for more Halloween festivities. It just so happened that Curtis, who was unable to join at the corn maze due to a broadcast job with Pullman High School (no surprise), came late to the party and squeezed into the living room and the remaining space on the floor. Next to him on the floor, Rachel's old Blackberry lit up with a background picture of Mt. Rainier and Curtis casually mentioned 'that looks like Enumclaw' - and the rest is history.

We spent a month in Italy this past spring, eating incredible food, drinking delicious wine and regretting our heavy suitcases. Positano was the last stop of the trip and by this point Rachel had abandoned all hopes of an Italian engagement. On day 27 of our 30 day trip, after an afternoon spent relaxing on the beach and swimming in the sea, a large storm rolled in. We escaped back to our room to get ready for our last dinner out in Positano. It's important to note we each have different versions of exactly what happened next, but as Rachel recalls (which let's be honest, is what actually happened) she was scrolling through her phone and looked over to see a ring box sitting, closed, on the bed. She looked up at Curtis and said 'you've got to be kidding' and he responded 'I'm not carrying this back on the plane.' Out on the balcony Curtis got on one knee and asked Rachel to be his lifelong travel partner.