We both swiped right on Bumble! Our first date was a 4+ hour adventure in Venice, CA, that started with us trying to ride a Bird scooter. Either the scooters were out of commission or in use. However, we decided to walk the beautiful canals instead, which created an intimate atmosphere where we got to know more about each other and learn some of the things that we have in common (a few of the many we later discovered:)). We eventually grabbed a bite at an organic restaurant called Kreation, where we had an interesting experience drinking chlorophyll. On the way back to our cars, Andrew took my hand and then asked if it was okay, which I thought was adorable and very gentleman-like. Also, he proceeded to make sure he walked on the street-side of me. At the car, as we were saying good- bye, we both leaned in for our first kiss. We look back at this date fondly and consider those scooters as a symbol of hobbies we each truly enjoy, Andrew's passion for riding and my joy of birds.

In prepping for the proposal I needed to do a few things first. I'm a bit traditional so the first thing was to ask Marty (her dad) for his permission. I found an opportunity at this Pho restaurant in November 2019, while Dayna was in the restroom. It was rather rushed and I couldn't say it was the ideal setting, but he said "yes, of course!" And Dayna was none the wiser. In looking for a ring I enlisted my sister Christine for help. She actually suggested using my grandma's engagement ring, which surprised me that we still had it. I picked it up when we were in Michigan for the holidays. My first planned proposal site was a waterfall hike at Chantry Flats on January 26th, because it was our 20th month anniversary on the first month of 2020. I even staked out the site earlier that week with my friend John. Yet, when I got to the site with Dayna on Sunday it was much too crowded and just didn't feel right at all. I ended up pushing the planned proposal to Valentine's Day, where we planned a one night trip to Santa Barbara. While there I kept looking for the opportunity to pop the question, but those special moments never seemed to present themselves. I almost did it on the pier the next morning after breakfast, but we needed to get back to town in time for something and knew it just wouldn't work. Tired of all the missed opportunities, later that night when I got home from picking up Indian food I decided, "No better time like the present!" I quickly set up my phone in the kitchen and pushed record, in hopes of capturing it. Than grabbed the ring that was in a rectangular wrapped box and told her it was one last Valentine's present. She unwrapped it and opened it up to see the ring in the center of a red flower. I got down on one knee and asked. She of course said "Yes!" She cried tears of joy and we kissed. The rest of the evening was spent calling our families and friends to tell them the good news!