The proposal began with a crossword. A New York Times-caliber crossword (we'd guess around Wednesday-level, for you NYT enthusiasts) created from scratch by Andrew. I came home from work one day, surprised to find it printed out, waiting on the candlelit kitchen table alongside a bottle of wine and a cake from our favorite patisserie. Being the day before Valentines Day, I didn’t question this romantic gesture, despite not being much of Valentine’s-people ourselves. Though, the crossword was definitely extra. “I just couldn’t wait,” Andrew explained as I began to fill it out. As is the nature of crosswords, the pieces of the puzzle started falling into place about halfway through. You see, #13 Across clues: “What you may be in, depending on your answer to this puzzle’s theme” (MARITAL BLISS). The circled letters all come to spell ‘Will you marry me’, which I had worked out in my head shortly after seeing something to the effect of ‘_IL_ Y_U M__RY _E’ starting to form. Let's back up just a bit. Earlier in February, Andrew and I had begun to design the engagement ring together. I knew a proposal was coming, but I also knew that it would take at least two months before Andrew would have the ring in hand. Now, only two weeks later, I was sitting in the kitchen, crossing my t's and dotting my i's on my custom 'propuzzle.' While over-the moon happy I was also slightly confused - I knew he was waiting until the ring was ready – did he change his mind? Now, Andrew began to explain further. “I couldn’t wait to share this with you, but this is NOT the real proposal!” He then pulled out a Ring Pop (yes, the candy) and, down on one knee, and popped the question "Will you, eventually, agree to marry me?" But this was just the beginning. Two weeks later, on March 1, we were hiking along the most beautiful ruins near Sintra, Portugal. At the top of a tower (think: fairytale), Andrew surprised me with another Ring Pop. I eagerly agreed, for a second time, to eventually agree to marry him. As I goofily swung my candy-adorned hand around for photos, I now started to wonder if there might be more to come. I won't bore you with the details of every 'pop-prosal', so let's rapid-fire some here. March 10, while riding camels through the Sahara in Morocco, April 19 while tree-skiing at A-Basin, and finally June 28 and June 29th, at both Loveland Pass and Hanging Lake. Most people are lucky to have one great proposal story...Andrew gave me six! Finally, during a trip to our favorite town in Colorado, Glenwood Springs, the real one came (and I had no idea). Let's call those final two June Ring Pops red herrings - as for each 'pop-prosals', Andrew claimed that the real ring still wasn't ready...throwing me off the scent. The final night in town, we had late night reservations at our all-time favorite restaurant. During dinner, I couldn't help but notice one particular waitress sneaking peaks our way - but I might just have been seeing things! The fellow diners began to dwindle as the meal went on, and we eventually had the place to ourselves. While the dessert was coming out, our song ("Tree by the River", Iron and Wine) began to play over the restaurant speakers. That's when I knew something was up. The waitress neared, and I saw a ring pop placed atop the chocolate torte. My first thought was 'Wow, he's really taking these Ring-Pop proposals far!" Then, turning around, Andrew was on his knee, for the final time, holding the ring that both of us had been waiting on. He asked 'Do you want to do this thing?" Yes, yes I do want to do this thing.