The Adventure of a Lifetime

Jake and I met in the most modern way possible, whilst perusing for mates on the internet. While swiping away through endless profiles on our respective couches we caught each other's eyes and immediately clicked over our mutual love for the outdoors and fishy things. After talking for a couple weeks we decided to meet up and go on a date and the rest is history! It may not be the cutest or most interesting "how we met" story, but it's ours and at least I can now tell other Tinder browsers that there has been at least one success story!

When we decided neither of us were catfishing serial killers we met up to go on our first date! Jake suggested that we go bowling which seemed harmless enough... until he showed up with his own ball, shoes, and (wait for it) wrist brace. I knew I was in trouble being a mediocre bowler at best, but Jake fed me pizza so I decided I would stick around. As the night went on, I fell for his goofball personality and contagious smile; even more importantly, I was surprised by how comfortable I felt around him despite barely knowing him. Being comfortable around even people I know well is not really my forte, so I feel like this was a sign that this guy was special, even if I didn't know why quite yet. Then at the end of the night I won bowling two games in a row and came out feeling much more confident in both my ability to knock over pins with a heavy ball and the idea of a second date.

The first time I met CeCe she was sweaty and glistening in the moonlight from walking back from campus. She invited me in so she could get her things and so I could meet her rabbit and cat, which I thought was kind of strange but I went with it and said "hello rabbit." I decided I was going to take her bowling, since I knew that was something I would win and not embaras myself at. We rolled up to the bowling alley in my pickup and I grabbed my bowling gear, she looked dazed, confused, and gorgeous, like she didn't know what she was getting into. After winnig the first game i decided to let her win the next two, in hopes that she would decide to stick around, since she was making fun of me for my professional gear. After we ate dinner I took her back to her place and we said our goodbyes and I hoped that we would meet again.

I could give you a million reasons why I decided Jake is the one I want to spend the rest of my life with, he is a wonderful father to his two sons, treats me better than anyone ever has before, he never fails to make me laugh, and is shamelessly protective over the people that he loves so I can always count on him to have my back no matter what the situation is or who is on the other side of the issue. The day I decided I was in this for the long haul, however, was just another day. We had gone to his friends house in Summerville, Oregon for Jake's birthday a couple months after we met, it was a good day, we had spent the morning working on a truck (as per usual) and a few people had come over that night for a little get together. That night, after I had probably had one too many drinks, I was listening to him tell stories about some of his grossest finds at the Pullman wastewater treatment plant. While he was telling talking about these things his buddy next to him started gagging at the thought of scooping giant latex out of the ponds and Jake, without missing a beat, picked up a sandcastle bucket from the floor and held it out to him and continued with his story over the sound of his friend with that perfect smile on his face. I felt like the whole room was laughing at that point but it may have mostly been me... regardless that's when I decided I wanted to listen to his voice and look at that smile far into the foreseeable future, no matter the potential hardships we might face.

I knew she was the one when she answered my text the next day, just kidding but that was a plus. I always had a feeling that CeCe was different from the begining. I liked how she was big into the outdoors, fishing, and willing to do anything (even hop on a snowmobile and go do some crazy shit). With her degree in mind I loved that she was the perfect size to fit into my tackle box along with the rest of my tackle. All joking aside, I knew she was the one when she took on the challenge of me and my boys in at a low point in my life when I had nothing but a box of clothes to my name. She was going to school full time and had two rooomates already with a bunch of stuff on her plate, but she took on the role of parent and spouse long before she needed to, without me having to ask for any of it, and with more grace than I could have ever imagined. I knew that she would be the one I would build a life with that we could both be proud of and there's no way that I would be where I am today without her. Together we have bought a house, and built a home for our ever growing family, and I know that it is only going to get better. That being said, I may not be a smart man, but I know what love is.

Where should I begin.... I had been planning on proposing on my birthday for a few months, so I could ask her to give me the best birthday gift I could ask for. Plan A was to go to Oregon and propose on my friends property as the sun was setting overlooking the beautiful valley... but that backfired and we just couldn't make the weekends match up. Plan B was to go snowmobiling in Elk River and propose on the Butte surrounded by a winter wonderland, but the snowmobilies decided to break down at the last minute and my birthday was on a Monday when we had the boys so that didn't work out either. So plan C was in effect, which was to do it at Spring Valley reservoir on the docks, but there were also many issues with this plan since it was wintertime, so by the time I got off of work on Monday, it was dark, cold and very hard to find a dock in the ice. So I was left with Plan D. Which was the worst plan of all, but it was the only one I had.... I went up behind her as she was doing the dishes with a ring in my hand and waited for her to turn around, but I'm pretty sure she thought I was going to slap her butt because she just stood there tensed up for a solid minute and a half before she finally turned around. When she did, she just started laughing hystarically at me and didn't stop the whole time I was giving my little speech. Since she and the boys had made me a cake for my birthday, they were also in and out a hundred times asking if we could have cake yet, so between those two things it was quite the show, but by some miracle she still decided to say yes.