When we first met, it was supposed to be a casual summer day in Santa Barbara getting coffee. Except little did Ken know, Jaque doesn't drink coffee. So instead, a tour around the city was a must. It was warm and humid, but a beautiful day and we saw all the key Santa Barbara spots - the breakwater, downtown on State Street, the classic courthouse. Ken was definitely playing to his strengths even though he thought it was a "platonic" hanging out. After an awesome first day together, Ken still was a bit confused to who this actual girl is. And Jaque, well she was already thinking "hey I want to see this boy again". It was the beginning of a beautiful journey and lots and lots of traveling as we dated long distance the first year and a half of our relationship. One day, Jaque casually informed Ken that she let all her friends know he was her boyfriend, so therefore he was. And as they say, the rest was history.

The proposal had been in the works for a little bit this past summer. Ken and Jaque both went ring shopping together so Jaque knew it was coming at some point, but didn't know when or how (even though she did send Ken some links for inspiration). Summer, 2021 was the time for an epic road trip out to California, with planned stops to a few national parks, a week in Mammoth Lakes with Ken's family, and a week in Modesto with Jaque's family before the trek back to Michigan. Ken gave some hints that there was a good likelihood the proposal may happen on this trip. Jaque took that information to heart as she double, triple checked with Ken that he had packed the engagement ring with him. One of the nights on the trip in Mammoth Lakes, Ken and Jaque slept through family dinner time (not at all surprising) and decided to grab something at one of the many local spots in Mammoth and eat dinner outside since it was such a beautiful day out. Jaque ordered the food and they both went to pick up their picnic dinners. Ken drove Jaque up a mountain, to Minarets Vista Point, an area that overlooked one of the mountain ranges and had various walking trails. It was also, apparently, a popular spot to view sunrises and sunsets. There was a picnic bench with the perfect view and after dinner, Ken and Jaque walked down one of the paths to get ready for sunset viewing. Jaque knew something was up when Ken pulled a sappy note from his pocket. It was the perfect night - Ken proposed at sunset on top of this mountain overlook and of course Jaque said yes! After coming back down from the mountain, Ken and Jaque went to share the good news with Ken's family and were greeted by 7 children all rushing out to give a group hug and cheering in excitement as they saw us. There was a lot of love and it was special to share in the excitement.