We're getting married!

Greg (Brandon's dad) invited me to his birthday party 6/4/16... I had traveled all week, worked out, and attended another graduation party that night... I was ready for bed! It took a bit of convincing myself, but I decided to stop by Greg's for a bit to wish him a happy birthday. To make a long story a bit shorter... Brandon and I met that night. During Greg's party, everyone was taking turns riding on Brandon's CanAm (side-by-side similar to a 4-wheeler); when it was my turn, Greg asked Brandon to take me. I warned him to drive safe, and told him (sternly) that I was NOT a fan of boys showing off!! He stopped somewhere along the dangerously rugged terrain (aka Greg's backyard) to talk for a couple of minutes before driving the chariot back into the sunset (kidding... but making it back safely seemed like a fairy tale)! We talked throughout the night, but never exchanged phone numbers or connected on social media. The following Wednesday, I was supposed to have lunch with my step sister (Mickey), but was swamped at work; I tried to reschedule only to find out she was leaving Thursday to go back to school. Little did I know, God had a magical plan to put me at Maru for a late lunch that day! While at Maru, I (of course) raved about this cute boy I had met the previous weekend. Shortly into the 'teenage' giggles... who walked into Maru? Brandon!!! I was in absolute shock, but tried to keep it together while I calmly whispered "the boy I was telling you about just walked in". Within seconds, Brandon walked right past me (hmmm.) Before I left, I "argued" with Mickey about whether or not I should say goodbye to Brandon; I was so nervous! I ended up turning to him and telling him goodbye on the way out. I will never be able to express how giddy I was when I saw his name pop up on Facebook messenger later that day :) God works in mysterious (and perfect) ways!

The first time I met Jenafer was at my Dads house for his birthday party. She showed up looking beautiful as usual. I had seen her multiple times before & knew who she was but hadn't actually met her. I asked my dad about her because I knew he worked with her and he went on to say she was single... so I decided to work up the courage to take her for a ride on my can-am. I asked how old she was and we chatted for awhile. After that night we hadn't talked for a few days. The following week at work I had told my cousin Adam about this girl I had met at my Dads party. I told him that I had high hopes of somehow getting to see her again. Adam and I decided to go get sushi for lunch that week. When Adam and I were pulling into the restaurant, I jokingly said to him "I wish Jenafer Jensen would be here". When we walked in there she was eating lunch with another lady (later to find out it was her step sister Mickey). I was so shocked that she was there I kind of froze! When the waiter asked "how many people"? I just kept walking by him to some random table. I was nervous that Jenafer was in a work meeting so I decided not to say hi. When she was leaving she said "bye Brandon it was nice to see you." I was so excited she had said goodbye to me at lunch because it made me feel comfortable enough to message her and ask her out for a drink. She said yes and the rest is history!

Brandon and I rented a house in Traverse City with our families for (2018) Memorial Day weekend. While enjoying a gorgeous sunny day, my Mom suggested we all go downtown before dinner. On the ride downtown, my Mom suggested we start at a winery, and anyone who knows me knows how much of a wine-lover I am... needless to say I was ecstatic! During our initial tasting, I purchased a bottle of my favorite Traverse City wine for everyone to split. We all sat down at a table... the bottle of wine was opened, and everyone was poured a glass. During the pouring, I was focused on pulling up the Boomerang iPhone app to capture a unique video of everybody clinking our glasses to a 'cheers'. I was trying to hurry to avoid delaying everyone from drinking their wine further, and just as I was about ready to record, I noticed from the corner of my eye that Brandon was not in position. I quickly looked over to him and started to ask "Brandon, what are you doing?", only to find MY gorgeous guy on one knee! I would love to say I remember exactly what I said, but I don't think I said anything right away! After he asked "will you marry me", I leaped out of my seat (nearly tackling him) and pulled him in for an extremely tight hug... I recall shaking so much out of excitement and disbelief! Brandon caught me by COMPLETE surprise, which I thought would be impossible! Luckily for me, Brandon had my Step-Dad catch the entire thing on video (now on Instagram)! I had purchased a book titled “My Reasons Why” the previous August after we started looking at rings; I knew that although I would want to say so many things when the special moment happened, I would probably freeze! I took the book on every trip we took just in case Brandon popped the question. I didn’t take the book during Memorial Day weekend; it never crossed my mind that Brandon would propose on our dual-family vacation! We feel blessed and are so excited to celebrate this next chapter in our lives with you!