We met through a mutual friend....Bumble ;). Yes, that's right, Bumble.

Our first date was at The Bier Garden in Encinitas. Our second date was in Big Bear. Alex invited me to join him and two of his friends there for the weekend. I remember thinking, no, I barely know this guy and I don't know his friends either, it could be dangerous. But crazy me told my Mom and a friend where I was going and sent them the address and license plate. It was a fun little weekend. Watching Alex trying to make breakfast was comical, but cute. Then I got to watch the dishwasher explode with bubbles because someone put the wrong soap in, that was a good laugh. Our 3rd date was at Monster Jam in San Diego. I remember Alex showed up in his eye glasses and I made fun of him being that it was the first time I'd seen him with glasses, all in good fun. We had our first kiss that night and that's when I felt something more than "butterflies" and thought, okay this could really be something great. After only knowing each other for 2 months, Alex helped me move AND met my parents. Everything started to fall into place from there. On April 8th, 2018, I asked Jillian if she wanted to make things official. She said yes and then followed with a question, if that meant she was my girlfriend. The way she asked was very cute and innocent. Fast forward a few months, we went on a camping trip to Yosemite to meet up with my sister and brother-in-law. Well, it was 4th of July weekend and very hot. We took my old truck the 7+ hours and my passenger side window decided to stop working and my A/C was nonexistent. There was road construction and at times when going through the National Park we were at a dead stop waiting to be able to get through. Jillian was such a trooper the whole time while baking in my truck and never complained (well maybe just a little ;) ). I have dragged her on countless camping trips through the years, but I love how she is always down for the next adventure no matter what.

We were celebrating our 3rd anniversary. Alex planned a romantic dinner at an Italian restaurant downtown I'd been wanting to go to. We enjoyed a beautiful dinner there with wine out on the patio. We decided to enjoy the rest of the night in our beautiful new home with candlelight and listening to one of our favorite artists, Ray LaMontagne, on our record player. We are notorious for failing to take pictures while we are out and that night was no different. So, when we got home, we decided to take some pictures. While Jillian was distracted, I went upstairs to grab the ring that I had hid in my snowboard bag for 3 months. Thankfully she did not find it ;). We set up the phone and took "trial" pictures. Jillian wanted to switch sides on the third, but I had to convince her we should stay in our original spots (as the ring was in my right pocket). On the third picture I dropped down on one knee and asked her to marry me. I caught her by surprise and we were able to capture the moment forever.