During the summer of 2017, I had made up my mind. So on one of the first Saturdays in August, I convinced Amanda that we should go hiking. Let's just say we didn't drive directly to the Kettle Moraine hiking trails. All in all, she requested that we turn around three times before reaching our destination. The first was to see Camp Vista, a place she visited as a child. The second was to go to lunch. And the third was to go to the complete opposite side of the Kettle Moraine where the better hiking was. I remained patient because of what I happened to have in my right pants pocket. We ended up climbing to the top of Parnell Tower, and luckily for me, no one else was up there. The next challenge was to corral her while she zipped from corner to corner viewing the surrounding landscape. You would have thought she just drank a whole pot of coffee. I finally cornered her and popped the question. "Amanda Marie, will you do me the honor of marrying me?" And of course, she said "YES!"