On October 30th, 2015, Karen and Ethan met in a 12-person van en route to Las Vegas for a weekend of...gambling? Nope. Ultimate frisbee. They actually didn't interact that much the whole trip. Ethan thought Karen was unfriendly and Karen thought Ethan was "with" someone else. They became Facebook friends and that's about it... Months and months pass by... and Ethan invited Karen to play on a beach ultimate frisbee team he was organizing. They hang out during the tournament weekend, but, again, nothing happens. Ethan took the initiative several more times and asked Karen to rock climb, go to the beach, and go bowling, but, still, after each activity, little more than a few text messages are exchanged between the two of them. Just when Ethan had completely given up on Karen, he captained his frisbee team to a summer league tournament victory! Later that same evening, Karen congratulated him over text and they actually continued to chat this time. They talked about all the “normal” things: how work was going, how it felt to be a summer league ultimate frisbee champion, and if either of them had lingering summer vacation plans. Specifically, Karen asked if Ethan was still thinking about a long road trip up to Yellowstone National Park. He said that trip didn't work with his schedule, but he was thinking of visiting the Utah National Parks instead. At that moment, Ethan felt she might be interested in joining him, so he asked her if she would like to come along. To his surprise, Karen said, "Yes!" Now, almost everyone would say that taking a long road trip with someone of the opposite sex that you don't know really well is an indication that you're interested in them...well, Karen isn't like most people. Even after their 8-day road trip through Utah and its 5 National Parks, she still didn't see Ethan the same way he saw her. But, Ethan's persistence eventually paid off...it just took a really really REALLY long time and an unquantifiable amount of patience!

An uneventful weekend trip to Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez...or so Karen thought. The weather was perfect. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and the ostriches were gallivanting, so naturally, Ethan and Karen had to visit OstrichLand USA. Afterwards, they made their way into downtown Solvang for lunch, followed by a trip to a winery, and dinner at The Hitching Post. Little did Karen know, she was going to take one step closer to getting hitched. The next morning, Ethan and Karen prepared to go to the Santa Barbara Botanic Gardens. Ethan discreetly texted the photographer he hired, letting her know when he'd be arriving and confirming where the proposal would take place. She advised him to keep Karen in full shade for the proposal since the lighting at noon was not the best for photography. When they arrived at the Gardens, Ethan checked his phone and saw a dreaded text. The photographer would be very late and Ethan would have to stall - not an easy task! After placing the ring box in his right pocket and using a sweater to hide it, they began exploring. "Karen, let's sit on this bench and enjoy this beautiful day for a bit," was one of the many excuses Ethan used to delay reaching the redwood forest, where he planned to propose. "Karen, come smell this flower. It smells amazing!" "Give me a few minutes. I'm interested in reading every single plaque we come across." When the photographer finally arrived, Ethan was relieved! But, just as Ethan was ready to propose, she ran to the edge of the forest, where the light was shining down through the trees. "Karen, come here for a second," Ethan exclaimed. "No, I want to check out this area," Karen replied. "Karen, please come here," Ethan said in a more pressing tone. This time she reluctantly listened, and when he pulled her in, he got down on one knee. Karen still seemed confused. It wasn't until he opened the ring box that she realized what was happening. She beamed, said yes, and the rest is history!