It was the summer of 2010. Kasey was headed to a cub scout camp to work for the summer. “This will be a new adventure! You need to try things out of your comfort zone,” her mom exclaimed. “Let’s just go home. I don’t want to do this anymore,” Kasey muttered. “Oh come on! You’ll be fine!” her mom responded. When they made it to the camp, Kasey hesitantly got out of the car. They made their way to the administration building to check-in. Nobody was there. They popped their heads into the kitchen to find two teenage guys hanging out. “Hi! Who can we check in with?” her mom asked. “Oh, Bill is in his office in the admin building,” Nathan responded. That was the first time Nathan and Kasey met. And all Kasey could think about was getting out of there! After finally checking in, Kasey made her way to her cabin and her mom left. Why did I agree to this? I could be at the pool right now hanging out with my friends, Kasey thought to herself. During that first week, however, Kasey realized that this place wasn’t so bad after all. As the weeks went on, there was one person who she connected with the most. Nathan was easy to talk to and always made her laugh. She found herself hoping he would come into the Trading Post during her shift or hope to run into each other on their way up to breakfast in the morning. As summer came to an end, they had feelings for each other, but nothing happened. After Kasey went to college, she found herself missing their conversations and spending time with each other. They started talking on Facebook every day and eventually exchanged phone numbers. By November 2010, they realized that they both wanted to be in a relationship. “Let’s go on a date first. Before we make this official. I haven’t seen you since summer!” Nathan agreed and Kasey went back home for the weekend. He picked her up for their first date on November 13th, 2010. Their first date was at Short Pump Mall. The rest is history!

Kasey had been hinting at a proposal for the past year. She even provided Nathan with a picture of the ring she wanted! After months of saving, Nathan purchased the ring of Kasey’s dreams! A month later, they decided to spend the weekend in the mountains. On the drive up, Kasey had a feeling something big was going to happen and she couldn’t stop smiling. While making dinner that night, Kasey started dropping hints. “So, anything special going to happen this weekend?” Nathan responded reluctantly. “Um…I don’t think so.” Nathan started to panic. What Kasey didn’t know was that the ring hadn’t come in on time. In fact, it didn’t arrive at the store until 3:00 that afternoon, when they were already in the car and on their way to the mountains. Kasey was disappointed, but the rest of their weekend was full of hikes, nature, and beautiful scenery. After returning home, Nathan was able to pick up the ring, but now he had to find a new way to propose. He had the ring with him at all times, but it never felt quite right. It was too hot outside, it wasn’t romantic enough, or the scenery wasn’t right. On Monday, September 2, 2019, Nathan and Kasey had breakfast at a local café and decided to take a walk around Maymont Park. As they sat underneath a large oak tree and felt the summer breeze, Nathan knew this was the right moment. While Kasey was looking in the opposite direction, Nathan took the ring out of his pocket and held it up. When she turned back to him, he asked her and she immediately started to cry. They were engaged!