Both Ian and Katie decided give online dating another chance in January 2018. Katie being reluctant to date outside her city indicated on her profile she did not want anyone to contact her if they lived outside the area. Ian, the ever-hopeful romantic & frustrated with the more localized options, came upon Katie's Profile. After seeing her lovely smile, and her heart for Jesus and people, he decided to take a risk and ask Katie "Is Bend too far?" Katie thought well... I'll be in Redmond in a couple weeks to visit my friends Lindsey and Ty. This guy is really cute and he looks like the kind of guy I'd like to meet. So she agreed to take a chance on meeting this guy from Bend.

I had planned on meeting Ian the day before at Smith Rock but I got a late start to driving over the mountain so Ian agreed to meet me for coffee the next day instead. I planned on meeting Ian for just 1 hour since so many of these first dates end up being weird. I told Lindsay I needed to run some errands so I wouldn't have to explain that I was going on a date just in case it didn't go well. I was tired of talking about the ones that didn't work out. Lindsay said she would text me to go hiking once her son woke from his nap. Ian was there in the parking lot and I thought, "Yes! He's good looking". Ian was respectful and funny though I was too nervous to laugh at his jokes. I was delighted Ian was actually the guy he said he was online. Just when we were starting to relax I received a text message from Lindsay saying her son was up from his nap. I didn't want to leave but figured if Ian's into me we will meet again. I apologized for cutting our date short and told him we should go out again sometime. He definitely left an impression. I confessed to Lindsey and Ty where I had been.

...so what I remember from that day is already feeling a little bummed that our hike didn't work out the day before, and starting to think that this weekend would come and go without getting to meet this girl. I had already begrudgingly and bitterly signed up for on-line dating, knowing the frustrations I had with it in the past. My experience was a lot of time, and a lot of emails with very few responses back. I just assumed this one would fall through too. And, by the way the date seemed to go, my assumption was confirmed. If you read Katie's version, I got the sense at times during our 'coffee conversation' that she was not that into me (isn't there a movie about someone not being into you?) She seemed to be just going through the motions, and my jokes were falling upon deaf ears. Her being nervous was not even considered, so when she looks at her phone and tells me she has to run, I just assumed she already had a contingency plan in place to have a friend text her, so if she was not feeling the date, she could just leave. The whole "hiking with a baby" story was merely an excuse to get out of a date gone bad, and I was left to ponder what I did wrong. I would actually walk back into Starbucks (after walking Katie to her car, of course--my momma raised me right!) and have a nice pity party "table for 1!" sulking over my dating and romantic woes. However, Katie had left a good impression with me in only 40 minutes time. Her beauty came to life during our conversation that a picture has no way of capturing, and I would catch glimpses of her passions and personality as we talked. The next day I was still thinking about her, so I decided to shoot her a text. I figured I wouldn't hear back from her. But if she did respond then maybe: "So you're telling me there's a chance!!!!!" And what would transpire over the next few months, I never could have imagined as I sent that text to a girl I thought had no interest in me!

My birthday is on June 19, and this past year it fell on a Wednesday. That following weekend Katie and I planned on spending a weekend together in Portland. Things between us had been progressing rather nicely since our "40-minute" first date, and we even held hands a couple weekends before when Katie was in Bend. So, that Friday, Katie, being the thoughtful and caring person she is, took me to TopGolf to celebrate my birthday. Feeling a bit more confident since the hand-holding night, and seeing Katie's golf swing, I decided to make a bet. At the time of the bet, I was losing to Katie. See, there is this old adage that the guy should always let the girl win at any competition during the early dates. If I won, Katie would have to give me a kiss. At first I played the lovable loser by shanking a few shots, but my competitive side and the prospects of getting a kiss from a beautiful woman would prove too strong. I honed in my golf game for all it was worth--5 bucks max, and pulled out some clutch shots down the stretch to secure the victory and collect the spoils. Katie reminds me that I was also talking a lil smack! That is the night I got to kiss the most beautiful person I have ever met, and I look forward joining my life to hers on the 1 year anniversary of our first kiss--June 22, 2019.

The idea to propose to Katherine Elizabeth Gabel would take root shortly after saying 'goodbye' to her on one of our weekend visits in August. As I sadly watched her Booger-Green Hyundai Accent slowly disappear down my street, I said to myself out loud "I gotta marry that girl." So, in the weeks to come, I would ask trusted friends if I was crazy or too rash to even consider proposing 2 months in; I would ask Katie's dad if I had his blessing (I had the song "Rude" already to go if he said no); I would find a ring; find a way to purchase the ring; then I would procure said ring; and pray to Jesus a lot! What I then needed was a proposal that would shock and awe, but at the same time not be too obvious or over the top. So, I would do what any red-blooded, American would do when stumped: consult Google. (Side-note: it is fascinating to see all the different ways people have proposed. Great way to squander an hour or two if you are ever stuck in an airport OR after watching the Notebook) Plans of horse-rides on the beach, delivering myself in a refrigerator box, shaving "Marry Me" in my back hair, a hot-air balloon ride would slowly die to an idea to set up a scavenger hunt around the town of Bend.

As stated before, I wanted the proposal to be special, but I wanted to keep it a surprise as long as possible. So, I thought a scavenger hunt around Bend would be ideal, and I could try to throw off the scent by prefacing that this was a fun way to help Katie become more familiar with the area: bolster short-term memory through repetition in order to transfer info into long term! Here is how it went down. 5 special places were chosen. 5 riddles were constructed that Katie would have to solve in order to find the desired location. 5 challenges were created that Katie had to pass in order to get the card that contained the riddle. First challenge was she had to give me a kiss. She resisted at first, but eventually passed, and the first riddle took us to Lava Lanes (a bowling alley that had a fun zone) where I first saw Katie's fun and competitive side. Her challenge there was to score 50 points on the basketball shootout and her middle school basketball coach would be proud! After dropping 57, she received Card #2. The next riddle took us to my classroom where we had created a make-shift dance floor that summer. Her challenge there was to dance with me, and my challenge was to keep up with her! After Dancing with the Stars, the next riddle took us to Drake Park where on an earlier date I would learn about Katie's commitment to God's desire for marriage. Our 4th riddle, would take us to a place to eat fish tacos. A man can't propose on an empty stomach. Earlier in the summer, Katie and I talk about family and life over fish tacos, and it would become apparent to me that Katie was a rare and special person I needed to pursue with more intention. We would end up at Lava Lake where we had spent a beautiful summer's day exploring the High Lakes. We found the spot where we had hammock'ed that summer, and there I would take Katie by the hands, look her in the eyes and ask her to give me the honor of allowing me to pursue her heart for the rest of our lives.