We're Getting Married!!

Leah's Side It all began when my mother told me to be more social and join a Christian college group in Kitsap County called "Thrive". I got connected really quickly and within 3 months was orchestrating a hike up Green Mountain. When Tyler entered the scene (who had been connected with Thrive but took a 6 month absence) he made sure to have a question about the hike *every day* leading up to it in order to get to know me better. Following the hike, he took me on a date which consisted of a late night at Shari's with pie shakes and watching "Fantastic Mr. Fox" on my laptop. The date was so fun and unique that I couldn't help but go out with him again! Tyler's Side When I first met Leah, she was a super fun, energetic girl who loved to smile that I really wanted to get to know better. Fortunately, she was organizing a hike so I was able to start conversations really easy and we'd talk throughout the day. Quickly she became a really good friend of mine and it seemed as one date ended I already wanted to plan the next! As the relationship grew I knew I wanted to date her and a year into that dating relationship I was certain I wanted to marry her.

Leah's Side I was working at a Christian summer camp that allowed me only 24 hours off a week. With this time constraint, Tyler and I were looking forward to my family vacation coming up in Sunriver, Oregon. When the day came for the road trip, we wore smiles and had snacks and a good book in hand. He made sure to mention that we should take our time to enjoy the road trip, and that if we see any neat spots along the way we should take time to stop. Later on in the middle of the trip, as I read aloud Dietrich Bonhoeffer's book "The Call to Discipleship", I noticed Tyler reorient his google maps to a different location. Soon enough, we pull up to a beautiful secluded creek and get out to "stretch our legs". It was there that Tyler asked me to be his wife, and I couldn't have been happier! Tyler's Side Leah's busy life made this a real easy surprise to pull off... While she camped I asked for her dads permission, went ring shopping and knew that the proposal would happen on this road trip to the Nieman family vacation. I didn't know where, but I knew the road would lead us to a river. As we were in that area I found a nice spot, went down to the water with Leah and started to whisper sweet nothings to Leah, to which she replied with a story about sex trafficking rings that were busted in our very own Kitsap county! I reeled it back in, told her that this year has indeed been great, then just as we started to walk back asked if she would spend many more years with me.