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Katie had just purchased a house and was interested in protection beyond a home security system. She took a gun safety class and followed up with some practice at the local range's Ladies Nights. Joe, ever the Casanova, also frequented this range on Ladies Nights. Joe and Katie were assigned lanes by one another, and they made some brief small talk and Joe, a practiced shooter, gave Katie, the novice, some hands-on advice. They exchanged phone numbers and talked steadily the next two weeks before heading out for their first real date and making things official in January 2018.

The summer of 2021 took a bit of a scary turn with some unexpected health issues. Katie and Joe had always assumed marriage was eventual, just not urgent, but the experience left them a little more sentimental and with a little more perspective. They had more serious talks about getting married, culminating in a commitment to getting engaged which ended in a laugh- Katie noted that Joe still had to formally ask to which Joe exclaimed "I JUST DID!"

From then on, every outing was a chance for a proposal in Katie's mind. Dinners, holidays, hockey games, long walks, drives and nights in all seemed even more memorable with the possibility of what if. In early December, Joe and Katie had reservations for their bi-monthly hibachi date. A fan of the hibachi classics, Katie assumed that when the "choo choo volcano" came and went, it wasn't going to be that night and that the proposal would likely come during another favorite, New Years Eve. As they left the restaurant, Joe stopped Katie outside and got down on one knee with a thoughtful ask. Of course, this was a done deal! Katie excitedly said yes and Joe gifted a beautiful ring and here we are today!