We're getting married!

The plan was to get up early and grab a plane to catch the sunrise over the Cascade Mountains and Mt. Rainier. Jeremy wanted the flight time and I was excited to try out a camera his dad was lending me. He seemed jumpy the night before but I assumed it was just excitement about getting back in the air. This was not unusual and he didn't let on that it could be anything else. When we arrived at Renton airfield, we found ice on the wings and no fuel in the tank which grounded us for longer than we anticipated. Jeremy busied himself with the plane while I enjoyed the sunrise from the runway, again interpreting his antsy behavior as frustration that we were grounded. Eventually staff arrived to help and we got in the air quickly. Jeremy put the Diamond on a straight course for Mt. Rainier to make the most of what time we had left in the plane. We climbed towards the mile high marker and I snapped away as Rainier grew closer. Suddenly Jeremy put the plane in a turn and started saying my name. I didn't respond as I tried to capture Rainier before the plane circled away. When he didn't relent, I turned toward him, alarmed that something was wrong. Instead he began his proposal, the plane continuing to make circles in the sky, and pulled out the ring. I was completely shocked and the only thing I could blurt out was "Are you really doing this in a plane right now? Don't you need to pay attention?!" Once he reassured me that yes, this really was happening in a plane and that, yes, everything was fine with that plane, I whole-heartedly accepted. Now, whenever I look at Rainier I'll think of our amazing engagement and the mountain that stood witness.

We had planned to wake up early and fly to Rainier for a photo flight, but Lisa had no idea why we were really going up. I couldn't sleep at all the night before but played it off as me just being excited to fly the next morning. After a handful of middle-of-the-night trips downstairs to check and recheck that the ring was well hidden and we had everything we needed for the flight, dawn finally came and we left for the airport. At the airport, I began to preflight the plane while Lisa stayed warm inside, but the windshield was covered in frost and the deicing spray was locked in the hangar. We had to wait for the sun to come out before takeoff and I was starting to get worried that we wouldn't have enough time to get in the air before our reservation ended. As the sun came up, Lisa walked out on the ramp to take pictures and I had to figure out how to get the ring from my bag to my pocket without her noticing. I cleverly suggested that she take a photo of a fairly boring cloud formation. Thankfully, she went for much more interesting shots and I grabbed the ring. A few minutes later we were in the air headed for Rainier. At this point, I was really excited. I had to stop myself from proposing as soon as we got off the ground. Finally, we climbed to a mile over Maple Valley and I trimmed the plane to hold a turn. I tried to get Lisa's attention, but she thought I was telling her that she was accidentally pushing on the controls. After a few "hey Lisa's" she turned to face me and I pulled out the ring and asked her to marry me. She asked me, "are you really doing this right now, in a plane?". After the shock turned to happiness, and a "so, is that a yes?" she accepted and we finished the best flight we've ever had. Mile High Proposal!