Lyle's side: Melody and I had two very close friends one day put it all together. I was told some friends wanted to go sailing on my boat. At first I thought it was going to be just another day sailing/cruising on the water. Meeting on the boat, I still did not think anything crazy or life changing was going to happen. We cruised around the bay, chatted for a little bit and docked the boat. After the sailing trip I headed to Old Town to meet up with some other buddies... I get a call from my friend who was on the boat with us. Evidently someone on the boat thought I was cute (I thought she was absolutely gorgeous). After a few weeks, I texted her while she was in Italy...luckily I got her out one day. I took her on a sushi date in Liberty Station...thankfully she didn't think I was too crazy and we hit it off from there. Melody's side: Noreen called me on a Thursday to tell me there was a guy that she and Char thought I should meet. She told me we were all going sailing on his boat the next day. Despite the short notice and being a little skeptical of the situation, I said yes. When I saw Lyle for the first time, I thought he was cute and also noticed there was something different in the way he carried himself that drew me in. Maybe it was because I’d never seen anyone wear cowboy boots on a boat before… whatever it was, I knew I wanted to get to know Lyle. We had a fun day on the water, but I didn’t get to talk to Lyle much. It didn’t feel like anything would come of it. Weeks later, I grabbed coffee with Char, and she asked me what I thought of Lyle, and I said he was cute and I’d be interested in getting to know him more. After our girl date, of course Char told Lyle I was interested. Not long after that, I was in Rome on a pilgrimage when Lyle texted me asking me out on a sushi date when I returned home. One of my prayer intentions for this pilgrimage was for God to bring my future spouse into my life. Little did I know, the Lord in His goodness would finally grant me the desire of my heart!

Lyle's side: Each date has been a fun wild ride. Having beach days at pacific beach, playing volleyball at mission beach...or camping at Yosemite and walking for miles to find a hidden lake. We have had so many fun experiences together. I've watched her play music at St. Brigid parish as well as Our Lady of Refuge. She treated me to sailing for my birthday, and even made a baker’s sheet worth of jello shots (which was awesome!). We have traveled to Las Vegas for a concert, went to Texas to visit my brother/family. Melody has been supportive from the start, the true definition of someone I can count on. The rosary walks, adoration time, and attending mass together... I find it a true blessing that God put Melody in my life. Melody's side: We’ve had such a beautiful time getting to know each other- falling in love with Lyle has been so easy. Some of our favorite things to do together are soaking up the sun, spending time with friends, boating, reading, praying, cooking, camping, playing music, and trying new things. He keeps me on my toes, and he makes life so fun, light, and joyful! Lyle is a special breed, and it became very apparent to me in seeing the way he loves his friends and family and the way they love him. It didn’t take long for me to imagine a life spent with him by my side.

Lyle’s side: I spent weeks figuring out what to do. I went to so many beach locations, thinking about many ideas. I wanted this spot to have a great view, little to no people (make it more personal without everyone watching), but most of all I wanted to catch her off guard. Catching Melody off guard, that was going to be the biggest challenge! Noreen gave me a great idea to walk on the sand and coax Melody to join as it would be therapeutic help for my sprained ankle. As we got to the beach, my mind was racing with thoughts...I was trying my very best not to choke or speak too fast, or walk too far past the photographer (Geno thank you for the help!) We got to the desired spot, I felt carried away and just stopped. I stopped DEAD in my tracks! I could not wait any longer to ask this gorgeous girl to be my future wife! I recounted with her the time spent early on in dating how one day I was going to marry her...after that I told her I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. There was no hesitating in her eyes when she said yes immediately. My heart was beating so fast I could not contain my excitement. We went back to her place after a few photos. I had some good friends of ours come over to join in the fun, (I kept this a secret from her roommate). I did not want anyone to know as they may have acted differently, talked differently...I wanted this to be an absolute surprise. The amount of shock in everyone's eyes/faces was great to see. Melody’s side: It happened on a Wednesday. I texted Lyle a couple days prior, asking if we could go to evening Mass on our date night (date night is every Wednesday). He replied that he was thinking we could go for a beach walk and pray the rosary together. Mini alarm bells started going off in my head- Lyle had a sprained ankle and wasn’t doing much walking at the time. However, the sprained ankle-walk-situation wasn’t really enough for me to think he was for sure going to propose. On the day of, Lyle came over to my house and immediately was ready to go for our walk… he was on a mission from God. When we got into his truck, he didn’t even pause to put a song on for our 1 minute drive to Crown Point (which would have been a pleasant 3 minute walk). After he parked, we walked a short distance on the beach, chatting and catching up on our days. Then he abruptly stopped and got down on one knee! I was elated and couldn’t believe it was actually happening. Our friend Geno very stealthily took photos of us, and Lyle arranged for some of our friends to show up at the house right afterwards. It was a very magical day, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with him. ❤️