Aaron had spent months carefully planning the ultimate surprise for me, pulling in friends and family to gather at the bluffs for our engagement. The only problem? Getting me there. It was one of those miserable, rainy La Crosse days, and I was in full "leave me alone inside" mode. No amount of coaxing from Aaron or our friends could break through my stubbornness. I was like a stubborn dog who did not want to come inside, there was very little that would make me change my mind. But eventually, they wore me down. With a lot of sighing, eye-rolling, and dramatic "this is a bad idea" muttering, I agreed to go. Of course, I complained the whole way there. "This is the worst. I’m going to get all muddy…" You get the idea. Then, something magical happened. As we walked to the first overlook, we ran into the first setup with some of our favorite couples. Thomas and Connor naturally "looking for the chicken of the woods" and then Colin and Hannah who were "trying to get out while it finally stopped raining". Suddenly, my grumbling turned to curiosity. But the real twist? As we kept hiking, a rainbow appeared out of nowhere, like the universe was saying, "Okay, okay, you can stop being grumpy now." We snapped some pictures, feeling all kinds of enchanted by the moment, and continued to the second overlook. At the second overlook, it was full of loved ones waiting for us. That’s when I turned around—and there was Aaron, on one knee, holding out a ring. In that instant, the rain, the rainbow, and even my complaints all faded into the background. I knew this was the surprise of a lifetime, and I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect moment. And now, we’re so excited to celebrate this next chapter in our lives with all of you! (Rainy days and stubborn moods included.)

Being a couple of nerds, it should come as no surprise that we have two proposal stories. Ana and I had talked about getting me a ring to show the world that I was taken, but I didn't think she was going to go to such lengths as she did to give it to me. Us and a group of friends, Nick, Isaiah, Dyllan, & Sierra, made a plan to try out an escape room for the first time. We arrived and got the story: some gangsters had cached loot in the vast tunnel complex beneath La Crosse WI! It was our task to find it... solve the mystery... escape... I don't know, there were a lot of moving parts. So it was that the six of us were crammed into a claustrophobic, poorly lit, labyrinth. We moved from room to room quickly, with several unsolicited clues to push us along. We made it to the final room, had to do something with some knives and holes to unlock the last door. We were finally able to unlock a container with the key to the locked door and Nick pulls out a small box thinking 'what the hell is this'. Ana promptly snatched the box away from him, pulled out a ring and dropped to one knee. I was shocked, and from the looks a couple of others were also taken aback, despite having been told that this was the whole reason we were doing the escape room 'cough cough' Isaiah 'cough cough'. We were engaged! Again! Not one to be outdone, Ana had gathered a large group of our friends and family to celebrate with us at Bodega across the street. I am so happy to be marrying someone who would go through all this planning to give me the gift of being proposed to! And that’s the story of how my life got flipped-turned upside down.