Jared was living in Wilmington, NC and I was in the middle of my third travel PT rotation in Southport, NC (the town where the movie, Safe Haven was filmed). Jared was flying back from visiting Mississippi for his mom's birthday and I was flying back from skiing in West Virginia with one of my best friends, Caroline. We both had a layover in Charlotte, NC. I boarded the plane early because I love to nestle in to my seat. Jared was one of the last to board the plane and when he went to take the seat next to me, I remember thinking 'he's super cute.' Not sure if he had a girlfriend, I thought I would gently crack open the door for conversation with the good ole' modified bend-and-snap (Thank you 'Legally Blonde'). So, I reached down to get my book and 'accidentally' elbowed Jared and of course 'apologized.' We ended up talking for the rest of the flight to Wilmington. When it was time to get off the plane, I had to wait on the exit ramp from the plane to get by bag. I swear Jared and I told each other bye three different times, so when I got into the actual airport (side note: Wilmington airport is tiny) and saw Jared up ahead, I decided to go around the other direction to avoid awkwardly saying bye for the fourth time. He met me at the door and asked for my number. We went on our first date about a week later.

Jared surprised me with a trip to Iceland 24 hours before our flight was set to leave RDU. We flew into Reykjavik, hopped in our rental car, and took off road tripping along Ring Road on the Southern Coast. Our Airbnb was near Skogafoss Waterfall, and we decided to save all the nearby waterfalls for our last morning in the Southern Region before trekking up to the Northwest Coast. We got up early to beat the crowds and knocked out several waterfalls. It was time to warm up a little and grab some much needed coffee, so we stopped back by this precious cafe near Skogafoss Waterfall where they served Jared coffee in a cute little pink tea cup. There was one last waterfall to see before leaving that was a little off the beaten path and required a short hike from the cafe. We were behind Kvernufoss Waterfall, and Jared suggested we take a picture. He was setting up his iphone "timer", and I was putting our gloves below the phone because I was scared it was going to fall and break. We went to pose in front of the camera and wait for the "timed photo" (he had turned on the video and was able to record the whole proposal). After a few moments, I went back to grab the phone to make sure it wouldn't fall, and Jared said, "hey, come look at this rock." It's a tradition my grandmother taught me where you collect one rock from places you don't want to forget. Anyways, I was searching for this cool rock Jared had seen when I heard him say, "what about this rock?" When I turned around he was on one knee. We can't wait to celebrate this next chapter with you!