I headed to Nepal for a little adventure, signed up for an REI expedition to test my mettle around Everest Base Camp. Somewhere along the way, I decided to take a bit of a solo detour off-trail near the Khumbu Glacier—and quickly realized I was way over my head. I ended up stranded on the ice, freezing and lost, just hoping someone would notice I was gone. Back at camp, the expedition realized I was missing and called for volunteers to head back out onto the glacier. Haley was one of the first people to step up. As I sat there wondering how I’d get out of this, I saw a climber pull themselves up over the edge of the ice. It was Haley. She didn't just find me that day; she rescued me in every sense of the word. We’ve been side-by-side ever since.

I hate to ruin the cinematic masterpiece you just read, but Gabe is officially full of it. There were no crampons, no expeditions, and definitely no glaciers. As much as I'd love to take credit for being a high-altitude search and rescue hero, the only thing I actually rescued Gabe from was a lackluster dating life. His version is much more epic, but our real story is my favorite-even if it didn't involve a volunteer rescue mission. We didn't meet on a glacier in Nepal; we met on an app. The real adventure began right here in downtown Boise. Instead of a mountain rescue, our first "expedition" was finding the secret entrance to Thick as Thieves. Tucked away in that speakeasy, over cocktails and conversation that lasted for hours, I realized I didn't need a Himalayan backdrop to know I'd found someone special. Gabe may dream up epic tales of survival, but the life we've build together since that first match is my absolute favorite. I'm just lucky that out of all the people in the world, he's the one I get to keep getting lost with-whether we're under the glow of the city lights or lost in a legend of his own making.

While we spent years building our life together, the real new chapter began on the day we closed on our first home. The thought had actually crossed my mind: "Closing day on the new house... wouldn't this be a perfect time for a proposal?" But as the morning went on, Gabe seemed so calm and collected that I quickly talked myself out of it. I figured if he were about to propose, he’d at least be a little bit nervous! He completely proved me wrong. Right there on our new front porch on Constitution, with my parents watching and my friend Kiri behind the lens to capture every second, he dropped to one knee. It was the ultimate surprise in the place where we’ll officially start our lives together. The custom-designed ring was the absolute cherry on top of an already unforgettable day. We didn't just get a set of house keys that day; we got a forever.