Chris and Nicole met 5 years ago working at C Bennett Building Supply which is a fireplace company. He worked in the service department and Nicole was the receptionist. Chris would stop by almost every day on his way out the door to say bye, and they played pranks on one another. Nicole invited him to her family's Thanksgiving dinner, and the following month they started hanging out outside of work. They'd get coffee or hot chocolate and walk around Main Street St Charles. Chris invited Nicole to a movie (in which I'd gotten there early so that we'd have to pay for our own tickets), and Chris had already gotten there and bought both the tickets. On New Years Eve, Nicole was supposed to go out with a friend, who ended up cancelling. Chris stepped in so she didn't go out alone. They went to a pub in downtown Saint Louis, and then ended up staying up most of the night talking. It wasn't until the middle of January that Nicole told Chris he should actually ask her to be his girlfriend, in which he quickly did. Even though he didn't "ask her out" until January, they both consider New Years Eve the date they became a couple.

On Sunday, November 1st, Chris, Nicole, and the girls went hiking at Castlewood State Park, on the River Scene Trail (if you haven't been there, we both recommend it). They went up the steep cliff to look out over the river, railroad tracks, and trees. They walked up the hill to get to one of the lookout spots, passing one, then another, and came to a third lookout spot. They stood for a minute just looking out over the area. Chris mentioned that there was a guy sitting at the second lookout point, which "is the best lookout spot" in Chris's words. Nicole had the girls sit on a rock ledge so she could take their picture. Then Chris asked Madelyn to take a picture of them. It was a nice surprise because usually they both forget to take pictures of themselves. He had Madelyn scoot to the other side of the trail, and asked several times if she was ready. When she finally said yes, he got down on one knee next to Nicole, held the ring out with both of his hands, looked at her and asked "Will you marry me?" Nicole said "Yes". They hugged and kissed each other, and then both hugged the girls. After Nicole was done ogling the ring and giggling for the moment, they all hiked back down the trail, petting a few dogs along the way.