We first met at Crane Lake Camp (CLC) in summer 2015, our final year as campers. We had known of each other before this as lifelong campers, but we were never at camp during the same session. We don't remember the first moment or time we met that summer, but were always kind acquaintances. It wasn't until 3 summers later when we both returned to camp as counselors in the "Olim Fellowship" that our bond more formally developed. In the fellowship, a small group of 5 of us from Crane Lake, along with other fellows from different camps traveled to 3 different URJ camps over the course of 2 years. On the second weekend retreat in Georgia, we had more 1-1 time than we had ever prior, and thus blossomed a beautiful friendship. After returning from the weekend retreat, we spent every night the following week on Skype writing a blog together about the Fellows experience for camp to post. A vivid memory Shaina has is saying to her close friend "I'm in love with his brain!" as she observed Noam's insightful engagement at the retreat and reflective writing together afterwards. From then on, we kept talking all the time and excitedly awaited the next weekend retreat and visits to see each other in between.

That formative Olim Fellows retreat was in November 2018. The following February, Noam was traveling with UConn's TV station to attend a sports media conference at Vanderbilt in Nashville. They hadn't seen each other since November, but talked all the time! Perfectly enough, Noam had a flight layover in Washington, DC where Shaina was in college at GW. He refused his friends recommendations, left the airport, and took an Uber to her freshman dorm for a brief 30 min visit just so he could see her. It took only minutes after his arrival before we shared our first kiss and then he left to catch the second leg of his flight! (Noam jumping in here!) I also remember Shaina ordered Thai food for us. I was so nervous and excited to kiss her for the first time that I don't even remember eating the food she'd bought! Never fear, we've had plenty of Thai since then :)

At this point, we had been talking non stop and hanging out quite frequently (socially distant because of the pandemic). This time, Shaina drove up to the Watt's house to help Noam bake over a dozen loaves of round challah to give out around town for Rosh Hashanah and to raise money for Mazon, a Jewish hunger relief organization. We spent the day in the kitchen together having a blast, and even wrote little "Shana Tova" cards to go with every bag! There is an infamous picture of us holding up the challah and cards together that Ruthie (Noam's mom) later posted on Facebook that reads "Noam and his friend..." Little did she know, as Noam walked Shaina out to her car to say goodbye, she reflected on the fact that there would never be a "right time" -- there would always be long distance or a global pandemic, but we just had to give it a shot, and SHE asked him to be her boyfriend! The rest is history!

For much of the pandemic, we were in a long distance relationship (3+ years in fact!) Shaina lived in DC and then Syracuse, NY and Noam was in CT. In those early days, we would visit each other for a week at a time, making sure we and our roommates isolated and tested strictly. Even once the pandemic ended, things were still challenging... Noam worked most weekends and was on the road a lot with UConn, making visits to see each other more infrequent than either would like. We were able to see each other every 4-6 weeks through the 2 years Shaina was in upstate New York. It was really hard to be so far away from each other, both so busy defining our first professional steps, and at the same time it made the time spent together extra special and full! We also deeply supported each other - knowing these were formative years in our professional careers, and doing long distance would be worth it! All the more reason that when Noam decided to stay at UConn and Shaina got a remote job with Adamah, moving in together in July 2023 was an especially joyous, long awaited day! Being together was such a gift we did not take for granted! We found an incredible apartment and have been here since-- it is our first home together and we truly love it!

I had been planning this special day for months. From the moment we first went ring shopping in May 2025, the wheels started turning! The first people I had a conversation with were Matt and Lillian - I'll always remember sitting on our balcony one night discussing preliminary plans - meanwhile Shaina was sound asleep! Soon after, I met with Dean (Shaina's dad) and the ring design was on. I picked the weekend for the proposal, and had an elaborate plan for a late summer "surprise birthday party" for Shaina. I told her family and mine to hold the weekend of August 9th and 10th, to belatedly celebrate Shaina's 25th birthday which I was due to miss while out of town. My trip was cancelled, but I still needed everyone to hold that date. The surprise would go on! I picked up the ring on July 11th, the day before Shaina and I went out west for a week and a half. I think Shaina was expecting to get proposed to during a hike in the Grand Tetons, but I wanted to do it somewhere close to home. I picked Talcott Mountain in Simsbury, our favorite local hike. About a month before the engagement, I asked Susan (Shaina's mom) for her permission to marry her daughter. It was a yes! Then, 2 weeks before the engagement, I told my parents. I'll never forget sitting at the dining room table, and telling them "that 'birthday' party for Shaina was actually an engagement party." And what was my dad's first response? "For who?" Everyone was in shock it was really happening! I asked my brother Jonah to fly out from Chicago, and started finalizing details. After months of keeping the biggest secret of my life, I finally left some clues for Shaina on the morning of August 9th, 2025. First of all, I couldn't sleep at all the night before. Good dreams, excited dreams, terrifying dreams (what if I dropped the ring down the mountain, what if Shaina passed out in shock on the side of the mountain?!) Then, once we woke up, I picked an outfit out for Shaina, which I rarely do. And lastly, I asked to take a selfie before we left. A sweet gesture to capture the moment, but apparently a clue Shaina was about to get proposed to! We got to the hike, and I was so nervous. Would the photographer be in the right spot? Was it too hot? Why did I have to pee so badly? Will we get back in time to nail the surprise back at the apartment? But, despite all my nerves, it went down perfectly. We didn't make it to the top of the mountain, but on our way down, I spotted our photographer and picked out our alcove. The spot where we would be getting engaged. As we stood there together admiring the view, I went through a routine I practiced dozens of times in recent weeks. I asked Shaina to step away from the edge of the mountain and look out in the distance while I took her photo. Then, I got down on my right knee, and asked her to turn around and smile. There I was, ready to ask her to marry me. It was time. I opened my mouth, and the perfect words came out. "I've waited for this day for a long time, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?" I think the first words out of her mouth were "I do." The rest is history! We soaked in the moment, kissing, smiling for photos, and embracing each other. As passerby congratulated us, I ushered us to the car, where I was berated with questions about every detail for the next 30 minutes! Little did Shaina know, some of our closest family and friends were waiting at our apartment for an engagement party. It was a perfect Saturday, filled with toasts, hugs, pictures, Moe's queso, and cannonballs in the pool. It was the first day of the rest of our lives, together! (Props to you for getting to the end! How could I shorten any of this writing? It was the best day ever!!)

For a couple days Noam had been saying he wanted to go for a hike. I pitched going to a new trail, but Noam was pretty insistent on Talcott Mountain. I woke up feeling rested and ready for the day. We got ready in our normal morning fashion, but there were some silly signs something was different. Noam laid out my Old Navy athletic dress on the bed for me to wear and said "I love this dress and you haven't worn it in so long!" He never picks out what I wear unless I ask him for help.... When we arrived and started the hike, we were both relatively quiet given we were out of breath from the steep incline, but he was quieter than usual. As we continued on, he was on his phone a lot which I didn't love and got a little annoyed by, but he apologized and said there's some sports thing his friends were all talking about (of course, believable). But in reality he was coordinating with the photographer. Then he said he didn't want to go all the way to the top, even though it’s just a teeny bit more… WHAT?! That’s the point of a hike! So I thought… He encouraged us to turn back, that it’ll be too crowded up there and the other views are better. So we continued on. We got to a lookout point, nobody was around, but I saw a photographer hiding. A bird watcher? Nature photographer? Sure let’s go with that. I couldn't believe this was actually happening! Noam pointed to a bird in the distance and told me to look at the view. I'm no birder, so I just looked out, unsure if I should turn around, when I should turn around, if he should tell me to turn around. I was too excited, so I turned. And there. He. Was. On one knee. With a ring in his hand and the biggest smile across his face. Time stopped. But also time never felt faster. This part was a blur. But I recall him saying to me something along the lines of “Shaina, I've been waiting for this moment for a very long time, will you marry me?!” And instead of saying “yes” I accidentally said “I do!” I didn't even look at the ring, I just put my arms around him and kissed him! And if I recall, I just kept repeating “omg omg omg.” I couldn’t believe it was real and happening! Pinch me! I finally looked at and put on the ring -- gorgeous! And then we got some pictures with the photographer and shoutouts from passerby hikers! After a few minutes to catch our breath we had a moment to ourselves to soak it all in. Just as I dreamed, we were going to get married! As we walked back down the mountain, I of course, berated him with questions wanting absolutely every detail that went into making sure the day would be just perfect for me, and for us.