We met each other on the sand volleyball courts of Fred Beekman Park at Ohio State in 2013. Hannah's grad school friends and RJ's small group ended up playing every Tuesday night, so our groups eventually ended up intermingling and playing together. Our relationship started as rivals (RJ was VERY jealous of Hannah's athletic abilities), then progressed to friends, and eventually grew deeper over the next five years as we got to know each other better and better. We (finally) started dating in the summer of 2018. RJ will tell you our first date was when he asked Hannah to help him paint the bathroom in his home. Hannah will tell you it was when RJ asked her to watch a movie. Needless to say, we're happy to share that our communication has grown over the past two years :-) !

RJ had planted the seed early (he was very smart). He had started telling Hannah weeks before that he wanted to check out Christmas lights together. As the day grew closer, he said he had checked the radar and the weather on 12/16/19 would be PERFECT for Christmas light gazing. Hannah had some suspicion that something could be up, but when she arrived to RJ's house to find him watching the news and still in his work clothes, she decided nothing magical was happening that night! RJ was still working through his rehabilitation after he tore his Achilles tendon, yet he decided to not wear his boot.. which was oddly suspicious! RJ was insistent upon starting our Christmas light viewing starting at Mirror Lake on OSU's campus (which Hannah later learned was homage to us meeting on OSU's campus). When RJ and Hannah arrived to Mirror Lake, it was a snowy/raining/sleeting night, but the lights were beautiful. We walked down the ramp towards the lake and RJ made Hannah stand on his one specific side (because he was hiding the ring in his opposite pocket!). Then, all of a sudden, RJ was down on one knee.... except... he was tying his shoe (Picture Jim's fake proposal to Pam from The Office)! The prankster actually asked if Hannah would wait while he tied his shoe... tricky move! Once on the deck and overlooking the lake and lights, RJ got down on his knee and proposed.. for real! Fortunately, despite the minor hiccups (jets flying overhead, disconnected bluetooth), it was such a special moment. It was especially sweet because RJ's sister, Amanda, Hannah's sister, Hope, and RJ's roommate, Alex, were also there and were able to celebrate with us! It would not be truthful if we didn't share that Hannah was starting to get VERY suspicious after the fake proposal. Once the actual proposal started, Hannah was very preoccupied with the fact that she "had figured it out" and was having difficulty staying focused on the real proposal :-) Regardless, it was a magical night!