Jared was still living in Kansas City when I met him in the mountains of Colorado when he was on a ski trip with his buddies four years ago. I was on the way up to Glenwood Springs for a girls trip but decided to stop along the way where I had some guy friends who happened to be with Jared that weekend. Come to find out, Jared and I went to rivalry high schools, K-State, and even had worked for the same company previously. We had still never met each other! I had so much fun hanging out with Jared (and intrigued by his lack of interest lol) that on the way back down the mountains from my trip, I stopped to hangout again. From there is history.. Jared and I have talked everyday ever since. I knew he was serious when he flew out to see me a couple months later (so not like Jared!) We dated long distance for a year and a half before he moved to Colorado where we lived downtown, then we moved to Washington for his career, and now have settled in Castle Rock where we just bought our first home.

For Jared and I's birthdays, we always plan trips for us as a couple. So, it didn't seem out of the ordinary when Jared planned a trip to Leavenworth for my bday weekend, our favorite WA mountain town. After finally arriving and dropping our dogs off at our beautiful AirBnB, we headed out for a nice dinner that Jared had planned. I was a little stressed on the way up because our dog Zuni got car sick and was whining and it was just... stressful. Luckily after a couple dirty martinis at dinner - I was a happy girl! After dinner, we headed back to the house where our friends had a mountain house nearby. I quickly noticed our pups were out of their cages waiting for us at the front door. I was confused since we had them in their cages when we left... but, when we got closer, I realized JARED WAS PROPOSING! Both dogs had bandanas on asking "Mom, will you marry our dad?" and "Please say yes!" Jared got down on one knee and Tillie had the ring attached to her collar. The cutest thing in the world surrounded with champagne and roses! Then, I asked Jared if our friends down the street had set it all up while we were at dinner. He said yep! They want to take photos of us, so let's go! I got in the car on cloud 9 and when we showed up for "photos"...... I walked into a surprise engagement party of all our best friends and family. It was truly a dream come true! I cannot believe he had pulled off the surprise of a lifetime that I'll never forget!!! Keep in mind, nobody lived in WA and it was 2.5 hours from an airport - it still feels so surreal!!!!!!!