Nathan and I met at APU my sophomore year. When my friend and I realized that he and his roommate had Disneyland season passes too, we knew we had to befriend them. Our first time hanging out was at the most magical place on Earth (fast forward a couple years and this is where we would later go on our first date and where I would accidentally tell Nathan I loved him). We soon began spending more and more time together. I had no interest in Nathan in a romantic sense at that time, and he thought we had both friendzoned each other (but maybe someday he will admit that he liked me all along;)) During our frequent Disneyland trips and adventures around Azusa, we built a strong friendship and I quickly learned what an amazing person Nathan is. He was a friend who deeply cared for those around him, listened well, wasn’t afraid to show his sensitive side (cue the tears in the living room), and made me laugh. A year and a half later, we started joking around that we should date, and then realized that was not a horrible idea. It took some urging from our friends (shout out to Lynsey and the Great Robe Party of 2016) for us both to admit that ~maybe~ we should give this a shot, and the rest is history! The past few years have brought many challenges to our relationship, from new jobs to long distance and PA school, but there is no one else I would have wanted by my side through it all. Nathan keeps me sane, buys me In-N-Out, loves me SO well, and leads me closer to Jesus. I am so grateful that I fell in love with my best friend and get to spend forever with him!

Sawyer found out she was going to be in Reno for 6 weeks for a clinical rotation, so we planned a weekend for me to come visit her. I knew she was going to be suspicious that this is when I would propose, so I wanted to figure out a way to still surprise her. I told Sawyer that my family was going to be spending a weekend in Shaver Lake, so I wouldn’t be able to come visit her anymore. After I told her I wouldn’t be coming, she was upset for weeks. We even facetimed one night, and she cried about how sad she was I wasn’t going to be visiting - I had to turn the camera away from my face so she would not see me laughing. Little did she know I had already been in touch with her parents planning a perfect proposal at Lake Tahoe!  Fast forward to August 24th, when I left early that morning to drive to Tahoe (she was still mad at me at this point, so I knew she had no idea I was coming). Sawyer had just finished her first week of her new rotation, so Louise and Kirk told her they wanted to take her to brunch in Tahoe to celebrate. When they got to the restaurant, they turned the corner, and Sawyer saw me standing there. Nervously, I took her for a walk along the lake and came across a picture perfect spot for the proposal. Shoutout to my brother, Christian, for snapping the perfect photo that Sawyer and I get to cherish forever! Following the proposal, Sawyer and I had lunch with our parents and my brother and got to celebrate with some family friends later that evening. August 24, 2019 will forever hold a special day in my heart, however, September 26, 2020 could not come soon enough. I cannot wait to start this new chapter in our lives and continue to create so many more memories with such a beautiful girl by my side forever!