I first noticed Olivia in a class we had together. She asked really heady theological questions (Obviously, I'm a geek). Having been a student at the school for a few years I was finally able to ask intelligent questions, but Olivia was new in my estimation and was asking questions beyond my level of thought! I thought, “wow, who is this woman?!”

I was pretty sure Scott didn't like me, which was a bummer because I thought he was smart and funny. Sometimes I would hang out with his friends so that he would have to talk to me.

Okay, so, there were several text groups for our friend group, and also an app called MarcoPolo. I found myself getting excited when Olivia posted updates. She was super sweet, and I knew that she was going to make a great friend.

Olivia and I could be with any group and not be there for any other reason than to hangout with the people, and we would hit it off. Whether we were debating some heady theory, or bantering about meaningless oddities of life, we consistently found ourselves laughing and smiling together.

After being friends with Scott for a while I became convinced that he was the best at being a friend out of anyone I knew. I admired his character and the way that he cared for people. We had the best conversations, and he quickly became my favorite person to spend time with.

We were at the tail end of November and gearing up for finals week when we began to date. Stressful times for sure, but we both nailed our finals. We took a lot of breaks leading up to finals to see things and do things. We went to OMSI because Olivia loves museums, we went to the Timberline Lodge because adventure is better with snow, we dined out and drank a ton of coffee. As the term concluded and break began we continued to take time to explore our world and the word together.

I knew really quickly that I wanted to marry Scott. Like, REALLY quickly. Like, I probably could have played it cool for a little longer, but I was pretty sure he was the best person I knew. The more time we spent together the more sure I was.

We were fortunate to have the opportunity to go to Palm Springs and stay there for the week with my parents. People said take a trip, and we did. It was so much fun. Traveling with Olivia was the best experience. I knew after day two that I wanted to marry her.

So, admittedly I got a bit excited and got the ring before talking to her dad. I was super sure about her, and I researched and looked for something great for her. The ring I bought Olivia was made for her.

From the first conversation I had with Brent early in our relationship, I respected Brent. He is a man of great character. When I asked him to marry his daughter, he had very concise questions, and at the conclusion of the conversation I knew that I was a blessed man. I'm blessed because I have an amazing woman in my life, and I am blessed because she has amazing family who loves her.

Every guy knows that you have to have a ring, a plan, and she has to be surprised when you pop the question. My big plan was to take a trip to do something we both love. So, I asked her if she wanted to go with me to do some photography, some hiking, and catch a sunset. We hiked out to this huge waterfall, I set up my tripod, and then asked Olivia to come over and hold my camera because I needed to grab something. I retrieved the ring from my bag, and as she turned back to look at me, I had the ring case there. She was surprised. I asked, then she said yes. I'm a happy man.