08/06/16

"During a shift at Steny's, I noticed that "the cute Bud Light Guy that gives me free hats" had come in. I told my friends to let him know I was newly single if he asked about my dating situation again. They instead instantly ran over to him and told him he should ask me out, ugh girls. I stayed after my shift to have a drink and he took a seat on the other end of the bar after his event was over. Every time I looked over, he was a few seats closer to me until he found a spot right next to me! We started up a natural conversation that would go on for hours. He proceeded to ask me if I would be interested in going on a date with him to State Fair and I excitedly agreed. He responded with, "Okay, I have to go let my dog out, I can pick you up in like an hour." I was not expecting to be going on our first date the same day, but we did! He picked up as promised and we had a night filled with carnival rides, greasy food, and lots of laughter. I could tell by the way he treated me that night that he was a different kind of guy. I knew I wanted to see a lot more of him, and his text the next morning confirmed he felt the same. And then our adventure began...!"

"I knew Jenna worked at Stenys, as she caught my eye a couple months back when she was smiling up a storm in her unicorn onesie costume. We both were participating in a mini golf bar crawl with our friends at the time. Fast forward a couple months to the day of our first date. At this time I am working for a beer distributor, and I am hosting a bags tournament at Stenys on August 6, 2016. As I am closing out my tab, Jenna's co-worker asked me what I thought of Jenna, and if I was single. My response was I love her smile, and she's the one that always asks for my promo hats. The co-worker told me that I should go talk to Jenna. I proceeded to inch my way down the bar seat by seat, as she was sitting on the opposite end by the regulars. I finally sit down next to her and we proceed to have a 2 hour conversation. I was on cloud nine while we were talking, so I am not sure what exactly we talked about, but I know we talked about dogs and our plans for the night. I asked her if she would like to go to the State Fair? She said yes, and told her that I would have to go home first to let my dog out. I gathered months later that she didn't know I meant that night, but she just went with it. My girl lol. We part ways from the bar to go get ready for the fair. While I am getting ready at my house, I start to think that maybe we should reschedule, but then also started to think how natural our conversation went at the bar. I decided to just go for it, and have the first date on the first day we got to know each other. It was the best decision I made in my life thus far. We acted like kids at the fair. The connection between us was instant, and when I woke up the next morning I had a huge smile on my face. I had to text her. I had to have more Jenna time. I texted her, "I really had a good time last night, and hope soon we can do it again:)" After that first date, I knew she was the one."

11/24/18

"I spent the morning with my Mom setting up and selling goods at the holiday craft show. It's a family tradition to go there each year because it's a great place to get in the Christmas spirit-- they have fireplaces and decorated little cabins in the woods. Seth and my Dad went to breakfast and watched football back at the house with the dogs, they would join us at the camp later in the day. Once Seth FINALLY showed up, we went off to take a little romantic walk through the woods and shop. I got a hot chocolate and Seth pointed towards a little path that lead down towards the lake, "Wanna go for a little hike?" I honestly didn't, since I wasn't really dressed for the elements, but he was already headed on his way-- so I joined. We worked our way down and the path opened to a large staircase leading to a firepit area level with the lake. It was a beautiful scene. I chatted about how I could picture all of the campers singing campfire songs and telling ghost stories here. As I rambled on, Seth took my cocoa, set it down, and took both of my hands in his. He looked into my eyes and let me know he had something on his mind. At first, he had me worried but as he continued on and flashed me a smile, I could tell I didn't have anything to worry about. He said, "We've been dating for over two and a half years now, and each day I fall more in love with you, I want to make this a forever kind of thing." At this point you would think I would have caught on, but nope! I thought he was just sharing a sweet moment until he started to get down on one knee! Everything went black for a moment. Seth patiently waited for my answer as I shook and cried in disbelief! "YES, of course!" As we kissed I saw someone sitting on the stairs we had walked down, it was Shaun! He had secretly and beautifully captured the entire proposal with his camera. Seth ran to the woods and came back with a bottle of champagne and we toasted to our bright future."

'Mission one: KEEP IT A SECRET! I loved it. I stink at keeping secrets, but I knew I had to try my hardest to keep this one tight to my chest, because I truly wanted to shock her. From finding where I want to buy the ring, to picking out the perfect one, to organizing the people I wanted to be there soon afterward. I loved it all. I knew deep down that I needed to organize this so that we could celebrate this moment with family and friends. That is why I chose kind-of an interesting day to propose. November 24, 2018. We had this date marked in our calendar for Jenna and Jim's craft fair. We had plans to stay the night at Jenna's parents house the night before, and heading over to Camp McLean at 6am to set up. When I woke up at 4:30 in the morning full of excitement, I just laid there on the Buck's family room couch and went through the day over and over again in my head. Finally, the rest of them started to wake up, and I knew Jenna needed to eat something before her big day. I made her some burnt toast, and hard scramble eggs. She loved it. Nothing a little hot sauce can't fix, right?! Lol! As we were getting ready at the house, I loved how all the Bucks were explaining to me the vibe of this camp ground. Little did they know that I already went their a couple weeks prior to scope out where I would be proposing. We went on with our "craft fair day." As the craft fair was coming to a close, Jenna and I went on a nice walk through the camp ground. Stopping to see what other vendors were selling, and Jenna even got a hot chocolate. I passed on some delicious looking cookies, as I had other things on my mind. I asked her if she wanted to walk down this wooded trail to see what was down there, and she followed. We got to the spot I had pictured in my head, told her that each day I fall more in love with her, and I want to make this a forever kind of thing. I got down on one knee, and all my dreams came true."