As the weeks and days ticked by, I anxiously counted down to the moment I would pop the big question. Naturally, fate decided to have a little fun, and I picked the one day in the entire month slated for rain. A few days before the planned date, I had to call an audible. I moved the proposal up to Friday instead of Saturday, throwing a curveball into our schedules. This meant reshuffling my plans and asking Cynthia to get the day off. Temecula only offers sunrise hot air balloon rides, adding to the excitement and challenge. Confirmation came through at 7 PM on Thursday night: we were on for Friday's ride. With a mix of nerves and excitement, I broke the news to Cynthia that she needed to be ready in the morning. "Where are we going?" she asked, curiosity piqued. I smiled and told her I had something special planned. "What time in the morning?" she inquired, eyebrows raised. "You need to be ready to leave the house by 4:30 AM," I informed her. "Are you kidding, babe?" she replied. I assured her it was no joke. "What do I wear?" she asked, half-laughing, half-bewildered. "Something warm, sexy, and cute," I suggested, earning a laugh that hinted she thought I might be out of my mind. I then pulled out a suitcase and told her to pack for the weekend, as we already had plans to go to a Chris Stapleton concert on Saturday evening. "What am I supposed to pack? Beach clothes? Warm clothes? Desert or mountains?" I said yes to everything, furthering her confusion. "What shoes do I bring?" Instead of replying, I grabbed another suitcase and packed every single shoe she owned." Just pack for everything, we have room," I said. "Are we taking a flight?" she asked. I replied, "...kind of" 4:30am came early, and sure enough, she looked warm, sexy, and cute with a smile on her face. Nearing the end of our car ride as we excitedly approached our freeway exit, Cynthia still unsure what we were doing up so early, we suddenly hit a sea of red lights and came to a complete stop. For the next 45 minutes we sat dead stop on the freeway, not moving an inch. I recall telling God to quit fooling around and that I was ready. What seemed like an eternity, the road finally opened up, allowing us to pass the aftermath of a four-car pile-up. We made our way to the parking lot, where we were greeted by the sight of massive, beautiful hot air balloons being filled. Cynthia had a huge smile on her face (she still didn't have a clue what I was really up to). We quickly gathered are things as we saw men waving at us to hurry as the window of time to go up was closing. Before we knew it, we were standing in a small wicker basket, waving joyously to the onlookers below. High above the earth, as the sun painted the sky in hues of gold, I turned to Cynthia with nerves and excitement pulsing through me. This was the moment I had long awaited. Kneeling in the swaying basket, I asked her to marry me, and tears of happiness filled Cynthia's eyes as she joyously said YES! Temecula holds a special place in our hearts, especially now that we purchased a new home build set to be completed by October 2024. Our recent visits to witness the development of our future community and explore its charming wineries have deepened our connection to this beautiful region even more. I couldn't think of a more ideal backdrop to propose to my best friend. Every hot air balloon ride concludes in a destination chosen by the wind's path. Our balloon gently touched down in a serene open field. It was a moment of serendipity when we realized that we had landed along a road named "Camino de Buena Vida," which translates to "Path of Good Life." The name seemed to echo the joy and promise of our future together, making the landing feel like a poetic affirmation of the journey we are now embarking upon. We can't wait to celebrate with you all come November! S&C Watch the proposal video! Copy & paste link >> https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4T6U3WPMJr/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==