James and Adriana met in Spring 2016 through friends at a country line dancing event. At first, it was nothing more than just friends part of the same circle who would hang out every once in a while. But after one night out with the group in November 2017, it was all sparks and from then on, they were pretty much inseparable. Their relationship blossomed, and especially during COVID, they grew even closer together. After going steady for over two and a half years, it became a running joke in the family that James had to "get his ducks in a row" before he would pop the question. So as a gag gift, for Christmas 2020, Adriana got a pack of 25 rubber ducks from Amazon and included them in his gift bag with a picture of Bugs Bunny holding a sign that read, "It's Duck Season!" They all had a really good laugh and James began hiding the ducks around the house every now and then for fun. Shortly after their 3-year anniversary, James and Adriana went on a trip to Hawai’i with two other couples and very good friends of theirs. One evening in Kauai, the group decided to go to their hotel's hidden, private beach (Pu'u Poa Beach) to catch the sunset. As soon as they got there, Adriana fell in love with the view, so their friends offered to take photos. At first, they had James and Adriana turn around to face the sunset. After a few photos, Adriana turned back around and started walking away when she stepped on a rubber duck. She turned to look at James and started laughing, "That's funny, you brought the ducks to the beach..." With a nervous smile, he took a small box out of his pocket and got down on one knee. Adriana then realized that the ducks were actually laid out in a row and that he was finally popping the question with the help of their friends. It was so unexpected, beautiful, and perfect. The rubber ducks continue to live on as our puppy Ollie's favorite toys!