In some ways you could say the first time Shae and I met was, in fact, an act of God. In that we met at a Chick-fil-A. It was the first time Shae had hung out with my friend group. For me, it truly was love at first sight. I called dibs the second we left the restaurant. Shae needed some convincing. Fair enough. It took me a couple weeks to retrieve the nine holy digits. Then it took me several invitations to various activities with my friend group before she accepted. Attending an indoor soccer game—where I more than likely got ejected, Relay for Life—where we stayed up all night laughing and getting to know each other, our dual credit American History class—where we planned to talk on the phone to study for a test but ended up with more laughing. Finally I asked her out on a date, and then another one. And then I asked her to be my girlfriend at the park down the street from her house. May 21st 2011—I arrived early and placed a single rose in a bush. Then, after giving me roughly 45 seconds to sit down with her on the bench and ask her to be my girlfriend, had two of my best friends slowly drive by blaring “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer. She said yes. It was without a doubt the best day of my life.

Fast forward 7 years. Our lives have changed dramatically. We were able to enjoy an incredible final year of high school as well as attend Oklahoma State together. We made memories Shae and I will cherish for a lifetime. Then in March 2018, we moved to California to start our new life together, a better life, a #Cali life. Shae went home in August 2018 to spend some time with her family. I stayed in California to “save money and watch our dog, Rooney.” Little did she know I was doing the opposite of saving money and watching Rooney—buying a ring, a plane ticket, and a weekend getaway for Rooney at a local doggy day care. If you know me, you know I’m a hopeless romantic. It was crucial for the proposal to surprise Shae. This became a much more difficult task when Shae found the bill from Kay I had hidden. Or having to sneak my way into her Pinterest to find ring styles she liked, accidentally sending her email a request to change the password for incorrect login attempts. Or when the doggy day care attempted to sabotage the surprise mere hours before I would pop the question by sending her a picture of Rooney at day care, against my instructions, igniting the question as to why he was not with me. Alas, with the obstacles overcome and in the past, it was time to execute the plan. With the help of her sister, Tara, her brother Matthew, and the same friends from high school who assisted me in 2011, Cullum and Brian, we were able to reenact and upgrade the high school proposal with a marriage proposal at the park down the street from Shae’s childhood home. Tara had “car trouble” right next to the park and had Shae get out to check under the hood. There I was, having “suited up,” with a ring and a life-changing question. “Kiss Me” played. Our families came out from hiding. And most importantly, she said yes. Until Leap Day 2020, it has been without a doubt the best day of my life. We cannot wait to celebrate with you, and we hope to see you on February 29th!