After several sushi lunches at work, Lance took me to Texas Roadhouse for the first of many steak dinners. After eating our weight in rolls and cinnamon butter, Lance took me to Tractor Supply to see the chicks! Over the next few months, Ashley fell in love with Lance's humor, sense of adventure, and cooking abilities. Lance fell in love with Ashley's ability to say yes to just about anything, out going personality, and her dedication to family.

If we find a weekend that we are free and not on call, we love to spend time with our two dogs Turbo and Radar. The dogs love to go on hikes in the woods, while Lance is always trying to find a bunny or squirrel for the dogs to chase. We enjoy our weekends back on the farm that include riding the side by side and feeding the cows. We love watching Wicked Tuna along with football and baseball. Ashley has shown Lance the beauty of Maine on our annual camping trip to Papoose Pond.

The proposal, like all proposals, was weeks in the making. In most relationships sneaking around your significant other to purchase an engagement ring can be difficult. I can tell you that working full time in the same office while living with your significant other exponentially increases the difficulties. Luckily I had a few work trips that gave me opportunities to shop around. Once the ring was received I needed a plan to trick this woman into saying yes. Ashley and I had fallen in love with going to "The Cabin" nestled along Penns Creek in Weikert Pennsylvania. I chose this location and had planted the seed by suggesting that Ashley and I meet her mother at the cabin for a weekend of relaxation and foliage viewing. On Saturday Morning I suggested we go into town to get some breakfast from The Meandering Mallard and then head up into the mountains to see the peak foliage. Little did they know I had the ring in the center console of the truck and had picked out an overlook to get down on my knee. Once we got to the overlook I subtly snuck the ring out of the console and out of its box without her seeing. We posed for some pictures with the dog and I asked her mother if she could hold the dogs and get a picture of just the two of us. The plan all along was to include her mother as I knew how close the two of them were and how much her mom would enjoy it. While posing for pictures I got down on my knee and popped the question. Ashley's initial response was "you said you didn't have a ring" followed by a squeaky and excited yes. We finished with some pictures with a beautiful backdrop and headed back to the cabin where some champagne (that I had also tricked her mom into bringing "for mimosas") was waiting for us. I believe the hardest thing for Ashley and Pam was the fact that we had absolutely no service at the cabin. I was doing just fine. The three of us got to enjoy the weekend away from the outside world knowing the notifications would explode once we crested the mountain range on the way home.

After having very candid discussions about the future, Lance and I had looked at rings together. The one visit to the jewelry store led to me bringing up a ring far more than I should have. I knew Lance had very specific requirements for a wedding month (not too hot, and not during hunting seasons) and if he wanted to get married in 2024 that a ring should be coming by the end of 2023. The week before the proposal I was beginning to get sick and was not feeling good. To brighten my mood I went online to design an engagement ring. Lance told me to just purchase it since he did not have a ring. Clearly I did not do that. That weekend we had plans to bring mom to the cabin for a weekend away. If we were going anywhere else I would have cancelled for being sick, but I was looking forward to seeing mom and having a relaxing weekend to read a book. As a result I only packed warm clothes since no one would be seeing me. Saturday morning was very brisk and Lance decided to change his oil before going on a drive to show mom the area. I was bundled up in layers and a flannel fleece jacket with my hair in the same bun that I slept in. We got breakfast and then Lance said he would drive us around to look at foliage. After driving for 15 minutes, I finally realized that Lance was following the GPS. After several dirt roads, we arrived at the destination and it was a perfect view. It was so cold and windy but the view was just so beautiful. I wanted to remember the vivid colors so I started taking pictures of Lance. He then asked me to get in the pictures so we had mom take a few pictures. To my surprise he got down on one knee and pulled out a ring. I was beyond shocked and said yes. I then turned to look at mom and she had tears streaming down her face. I asked if she knew and she told me that she had no clue. It was truly such an amazing day and weekend that I will remember forever.