Thanks to Bumble (dating app for those of you that don't know), we met. And because we lived over an hour away from one another, we really only "matched" because Joe was on a trip in the Bay Area with his family. Meant to be? It was a few brief messages between us on the app before Sam took the leap to give Joe her number. Texting led to the first date at The Crow's Nest in Santa Cruz. We heard some live music, drank some whiskey, and hit it off. A few days later, for another date, Sam took Joe to meet some of the bridesmaids in S.F. for Super Bowl Sunday! A few more dates led us to meeting each other's families pretty quickly. Family is very important to us both. Fast forward a little over a year of dating and Samantha decided to move to Prunedale to be with Joseph. After 10 years of living in San Jose, it was time for a change, and another leap! Moving in together, Sam already had a very strong feeling he was "the one". We found our cute Marina apartment and explored the Monterey area together for a few years. We enjoyed walks to the beach, great food, and especially time spent with friends and family. We made it through the pandemic, quarantining together, and Sam working from home. The most time consecutively we'll maybe ever spend together! Searching for a house of our own to buy, the crazy market, and trying to plan for the future, our searching took us to the Lodi area. We found "the house" thanks to an open-house in Woodbridge, CA. After a slight bidding war, and stress galore, we took the risk of purchasing our first home together. We got our house in November 2021 and moved all of our things! Joe made sure to mention many times the "too many shoes" Sam has. Thanks family and friends for your moving help. A big change for us both. And Sam was ready for another...a ring on that left finger. Little did Sam know, Joseph was trying to purchase the perfect ring for her in December 2021. Wanting a gold ring delayed the process. Poor Joe...dealing with Sam's sassy-ness on almost a daily basis about having to wait for the next step. He was ready too! He was trying! Sam didn't suspect a thing. Joseph finally got the perfect gold ring in February and on our anniversary trip to Mendocino, he proposed on February 13th! We were overlooking the beautiful ocean at a lookout point; it was perfect and just us two. Onto enjoying our engagement, staring down at my gorgeous ring daily, and planning our wedding! Here we go : )