How We Met
Wow, where do I even start with our relationship… Andrew and I have been friends since junior high school – we had the same big group of mutual friends throughout junior high and high school. I had a crush on Andrew starting in 7th grade, but the feelings were not mutual and I kind of gave up on being anything more than friends with him. During my sophomore year of high school, we had a few classes together and we started talking more and more. Our first date was ended up being a group date to the movies over Christmas break with some other couples in our group of friends. I was SO nervous. He held my hand during the movie and then gave me a kiss afterward (my FIRST kiss!)
Later that night he texted me and said something along the lines of “I’m assuming we are dating now” and my stubborn self told him it wasn’t official until he actually asked me. LOL. The next day, we both had basketball practice at the school and during a water break in the hallway he asked me if I would officially “go out with him?” (is that what people still say when they start dating?!) I was slightly embarrassed because all of his teammates were also in the hallway, but I said yes….duh – I’ve liked this guy for years.
A few days later on New Year’s Eve, Andrew met my WHOLE family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.). My family can get a little wild when we are all together, but Andrew fit right in! We have been through a heck of a lot over the last nine, almost 10, years!
After we graduated high school, we stayed together but did the long-distance thing while we attended different colleges. I switched my majors a few years later and joined Andrew at Montana State University (Go Cats, GO!) until we graduated in 2017. We then did a long-distance again after college while I finished an internship and Andrew moved across the country for his career. Finally, last November, we quit long distance for good, moved in together, and adopted our puppy, Willie!
How They Asked
After years of doing the long-distance relationship stuff, Andrew and I were finally able to move into our first house together. We are from Washington but are currently in California for work. We invited both of our families (they get along great, which is a huge blessing!) to join us for Thanksgiving this year. I was so excited to not only host our first Thanksgiving but to have both families together for a holiday for the first time. Getting engaged was definitely on my mind because we had been talking about it for a year or two, had looked at rings, and I had also told Andrew (jokingly, but also kind of serious LOL) that by our 10 year anniversary (December 28, 2019) I wanted to be more than boyfriend and girlfriend. The closer it got to our anniversary, the more antsy I became. As Thanksgiving rolled around, I started thinking that Andrew may pop the question since both of our families would be with us, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up or sabotage it so I kept pushing that thought out of my head.
On Thanksgiving, I made sure to get dressed up, curl my hair, and look extra good just in case it happened. It didn’t…and I was a little sad/annoyed about it, but I knew it would happen when it was meant to happen.
The next day we had planned to take our families on a tram up to a mountain nearby. We had heard nothing but amazing things about the experience and thought it would be fun to do altogether. It had also snowed the night before so we were extra excited because we love snow! Of course, the thought of a proposal during our adventure did cross my mind, but again, I just tried not to think about it because I didn’t want to feel dumb and upset when it didn’t happen. We all got to the tram station, hung out for a while, took some pictures, and then it was our turn to ride the tram to the top. It was absolutely amazing with the most breathtaking views. When we got to the top of the mountain, it was way colder than we had prepared for and the wind was blowing sideways. We took some pictures right outside of the little lodge on the mountain and then someone suggested going to a different area for better pictures.
We found another spot and took some more family pics. I had already taken some with Andrew at the other spot and I know from nine years of dating him that taking pictures is not Andrew’s favorite thing to do ;) I love taking pictures and I am always making him take pictures with me. Since I had already made him take a few earlier on the mountain, I figured I wouldn’t ask again…
It turns out that this was one of the times that Andrew wanted me to ask for a picture with him (oops). Right before we are all about to head back inside, Andrew asked to take a picture together and that’s when I knew IT was about to happen (because remember, he doesn’t usually initiate the pictures). I more than willingly posed next to him for a picture and a few seconds later he was down on his knee asking me to marry him. Of course, I said “YESSS!”, double-checked to make sure this wasn’t a prank (haha), and then almost knocked him down in excitement.
I have been waiting for this moment for a long time and it was truly the most special moment ever. He paid attention to all the little details that were important to me (asking my parents for permission, getting some pictures, etc.) and having our families with us was the icing on the cake! I cannot wait to marry this man, raise a family together, and spend forever with my best friend.
**Side note that made this day even more special: My grandma, who was a best friend and a second mom to me, passed away suddenly earlier this year. I wish so badly she was here to celebrate with us, but I know she was there that day. Not only did she have something to do with all the snow coming down (she loved snow SO SO much), but also one of her favorite songs started playing over the loudspeakers while we were waiting to board the tram. <3
