How We Met
Drew and I met our sophomore year at The Ohio State University on Valentine’s Day! I’m originally from Cleveland, Ohio and he is from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. We both lived in the dorm tower that overlooks the football stadium and our rooms were right next door to each other. We had seen each other around but had both been so busy that we had never actually talked, until that wonderful day in February. After about a month of flirty texting and conveniently simultaneous pizza runs “for our roommates”, we kissed for the first time. Drew played baseball for the university and had to leave the next day for an away series, and I went on Spring Break. We spent the whole time talking and picked up right where we left off when classes resumed.
how they asked
Every year I visit Drew in Arizona for Spring Training (he plays baseball professionally now). Our anniversary of that first time we kissed and started this exciting romance is right in the middle of the preseason so a trip always works out perfectly. He had planned all these romantic adventures for us, like watching the sunset in the desert or on a river, right when I got there. I was getting used to the fun excursions each day so I wasn’t anticipating a proposal any time he suggested another one. On our anniversary (7 years!!) he drove us out to Tonto National Forest. Little did I know, he had actually scoped the location out a few times to find the perfect spot to propose. He considered hiring a photographer, but we were going to be doing quite a bit of hiking so he had bought a Go Pro and a stand to capture the memory for us. He even hiked the mountain several times and practiced filming getting down on one knee at the spot he chose – he showed me the videos after!
There is a beach at the base of the trail and when we got there I wanted to go check it out! I couldn’t figure out why he was insisting we skip it and start our hike, but we ended up exploring it anyway. We walked a couple of rocky areas along the lake at the base of the mountain (instead of taking the regular path), as well as lots of twisty areas. It wasn’t steep but some of it was tricky. We stopped a few times to take pictures at scenic spots and test out his new Go Pro. We finally got to the spot he had been telling me about and set up the Go Pro to capture pictures of us overlooking the gorgeous landscape. I thought that was it and then we were going to head back down, but he told me there was an even better spot and we were going to keep going up. I thought he was crazy (and I told him so)!
This hike was beautiful; there were wild horses running, bald eagles soaring, turtles and fish swimming around the lake, and little lizards scurrying across the trail. We got to the top of the mountain and it looked exactly like the other spot we had stopped at, just higher. Then he showed me the other side of the mountain – and it was incredible. It looked like the cliffs of Hawaii on the ocean. It was so me and so wonderful! He set up the camera again to take a video of us on top of this amazing mountain. He pointed down to an inlet and asked if I wanted to hike down there.. as I looked and started to think, he turned me towards him and got down on one knee.
He told me that the first time he saw me get off of the elevator in our dorm that I was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, and that he fell head over heels in love. He talked about our adventures, the support we give and how much we’ve strengthened each other, how happy he was that all of the “soons” and “we wills” were finally here, and then he asked me to make him the happiest man in the world and marry him. He was so strong and sweet and looked into my eyes the whole time. All I could do was kiss him and nod yes!
He opened the ring box and slipped it on my finger. It sparkled so much above the lake and under the sun, and even more from the tears in my eyes! He then pulled out the speech he’d written and showed it to me. He nailed it pretty much word for word! He said he practiced it the whole way up the mountain – I never had any clue! I was so impressed and so enamored, and we were both so elated to finally be engaged to each other after 7 years of dating, living together, and on and off again long distance because of the long baseball season. It was unbelievably magical and totally fit our relationship and sense of adventure. Drew is so thoughtful and romantic, and cares about me so much. I am the luckiest girl in the world to get to call him my fiancé, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life calling him my husband.
