Sarah was traveling in Europe towards the end of April 2024. We switch off planning at least one special date night each month, and May had not been planned yet. It was her turn to plan, but with her traveling (and me with a ring in possession), I offered to plan the May date night. It was a Wednesday evening, 3 days after she got back from Europe. I planned a 4 mile hike at Seven Lakes state park with a picnic dinner to end the night. I had the ring box in my hiking backpack the entire time, just in case there was a moment throughout the hike that would have worked. I always had the plan of proposing during the picnic, but I wanted to be prepared anyways. It was a beautiful sunny and warm day. The sun was close to setting by the time we were sitting lakeside at a table having our picnic dinner. Before we walked back to the car, she agreed we should take a selfie with the lake behind us. I set my phone down for a self-timed picture, but instead started a video and got down on one knee to capture the moment. After the fact, a person fishing on a kayak paddled over near us and told us he quickly pulled out his phone and starting snapping pictures from across the lake. I yelled my phone number to him so that he could send us the beautiful picture seen below. Sarah wasn't 100% surprised, but she was still in shock and awe that it was really happening.

It was the second Wednesday in May, and Myles and I were planning for date night that evening. I didn’t have to work and spent the afternoon getting my nails done. I had a sneaking suspicion there may be something a bit more special to this date night because I had quite a few questions about how I was going to have my nails done…. We typically alternate planning date night, and May was my turn. I had gotten home from London a few days prior so he had taken over the May planning process. Myles planned for us to go hiking and have a picnic at Seven Lakes State Park with Bentley Bean. We drove to the park and started hiking with a goal to hike 4 miles. It had rained the night before, and the paths were super muddy so we ended early to go back to our picnic lunch of caesar wraps. We started cleaning up, and I was slightly disappointed because I thought maybe, just maybe Myles would propose that night. He wanted to take a picture with the scenic lake in the background and Bentley Beans. We took the picture, and then, Myles went to get his phone and set it to video. The next I knew he was down on one knee, and of course, I said yes! I was shocked he had carried the ring in his backpack the entire hike and was able to keep such a secret! We are both excited and blessed to embark on the journey of marriage!