Being who he is, Monty is not the best secret keeper I've ever met... His idea of a "surprise date" includes asking me about whatever he's got in mind to make sure I'll think it's fun. So when he started talking about how "a lot of big things were going to happen in October," I totally started suspecting what he was up to.

Monty was scheduled to graduate Pilot Training October 28th, 2016 so I knew that was one of the big things he kept talking about. Unfortunately, this also meant that he would be moving to Little Rock, Arkansas after graduation, so I also knew that was one of the big things we would be facing.

One weekend, Monty and a bunch of his friends and some of my friends all had plans to go to Stillwater for the weekend. We were excited about this, just because it gave us a chance to go back to Murphy's and spend the night dancing together. At one point during the night in Stillwater, Monty ended up talking to a couple of my girlfriends for a long time. Being the great secret keeper he is, he couldn't help but tell me that he had "told Bree and Hannah a lot of stuff!" Of course I had my suspicions of what he had told them, but I kept them to myself... However, the next morning at breakfast, my friend Bree casually showed me a picture of "her friend" who had just gotten engaged and asked if I liked her ring.... Real sneaky, Bree! 😉

Fast forward a couple of weeks, into October when Bree and our friend, Kelly came to Tulsa to visit and we all went out to Oktoberfest with Monty and some of his UPT friends. While we were there, I ran into my friend from high school, Jill. I pulled her over to our group of friends so she could meet Monty and I told her I thought I was crazy, but I thought he might propose soon... her exact words were "Shut the F up!" So, as soon as she met Monty, he pulls her over and tells her it's nice to meet her and then whispers something to her that I couldn't hear... her response was, "Shut the F up!" Coincidence? I didn't think so....

A week or so later, Monty's sister-in-law, Alyssa started Facebook messaging me about her upcoming wedding and how she was so excited we were going to be there! Since we were already on the subject of weddings and engagements, she started asking questions about Monty and I's plans. Thank god for Alyssa, because she made sure to ask what kind of rings I liked and made it possible for Monty to find the most perfect ring for me. Until she asked, I hadn't ever really thought about what I liked, so I was glad to have a reason to actually think about it. This conversation also further confirmed my suspicions. 😊

The day Monty graduated was a lot of fun, but was also very chaotic! Not only did we have several graduation events throughout the day, but Monty got a call right after the ceremony from his Reserve Unit, telling him that they were changing some of his orders and that it was going to mess with his moving process. Now, I had suspected and hoped that he was going to propose on this day, but after that phone call I figured there was no way something like that was even in the picture after he'd gotten that kind of stressful news. So I put the idea away as much as I could and tried to just enjoy the day, having both of our families there together.

That evening, there was formal dinner and banquet to honor all of the graduates from his class. It was fun enough just getting to be all dressed up and fancy together and to have Monty's family all there. (My parents had been there for the ceremony that morning, but had gone back to Tulsa in the afternoon.) I still had the thought that he miiiiight propose, but was honestly just happy to be there and to be celebrating this huge accomplishment for him. I figured that if it hadn't happened by the time dinner was over, it wasn't going to happen and I was very okay with that! Like I said, this day was about Monty's graduation.

At one point during dinner, Monty got up to go do something and a little while later, his dad came over and told me he was out in the hall on the phone... My first thought was that it was something about his orders and that it was going to make things even more stressful. Little did I know, that he was actually on the phone with my dad, telling him what he had in mind!

I had gotten little graduation gifts for all of Monty's close friends and we went out to the parking lot to exchange them after dinner was over. By this time, I had honestly forgotten about the proposal idea completely and was just having a good time being dressed up and with friends. After we came inside from giving the guys their gifts, I ended up talking to one of the moms of Monty's friends. After I'd been talking to her for about 10 minutes, Monty came and got me and told me I needed to go outside because "the guys had gotten something for me too."

I figured this was silly and that they had only "gotten me something" because I got them presents. As we came outside, the guys were all lined up with their arms around each other. I honestly, thought they were about to sing to me, because Zach had a history of being in a Barber Shop Quartet when he was in school...

It was right then, when Monty said "I told Anna that you guys all got her something, but really Anna, I got you something." He got down on one knee, with a ring in his hand and asked me to marry him, and of course I said yes! There's a saying among airmen- "Wings before Rings." Monty may have only made that margin by a few hours but it was the most perfect occasion and night all around and I'll never forget it!

When I first met Monty, I was in the middle of working out the ending of a long term relationship that I had been in. Dating someone new, much less getting married anytime soon was the FARTHEST thing from my mind... But, these things have a funny way of working themselves out, don't they? Looking back, the chances that the two of us would be in the same bar, in a town where neither of us had any real reason to be in, and would instantly hit it off, seem almost impossible...