I swiped right on Claire (literally; thank you Hinge) back in February 2023. Because Claire is such the social butterfly that she is, we texted back and forth for 3 weeks before she had a free evening to meet up in person. Normally I wouldn't have hung around for so long for a purely digital acquaintance, but I could tell something was different with Claire.

We went to La Dona for our first date. We ended up talking and laughing for 3 hours straight. In just that first interaction, Claire made me feel so special and seen. What I learned about Claire over time was that she just doesn't treat the people she's interested in that way, but everyone that she comes in contact with, and that is just a reflection of the beautiful soul and personality that she has. One month later, on Easter Sunday, I awkwardly asked her to be my girlfriend and we were "official."

Over the next 11 months, Claire and I had many similar, fun, exciting, silly, crazy adventures together. Driving her brand new car along cliff-side back roads, Friday afternoon powder days at A-Basin, and playing board games at Platt Park; touring national parks, breweries, and hotsprings; birthday parties, Christmas parties, Derby parties, Super Bowl parties, and then just random dance parties with Nari. But we also had some tough moments in that short amount of time that ultimately brought us closer together, and revealed to me how truly strong, faithful, caring, God-loving, and beautiful to her core Claire really is.

One random night this past March, Claire and I were at Platt Park playing board games and she randomly asked if we should go skiing at Steamboat the next day. At this point we had already picked out an engagement ring for her, but I will still coming up with my plan to ask her to marry me. My dream proposal was to do it at Steamboat (her favorite mountain) while we were skiing (our favorite activity to do together), but we didn't have any plans to go back there until later in the season. So when she offered an impromptu trip, I jumped at the opportunity to say yes to another crazy, spontaneous, half-baked Claire and Steve adventure. Fortunately for me, the Forster Family was also at Steamboat that next day and they became our engagement photographers without me giving them any heads up (thank you again!). I pride myself in being a pretty good snowboarder, but the first run after Claire said "yes" was probably one of the scariest runs I've ever done, just because I couldn't shop shaking and smiling. And now I have my lift partner for life.

Thank you to all the friends and family who have been a part of our story, even the smallest part, because I wouldn't have been able to make this amazing woman fall in love with me if wasn't for all of our support, guidance, love, and prayers. I know Claire and I look forward to continuing to have you all in our wild adventures going forward as a married couple!