Woooh!! Yeaaaa!!! C’mon!!!! Dalton couldn’t help himself. With a week left of summer camp, he was hollerin’ all kinds of things from the camper rally stage. I mean, he was just as excited about camp as the next guy, but today his newfound energy was flowing from someplace else. The night before, he had asked Jennifer Ann Booth if she would want to go on a date the following weekend. Her response: “Yes! I would love to!” Woah! Ahhhh! No way did that just happen! This was nuts. Neither of them got any sleep that night.

Jenna and Dalton both followed up their time in college with a few years of working for The Navigators collegiate ministry - Jenna, a Wisconsin Badger, and Dalton, a South Dakota State Jackrabbit. The two of them knew vaguely of each other until their paths crossed the summer of 2023, when they were both asked to help with a summer training program, at Eagle Lake Day Camp in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Starting off as coworkers, they then became friends, and later, friends who stayed behind to do extra work, such as washing dishes or taking out the trash, until they were the last ones left. There, they had ample time to chat and get to know one another. The two realized they quite enjoyed being in each others company. As they coincidentally continued to end up in the company of each other, they asked many questions about life, family, what they do for fun, what lights them up, what makes their blood run cold, etc.

Towards the end of the summer, at the residence where the staff stayed, there was a front porch with a couple of rocking chairs. The two found themselves there in the evenings, with no prior planning. Dalton often reading, and Jenna often painting, the two turned into a couple of night owls as they discovered more and more things to chat about. Eventually, on that front porch, after thinking real hard and talking with friends about it, he couldn’t hold it in any longer - Dalton asked Jenna for a date.

After the best first date ever, what followed was a year of long distance where their hearts grew fonder. The two exchanged letters, called here and there, and visited each other as often as they could, often meeting up halfway in Rochester, MN, where Jenna’s sister, Kj, lives. Many sweet memories were made during dating. Mountains were climbed, concerts were attended, roads were tripped to meet family, nephews were wrestled, and ‘I love you's' were spoken.

Then came a time when the two decided, “Enough! We can no longer date at such length between our lonely hearts. We must effectuate this yearning. To Strum we shall go!” And to Strum they moved. Jenna reunited with her hometown, moved in with her pal Julie, and became a teacher nearby. Dalton left behind the beauty of South Dakota to welcome another beauty, in driftless Wisconsin. He found a lovely job at an herb farm.

Not long after, Jenna told Dalton she was ready for him to ask her another question. Oh, how his heart had longed for this! The next morning, Dalton asked Julie for her blessing, and she said, Yes!

Then came Jenna’s discovery of her ring size, followed by the ordering of the ring. Within a couple hours of its arrival, (and with the execution of plan E or so) Dalton showed up to Jenna’s doorstep with flowers and not dirty clothes. She knew right away. On a walk they went, and on a knee he asked, Jennifer Ann Booth, will you marry me?

And here we are ◡̈