Corey and I would have likely never crossed paths if it weren't for Tinder. Even though we lived 70 miles apart, we somehow matched and hit it off right away. After a few weeks of talking online, we met in person.

A few months went by before I finally asked him "What are we? Because you never officially asked me out." We decided to make our dating anniversary as 10/25/2020. I thought it was perfect to use our hockey numbers as our date.

Four years later, we were on a family trip to take my Grandmother's ashes to South Dakota to be buried with my Grandfather. We laid her to rest on 10/25/2024, our fourth anniversary. We all decided Corey and I should go out to dinner separately that night so we could celebrate alone.

So, the rest of our group packed up and left us at the cabin. We tossed around a couple ideas on how to celebrate. We were still full from lunch, so dinner wasn't needed. We thought about going to get dessert somewhere. But, ultimately we chose to stay home, get in the hot tub, and just enjoy the quiet while reflecting on the day.

Before we went outside, Corey stopped me and said, "Babe, before we go out, I want to tell you something. I love you very much and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

To which I responded, "Are you being serious???"

He got down on one knee and asked, "Will you marry me?"

"OF COURSE! OF COURSE! WHAT KIND OF QUESTION IS THAT?!?! STAND UP!!!"

"It's a formality," he chuckled as he stood up and let me all but tackle him with excitement.

As it turns out, he asked my Dad that morning and carried the ring around in his back pack all day. At one point, we were climbing back down Bear Butte and stopped to look at the view. My sister said to everyone else, "Come on, let's give them privacy just in case Corey is going to propose." She had absolutely no clue he had a ring with him, but he forgot it in the van!

That's our story in a nutshell. Of course, there are many, many more pieces and parts to us and how much we have grown together in the last four years. But, I'd have to write a much larger book for that.