Love going up on a twosday!

You know that feeling you have, with that one person that you can literally spend every day with. They are the first person you think about when you wake up and the last person you think of when you fall asleep. It’s the first person you think about when anything happens whether it is good or bad. That feeling when you look them in the eyes, and you know there’s not another person in the world that you would rather be with. Yeah, I have that and let me tell you how it began… 12 years ago, I was asked to go grab a bite to eat with some new co-workers/ friends after work. I had just moved to the area and was always open to meeting new people. My co-worker had mentioned some others might be showing up, as well. I was game regardless; I was hungry and wanting to figure out where we were drinking later that night. I jumped on my super sweet motorcycle and headed to the Mexican restaurant that I can never remember the name of. On my travels I had deemed that a few vehicles were taking too long on the interstate, so I decided they need to be passed. One of those vehicles happened to be a member of the police department. Like a good boy, I pulled over immediately, popped my helmet off and got my insurance and registration out for the officer. As he was walking up, he looked at me and said, “You actually stopped!”. I kind of chuckled and just said “Yeah, I thought I would make it easy for you today!”. Surprisingly, he laughed as well and said, “it’s your lucky day, my shift is over and it’s Friday, slow down and don’t hurt yourself on that thing.” As I was putting my helmet back on, I thought to myself, I better go buy a lottery ticket because that never happens to me and it was my lucky day. Little did I know I was about to meet the love of my life at this Mexican restaurant that I still can’t remember the name of…

I pull up and park the hog in the front row like I own the place and toss my long lushes locks back removing any helmet hair I had and stroll in to said eatery. As I enter, my attention is quickly grab by this sun-bleached, blonde haired, blue eyed, bombshell, that conveniently had a seat right next to her open. After my recent interaction with law enforcement, I was feeling pretty confident and choose the open seat. Quickly my friend that invited me, Jake, chimed in and said, “hey, bud, her boyfriend is coming you might not want to sit there.” Defeated, I got up and sat directly across from her which worked out better because I could flash my pearly blues right back at her. Boyfriend shows up, dinner happens, blah, blah, blah… all I could think about was this girl named Ashleigh who had a boyfriend-ish. I called my buddy Jake when dinner ended and was trying to get the low down on her, and he just said never going to happen. Needless to say, he was wrong. The next weekend, or maybe it was that week (it’s been 12 years, I can’t remember the actual days) it was my 21st birthday weekend and we were going to head down to Iowa City and hit the bars up. I was just looking for a good time with a lot of Jameson shots and friends. Secretly I was really hoping this Ashleigh girl would show up at the bars after dropping hints to Jake and others. Lucky for me, she was there celebrating another birthday and looking beautiful as ever. I wish I could tell you that I had some really witty pick up line that sealed the deal, but if memory serves me right I had ordered a double Jameson at the bar and before I could work up enough nerve to go talk to her, she swooped in and stole my double shot and drained it like Kobe!

I can’t honestly say that I wasn’t mad, but I was more impressed. From there I was infatuated with this girl. I just wanted to spend every second with her, we flirted, we danced, and we laughed. When the night ended, I was sure to get her number, which turned in to cute texts throughout the day and wanting the day to get over so I could hang out with her. Then It turned in to her staying over at a friend’s house that ended up being my place. I wanted to be with her so much I asked her to get a place with me before I even asked her to be my girlfriend. That’s my side of the story and I’m sticking to it.

At some point in 2007 in a month that starts with "m," our paths crossed... It was either in March or May, but I honestly can't tell you which one. So, for those of you who know the EXACT date you met your significant other, kudos! But, back to the story, Zach and I met at a mutual friends (Jake Barnes) going away lunch. Which why at the age of 20 we are doing "going away lunches" instead of "going away parties" you're guess is as good as mine. We went to a Mexican restaurant that was located on 1st Ave. (It is no longer there, but has since been replaced with a different Mexican restaurant, but truth be told... We have never been back there. I guess we aren't the "sentimental type."). I don't know the exact number of people who were there or exactly who attended, but I can tell you I arrived before Zach. I was sitting at the table with an empty seat to my right (I think, I've never been great at my right and left, anyways) and Josh Kane and Jake were sitting across from me. As I am sitting there, I hear a motorcycle pull up, which caught my attention and here comes Zach strolling in. Now, I would love to tell you this was a "love at first site" situation, but it definitely was not. Josh & Jake to this day will claim there was some sort of "look" exchanged between Zach and I and they knew it was going to be bad. Again, I don't remember that particular "look." What I do remember is Zach going to sit next to me in the empty seat that may or may not have been to my right. I did not oppose the seating arrangement, but Josh and Jake were both quick to say, "her boyfriend is sitting there." Yes, at the time I had a boyfriend and no, it was not going to be my happily ever after. Needless to say, I laughed, and Zach switched seats.

Fast forward to a month or 3 later (depending on which "m" month we met in) and our paths crossed again, and where else but Summit. For those of you doing the math, yes, I was underage... in a bar... in downtown Iowa City. (Sorry mom and dad). Zach just happened to be celebrating his birthday at the same place and on the same day of where we were celebrating another birthday. Coincidence, I guess not. We will go with “fate.” Now, this night I remember, I remember him making an impression, I remember having fun, I remember how he made me feel. These feelings were different, these feelings were real, these feelings gave me an epiphany. I needed out of my relationship! Now, I did not break up with then boyfriend and jump into a relationship with Zach. Honestly, that’s not what I wanted. I just wanted to be carefree and have fun, I had no intentions of jumping into a relationship with a “bad boy.” Because let’s face it, I am a rule follower (minus the underage drinking in a bar that I was not even supposed to be in - details) and Zach, was not! So, the summer was a fun one (for me and a stressful one for my parents – oops). I spent a lot of nights in Iowa City with friends from high school and our paths kept crossing. Now, was this by chance? Maybe not, we always ended up at Summit, so it was kind of easy to make our paths cross “unintentionally”. And then came the planned meet ups, at this time I lived in Marion with my parents and Zach lived 2.2 miles away, so it is kind of ironic we kept going out in Iowa City. We started to hang out a little here and there, nothing too crazy, BUT... then Zach moved in with a different mutual friend (Wes Gast) whom I hung out with ALL THE TIME!!! (He probably did this on purpose just to see me more, he he!)

So, we started seeing each other way more and hanging out almost every day. Things started to move quickly. Before we “officially” started dating Zach met my parents, which is a whole different and very comical story in itself (thanks, dad). Then on December 21, 2007 Zach gave me a Christmas present with a tied up little note. It said, “Will you be my girlfriend?” and just like the song it had little boxes to check “yes,” “no,” or “maybe.” He was even kind enough to supply the pen! I still have this note and the pen!! So cheesy and so cute, so from then it was “official.” Then 6 months later, we moved in together, which seems kind of fast, right? I am 20 years old, moving out of my parents’ house for the first time… EVER and moving in with a boy whom I have known for just over a year. We were making moves every 6 months! We met... 6 months later started dating... 6 months later moved in together and then just 6 months later we get…. Hahaha, who are we kidding try, 11 years and 7 months later, we get engaged!

Sunday, July 28th, 2019, Chicago, Illinois… My mom & I go to StyleMax to shop for clothes for Dot + Dash, it was a long and rushed day. Since Mom and Dad were traveling back to Cedar Rapids, we called it quits around 3ish. I knew I would be going back the next day, so I did not place any orders or get through the whole market. We went back to the Moxy Hotel to meet the boys and Zach had a "movie in the park planned." I was so tired, and it was so hot out, I did not want to go. Zach planned a whole charcuterie board and the "perfect spot" to watch our movie where Millennium Park does their movies in the park. So, I did not fight it too much, but as he was getting ready, I laid on the bed and tried my very best to not fall asleep. As we gather our things for the outing, Zach grabs a mysterious red bag. I said, "what is that?" He said, "it is a gift for you." I then ask, "why?" He goes on to say, "because you have been working so hard and you deserve it." I giggled thinking, why did you bring this gift all the way here instead of just giving it to me at home? My exhaustion was at an all-time high to even think it was suspicious. We hopped in the Uber and he took us to the park, with a cooler and a mysterious, red gift bag. As we walked to "the spot," I was silently scoping out all these spots with shade, because Zach had told me there was no shade where we were going but would understand why he picked it once we got there. Also, he tells me that he forgot to download a movie on his iPad, so we were just going to watch FRIENDS. I laughed, typical Zach move. I said "so, you planned a movie in the park, with no movie?" He confidently said, "yup!"

We get to the park and the spot. Zach made me turn around and said, "now do you see why it's the perfect spot?" I of course saw the gorgeous skyline; which he knows I am a sucker for. We set up our blanket, pour our drinks and set up the "movie." Zach asked if I wanted the charcuterie that he prepared, I told him not yet, since I was still full from lunch. As we sit there, I hear some very loud jingling, I turn around and see a guy laying in the grass in workout clothes. He had keys around his neck, I thought to myself, "I hope he isn't running with those keys because that would not be pleasant." We turn on FRIENDS and within the first 10 minutes, he eagerly goes, "do you want your present?" I of course, love presents and surprises, so I said, "yes!" He tells me I have to stand up and turn around, because he had to pull it out for me to see. I jokingly said, "what is it? A blanket of Hayden?" You see, this was not a small bag, it was a decent sized bag and I would never expect a ring to be in there. I hear him rustling around in the bag which seems like forever and he finally tells me I can turn around and look. .... And there he was... on one knee! I could not even wrap my head around what was happening, I just continued to repeat "what are you doing? what are you doing?" Zach eventually grabbed my hands and said "Ashleigh Brooke...." I black out. I come back to and hear, "I know I probably should have done this a long time ago...." black out again. Next thing I know he pulls out the ring and I see if for the first time and say "holy f*ck." He stands up and I couldn't even talk, I eventually say "I don't even know what to do right now."

I hear an unfamiliar voice yell, "say yes!" Which I do, to the photographer... Ooops! Oh, and it was the guy with the keys! After we celebrated and I came back to, Zach asked if I wanted to actually open my present. I was so in shock and not sure what else I could possibly need! I opened it up to my first pair of Christian Louboutin's!!! Yes, it was a good day! Within in seconds, Zach hands me my phone and said, "you have some phone calls to make." I said to him, "you just proposed, can I have a minute?" He told me my parents were still in town and I needed to call. I FaceTime my mom... no answer... FaceTimed my dad... no answer... Zach finally FaceTimed and they picked up. They did not expect the proposal to happen so quickly, so they were nervous to answer my call since they were at a dog park. They then hopped in the car and came over to congratulate us, give us hugs and take all the stuff that we had brought. We then went around Chicago, took pictures with our amazing photographer and Zach made dinner reservations for us at an Italian restaurant. We got there and were presented with champagne, but we were both too excited to even eat. We picked at some appetizers, drank our champagne, made some phone calls and enjoyed the thought of being engaged. After dinner we spent the evening together talking about our past, the crazy day we just had together and how excited we were for the future. We never stopped smiling.