We were able to spent countless hours being on the same team, while we got to know each other. Chris (Avery's dad) always managed to randomly pair us up out of a group of six for pickle ball. Also got teamed up a lot together for tennis, again totally random. We got to know each other as we walked together on hikes and sat fireside at all the camping trips, talking till late with our faces dimly lit by the embers and whispering as to not wake anyone. We got to learn a lot about each other around those campfires. At dinner we tried to sit in the same booth, but usually were across from each each other, so it wasn't as obvious we were into one another. We spent lot of nights in at the Croghan house crowded on the couch watching movies or playing games. Sometimes we would sit outside under the gazebo, that the 16 of us teamed up to build one scorching day. Which was a great team building activity. We would always look up at each other and see a smile, a smile that was so full of love end excitement to be in the same space as the other. No matter what we were doing we began to realize that it was way more fun doing it together. On top of all the fun activities and time spent together, we got to observed each others faith in all those moments. We learned that the commitment, desire, love, and willing the good of the other is genuine and something bigger than the both of us.

“Matt proposed in Yosemite National Park overlooking Yosemite Valley on a hike to artist point. The view was breathtaking with El Capitan and Half Dome in the distance. It was both of our first time in Yosemite and it was beautiful. We hiked up in the snow almost falling a few times on the way. Matt’s friends, Morgan and Lisa, came all the way from LA to help capture the moment to my total surprise. I thought they were just fellow hikers on the same trail as us. It could not have been more perfect and that was easiest hike down the mountain I have ever experienced and also the easiest yes. I loved finding out that the only person who didn’t know about the proposal plan was me. No one was surprised by the news.” -Avery