Kristijonas and I met at a tea room in Petaluma for our first date. The first thing I noticed was that he wore dress shoes and a button-up shirt—an interesting choice for grabbing tea and going on a hike. It worked out well as we ended up chatting over a pot of tea for hours and ran out of time for a hike after all. Kris was present, engaging, thoughtful, warm, and kind—I remember thinking I wanted to spend a lot more time with him. After a few months of getting to know each other, we decided to go on our first trip—camping in Humboldt. There were a lot of things we learned about one another that weekend. I learned that Kris was patient, flexible, caring, appreciated being in nature, was a great communicator, we worked well together, and he knew how to be playful and have fun. He learned that I could drift a Prius (amongst other important things). It's safe to say I fell for him on that trip. A year later, we moved into our cute apartment with a bay view in San Francisco. Our love grew deeper as we explored the city, went on lots of hikes in Marin and the South Bay, hosted gatherings with our friends and family, went on too many weekend trips to Carmel, and built a home and life together. We were aligned on how we wanted to spend our time—growing as people, adventuring and experiencing life, and making memories with our loved ones. It was there, sitting in our peaceful, sunshine-filled living room with hearts full, that we both knew that this was a forever love.

On a sunny weekend in June, Devika and I headed to Mt. Shasta for a weekend trip. I had thought of the perfect proposal location, where planned to hike up to a vista point through the backcountry. During the very beginning of the hike we realized that some of the trails had flooded due to the heavy snowfall during winter. With a nervous sweat dripping down my forehead, I decided we should proceed and we found a fallen tree we could use to cross a small stream. With her adventurous attitude, Devika was more than up for the trek. After climbing over boulders and through much snow, we reached the vista point. Devika and I had a great time forging our own path through the wilderness, and our adventure was yet another example of how our partnership has made the best of even the most challenging situations. With our hike complete, I started looking for a secluded place to set up a picnic. I laid down a blanket along a cliff side and we gazed upon Mt. Shasta. With my sweaty palms, I reached into my pocket to pull out the ring and asked Devika to marry me. With no hesitation she said "yes!" and we were engaged!