So excited to share our day with you!

Matt and I had been acquaintances since we met at my brother Dave's house before the Bills Home Opener in the early 2010s, but it had been several years since we had seen each other. One night in early October 2018, I was out to dinner with my brother Dave and my cousin Brian, when Matt came to meet us for drinks. At first, I thought nothing of it, but on the drive home I started thinking Dave was setting us up. (I can often very easily jump to conclusions, which may or may not be valid!) About a week later, Matt emailed me asking if I was interested in being his "plus one" for a work event. Naturally, I became convinced about my suspicion, but even more so, I became secretly excited. For the week leading up to the event, I likely drove a few friends crazy trying to determine if this was a date or a platonic thing. I'm not sure if either of us really knew what it was, but we hit it off so well that night that the rest was history!

I was in union negotiations and had been working around the clock, barely seeing Matt and the kids for several weeks. On a rare Sunday off, we went to breakfast with my Dad and then took the dogs for a walk at our favorite place to take them. I was exhausted and a bit preoccupied with work that it didn't even cross my mind that Matt might propose. (I would have "done myself up" a little if it had!) A few minutes into the walk, we reached the top of a hill and Jacob told me he had a gift for me. It was a beautiful bracelet with the kids' names and my name on it. Jacob made a little speech and Maddie started crying. It was at that moment I realized I was receiving more than a bracelet! Matt got down on one knee; I naturally cried and happily accepted. We stopped to toast with some Champagne (and Orange Crush for the kids) and snapped some photos before finishing our walk. It was the perfect relaxing day for our little family (four legged family included!)