We met on a SantaCon night in downtown Santa Barbara. This event is generally a great excuse to dig up your most gaudy Christmas sweater and Santa Hat and also a great time to get out on the town. A couple of our friends were out that night and we met more new faces as we continued our night, one of those new friends happened to be Andrew. We each have our own version of the first moment we met one another, but what I recall is he was wearing a Santa hat and a 49ers scarf...I remember instantly thinking he might be one of those frat guys I have very little tolerance for, or perhaps a sports fanatic of some sort, in any case...I wasn't ready to meet someone like him that night, but as soon as we started to talk he instantly made me laugh, I immediately realized that he is nothing like what I initially imagined him to be and later, as we continued to get to know each other, it was clear that I never wanted to spend a moment without him.

The way Anya and I met was certainly serendipitous, and not in a way I ever would have predicted. During one warm Saturday in December, the ultimate frisbee crew of Santa Barbara decided to get together and go out on Santa Con weekend. For those unaware, this is a large, community coordinated bar crawl where everyone dresses up like one of the many fictional characters of the North Pole. Since my closet lacked the typical elements of the holiday season, the best I could come up with was a Santa hat, a red Lululemon t-shirt, and a San Francisco 49ers scarf. Several bars and pints of beers later, our group was scattered about State Street. In my attempt to meet back up with a few friends, I walked into Joe’s Bar and Grill – one of the most popular late night bars for the young college crowd as they are well known for their stiff cocktails – and it was a mad house. I did a full circle before I finally found who I was looking for. As I approached their booth, I noticed there was very little if any room for one more person. There was a small sliver of bench available on the side closest to me so I walked up and sat right next to a young pretty lady who did not see me coming. In what she would tell you was out of disbelief and confusion, Anya ‘played’ along and introduced me to everyone at the table. Little did she know that my friends, the people I came here to see, were on the other side of the booth. I waited patiently for her to finish before I kindly replied, “I already know them. They are my friends.” Her cheeks turned bright red with embarrassment before candidly laughing about how silly that whole scene just was. She was beautiful in that moment with a genuine, heart-warming smile and I was instantly smitten. We ended up hitting it off and found ourselves consistently in 1-on-1 conversation within the group. We have been inseparable ever since, and I am grateful to have met such a wonderful person that I get to spend the rest of my life with.

For my 30th Birthday, Andrew surprised me with tickets to Santa Barbara. The plan was to spend a weekend catching up with our close friends and do what we always loved doing while we lived there. One of the last days we were there, we decided to do one of our favorite hikes up to Gaviota Peak. At the very top we admired the breathtaking view of Santa Barbara and in that moment Andrew said something along the lines of "..did you know that in 2 days it will be 50 months since we've known each other?" The question took me a back as I have been so caught up in our journey together that I never thought about the number of moments we have loved each other, "..wow that long, really?" Andrew probably went over how he wanted to propose and exactly what he wanted to say, unfortunately In a blink of an eye I recalled every unforgettable laugh attack he was a part of, every adventure we did together... I got so swept up with excitement and happy tears that I do not recall everything he said, but I do recall feeling like the happiest person in the world by his side. We could not be more excited to celebrate the next step in our journey with each of you who have played (and will continue to play) such an important part in our adventure!

I had purchased Anya’s wedding ring well before I proposed. It is surprising how long it takes to find the perfect way to propose to the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, but to do it in a way that doesn’t give away what’s coming. I wanted it to bring back memories from some of the early moments of our relationship. It took me some time but I finally came up with the perfect plan to fulfill this requirement while veiling my intentions. For Anya’s 30th birthday, I took her on an all-expenses paid trip to Santa Barbara. We spent a long weekend visiting some of her closest friends, eating at a few of our favorite spots, and enjoying the beautiful outdoors just as we did when we lived there. Our final day of the trip was a stunning, sunny February day. It was perfect for what I had planned. I drove Anya to the trailhead of Gaviota peak, one of our beloved hikes which is about 35 miles west of Santa Barbara. The highest point of this hike offers one of the more stunning views you will ever see of the California coast. As I got out of the car, I furtively slipped the ring box into one of the cargo pockets of my Prana pants. It conspicuously formed a large round bulge on the side of my left leg, which wasn’t ideal but I knew that if I kept Anya on my right side during the hike, she wouldn’t notice. As we made our way up the relatively steep path, I rehearsed in my head the short speech I was going to give. And truthfully, I wasn’t nervous at any point during the weekend about the task ahead of me…until we reached the summit of course. The hardest part is always the beginning, and I definitely started off clumsily. With the Pacific Ocean as her backdrop, I quickly recovered, said what I had rehearsed, and ended with the most important question I have ever asked. Tears came to her eyes and Anya, without hesitation said “Yes!” I slipped the ring on her finger, and we spent the entire hike back talking about the future we couldn’t wait to share together.