We actually met on Facebook dating. Brad messaged Nikki in September, while his dad was in the hospital. We exchanged messages on Facebook for a few hours before exchanging numbers. Once we started texting, it became a nonstop, everyday thing. We made plans to meet approximately one week later for our first date.
Our first date was simple. Brad picked Nikki up from her house and the two of them drove to Publix to pick up subs, before heading out to a park in Killearn. We sat at a picnic table for over an hour, eating our subs and just talking. We talked about bowling, but it was a packed parking lot, so we drove to Lake Ella and spent the next 6+ hours talking on a swing. Sonic slushies were involved. We talked about life and everything in between, from ducks to sharks and our family dynamics. My best friend Melissa texted me to give me an out if needed, and his family texted to check and make sure he was okay since we were out til after midnight.
We planned a weekend away to Daytona Beach with the kids for Memorial Weekend. We left early Saturday morning and drove down to the beach to check into our hotel. We spent the first day just getting settled and hung out around the pool for a little bit. When the sun was setting, a lightning storm began. Brad suggested that Hailee and Nikki go for a walk on the beach in case it started to rain. He said he'd watch Noah around the pool. Nikki and Hailee started their walk on the beach and when they got approximately 1/4 mile down the beach, Hailee suggested that we turn back. When we headed back towards our hotel, the sky was lighting up with the most beautiful lightning. Nikki was focused on the lightning in the sky, recording it all with her phone. As we got closer to the hotel, Nikki saw what looked like candles set up on the beach in the distance and made a comment along the lines of "aww, that looks like a proposal." Hailee started laughing and said, "it looks like?!" and then Noah ran up to us and said "mommy, come look." As I got closer to the candles, I realized it was indeed a proposal. I just hadn't realized it was mine. Brad was bended on one knee, as Noah ran over and gave me a watermelon ring pop (I always told Brad he could propose to me with a Ring Pop as long as it was watermelon flavored). I walked closer to Brad and saw not just the candles on the beach but rose petals flowing all around. Brad told Nikki that he'd been falling in love with her since before they met and that he promised to never stop falling in love with her. He asked her to marry him, and she said, "of course." Little did she know, he had already spoken to her dad a month prior and had the help of her daughter Hailee to design the perfect ring, with the most attention to details. After the proposal, the four of us sat around the pool and called our parents. And then the wedding planning started. Literally that night.