It was Memorial Day weekend and I thought we were taking a normal daytrip to Santa Barbara... Weeks prior to the trip, life was crazy and work was busy so me, Edgar, and my best friend, Aubrey (who has gladly been third-wheeling with us since high school and oddly enjoys it), decided we would take advantage of the upcoming three-day weekend to get out of town and do something fun. I'm usually the planner in the group because I'm always looking to make reservations, I hate anything last minute, and I like having a game plan going into things, but I was overly stressed with work at the time so I was completely hands-off on any of the planning. Edgar, being the complete opposite of me who never plans things, is very spontaneous, and doesn't mind things being last-minute, was actually the one going back-and-forth with Aubrey and planned our SB trip (RED FLAG). To my surprise, he found something cute and out-of-the-ordinary for us to do, and he booked us all a horse-back riding tour on a vineyard followed by wine tasting (ANOTHER RED FLAG). The day of the Santa Barbara trip, we all agreed to meet at my house and take one car. Edgar arrived first and as soon as he got out of his car he immediately told me he wasn't feeling well because his stomach was sick (kind of a red flag, but dismissible since he has a sensitive stomach). He reassured me he'd get over it so I didn't think anything of it. Once Aubrey arrived she declared she was driving so off we went on our daytrip. On the way, she recommended we stop by the wharf because they have really great Uni (sea urchin) that she knew I'd love. The wharf was our first stop and we immediately went to the dock to grab Uni shooters. If you know Edgar, you know he isn't a fan of raw seafood and he especially hates Uni, but he didn't want to feel left out so he had an Uni shooter with us (RED FLAG). Shortly after, Edgar started complaining even more about his stomach feeling sick and how it probably got worse because he ate raw seafood, specifically Uni which he doesn't even like, first thing in the morning. Again, I know he has a sensitive stomach so this sounded like a legitimate stomachache. Next stop - Solvang. We grabbed coffee at a cute, little shop and indulged on some great Danish pastries. As we walked around, we took some cute photos and just enjoyed being out-and-about in such perfect weather. We even had a picnic under a gazebo at the park and enjoyed the sandwiches I made for everyone. Finally, it was time to head to the vineyard to go horse-back riding. When we arrived, a large group of people just finished their ride so they were on the wine tasting portion of the experience. The ladies at the vineyard were very quick to get us situated and on our horses, and by the looks of it, it seemed like we lucked out and were getting a private ride (RED FLAG). We rode our horses and got a tour of the entire vineyard, and on our way back we stopped off at a large tree to let the horses graze on the grass. Our tour guide thought it was actually a great, romantic spot for a photo op so we took her up on the opportunity to get some cute photos before we ended the horse-back ride (ANOTHER RED FLAG). We got back to the stable and put our horses away and I noticed the large group of people wine tasting left, but there was a new group of people standing around. This new group of people looked exactly like our families, but I wasn't sure it was them considering we had just unexpectedly run into my uncle, aunt, and cousins in Solvang earlier during the day. It wasn't until we got closer to the large group that I realized it actually was our families and Edgar's sister was holding a sign that said, "Turn Around," and sure enough I looked behind me and there Edgar was on one knee... Yes -- there was a lot of ugly crying and yes, despite ALL of the red flags I genuinely had no idea this Santa Barbara trip was a proposal.

Best friends grow up together, but it's rare when they get married after all these years. Edgar and I met in 7th grade at Lawrence Middle School, back when crushes were a thing and no adult took your relationship seriously because "you're just a kid". Against a lot of people's wishes, that was also the time we started dating back in 2008. We were told that we were too young to be dating at the time and that we should be focused more on school than on having a boyfriend/girlfriend. Quite honestly, there was truth to what we were told, but when you're a teenager you're young and dumb and know what's best so nothing stopped us. Little did any of us know, life has a funny way of working itself out and here we are years later. Through the good, the bad, and the ugly, we've miraculously gotten through so much together despite all the odds. Through finding each other attractive during our ugly-duckling phases and getting our braces off together, to completing Confirmation together, to going to Prom and getting through some of our toughest moments in high school together, we even survived four years together while going to separate universities. It's been 14 years and the more things change the more they stay the same. We've never been more sure that we're ready for a lifetime of headaches, driving each other crazy, getting into stupid arguments, and still finding the light at the end of the tunnel. On May 20, 2023, we'll be celebrating our 15th year anniversary in the best way possible -- getting married and sharing this special moment with all of our loved ones.