Josiah & I met at our work in 2015. We would go to lunch together occasionally and see each other throughout the day. We didn’t actually start talking one on one as we had people join us on our lunches until about March of 2016. We exchanged numbers and started texting each other & finding out more about each other throughout the days we had texted. Obviously, texting can only show you so much about a person you really really like. So, around May he had texted me one day asking me to go out hiking with him in the Owyhee mountains. I was super super nervous, but of course I said “yeah!” because I love hiking & want to know about him more. As we were out hiking, we were constantly laughing, talking, and coming up with our own inside jokes. After that day/adventure with him, I instantly knew I seriously liked this guy! Finding out we have the same humor & same dreams. Josiah & I to this day have the strangest humor. It’s always funny seeing other’s faces when we are laughing about something so ridiculous.

My birthday is June 12th & I had told Josiah I wanted to hike to Stack Rock up near Bogus Basin in Boise. It’s somewhere I love to go after my dad & I had went mountain biking up there a couple years ago before Josiah & I had gone. Josiah & I ended up spending my 20th birthday up hiking at Stack Rock & I can honestly say, that was one of the best birthdays I had ever had. Just like how we were hiking in the Owyhee mountains, laughing and joking around. I believe Stack Rock is exactly the place I started falling for this man. We both didn’t want the hike to end or to stop spending the day together. We spent almost every day after that day.

Josiah asked me out on a date and surprised me with us going to Olive Garden which is one of my favorite places to go for dinner. It was my first date I had ever been on and it was the best first date ever. Josiah & I are the adventurous type and we went on many many drives not knowing where we were going. So, after dinner we ended up going out for a drive & ended up at the steps of a lake that is near where we live. He ended up asking me to be his girl on July 9th of that year.

Josiah is the sweetest & most gentle man you will ever meet. I remember I was always getting butterflies and getting nervous around him. I remember the first time he hugged & kissed me. He asked if he could hug me before he went in for a hug & asked if he could give me a kiss a couple weeks after he first hugged me. He does all the gentleman stuff. He opens the car door for me or a door when were walking into a building. One of my favorite things about him is he always makes sure i’m safe or he’s making me happier or laugh more than the day before. He is the most loving guy I have ever met & I’m so happy I get to call him mine.

Josiah & I have been out on many many dates & adventures. One of my favorite adventures is when we spontaneously went to the Oregon Coast in March of this year. He has never been to the coast before & i’m so glad I got to experience that with him. I’ve been to the coast multiple times as a kid with my family & it’s definitely something I want to continue when we have a family. I took him to all the cool places i’ve been to when I was younger, including Mo’s (my favorite restaurant in Oregon!).

Something I love about me & Josiah’s relationship is that we’re always finding out something new about each other. When were on long drives like the 8 hour drive to the coast or when were sitting at a dinner table waiting for our food, we’re constantly asking each other questions. We don’t sit there on our cell phones on social media. We’re present with each other & sometimes asking each other the same questions as before because we may have forgotten or we will quiz each other on our favorite things. That was my favorite adventure with him & I cannot wait for many more in the future.

The day Josiah proposed to me is so special to us as it is to many people. The week of August 3rd, 2018, we were talking about going elk scouting together because bow season for elk was opening up a couple weeks before and he was wanting to put up some trail cameras. We were preparing for the weekend we were going to be spending up in the Payette/Boise forest. We got up to our camping spot that friday night & went to bed well rested for the next day, August 4th. We got up that morning getting ready to go hiking around for where we will place the cameras & we walked through this area that was a canopy of pine trees. I said to him “this is so pretty! I love it out here.” We walk through that area and continued our hike. About 4 miles in we find somewhere we want to put his cameras & we set them up, turned around, & headed back for our camping spot. We got back through the canopy of trees & we found an area to put our packs down. We got drinks of water & he starts digging in his pack for the ring & as he is digging around, I already get this feeling that he’s going to ask the big question. I take another drink of water and end up spitting it all out on him. We both start cracking up laughing so hard & he goes “We are definitely not going to forget that.” and he goes down on one knee, so nervous I could tell he forgot all the words he was wanting to say & he says “I wanted to ask you in this area because this is where it kinda all started. Will you marry me?” referencing our hike to Stack Rock when we first started to hang out. I said yes & got confused as to which hand to put the ring on because I had so many butterflies & emotions. I’m so excited to spend the rest of my days with my absolute best friend & for many more spontaneous adventures!

XO

KYLEE OLIVIA

&

Abriel