The old adage “Never say never” bit me in the ass the same day Cupid’s arrow struck my heart upon meeting Kevin. I was happy to find love again, but I was certainly NEVER going to get married again! Well, that conviction was short lived…

We knew we were in deep pretty early on and marriage became a regular conversation topic. Kevin was ready to jump in yesterday, but I wanted more time to get through the chaos that 2024 had thrown at us (aka: the giant tree that crashed into our house forcing us to move out and relocate for a year!) After (re)construction finally wrapped up, we were able to move back home just in time for the holidays.

Being settled in our physical home again, brought to light just how much Kevin is my emotional home. I was ready to make the next move and ‘put a ring on it.’ I had already bought him a custom ring on my summer trip to Greece with Piper & Ella. They helped me pick it out in Mykonos.

If you know me, you won’t be surprised by this untraditional proposal. I’m a feminist and happy to contribute to the downfall of patriarchal norms. In early discussions with Kevin, I mentioned I didn’t want to change my name again. He responded matter of factly and without any hesitation that he wanted to change his last name to mine!

This is the 2nd ‘rodeo’ for both of us and since I’ve already experienced the fun of being proposed to, I wanted Kevin to have that experience too.

One romantic 6 hour train ride later (to the Bavarian mountain village of Leavenworth, WA) and I was on my knee in the snow asking him to be my partner in life.

Much to Kevin’s surprise, I had arranged for both my kids and Kevin’s kids to show up at the river’s edge that day to give their blessing and to celebrate the occasion with us. We arrived to town the day before as a couple and left the next day as a family.