As fate would have it, Danica and J. met on a blind date on the day after Thanksgiving, 2008. J. had received a call from his friend Christine Neville a few week prior where she floated the idea of a blind date with Christine's sister-in-law Danica.

Although skeptical about the idea of blind dates in general, J. said that he was game. After overcoming the initial blind date jitters and skepticisms, with the ambiance of Barbacoa as the backdrop, J. and Danica began to realize that they had a lot in common and enjoyed each others' company quite a bit. In fact, the de facto chaperones that evening (Christine and her husband/Danica's brother Donie) very strategically bowed out of the evening early and left Danica and J. to their own devices. You can see the venues that Danica and J.made appearances that fateful evening on the map below.

Danica and J. were off and running! Although the frequency of their late night barhopping has slowed quite a bit for the couple since that time, their love for each other continues to grow.

It was a crisp and clear fall afternoon in late October. J. had a plan to take Emma for a walk with Danica along the Boise river. The greenbelt is just down the street from their house and during early fall in Boise the trees and river are absolutely beautiful. It was a great setting for a proposal.

With the ring in his pocket, J. waited eagerly at home for Danica to return from a manicure session that she had gone to with J.'s mom. Unfortunately, as soon as Danica walked into the house, she remarked that there was a strong odor in the house (the smell of something that you do not want your dog doing in the house). Long story short, they immediately had to pull all the furniture in the living rom out and throw away an 8'x10' rug. Danica was not a happy camper at all and J.'s proposal plans were apparently foiled - neither of them were in the mood to reward Emma with a walk after her pulling a stunt like that!

Unable to bear the thought of waiting any longer to ask for Danica's hand in marriage, J. took to a knee right there in the kitchen, told Danica that he had something that he hoped would uplift her spirits. After a short and sweet (and admittedly sweaty) proposal, Danica said "yes" and the remainder of the day was spent gazing at the ring and at each other asking, "what do we do now?" The original bright idea they had was a picnic in the park, so you should be thankful that the couple kept thinking about wedding plans.