We met online—3,000 miles apart. He was a Marine in Virginia, I was in California. He used my zip code thinking he’d get orders to the West Coast, but they changed. After five months of talking, I thought I was being catfished, so I flew to meet him. We couldn’t make it work then and split for a year—but stayed in touch. One day, he flew to CA on a whim, fell in love all over again, quit his job, and drove cross-country to be with me.

Under the stars at Stagecoach 2016, swaying to our favorite country artist, he got down on one knee—surrounded by my family, just like I always dreamed. I said yes with happy tears and dusty boots. It was pure country magic and the most perfect proposal.

If we won $20,000, we’d finally take the honeymoon we never had—and bring the kids for our first real family vacation. Somewhere full of sunshine, laughter, and memories we’ll talk about forever. After years of love, sacrifice, and crazy schedules, we’d trade it all in for time—together.