Josh and Ashley met in middle school. They were both on the track team and Ashley thought Josh was pretty cute. You know how it goes when you're thirteen: boy meets girl, girl thinks boy is cute, they "date." Such was their story. They continued "dating" (eventually for real!) all throughout high school and into college. In October of 2007, Josh joined the Michigan Army National Guard and spent the next several months living and training in Kentucky while they continued seeing each other long distance. He returned home in June of 2008. They spent another year apart when Josh was deployed to Afghanistan in September of 2011.
The Proposal
In May 2010, Josh took Ashley out for dinner. Afterward, he commented that he wanted to go down to the park by the Curwood Castle to "check out the fishing." Grudgingly, Ashley agreed. When they got there, he asked Ashley come with him "to look at the fish." They proceed to walk toward the river and he talked about fish for a bit, while she whined about the weather. When she finally noticed he was no longer walking beside her, she turned around to find him on one knee - and he proposed!