We met at a welcome mixer for the first and second years in the School Based Family Counseling Masters program at CSULA. We went around introducing ourselves to the group. Annelise locked eyes on Mike almost immediately. We didn't have a conversation this first day, but the plan was already in the works to bring us together.

After a not so successful first date sometime in October 2015, Mike decided to give it another go in April 2016 when we were both nearing the end of our master's program. Not expecting much, other than a friendly dinner to discuss COMPS, it quickly turned into a 3 hour dinner date discussing everything but the COMPS. After this "first" date, it was pretty clear that there would be many more to come.

A quick back story... in December 2016, Mike and Annelise went to Paris for our first international trip together. We put a "lock of love" on the gates outside of Hotel de Ville (Annelise's favorite spot in Paris). Over the years, Alison would look at the lock to check if it was still there. Fast forward to June 23, 2019. We went back to Paris for a couple of days before embarking on our 11 day Tour du Mont Blanc hike. The day before the hike, we (Annelise, Mike, Alison, and Maxime) went by Hotel de Ville to see if the lock was still there. Once we got there, we took pictures with us and the lock and Mike handed Alison the phone to take a video. Annelise still had no idea what was happening until Mike brought out a new lock that says, "Annelise, will you marry me?". Annelise said "oh my god" about a thousand times. Cars were honking their horn. Alison's hand was shaking, while making sure not to stop the video. Maxime was taking pictures from the sidelines. Annelise said yes. Mike put the ring on the wrong finger. We all laughed and the celebration continued!