Kara started working at the same Toyota dealership that Armando had been working at for a few years.

After a few failed attempts at asking her out he noticed one day that she had been extra friendly and had been following him around the shop and spending extra time talking to him. People noticed and started asking if they were dating but that was not the case. Armando decided to take a risk again and ask her on a date. She accepted and they ended up at Grazie Ristorante Italiano in Bothell for several hours. Kara’s father had passed away merely weeks ago. They immediately bonded over deaths in both of their families as well as the speeches they had both given at the funerals. Two days later Kara invited Armando over for a supper and hot tub date. While in the hot tub she came in hot with a barrage of serious relationship questions. Luckily Armando was a pro at first dates and passed the “interrogation” with flying colors. After treading lightly for a few days (due to Kara’s recent loss), they started hanging out every day and have been inseparable ever since.

They were headed to one of Armando’s best friends' weddings (David Lopez). Kara was now getting nervous about meeting Armando’s “people” as his “friend”, so she kept pressuring him on their relationship status. Luckily Armando had a plan. On the 5 hour drive there, he pulled over on a beautiful bluff that oversaw the Eastern Washington plains. He asked her to be his girlfriend and she said yes.

Since Kara and Armando had a passion for traveling, they decided to take a trip to a warm place and they chose Thailand. Kara decided to join Armando in being scuba certified so they could do a scuba tour in tropical water. The 19 hour flight there tested their relationship (especially since Kara couldn’t sleep due to a crying baby), but they survived and grew even closer to each other.

Armando decided to propose to Kara at the same spot in Eastern Washington where he asked her to be his girlfriend. Unfortunately that plan was ruined due to covid.

His next plan was to propose to her in front of the Castle at Disney World. Due to the restrictions at the time they only had 1 day in the park with the castle. He nervously walked over 25,000 steps with Kara and rode every major ride including several roller coasters with the engagement ring in his pocket waiting for the opportune moment. He had a few opportunities, but the moment didn’t feel right. Reluctantly he went with his gut and decided not to force the moment and go back to the drawing board.

Third times the charm right? Armando planned a surprise weekend trip to one of the local Islands. They were starting to load the car for the trip when she randomly asked if he was going to propose to her. The “deer in the headlights” look told her yes. She did feel bad and apologized, but they still had a great trip.

Fourth time here we go! This time he was not taking any chances. He planned meticulously for weeks and even enlisted one of Kara’s best friends Emily along with her husband Jackson to help. He secretly got the day off and decorated “Kara Tree” (which is a tree that her dad planted for her when she was little) with white Christmas lights and white roses. He made a path from the back door of the house to the tree with lights and flowers. As soon as she stepped out the door (as planned), a song from one of her favorite Disney movies started playing on a speaker. FINALLY he was able to get down on one knee and propose.