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Like many great love stories, theirs started unexpectedly—and with a bit of teenage awkwardness. They first crossed paths at 14 in gym class, specifically in Adventure Ed, which basically meant a ropes course in the woods. Steve remembers seeing Zoe in her bright orange Breckenridge shirt and grey-blue leggings and thinking she was really cute. But in true high school fashion… they never actually spoke. A little while later, fate gave them a second chance—though in the most 14-year-old way possible. Steve had started talking to one of Zoe’s friends, but her friend was too nervous to flirt on her own. So Zoe, ever the good wingwoman, texted Steve from her friend’s phone for a few weeks, pretending to be her friend. The texts resulted with Steve and Zoe's friend dating. So once again Steve and Zoe's paths diverged. Fast forward to the summer before their senior year of high school. They were both single, and found themselves at the same small get-together on June 26th. They sat by the pool talking and laughing the entire night. Something clicked, and they both felt it. On July 4th, under the glow of fireworks, Steve asked Zoe to be his girlfriend. Four days later, they had their first date—sushi (which has now become their shared favorite). Determined to impress Zoe, Steve ate a spoonful of wasabi… which ended about how you’d expect: at a scenic lookout spot with Steve throwing up. Despite the wasabi incident, the night ended with a kiss, and that was the beginning of the summer they fell in love. From Zoe stopping by to say hi during Steve’s lifeguard breaks to spontaneous late-night adventures, they spent nearly every free moment together. Steve gave Zoe piggyback rides across the backyard, Zoe accidentally poked Steve in the eye with icing while baking cupcakes and it was clumsy, silly, and absolutely perfect. The fall brought their love story into senior year. Zoe drove to Steve’s house almost every morning just to squeeze in a few extra minutes together before school. They went to prom, soaked up another summer together, and began the next chapter - living 170 miles apart. For the next three and a half years they counted down the days from Sunday evening goodbyes to Friday nights when they could finally be together again. And then, in the most unexpected silver lining of a global pandemic, they got to live together for the first time during quarantine. They explored nature, went intertubing, practiced wrestling moves, and were finally together as a family with their sweet little piggy Bailey. The next two years reverted back to weekend visits while Zoe completed grad school and Steve started his career. And finally, after eight years of love, growth, and adventure, they moved in together for good, got engaged, and began officially building their life together.

Zoe thought it was just a regular day. The plan was simple: visit Steve’s childhood home, grab Dunkin’ Donuts, and go hiking. Along the way, they passed their old high school—the place where they first met—and Steve casually suggested a walk through the adventure ropes course. Zoe had a feeling a proposal might be coming and briefly thought *this could be it*—but when nothing happened, she brushed it off and let her guard down. They went hiking at the Great Swamp, another special place for them. But still nothing. What she didn’t know was that Steve had been planning this day for weeks. He had been closely watching the weather, waiting for a narrow window of sunshine, and carefully orchestrating every stop to stall for time. When the skies cleared earlier than expected, he quickly shifted gears. Taking a deliberately confusing route, Steve eventually pulled onto the highway, heading to the scenic overlook where they had ended their first date. There, under a clear sky and surrounded by hills and trees, Steve set up his 360 camera and nervously tried to keep conversation going. Then, with a deep breath, he stepped off the railing, pulled a ring from his pocket, and said, “I want to officially start our family together. Zoe Weiss, will you marry me?” Through joyful tears, Zoe said yes.