It all started with a simple IM message on night shift in the oilfields of Somewhere, USA. Sam had just recently transferred down to Denver, CO for work after living in WY for nearly 5 years. The promise and grandeur of a bigger city was still fresh in the air. Yet little did she know, that on this very night, the WY winds would be calling her back for one last thing. *Ding* An incoming IM popped up on Sam's 10lb field laptop from a coworker who had just transferred departments back in WY. Typically, this certain coworker would not only be Sam's out-of-state body guard when traveling for work, but also the relentless oilfield match maker. Time after time after time, he would have his newest love suggestion that Sam would turn down without hesitation. But, fortunate for Sam, he was persistent. After some brief catching up, the conversation lead to the excitement of the newest "Tom Cruise" look-a-like on his WY cement crew. Whose face later ended up loading, at very low speeds, onto Sam's Facebook app hours later after her coworker insisted she "just take a look at him". First impression: Tyler Ripley is cute, but is he 5 hours away cute?! After giving the profile a full investigation, one piece of offered information stood out like a sore thumb. This man had attended Waldorf University. THE Waldorf University?! The same college that Sam's mother attended, seemingly alone, as Sam had not met a single other soul who had also attended this small Iowa educational institute. Okay, so first conclusion drawn: Tyler is an Iowa boy. Thus, like any other Iowan, he MUST be either 1) an ISU Cyclone fan, or 2) a human with poor taste (aka an Iowa Hawkeye fan). Therefore, Sam went back to her coworker with one question in hand for him to relay back to Tyler: GO STATE or GO HAWKEYES?? If Tyler were to answer correctly, the rest would be destiny. Fortunately, later that day, Tyler had declared his loyalty to the cardinal and gold.

Just along the Rocky Mountains there were two hard working individuals, Tyler Ripley and Sam Bristol. Strangers, yet both aligned in focus on their careers and stepping back from the crazy dating scene. Tyler had just taken on the adventure he had always dreamt of by moving to the oilfields of Casper, WY. During the first month on the new job site, Tyler was hitting it off with a wildly entertaining coworker. After eventually getting to know one another, this new coworker had a very hard time accepting the fact that Tyler was just "over dating". Shaking his head, the new coworker simply stated to Tyler, "I have the perfect woman for you", and walked away from the conversation and over to his laptop. Tyler was left with a brief moment of intrigue, but quickly went back to work. The next day, this same wildly entertaining coworker greeted Tyler once more, yet with a forceful question in hand: “Go Hawks or Go State?” Without hesitation, Tyler shouted “GO STATE!” And, with a smile, the coworker now said that the aforementioned "perfect woman" would be in contact with Tyler soon. And walked away once more for the day. *Ding* Later that day, with enough time for the coworker to deal his hidden cards, Tyler had gotten a notification from Facebook that Sam Bristol had added him as a friend. Ah, yes, the perfect woman.

Between the Facebook messenger novels and the long phone calls, Sam and Tyler were trying to devise a plan to finally meet one another in person. The odd hours, crazy shift work, and opposite work schedules would typically deter any sane person. But with the will of Tyler Ripley, he made the 5 hour one-way trek down into Colorado to merely snag a beer with Sam. In which Sam, on the other hand, had just gotten off of an 18 hour shift, but decided a beer with Tyler sounded just right that evening. Fortunately, the conversation was better than the beer and a second date was determined to be set. Averaging about a date a month due to work schedules, Tyler and Sam decided to jump in with both feet and jet set across the country for their 4th official date. Ten days amongst Sam's east coast friends would definitely be trial by fire! A wedding, two national parks, three states, and four ballparks later, Tyler and Sam were still donning their rose colored glasses for one another.

You really want more after reading ALL of that? The story of the proposal coming soon. :)