Robin and Michael first met in January of 2019. At the time, both were working at Dick's Sporting Goods in Madison. Robin, who had previously worked in clothing retail, was new to the sporting goods environment. As fate would have it, Michael was the associate who helped show her how to organize a soccer ball wall, and a friendship was started.....

After about 11 months of a growing friendship, Robin and Michael took the next big step and had their first date. It was a memorable evening, starting with dinner at The Old Fashioned in downtown Madison, followed by outdoor ice skating near Edgewater Hotel overlooking the lake and ending with a drive through the Christmas lights at Olin Park, complete with hot chocolate! And yes, the hot chocolate was still hot after hours in a cold car thanks to Michael's trusty Yeti. If you're wondering how much they still are crazy about Yetis - just ask them how big their collection of "a Yeti for every occasion" is....

During the first summer of COVID, there were few things to do, but lots of available time. So, taking advantage of the opportunity to do something outdoors, Robin and Michael planned their first trip together up to Sister Bay in Door County, which would also include celebrating Michael's 28th birthday. The trip was a huge success and they hiked, enjoyed the view from their balcony and attempted to kayak in some pretty wild water. This was the first of many happy trips together and hiking is still one of their favorite activities.

After several years of living together, and making the best of a very small kitchen, Robin and Michael made one of the first major life choices for their future together - they decided to buy a house. After several months of frustrating house hunting with little success, Michael's future Best Man said there was a house right across the street from him that might be a possibility. On first look, the couple thought it looked a "little" rough and unloved (it was) - but they decided to jump in with both feet and make the house and beautiful Sun Prairie their future home. The last year and a half have seen the couple making lots of repairs and changes and slowly they are making it their own. No more three flights of stairs to walk Addy - she now has her own big backyard and lots of squirrel friends!