College. Junior Year. Nathan just joined Theta Chi Fraternity and they were having a party. Electric Rain. Claudia knew several other members of the fraternity and decided to go have some fun on a Friday night with a few girl friends. Little did she know that night would change her life. After dancing for a while, she walked outside and to the red bench (a common hang-out spot at the fraternity house). As you know, Nathan doesn't dance, so he was walking around, mingling. They met at the red bench. Claudia whispered to her friends that he was cute. She had never seen him at the House before but definitely noticed his (tallness) beanie, button up, and NorCal shirt. (Boo, NorCal.) But he was cute. Nathan sat down on the bench and made small-talk with everyone, then begrudgingly was convinced by Claudia to go dance. As the party wound-down, Nathan had to clean up the House. Mopping. Claudia found herself a spot on the couch to watch. Her friends whispered that if he could clean like that while looking like that, he was worth a go. And so, Claudia added him on Facebook that night.

After talking for a few weeks, Nathan asked Claudia to go on a date. They went to a movie. Love and Other Drugs. It was awkward. There were lots of boobies and butts on a very large screen. It was awkward. But they held hands for the first time after the movie. Nathan asked if she was hungry, offering to go eat someplace. Being shy, Claudia insisted that she was not hungry, so Nathan took her home said goodnight. As soon as he got back to his apartment, he messaged her. "I'm a little hungry", Claudia replied. (Little did he know that this would be a very common occurrence throughout the relationship..."No, I'm okay"... 3 minutes later... "I'm hungry"...) So, Nathan drove back across campus, picked up Claudia, and took her to In-N-Out. They ate and talked and ate and talked. Shared fries and shared stories of where they grew up and what their majors were. Three hours later, at almost 1 in the morning, he dropped her off again. And went home. She wasn't hungry, and he was excited to see what their next date would be like.

Nathan proposed to Claudia at Waimea Valley on Oahu's North Shore, under a huge monkeypod tree. He had been keeping the ring hidden for almost two days while in Hawaii and it was burning a hole in his pocket. He was unsure of where he would propose but he thought Waimea Falls would be nice. He was anxious to propose to her, barely looking at the scenery. Meanwhile, Claudia took her time looking at all the pretty flowers, hugging trees, and taking pictures of streams and waterfalls. As they walked to the Waimea Falls, he noticed there were tons of people swimming in the pond, kids running around screaming, and other general mayhem. Not the best place to pop the question. While admiring the waterfall, Nathan remembered the giant tree Claudia hugged earlier. Nathan knew how much Claudia loved trees. So he took her back there to ask. Nathan got down on one knee and asked Claudia to marry him. Claudia said "OF COURSE!!!" with a huge smile. Claudia cried. Nathan's allergies kicked up. A few people on the trail nearby whooped and hollered. Then they took a picture together and couldn't stop smiling the rest of the day.