On a fairly ordinary Sunday, Caleb was walking out of church and saw Katherine talking with a few people he knew. He'd seen Katherine around (and had a bit of a crush on her) but they hadn't had a chance to meet. Screwing up his courage, he went and introduced himself. Caleb tried to play it cool, but Katherine totally knew what he was after. She didn't mind (she miiiiiiight have had made a mental note about him a while back...) and was glad to get a chance to finally meet. They had a friendly conversation and found a few points in common, first and foremost being the terror of waiting to hear back from PhD applications! A week later, they had both been accepted to their programs. While congratulating each other, Caleb asked Katherine out, she said "sure!," and the rest, as they say, is history.

2020 was a tough year for everybody and it made the complexities of a long-distance relationship even more difficult. By the time Caleb got in the car (at 3:00am!) to drive from Seattle, WA to Chicago Park, CA, Katherine and Caleb hadn't seen each other in person since the end of July. Caleb had bought a ring in August after the last time they had been together, and it had been burning a hole in his pocket for almost six months. The plan was to propose in Empire Mine State Park, a favorite spot in Nevada County, but when they got there it was closed! After scrambling to convince her that she HAD to go on a walk with him before going home to see her family (she was pretty suspicious at that point), they ended up back in Chicago Park and walked up to the hill behind the fire station...which also happens to be the cemetery. Caleb got on one knee then and there and asked Katherine if she would marry him. A bit overwhelmed at first, she finally said "Mhmm," which was better than "yes" in his book. They even made it home before dark, avoiding the local mountain lion and in time for a celebratory dinner with her family!