At the end of the first week of classes freshman year, there was a Women's Volleyball game. The team was apparently really good and it seemed like it was gonna be a full house. And they were giving out free shirts. So Cooper and I and a couple of our neighbors all went together. The game was electric, they kicked butt. After the game we had a lot of energy and when we got back to our dorm we decided to check out a volleyball from the front desk and go play on the sand court next to our building. I was blasting Big Time Rush on my speaker and after some time a group of maybe 10 people came out and asked if they could join us. It was just the four of us and a bit boring and none of us really new anybody yet so we said sure! We were playing for a while and more people joined and others left. I eventually ran out of BTR and switched over to High School Musical. Some people were excited about the musical while others didn't seem to really care. With so many new people I was having a hard time remembering names, and there was one girl in particular that I was really trying to remember. There was at most 18 of us out there playing and anytime the ball was hit wild, I was always the first to chase after it. Eventually it was too dark to see the ball anymore, and someone suggested we go to the basement common area to play cards and stuff. So most of us ended up there but Cooper and some others went to bed instead. At this point it's about 10 PM. In the basement, most people were playing a particular card game that I distinctly remember not being a fan of but forget the name of, so I opted out. The speaker eventually died so you could only faintly hear High School Musical 2 from my phone. That girl whose name I couldn't remember, I was now repeatedly saying in my head, "Rebecca, her name is Rebecca." I was already thinking she was amazing for awhile because it was really only the two of us at this point enjoying the music and I kept making her laugh. Wow she had such a wonderful laugh. At the end of the last song in HSM2, in the movie Troy and Gabriella run and jump of a big rock into the pool. We most of the way through that song and with one look we in sync. We both jumped up at just the right time, ran to the other side of the room, and jumped just like the movie. It was then I knew I was gonna marry her. For the rest of the night, I was back and forth in my head about how incredible she was, but also you can't marry someone you just met. We kept talking, laughing, and just generally goofing, for the rest of the night. Slowly, more and more people went off to bed, but I stopped noticing them a hours ago. At around 2:30 Rebecca tried to get me and the last person still downstairs to learn the choreography for "We're all in this together" and I was struggling. After much more laughter and two dead phones, we all called it a night. I knew I was gonna remember that night and that girl for the rest of my life.

During the first or second week of freshman year of college, I went to the first volleyball game of the season with my roommate. Walking back across the IM fields, we decided that we wanted to play volleyball on the sand court outside our dorm. There were already people playing so we joined. Alex was on the other side of the net and in charge of the music – playing Big Time Rush and High School Musical – and always the one to run full speed after a stray ball. After playing so late we couldn’t see the ball anymore, the group of us moved into the basement to play games. Alex and I ended up sitting next to each other, with the music still going, long after the speaker died. After chatting and snacking on goldfish, we got to the last song of the High School Musical 2 album (All for One). In the movie, as they’re finishing the song, all the characters run and jump into the pool. When the song got to that point and without saying anything to each other, Alex and I made eye contact, got up, and ran and jumped like we were jumping in the pool. I knew I wanted this goofy guy in my life and immediately invited him to work at a coffee shop the next day.

I had been planning it for over a year. figuring where we might travel to, who would be able to help in my scheming process, and of course when. Due to the planned location, we had to do it in the summer, meaning I had to wait another whole year. But I was determined to be patient and pull this off. Yet, in May, severe storms meant our trip had to be rescheduled or canceled. I needed a new plan. We were moving to Denver in July so I decided it would be in June in Fort Collins. We had talked about wanting to enjoy the special parts of the city before we moved so it was a good cover. As we got closer, I recruited Jon to help me find the perfect spot at Horsetooth reservoir with the best foliage. This part was difficult as Rebecca is generally difficult to surprise, but we were also commuting to Denver on the bus together. So it was particularly difficult to get anything past her, and we were very tired at the end of every day. I had Jon and Jordan, set for taking stealth photos and setting up a charcuterie board picnic. The night before the big day I suggested we drive up to Horsetooth after work and walk around. This was not a totally unusual idea since we'd done it before, but Rebecca began getting suspicious. The next morning I was particularly chipper (why wouldn't I be). While waiting for the bus I said "today is gonna be a good day" a couple of times, which only made Rebecca even more suspicious. I texted Jon, that she was suspicious, and we needed to be discreet. He responds with, "Understood, weather permitting." Rebecca sees this and suspicion is at max. She texts Jordan, who texts Jon, who texts me, "Rebecca knows, you need to chill out." But of course as time ticks away, I get more and more on edge. I needed to focus on the trip home to play it cool. We head up to Horsetooth still in our nice business clothes and Rebecca starts getting suspicious. We walk around and at this point I think she knows. We walked along a muddy trail by the water, with nice foliage. We came upon a nice spot to just sit, and after a while we stood to leave, we hugged and I got down on one knee. Her first reaction was "aawww" and nearly cried but quickly she was absolutely giddy and shouted "I knew it!". "Yes" she shouted, but I responded, "I haven't asked the question yet." She said "then ask it!" So I did, "Rebecca will you marry me?" "YES!" I put the ring on her finger and now we both can't stop smiling. We start walking up the hill, and spot Jon taking photos from behind a bush. We get to the top and Jordan had just finished setting up this beautiful picnic display. Rebecca and I just got to sit and talk and enjoy a nice night.

Alex started commuting with me beginning of July when he started his internship (now job!) at Fehr and Peers. Those mornings were very early and there were a lot of late nights just with the commute. The morning of June 15th, I was grumpy and tired but could tell that something was up. All morning Alex was absolutely giddy and said, “today is gonna be a great day!!!” at least 3 times before we even got to the bus stop. I got even more suspicious when he was showing me something on his phone and got a text from one of our best friends, Jon, that said “Understood, weather dependent” and Alex swiped up on the text, making it go away quickly. Now this really got my heart racing. It could have been anything but there was something about that day. The proposal was also on the forefront of my mind because Jon is one of the only people I know Alex would tell his plan to - the kicker here is that Jon was leaving on June 27th for Basic Training for the Air National Guard and I knew that the proposal had to happen before Jon left. We had talked about sitting in different rows on the bus before to spread out but this is the day that Alex chose to sit in a different row. Also very interesting. During the whole bus ride, I was texting my best friend, Jordan (who also happens to be Jon’s girlfriend) freaking out. “I don’t need confirmation one way or the other but I am convinced Alex is going to propose today and here’s why.....” From there, Jon got wind of my suspicions and told Alex to chill out a little bit. At the end of the day, we met up at Union Station and I had so many butterflies but he was really playing it cool. We got on the bus to go home and sat next to each other this time. He had mentioned a few days prior something about us going up to Horsetooth Reservoir after work just to enjoy nature. Since I already had my suspicions, I started poking at him, making comments about how it looked like it was raining up north or that I didn’t know if we would still want to go to Horsetooth after going to the grocery store because we might be tired. Alex seemed unphased with all of the pokes and totally just rolled with it. We got home from the grocery store and he suggested we switch shoes to go to the reservoir since it had been a bit rainy (I learned later that this is when he grabbed the ring from his backpack THAT HE WAS CARRYING AROUND ALL DAY). Driving up to Horsetooth was so nice with lots of lovey dovey music playing. I was definitely keeping an eye out for Jordan or Jon’s cars in any of the parking lots along the road but didn’t see them (surprisingly). We parked at the swim beach and walked up one of the two paths (the lower path was closed but I could tell that Alex really wanted to be on that one). While we were walking, I swore I heard people romping around in the bushes but I chose to ignore and just enjoy the moment. We sat down on a rock close to the water and chatted for a bit, stood up and hugged, and then Alex got down on one knee. He pulled out the box and laughing, said “I don’t know how to do this,” I yelled “YES,” and Alex said “I have to ask the question first!” He then asked, the question, put the ring on my finger and I was absoulely buzzing 😊 We then walked up the hill, past Jon hiding in a bush taking photos, to a picnic table that Jordan set up with a lovely spread including champagne for me and apple juice for Alex. It was so nice to sit after that and enjoy each other’s company and read all about the planning process through all of the emails Alex wrote to himself since he couldn’t share the planning process with me. They were the sweetest things to read and I can't wait to marry this guy!!!