We have quite the love story. It started a small get together of two mutual friends (you know who you are...we love you and are FOREVER grateful to you two), just the four of us. After that night, the rest is history. A month after they started dating, Mackenzie left for college. From that day on, Isaiah and Mackenzie have been long distance. The first year wasn't bad with Isaiah still living at home. They made it work with trips home for the weekend or road trips up to Augustana. With a year under their belts, came a whirlwind of change. Isaiah enlisted in the Air Force, and Mackenzie was leaving to study in Italy for 2 months. They both happened to leave home on the same day, Isaiah for basic training and Mackenzie for Italy. Those two months were the longest either of them had gone without talking to the other. On the rare occasion that Isaiah got to call, he would wake Mackenzie up at 2 in the morning...but neither of them minded because they could talk to each other for the first time in weeks. Since then, Isaiah has lived in Texas for school and Alaska for his full-time job. Occasionally he gets to come home and spend time with everyone, but that is a rare occurrence. Mackenzie has been able to visit Alaska which is where the two of them got engaged. Although their situation is not ideal, they are both firm believers that if the love is true, it can withstand anything that life throws their way. They have learned and grown through the ups and downs together and believe that the distance really does make the love grow stronger. We would like to thank you for the love we have felt from all of you. We both have fantastic support systems that have helped us deal with the craziness that we go through on a day-to-day basis. We really hope you can all come celebrate this special moment in our lives with us Lots of love, Isaiah & Mackenzie

The story of how Isaiah and Mackenzie got engaged will hopefully receive some chuckles. The day began bright and early at 5 am in Anchorage, Alaska. Mackenzie, Isaiah, and two of Isaiah's friends, had decided to go on a hike about two hours from Anchorage, so it was an early start for everyone. Mackenzie was a little grouchy because it was quite early after all. After finally arriving to the trail, Mackenzie was told they would be hiking up and down a mountain...nine miles round trip. So up the mountain they went, beginning Mackenzie's misery. By default, Isaiah was also miserable from listening to Mackenzie complaining about being tired, hungry, and being in lots of pain...the whole way up (not to mention Mackenzie's never-ending fear of being eaten by a bear). Looking back on that day, Isaiah says that she was lucky he didn't push her off the side of the mountain. When they FINALLY reached the top, Isaiah decided it would be the perfect moment to pop the question. Mackenzie thought it was just Isaiah playing one of his jokes and that this wasn't actually THE moment she had been waiting for. But she was mistaken. Out came a little black box with a gorgeous ring inside. For the first time on that hike, Mackenzie was speechless. After coming to the realization that this was happening, she was overjoyed to say "yes!" and was momentarily able to forget all the aches and pains she was feeling. Not even a minute later, Mackenzie received a call (that was completely unplanned!) from her family. Mackenzie and Isaiah were lucky enough to share the unforgettable moment of their engagement with Mackenzie's family and many of their family friends. They both feel beyond blessed to be surrounded by so much love and to be able to tell the story of their special day.