Had someone told Kaley and Michael that their future spouse was walking the halls of their high school (GO MOHI!) they never would never have believed you! Little did they know that this was in God's plan all along. Michael was a year ahead of Kaley, and although they have some memories of doing track together Kaley's Freshman year, and Michael's Sophomore year, that is not how they 'remember' first meeting each other. . Michael and Kaley both went to The University of Colorado Boulder for their undergraduate degrees. What they remember as their first meaningful interaction was during a writing class that they had together. Looking back, the odds of them ending up in a writing class at CU Boulder were quite slim, considering how many attend CU and how small the writing class sizes are. Michael and Kaley ended up in a group project together and this was the first time they had a chance to talk to one another. When recounting their conversations, they remember that they had quite a few common interests. Both were in the Business school and they shared an interest in health and fitness. Kaley and Michael remember that they had a mutual attraction to each other (Michael's friends have told Kaley that he had thought she was super cute in high school too), but the timing wasn't right for their relationship to blossom and love didn't find them until years later.

Fast forward to 2017, Kaley was getting her Master’s degree in Colorado Springs. One day in June, Kaley randomly got on Facebook & a notification popped up telling her it was Michael's birthday (June 17th). For some reason, she decided to wish him an innocent "happy birthday" on Facebook, something she rarely does & thinking nothing of it. After seeing Kaley's comment, Michael decided to send a private message via Facebook messenger thanking her for the birthday wishes & asking her what she was up to nowadays. They started talking & again realized that they had so much in common. Despite living in Colorado Springs, Michael said if Kaley was ever in town that they should grab a drink some time. Kaley gave Michael her number & nearly a month after first talking they went on their 1st date. Kaley & Michael were so caught up in conversation that by the time they were ready to go mini golfing it was closing, but it was clear they both didn't want the date to end, so they found something else to do to spend more time together. That same weekend they both could not stop thinking about each other. Kaley knew she wanted to see Michael again before she headed back to the Springs, so she decided to work up the courage to ask Michael if he'd wanted to go on a hike with her. Michael agreed & was curious where she wanted to hike...& Kaley hadn't gotten that far yet! They decided on Mount Sanitas, & that was the date that solidified that they had something truly special between them. Since that weekend they have been inseparable. For the entire first year of their relationship they did long distance & would trade off driving to see each other every weekend. They had weekly Skype dates that would last for hours. Kaley & Michael knew very early on in their relationship that they wanted to be together forever. When Michael said 'I love you' for the first time he said, “I think this is the last time I will say 'I love you' for the first time", & Kaley had felt the very same way.

Michael & Kaley were supposed to travel to Europe in the summer of 2020, but because of COVID, obviously things changed. They ended up renting an RV & doing a road trip to 5 different National Parks! On the morning of the proposal, Michael woke up early saying that he could not sleep because it was so hot (which was partly true, but he also had other plans). They had one of their longest drives ahead of them, so he said he wanted to get an early start, but told Kaley she should keep sleeping. Eventually, Kaley woke up & came to sit in the front with him & noticed they were driving into one of the most beautiful places she had ever seen! She asked where they were & Michael told her "Telluride" (2 hours in the opposite direction of their next stop...but Kaley is directionally challenged). As Michael drove them into town, they noticed a beautiful waterfall. After driving through town they got to a dead end with some trails & Kaley voiced she thought they were going the wrong way. Michael went along with it & agreed with Kaley, but then noticed a trailhead & mentioned he thought it was the one to the waterfall that they saw coming into town. He shared that it was only 1.2 miles & said they should hike it since they got an early start & Kaley quickly agreed! Long story short, Kaley rolled out of bed without even brushing her hair or teeth, threw on some workout clothes & together they hiked to the bottom of Bridal Veil Falls. This is where Michael proposed. Kaley had absolutely NO idea it was coming, which made the moment that much sweeter. Michael set up their selfie stick tripod & they took some pictures like they normally would & when she thought they were getting ready to head back down, Michael got down on one knee & asked Kaley to be his forever. Kaley was shaking in total disbelief—overwhelmed with emotion. Between the two of them they can remember the sweet words Michael spoke as he asked her to marry him & she did not hesitate to say, "yes, yes, yes!"