We’re doing the darn thing!

Would you believe us if we told you that we met at our 10 year high school reunion? Despite us both being a part of the graduating class of 2007 from Cherry Creek High School and having very similar circles of friends we didn't actually meet until one night 10 years later. Neither one of us initially had any intention of attending our 10 year high school reunion. Thanks to some peer pressure from friends we individually and reluctantly agreed to go and it turned out to be the best decision either of us made! During the reunion I spotted Mike from across the bar and instantly decided I needed to learn more about him and his story. Who was he? Was he a graduate of the class of 2007? Was he a plus one? Was he single? This is also where unknowingly having all those mutual friends at the reunion came in handy! I quickly learned his name and that he was a graduate of the class of 2007, but the most important question... was he there alone? So I put my friends Sam & Murphy to work to find out the details of his life. Now if you're thinking to yourself "sending friends over to talk to a guy sounds like a high school type move" then you would be correct. The liquid courage hadn't quite kicked in for me to go and talk to him myself so it's a good thing I have great friends who will help with intel. After discovering he was in fact single it was time to make my move so I approached Mike to strike up a conversation. We spent the rest of the night chatting where the conversation flowed as freely as the adult beverages, getting to know each other and as they say, from that night on the rest is history.

It was like any other 4th of July weekend with the Koelbels up in Vail. A couple days of golf, good food, good drink, and great people. Waking up on the 3rd couldn't have been easier, we were going golfing at Eagle Ranch, having a great time with everyone and I knew I didn’t have to make my move for another day. That night, on the other hand, was possibly one of the worst nights of sleep I've ever had. Whether it was knowing what tomorrow held, or the fact that I put the ring in my golf bag, in my car, and kept thinking “if my car gets broken into the first thing they take is my golf bag...” I could not fall asleep. In the morning I went up to get coffee and met Deb in the kitchen. She asked how I slept, and after telling her I didn't know why it was so bad, she laughed and said “Oh, well I sure do.” Fast forward to golf at Vail Muni later that day.. Thank god I am not good at golf, or Kari surely would have noticed just how bad I was playing on holes 1-6. Well, while Bob and I were wrapping up hole 6, Kari and Deb went ahead to hole 7. Before jumping in the cart, I quickly swapped the ring from my bag into my back pocket and we made our way over. As we pulled up Kari was about to tee off, so I moseyed my way up behind her. When she finished, she walks past me so I can tee off and I lovingly say “Hey, Kar, you know you drive me crazy right?” “Yes...” she replies as she turns around to me on one knee asking her to marry me. The shaking and crying was a dead give away that I had completely surprised her. For those that are unsure at this point, she said yes! Unfortunately, relieving the stress of proposing did not help my golf game at all. To end a perfect day on the course (because of the proposal, not my golf game, of course) we got back to the condo only to discover a pop up engagement party! Ok, most people thought it was a 4th of July party, but a few of us knew what it really was for :)