6 months prior to the proposal we drove out to Gillette, Wyoming. Karl would be attending Western Welding Academy to learn pipe welding. I flew back home alone and the long distance began. We are both very grateful for this time because we grew so much in our relationship and as individuals. After the long 6 months apart, I flew back out and we drove back to the cities together. On our way home we planned a quick vacation in the mountains. Karl had planned a surprise activity for us one day and told me I would have to wake up early and look cute. Driving out to our activity he decided to pull into a lookout spot because it was so pretty…. And he wanted to get a photo. There just so happened to be a photographer at the lookout taking pictures of wildlife. He asked the photographer to take our photo with his phone, she did and then he got down on one knee and she started taking professional photos. Not only did I get a ring but a surprise engagement photoshoot in the mountains too! A lot of these photos are from that photoshoot.

Coming soon….

I moved back home for the summer in between my junior and senior year of college. This is right in the middle of Covid, I believe. My cousin Joe and I got a job working for a gypsum construction company that our other cousin Rudy had been working for. Long story short, Joe and I became best friends again or at least I like to think we did. The fourth of July rolled around and I asked him what he would be up to and he said he would probably be going on his friends boat... he probably said something about fishing but I didn't hear it. I stopped listening after I heard the word boat. Of course, I sneaked my way into an invitation. The three of us spent all evening together out on white bear lake wake boarding and as Joe would say “shooting the shit.” We went back to Karl’s parents house to finish the night off with a movie and ended up all falling asleep in our own respective chairs or couches. Woke up the next morning, hit a nice bro sesh in the backyard and then that was that. Karl ended up asking for my number because at the time I also worked at a cyclebar in town and he was interested in taking a class. However, our first date was not at a cyclebar class but back out on white bear lake. Just the two of us this time. Give our first date story a read, it’s a good one. PS: He didn’t end up taking a Cyclebar class until we were dating for two months. Smooth moves.