They met playing volleyball at an open gym in Balboa. It was his first week back at that gym after a few years. It was only her second time playing at that gym ever. His first words to her were "I got you". It was during a game of king/queen of the court. She responded back with a smile, too shy to say anything back. During their last game of the night, he had spiked the ball over the net and almost hit her. He felt so bad, he kept apologizing to her after it happened. She smiled and repeatedly told him it was fine. He took his time walking out of the gym to wait for her without making it obvious. She remembers him walking out the gym well before she did. Next thing she knew, he was right beside her as she exited the gym. He started asking her questions about volleyball and when she started going to Balboa. She responded back with short answers since she was focused on her phone. She told him, "Yesterday was the first time I had been to this gym." When he kept repeating the question "You were here yesterday? Yesterday?" knowing that she meant to say the day before, this prompted her to stop, put the phone down, and think about the conversation. This was the moment he finally got her attention. Before they parted ways, he asked for her phone number to "tell her about other open volleyball gyms she can go to." He knew if he did not ask for her number, he would have regretted it forever. Since then, he never missed a day of talking to her. It was the first time in his life that he had ever initiated a conversation with a girl he liked. It was the first time in her life that she had given a guy the time of day to get to know her. This was the day that God answered their prayers and changed their lives forever.

She woke up on the wrong side of the bed that day. She felt very irritated and annoyed. It felt like things were not going the way she wanted it, and she made sure he knew about it. He had gone to football that morning. It was 12:00 PM when he finally came back. As soon as he got home, he pushed her to get ready. He told her to dress up for their lunch date at 2:00 PM and for his "sister's surprise birthday party." She is not the type to dress up and quite honestly did not have anything dressy to wear. This annoyed her more. He was eager to get to the restaurant on time. On the way there, he mentioned wanting to make sure they made it on time for their reservations. It was at that moment she became suspicious. She knows that the restaurant they went to does not take any reservations. He got the best table there, the one closest to the downtown San Diego view. As they started looking through the menu, she noticed that he was really nervous and was acting very strange. This made her nervous too. When she asked if he was ok, he brought her away from the table and stood her in front of a room full of strangers. He started positioning her to face the view. He held onto her shoulders and then started expressing his feelings for her. He took the ring out of his pocket, got on one knee, and then asked her to marry him. Her response was, "Of course!" After lunch, he drove her around his old neighborhood before going to his sister's house for what she thought was a "surprise birthday party." Instead, she was greeted with her own surprise. He had coordinated their families to come together, so that they can celebrate their engagement. It was the first time their families had met in the person, which was very important to them. All the things she was irritated and annoyed about that morning no longer mattered. She felt whole and at peace, happy. This was the happiest they had ever been.