Michael moved to Seattle, Washington June of 2017 and started working at a dessert restaurant in the Ballard neighborhood while he found a job in architecture. Meanwhile, Kelly has lived in Washington her whole life and found her way to Seattle in college. As luck would have it, Kelly worked in Ballard at a restaurant just down the street. A friend of Kelly's coincidentally worked with Michael and connected these two together. Immediately, they both realized that each other had similar outlooks on life and desire for adventure. Soon, the mid-day hiking trips turned into ski trips which lasted the entire day and eventually there was a first kiss. After that, hanging out day after day became common and the adventures continued. To this day, the adventures still continue, and we constantly plan and push for new adventures.

In the first year of togetherness, Kelly went to Whistler for New Years without Michael and the longingness to be with each other at that time solidified their relationship for the future. As the adventures continued year after year, another New Years Whistler trip was being planned to celebrate the start of 2023. Instantly, Michael knew this was the perfect time to pop the question. There was a group of Kelly and Michaels closest friends that joined the Whistler New Years celebration and as a group, plotted on the best location for Michael to ask. If you are ever on Whistler Mountain, riding up Harmony chair, off to your right, you will see a grove of trees on the run Back Bowl, just below Pikas Traverse. As Michael and the group arrived at this powdery sanctuary, Kelly brought up the tail of the group. Immediately, Kelly thought this was a great place to hang out for a few minutes and take in the scenery. Even when Michael removed his snowboard, walked over to Kelly, and removed the goggles from her eyes, she expected nothing out of the ordinary. Kelly continued to open up her backpack and pass around some snacks and drinks for her friends. At that moment, Michael reached into his pocket, got down on one knee, completely sunk into the soft powder, and with eyes starting to tear up asked the most important question that's been on his mind for months. "Kelly Patrick, I love you so much, will you marry me?" With a shocked fascial expression, Kelly said "YEEEASSSSS!" As our friends all cheered, we popped open a bottle of champagne to celebrate.