One day Maddie walked down to her neighbors house, in her sweaty soccer uniform and cheetah slippers, to pick up her sister. When she walked into Dan and Deanna's house, the first thing she saw was the cutest boy she had ever seen sprawled out on the couch. She stumbled through getting Cailyn to go home and on the walk back proceeded to berate the then 9 year old cailyn about not introducing her to Makenna’s cute cousin. After seeing Maddie for the first time Alex thought to himself “she’s hot” and that’s a direct quote. In the following months, Maddie made every excuse to go back to Dan and Deanna's and Alex's visits became mysteriously more frequent. Sometimes Maddie would lay out on the sidewalk outside her house just to “accidentally” bump into Alex. Dan the wingman even took Maddie to one of Alex's hockey games, but still nothing. Then one day Maddie found Alex’s Snapchat username under Dan’s top three favorites (shoutout to anyone who remembers the top three favorites and snap streaks). Maddie sent it and added him. And so their love story began on Snapchat. For their first date Alex took Maddie ice skating and to see Christmas lights where Maddie proceeded to step in dog poop in the middle of the mall!! After their first date, it was on. They spent almost everyday together. In the early days Alex and Maddie spent most of their time having movie marathons, binging TV shows, and playing ping pong in the Marbach’s backyard. Alex introduced Maddie to Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and Duck Dynasty. Maddie repaid him by kicking his butt in every single game of ping pong. Alex was always a steadfast support to Maddie with his quiet encouragement, especially when she left to pursue her nursing career at San Diego State. In return Maddie drove home almost every weekend to be with Alex while he played hockey and earned his biology degree at CSUN. To know Alex is to know he is a man of many passions such as fishing, hockey, DJing, skiing, mountain biking and surfing. Maddie was along for the ride and loves Alex for his multitude of hobbies as he made her life one great adventure. Through the years they nurtured each others dreams and helped each other grow into the people they are today. Now, as a nurse and a paramedic, they share a home and a beautiful life built on that initial, unexpected moment.