We met at Chico State in our favorite lab ever (not!) - Biological Processes in Environmental Engineering. On the first day of lab, the professor selected Marisa to be one of the group leaders, and Marisa selected the cute guy in class (aka Chad) to be one of the members in her group. Maybe it was those attractive white lab coats and sexy protective goggles, but by the end of the semester, we were good friends with a little crush on each other.

The semester was over, but that little crush had just started. Chad drove down from Paradise to visit Marisa in Sacramento. Since he hadn't been to Sacramento other than to see the Capitol as a child, we did what any tourists do in Sacramento: wandered the halls of the Crocker Art Museum, strolled along the cobblestone streets of Old Sacramento, and finally relaxed on the grassy hill overlooking a River Cats game. While sitting on the grass, Chad noticed a quarter laying on the ground and picked it up. (To this day, he still carries that quarter with him in his wallet everywhere he goes - ask him!) We still weren't done talking by the end of the game, so we ended the night watching fireworks and stargazing through the sunroof of Chad's car well into the night.

After that first date we were in a state of limbo - what were we, friends? Did he want to be more? Did she? There was clearly a spark that first date... wasn't there? Chad wanted to express how he felt and win Marisa over once and for all! What better way to show one's affection than a seven-page handwritten letter describing the "the story of us" and ending with "Marisa, will you be my Girlfriend?" Needless to say, Chad's letter worked - Marisa's heart was won over and the rest is history.

After three wonderful, crazy years together, we had the amazing opportunity to travel Europe together for three weeks. During our time in Venice, Italy, we went on a special date night to celebrate our three-year anniversary. We strolled around the narrow passageways, crossed beautiful arched bridges, and climbed aboard a gondola for a romantic ride around the city at sunset. Towards the end of the hour ride, Chad leaned over to Marisa and whispered "Is it too cheesy to ride a gondola in Venice?", to which she replied "Not at all!" He then asked "Is it too cheesy to propose on a gondola in Venice?" as he got down on one knee. Cheesy words were definitely said, followed by the only word Marisa could muster up: "Yes!!"