We spent four years at the same college (University of Northern Colorado) before actually meeting each other. We were introduced by mutual friends and the relationship started out as a slow burn. Wendy was pretty convinced about how she felt but Mason took longer to warm up ;) After about a year of casually dating, we made it official in October of 2016. Timing was everything for us.

Our engagement was far from traditional, but it was the most special day of our lives. We were headed down to Colorado Springs for Wendy's grandpa's birthday and decided to take a hike with Wendy's mom (Debbie) at the Air Force Academy in the morning. We began our hike and headed east. After a couple of miles we came to the top of a bluff to take a breather and enjoy the view. Down below, we could see the cemetery on one side and the golf course on the other. Debbie suggested that we stop by the cemetery on the way back to check on the flowers at Wendy's dad's (Skip) grave. We arrived at the gravesite and Mason handed Wendy a handwritten letter to Skip, asking for permission to marry his daughter. After reading it, Wendy (tears flowing) turned to Mason, who got down one knee and asked her to marry him. Wendy said yes, of course.