We're Going to Mexico!

Only 9 days after I arrived on the Whitman College campus for freshman year I met Matt. It was only right that it was in the basement of a fraternity playing beer pong together. To no one's surprise, we won a game or two and were probably the two most competitive people at the party. Our story isn't one of love at first sight, Matt & I were close friends for years before dating, spending hours playing volleyball on Ankeny, "studying" (distracting each other in the library), and parties with friends at SportsCenter. I did steal a couple of kisses from Matt along the way - of course! Our years of friendship before becoming "official" built the foundation for our relationship today, learning to support one another in hard times with a shoulder to cry on, laughing constantly with each other because life's too short not to, and celebrate the wins together - no matter how big or small. - Alyssa

Alyssa hates surprises. If you've been around Alyssa you know how important it is to have every detail ironed out, there's no going with the flow. But there are a few times where I've been able to pull out all the stunts to pull one over on her. This was one of those days. The first step was setting up the location. So I had one of Alyssa's friends set up a pretend wine night at Arbor Crest on the hill overlooking Spokane. That was pretty easy, so why stop there? So I decided to let some friends and family know about the plan to propose on a random Wednesday night. And so far, Alyssa had no idea. The day of the proposal arrives and somehow I was able to get Alyssa to get her nails done, dressed up, and on her way to Arbor Crest with no idea of what was to come on this girl's wine night. Alyssa wrote a story about us that she gave to me when we were doing long distance so I decided to write the second chapter. As Alyssa arrived, she was greeted by friends and family all holding the next page in our story. And then she found me, waiting for her on the edge of Arbor Crest. As I watched her walk towards me time seemed to slow down. I remembered the first time I saw her. The first time we met each other's family's. Her taking all the basketball players money betting she could make a 40 yard field goal. The special moments that made me fall in love. The trials we had overcome together and our triumphs along the way. The family we would become. The life ahead of us together. Growing old and still cuddling up on the couch to watch a movie. All these emotions made it hard to speak. It was smokey... so that was the tickle in my throat. But lucky for me, she said yes! - Matt