Michaela was my boss. I first saw her walking through the parking lot of the Chandler REI. Our store needed a new Sales Manager and she had just come from an interview with the store manager. The thought was fleeting, but I remember thinking “she’s cute… I hope she gets the job”. A few weeks went by and she was back. This time she was in a green vest and was being introduced to the team as the new action sports sales manager. She was my boss. This time the thought wasn’t fleeting… “I’m going to date that girl”. Over the next several months I made numerous attempts to get together outside of work. Her response was always the same, “ah, I can’t this time”. She couldn’t. After all, she was my boss. A few years went by. I persisted. I told my friends, my family, honestly anyone who would listen, about this “girl at work”. I’d check the schedule to see what days she was working and I’d trade shifts with coworkers just to be on the clock at the same time. On a climbing trip in Moab with my good friend, Billy (another sales manager at REI Chandler), I recall saying “brother, I’m going to have to quit my job for this girl, aren’t I?” He said, “probably, yeah”. We kept climbing. A few months later an opportunity arose for me to take a position at a new company close by. I jumped on it. On my last day, before I’d even left the parking lot to go home, I texted Michaela “so does this mean I can finally ask you out for a hike and some beers?”. This time she said “yes!!”. She was no longer my boss. We got together the next weekend to go climbing and have a beer. I had just sat down with our second round of beers when she asked “do you know where your brother is right now?”. I got real weird because that’s a really weird question. She turned her phone around and showed me a picture of her childhood best friend, my brother & his wife, all having dinner together in Chicago. I didn’t even know what I was looking at. Turns out they were part of the same comedy club, Second City, in Chicago and they had all gone out for food after a show. It was kismet. After laughing off that wild experience, I dropped Michaela off at her apartment. On the drive home I said out loud to myself… “I’m going to marry that girl”. 7 years, 2 dogs, & 5 moves later… we’re getting married ❤️

It all started at REI. Working side by side, it didn't take long to discover just how much chemistry I had with my rockstar Sales Lead - whether we were unloading the morning truck at 6am, navigating difficult customers, or running the rental program together. Before anything was official, friends and family already knew "Benjamin" because he was the highlight of my day. I knew I had real feelings for him when during a heated management meeting, I started to cry talking about all of Benjamin's accomplishments (not superrrr professional). As everyone knows, I'm a rule follower, so it wasn't until Benjamin left for Pivot that things finally shifted. On his last day, driving home, Benjamin texted me and I immediately texted Bianca and said, "omg is he asking me out?" (duh). During the infamous first official date when we found out that Spencer, Danielle, and my best friend were getting dinner at the same time, I called Bianca after the date and said, "This is special. This is kismet." From that day forward, we've been best friends first and life partners always. Benjamin and I have had so many incredible adventures together - from my first slot canyon in Zion to finally finding my love for riding techy trails, to backpacking in the mountains of Colorado before our official move. He is truly my best friend. Benjamin proposed this past February in Sedona, out on one of our favorite trails, Slim Shady. We had stopped to look at a feature on the trail after I had just sent a sick roller (my own description). When I turned around, Benjamin was down on one knee. Completely overjoyed, I honestly doesn't remember much of the rest of the ride. What made it even more special was the ring. Benjamin had it custom made by a local artist and close friend in Flagstaff - and in a very "us" kind of way, we never knew that while he was secretly working with the artist on the ring, I was working with that same artist on a bolo tie for him. Once again, it felt like kismet. The stones in the ring and bolo tie will be from the same area in Arizona. Getting married in the state where our story first began just feels right. To return to the desert that brought us together: celebrating with family, savoring our favorite Mexican food, soaking in the beauty of the Southwest, and sharing a small, intimate ceremony - dogs included - feels just perfectly kismet.