Although we were both from Washington state we both ended up in Portland, ME to pursue our goal of becoming a physical therapist. Michelle was the tutor for the first year class when she was in her final year of the program and had the class list and saw Nelson was from Yakima, WA. She was excited to meet another fellow Washingtonian. There was a "mixer" on one of the Fridays around Michelle's birthday in November and Michelle had been enjoying her birthday beforehand when Nelson and his friends walked into three dollar dewys in the Old Port of Portland. Nelson went in for a handshake and Michelle pulled him in for a hug and ordered him a tequila shot. We spent the night talking about our love for the PNW and hiking and the rest was history.

Throughout the year of 2022 Nelson kept it top secret his plan for the proposal. Telling very few he slyly planned to do it on the top of Mount Saint Helens over Labor Day weekend. Michelle joked on the way up, "we should just get married today at the top, that'd be epic." Little did she know Nelson had the ring in his pocket the whole time. He suggested we take a picture together and make a funny face to distract and got down on one knee and surprised Michelle with a proposal.