In Fall of 2013, Michael transferred to Sacramento State for school and to the Folsom Red Robin location for work. When Michael first transferred, his and Kristin's schedules did not overlap, so they didn't know each other right away. One day, Michael decided to go into work early to eat before his shift. That was when he happened to cross paths with Kristin. When Michael went home, he told his roommates about a girl he saw at work that day and he couldn't stop talking about her. Eventually, they were scheduled on a few of the same night shifts. Michael decided this was the perfect time to introduce himself, but before he had a chance, Kristin approached him and said "Hi" for the first time. Most of the servers were good friends and hung out outside of work often. This gave Michael and Kristin a chance to get to know each other better. After a year of building their friendship, Michael decided to invite her over for a home cooked dinner. Kristin accepted the invite and from then on, they were inseparable.

I proposed to Kristin on the weekend of my 27th birthday, knowing she would least expect it. I created the plan to propose at Wilder Ranch State Park. I felt this would the perfect spot to propose because it was where we went for our first Valentine's Day trip. Not only was this the perfect spot, but the travel route we would take would include destinations that held special moments and memories from my life and our relationship. Prior to my birthday, Kristin asked what I wanted to do, so I told her, "I want to drive down Highway 1 from The City to Santa Cruz." With a confused look on her face, she said okay and we started to plan our stays. As the weekend approached, I wasn't very nervous because I felt my plan was working. We started the trip out in San Francisco (our favorite destination for day trips) and we played tourists, visiting all of our favorite spots. The next morning was the big day, when we would leave The City and end up in Santa Cruz and this is when my nerves really started to pick up. We had a great morning, grabbing some breakfast and eating it at Ocean Beach before we headed on the road. The whole drive down Highway 1 was perfect with no traffic and the sun shining the whole time...

Once we arrived to Wilder Ranch State Park, this great plan I had created met its brick wall. The ranger noticed we had Penny with us and sadly informed us that they do not allow dogs, so they recommended a dog friendly beach down the road. Feeling defeated, I couldn't believe my plan didn't work out the way I wanted and as we turned around to go to the next beach, Kristin could tell there was something wrong with me. Even though she kept asking, I reassured her there was nothing wrong at all. As we arrived at the next stop, we got out and noticed the whole beach was filled with many people and there weren't many private spots we could go to. After walking towards the end of the beach, we found a spot that was a little more secluded than others. After we got all set up, I told Kristin I was going to record a "time lapse" to get pictures for us. When I met her at the water, she held me and asked again if there was anything wrong. Little did she know, my heart was racing and I had her ring in my pocket, which I didn't want her seeing. After asking me a billion times more if there was something wrong, I told her, "Do you want to know what's wrong with me?!" I then knelt down on one knee, grabbed her hand, and started to recite the speech I had planned before. With no hesitation, she said YES! and knelt down with me to embrace each other. Before the weekend ended, I had one more surprise planned at my parent's house, where both of our families were waiting to celebrate our engagement. Even though my plan unexpectedly changed last minute, it all ended up working out perfectly and she was just as surprised as I hoped she would be. I can't deny, I did good!