Jud and Nicole were introduced on April 7th, 2012, by a mutual friend who invited them to attend a fundraiser being held at Atascadero Lake Park. Nicole was 29 and Jud was 31 years old. During the event, Nicole's oldest son, Landon, was attempting to surprise his mom by purchasing her a necklace from a silent auction booth where Jud was volunteering. Being barely 5 years old, Landon didn't fully understand the concept of an auction, and of course, didn't have enough money anyway. What really upset him, though, was that he couldn't just buy the necklace. In an attempt to cheer Landon up, and win Nicole's favor, Jud placed a bid on the necklace in Landon's name with Nicole's contact information. Nicole was later surprised by a phone call from the mutual friend, informing her that Landon had won a silent auction bid at the event. Nicole was confused, she hadn't placed the bid, and Landon was obviously too young. The friend informed her that Jud had placed the bid for Landon, in hopes of using it as way to get to know Nicole. Jud was present when Nicole arrived to pick up her prize, and the two exchanged contact information. Nicole and Jud shared hours of phone calls and texts over the next 2 months and had their first date shortly after Jud's birthday in mid-June 2012. Although it took 2 months for their first date to happen, the date lasted 2 days! Jud finally proposed to Nicole on February 15th, 2020 while doing what they love most, camping. He got down on one knee by the warmth of the campfire, and of course, she said YES!