They both worked at Arch Environmental Group, but out of different branches. He was out of town working in Farmington Hills for a month or so to help out. Friendly banter throughout January led to a friendly wager over the Superbowl. Fierce competition opened the door for pregame shit talk and mocking. She ultimately won the wager and all bragging rights. He had to fill the candy bowl. A friendship was made.

He ended up stranded in Farmington Hills without a vehicle while RJ had an important wrestling event on the other side of state. He was devastated at not being able to attend and was desperately trying to find a rental vehicle to take him to Gobles. She was touched with his dedication to RJ and offered to take him across state to ensure he could attend. She had nothing else going on and thought “why not” even though she didn’t know a thing about wrestling. They made the trek across state, cheered RJ on, and watched the team win the Regional Championship! Did I mention they still had to drive back to Farmington Hills that night? It was a Wednesday night and they had work in the morning! Many hours were spent in the car while traveling, stories and laughter were shared, and a relationship took root. But wait? I thought their official anniversary is in March? It is, but only because she demanded they test it out on a trial basis. They DID work together, not to mention live on opposite sides of the state, so there were hurdles to tackle first. Anyone who knows Ali will know that she doesn’t do anything without research first. They kept everything off of Facebook and away from work for several months to make sure. Ask Geri about the day they finally gave up on official secrecy, ha! Starting that February they dedicated every weekend to traveling back-and-forth across the state and trading weekends for fairness. Over the next six years they only missed one weekend.

While the 6 year long-distance relationship had proved successful, it had reached a limit for further growth. The travel was stressful and made it hard to have a life outside of work together. A realtor approached her with an offer to buy her house and the decision was made. She sold her house and moved across state to live together in Howard City.

Once he finally bought a ring, he couldn't hold the secret for very long. He told all of his friends and eventually told her too. Once she knew about the purchase, he kept pranking her and pretending to show her the ring. Their 8 year anniversary was coming up in March and she had a sneaking suspicion when he suggested going out for an anniversary dinner. They went to downtown Rockford and ate dinner at Uccello's Ristorante. He was very insistent that they walk down to the river walk to see the river. Rockford has a beautiful downtown and adorable river walk that is lit up with decorative lights at night so it was very cute. After doing the loop around the dam, they stopped at an overlook and he very specifically wanted her to watch the fisherman in the water. When she turned around, he was on one knee and had the ring box open. He asked, "Is this a bad time to ask you to marry me?" She said, "No and yes. I mean, no, it is not a bad time to ask. And yes, I will marry you!"