Little did we know that SI 110 (An intro course at the University of Michigan for Talia's major) would have impacted our lives so much! Despite a large class, we were placed in the same sub-section. Due to some very important mutual friends, we ended up in the same study group where the sparks started flying. The electricity continued at several social meetups, and the rest was history!

How Sam was able to pull off this surprise engagement with all of our family members present in the midst of a global pandemic is remarkable. The Knobels had already arranged to meet up in Santa Cruz before Ilana and Josh permanently moved to Baltimore, but little did Talia know, this weekend would be even more significant. After LOTS of secret coordination between Sam and both of our families, he was able to arrange for his family to fly in from Pittsburgh with hasmat-level-protection just in time for the proposal. We had exactly 24 hours before Sam's family could potentially spread the virus if acquired on the plane, so seconds after landing, they sped over to a beautiful meeting spot near Jacob and Laura's home in Santa Cruz. After receiving the cue, the Knobels promptly went on a walk in the neighborhood. As soon as Talia saw Sam's family sitting quietly at a picnic table ahead, she knew something was up. She turned around and Sam was kneeling down on one knee. Talia of course exclaimed, "YES!" and we all rejoiced, cried, and hugged for the first time in months. It remains the best day of our lives to date! We couldn't be more excited to celebrate this next chapter in our lives with you. See you in Los Angeles!