we're getting married!

We met in one of our undergraduate courses, where we actually got paired up to practice counseling skills on each other. From there, we had a few more classes together, but didn't talk all that much. We both applied to EWU's Master's program for School Counseling, which sparked conversation and we ended up talking about how we both really did want to stay in Cheney after all- we both were accepted! In summer of 2015 before the program started, we went to the Puyallup fair which now looking back, was officially our "first date." We kept in contact all summer and somehow became next door neighbors in Cheney, which was not planned. It's almost like it was meant to be... Our graduate program started and because we were neighbors, our friends became friends and we all spent a lot of time together. We decided to make it "official" on October 1st of that year, and stayed together throughout graduate school. We moved in together with two of our closest friends during our second year of the program and started really talking about what our future together was going to look like after graduation. We graduated with our Master's degrees and moved to the Ridgefield, WA area where we are both found school counseling positions. On our last day in Cheney, we decided to adopt two kittens (Scooby and Shaggy) who have been with us ever since! We moved on to buy a house in the spring of 2019 and also brought home our sweet golden retriever puppy, Kaia! It all started at EWU in Martin Hall- go Eags! We are so grateful for the life we live together and cannot wait for April 4th, 2021.

Over the last 4 years, Maui has become a special place for the both us. In the summer of 2019, Daniel's parents came along- which made for a perfect week to have everyone together to celebrate an engagement. Once they landed in Maui, Daniel made it very clear that we just HAD to go to brunch on the following Friday... followed by checking out a lava reserve area down the road. On August 2nd, that's just what we did. We went out for breakfast, had mimosas, and left for Ahihi-Kinau Lava Flow Reserve. We walked down the path and found a more private rocky area where they sat and watched the waves- shortly after, it started pouring down rain (does rain on a proposal also count as lucky?) but Daniel pulled out the ring, got down on his knee, and here we are! We had a wonderful week with our families celebrating!