We met in 2018 while attending college at Texas State University, thanks to our mutual best friend, Danielle! Zach was like a big brother to Danielle as she grew up with him being her older brother Brandon's best friend! She introduced us one sunny day at Rio Vista Park, and less than a month later we packed a suitcase and headed out on a road trip to the West Coast for the summer where we spent countless nights sleeping under the stars, visiting hidden beaches, and sneaking our dog Lokahi into just about restaurant, casino and store possible... Ever since that trip, we have been inseparable! 🖤

It all started with an unforgettable trip to the rainy state of Washington… The original proposal plan started a few days prior with a long hike, that didn’t end so well…The mountain “won” if you know what I mean… Fast forward a few days to a cold, snowy day at Mt. Rainier National Park. We spent the day snow shoeing on top of an active volcano. Soaking in the breath taking views from the sky, Mikayla didn’t notice Zach’s stomach in knots, nervous as can be. After reaching the peak of the mountain, we decided we wanted to hike back down and see the Nisqually River. As native Texans, we thought it would be helpful to wear our snow shoes down to the river banks to prevent us from slipping on the patches of ice between the rocks. We shortly found why we were getting such odd looks from the other hikers on our way down… After several falls (and letting everyone around know that we are clearly not pros) we decided to take off our snow shoes and stumble down to the rivers edge. Zach found perfect angle to set up the camera with the river in the background and got ready to start posing for some pictures. After running out of poses, Zach knew it was time... At this point his stomach had jumped up and ran away, and his hands were so sweaty he didn’t know if he would drop the ring. Mikayla started toward the camera to stop the video as Zach reached out and grabbed her hand and said, “wait there is one more pose!” As Mikayla turned around she saw Zach get down onto knee and he began to tell her he didn’t want to live a day without her by his side.. Mikayla looked at him and said “Zach, I swear if this is a joke…” Then he pulled out the ring box, and with tears bursting from her eyes as he said “Will you marry me?” And well, you know the rest because you’re sitting here reading this!