Neither of us is originally from Virginia, which is part of the reason why we love our story so much. Mike was leaving the Marine Corps after 8 years of service and there were no jobs available in Southern California. He packed up his stuff in July 2012 and (begrudgingly) left the sunshine in his rear view mirror and headed for Virginia where he had secured a job. I had just graduated from college in Boston and had been accepted into an accelerated nursing program in Virginia. With the help of my family I packed all of my things (including my sister) and headed for Virginia in August of 2012. Both of us settled into our lives completely unaware of each other, even when, as it turns out we only lived one mile apart. Being busy young professional who wanted a social life we both utilized internet dating. Fate then stepped in and we both swiped right. I will admit I was a little skeptical of the whole internet dating scene and really just had the goal of getting some free dinners. After about a month of pleasant conversation, I agreed to meet Mike for dinner. Any of you who know me can attest to the fact that I'm pretty much always early. Thinking this was just going to be a casual dinner I was moving slower than usual and was actually late for our date. Mike was nervous and this certainly didn't help. There was a two hour wait at the restaurant (fate intervening again? )so we sat and talked over drinks and had a great time until our table was ready at 10pm. At the end of the evening Mike offered to walk me to my car and I politely said "no, thank you," at which point I went to leave. Having to walk past Mike he thought I was going in for the hug but instead I said simply said, "oh, my car is that way." Mike was pretty sure that was the last date we would have (and who could blame him?).

Fast forward almost exactly three years- we've lived through the great flood of trash lake, living in my mom's basement for 6 months after the flood and then spontaneously buying a house together. It has been an amazing three years full of fun, laughter and of course love. On the morning of Second Christmas 2019 we were gathered around exchanging great gifts and enjoying having the house full of family. The gift giving was almost over and I was so happy with my new Apple Watch and the fact that most of my family was with us in Virginia. Nothing seemed strange and we were about to get up and start cooking Christmas dinner. All of a sudden Mike blocked the way, got down on one knee, (in his pjs) and pulled out the most beautiful ring I had ever seen. It was clear that everyone else knew but me because all the cameras were up and ready. Mike looked at me and said "will you marry me?" To which I appropriately replied, "stop, don't do it." (seriously, there's a video). Of course what I meant was "YES"! We are so excited to continue our life together...we hope to see you at the wedding!