It all started, appropriately enough, on Hinge, because apparently, you really can find just about anything on the internet these days.

Sammie liked Michael’s profile first, so… points for Michael.

After a few messages, we went on our first date and started getting to know each other. A few dates later came date number four, the one that really changed everything.

We met at Spice Trade Brewery for dinner, but what Michael didn't know was that Sammie had almost decided not to go at all. Her plan was to make it a quick date and get home early. Thankfully, Sammie’s best friend Sarah convinced her to go, so we owe her a pretty big thank you. 🙂

That “quick” fourth date turned into an awesome six-hour adventure. After dinner, we grabbed some wine and headed to Cherry Creek Reservoir, where we sat on the beach, watched the sunset, and talked for hours. Somewhere along the way, we realized neither of us was particularly interested in calling it a night.

There was just one small problem: Sammie had told her sister, who she was living with at the time, that she would be home in an hour or so. Instead, Sammie had left her phone in the car while we were at the reservoir. With the lack of service in the area, her location started showing that she was somewhere in the middle of the lake. By the time we checked our phones, there were 14 missed texts from her sister.

Oops.

From there, the rest started to feel pretty natural. We took trips together to Memphis, London, Hawaii, Disneyland and more, made countless memories, and discovered that we make pretty great travel partners. Eventually, we took the next big step and moved in together, turning our relationship into a shared home and a shared life.

And then our story became about more than just the two of us.

Becoming a blended family with Wilder has been one of the most meaningful parts of our journey. Sammie has been incredible with him, and watching their relationship grow has been incredibly special. She loves him, supports him, laughs with him, and has become such an important part of his world.

Wilder has his own title for her, too:

“Future Sammie Bonus Mom.” ❤️

And honestly, we couldn't have come up with a better one ourselves.

Then came the proposal...

If there's one thing you should know about Michael, it's that he likes to have a plan... and almost nothing went smoothly that day.

The original plan was to meet both families at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. It was the perfect cover since it was right after Christmas and we were already planning to take Wilder to the zoo. Michael had secretly packed a suitcase for Sammie and coordinated the entire weekend with both sets of parents. The idea was to use the zoo as the perfect excuse to get everyone together, then naturally get Sammie down to The Broadmoor, where everyone would be waiting, without her suspecting a thing.

First, Michael nearly ran out of gas.

Then, as we pull into Colorado Springs, we found out the zoo was completely sold out for the day.

So, naturally, we improvised.

We booked a tour at Cave of the Winds and, with some time to kill before the tour, headed to The Broadmoor for lunch around noon. What Sammie didn't know was that Michael had secretly planned for them to stay at The Broadmoor for the weekend. He just hadn't planned on the entire timeline shifting forward.

When we arrived, we found out the Broadmoor grounds were closed to the public for the Christmas holiday, and the front gates wouldn't let us in without hotel reservations.

At this point, Michael had a choice: explain what was happening and potentially ruin the surprise, or improvise again.

He chose option two.

Michael drove through a closing side gate, pulled into the valet lot, parked, and confidently announced that he was going to “sweet talk” his way in. Then he walked away.

Somehow, it worked. The staff let us in and told us we could “walk around the lake.” It seemed a little odd to Sammie, but she still had no idea what was coming.

Once we got to the lake, Michael suggested stopping for a picture. By this point, Sammie was getting a little stressed because we had tickets to Cave of the Winds coming up. We were short on time, nothing had gone according to plan, and now Michael wanted to stop for a picture.

She was… slightly annoyed. 😂

What she didn't know was that the exact spot at the lake was the plan all along.

Right there in front of the lake at The Broadmoor, surrounded by both of our families, Michael proposed.

After the gas scare, the sold-out zoo, the closed grounds, the questionable decision to drive through a closing gate, and a little “sweet talking,” somehow, we had ended up exactly where we were supposed to be.

And Sammie said yes!

Looking back, maybe that's the best way to describe our story. It hasn't always gone according to plan. There have been detours, surprises, plenty of laughs, and a whole lot of memories along the way. But somehow, every unexpected turn in life has brought us exactly where we're supposed to be.

From a Hinge like, to a fourth date that almost never happened, to six hours by a lake, countless adventures, a shared home, a blended family, a Bonus Mom, and one very chaotic proposal, we're pretty sure this is our favorite adventure yet.

And now we're ready for forever. ❤️