Alyssa met all of Josiah’s family before she ever met him. In college at NC-State she was a close friend of one of Josiah’s younger sisters, Piper. When the pandemic hit, she lost her housing in college, so she ended up moving in with Josiah’s parents, sisters, nieces, nephews and dogs. Soon she was going to all the Finley Family Dinners every Sunday and had met everyone in the family, everyone except for the wandering outdoorsy older brother who was climbing mountains, and adventuring out West for the last few years. Meanwhile Josiah, as mentioned before, was wandering and climbing mountains, and adventuring, but mainly working for a camp in the Redwoods of California. In the Spring of 2022, Piper got married so Alyssa flew home from Spain, and Josiah from California for the wedding. When Josiah got off the plane, the very first thing his sisters told him was that Piper had a beautiful bridesmaid who was the perfect match for him. He laughed, and rolled his eyes, sure that it was just sisters being sisters—until he saw her at the wedding the next day. Over the course of the wedding festivities they talked, and danced for hours. When the reception came to an end, Josiah offered to drive her home (“getting lost” several times to prolong the trip). At the end of the night they said farewell, but only for a few months because over the course over the evening Josiah had convinced her to fly across the country, and come work in California with him. All through the summer they stayed in touch, and when she finally flew out, it didn’t take long for them to pick-up where they left-off and the rest is history.

By spring of 2023 Josiah was ready to take the next step in the relationship, but they were about to move from California to Alaska for the summer, and he still needed to talk to her family. In April he finally had the conversation with her Dad… who promptly told everybody at the gathering that he was about to get a new son-in-law. Alyssa of course heard as well and started to get excited for the soon-to-be engagement. A few days later they started their road trip from North Carolina to Alaska, a journey that traveled through some of the most stunning places on the planet: from the Grand Tetons, Banff and Jasper National Parks, the Canadian Rockies, and of course Kansas. Alyssa kept waiting for Josiah to get on one knee, but the ring hadn’t even been made yet. By the time they got to Jackson Hole, Alyssa was so ready to be engaged to the man of her dreams, she actually tried to propose to him in a bar while watching a Celtics game. Thankfully Josiah was able to sniff out the attempt before it happened and convinced her to give him till June. He hadn’t told her that he had already bought the ring, and so to throw her off the scent Josiah would periodically send her the most hideous engagement rings known to man. Alyssa was worried… hence the impromptu proposal at a bar. Finally they arrived to Alaska, still boyfriend and girlfriend to Alyssa’s great chagrin. The ring however had been completed and was waiting in Josiah’s mailbox, he just needed to find a way to surprise her. A couple weeks later she had the day off so he prepared a fun little evening: wine, cheese, candles, the usual, and surprised her with a little date at a beach on Kenai Lake. Toward the end of the evening, he asked if they should make another little travel video to send to their close friends Walter and Amy. Josiah set up the video, and Alyssa, somehow not suspecting anything, turned around to skip a rock in the glassy lake, and when she turned around Josiah had finally bent the knee. Needless to say, she said “yes.”