Country Jam Music Festival, June 2015 Grand Junction Colorado Group of boys meets group of girls. Group of boys takes group of girls cliff jumping in the middle of nowhere (contrary to the plotline of most murder mystery shows, we were fine and had a blast!). Groups of boys and girls become fast friends. Boy asks girl to date. Girl literally says: "Mmm, no." (oops!) Boy shakes it off and they stay friends. Girl eventually caves. Boy and girl find love and date for five years. Romantic, right?

When the first round of COVID-19 business closures and restrictions hit, we started running together. It served two purposes: 1) stay active/get outside when we were both working from home, and 2) avoid killing each other since it was the first time Logan had not consistently traveled for work through his entire career. After discovering an unexpected appreciation for running, we signed up to run a half marathon in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. My (Kacie’s) parents also registered to complete the 5k the night before the half marathon, marking their first race run together. Race weekend came – socially distanced and masked and all – and Dave, Heidi, Logan and I all completed the 5k together (Mom and Dad were awesome!) on Friday night. Saturday morning’s 6:45am start of the half marathon brought beautiful foggy views, chilly humidity, and LOTS of air to breathe compared to the training altitudes of Colorado and Wyoming. The course was tough. Lots of banked and curved roads; each step more painful on the ankles trying to land almost sideways. Sweaty and beat, we crossed the finish line together. After we collected our medals and bananas (potassium, people!), Logan gave me a sincere and tight hug – lasting a little longer than most… Logan got down on one knee, and I immediately broke into tears. He grabbed an unbelievably beautiful ring out of his running fanny pack (haha!), and asked me to marry him. I nodded amidst my sobs, and as I helped him up to hug him, he said “Look who’s here” as he pointed to the gate. Out popped Morgan and Trinity, Peggy, Butch, and Eric. They had all schemed this surprise trip for the occasion, and I was absolutely blown away. We spent the rest of the weekend celebrating, eating, drinking, dancing, and reminiscing about that unforgettable moment. It was amazing!