Ashley & Steve met at a small group thru Woodside Bible church. Pre-Covid shutdown, they both attended a group lunch at Crispellis one Sunday in February 2020. Steve noticed a beautiful woman, Ashley, sitting down and decided to sit next to her and strike up conversation. Little did Steve know, that Ashley had her eye on him too. In March, Steve asked Ashley to join him on a walk at Maybury State Park in Northville, to which she agreed because it was close to her parents place and she was already on her way there. They walked what seemed to be the entire park, talking for hours! A few days later, the state of Michigan shut-down at the start of the pandemic. Ashley & Steve continued to talk virtually during this time and take the opportunity to get to know each other better. Once the state reopened in May, Steve asked if Ashley (& Moose!) would join him for a walk at Lakeshore Park in Novi and later in the month, to go kayaking near Waterford. And so began the year of outdoor adventures together!

On May 29th, 2021 Steve and Ashley had planned to celebrate their one year dating anniversary. Original plans included going kayaking, since kayaking had been one of their first dates. But leave it to Michigan...it was a little too cold! So, the couple and Moose ventured out for an afternoon of hiking (which has also been a beloved hobby of Steve and Ashley's as they learned to date during a pandemic!). After the hike, they picked up a carry-out dinner from Kruse's Deer Lake Inn, which they shared together back at Steve's home. The couple exchanged gifts that they had purchased in honor of their dating anniversary. Ashley made Steve a scrapbook of all the places they had visited during the year, as well as gave him a new camping sleeping bag. Camping is a hobby Steve has introduced Ashley to! (So far, they have camped at Pictured Rocks, Higgins Lake, and Hocking Hills.) In a surprise matching fashion, Steve made Ashley a photo album, filled with pictures he had taken on his phone commemorating their year of dating. After exchanging gifts, Ashley suggested they clean-up dinner and play ball with Moose. Steve chimed in and said that there was one more gift for Ashley, since she had given two. Ashley responded, "There is! Where is it?" Steve paused for a minute and Ashley, looking puzzled, said "Are you ok?" After a deep breath, Steve had revealed a small box he had hidden from Ashley and got down on one knee, asking "Will you marry me?" After taking a few breaths to get over the initial surprise, Ashley screamed "Yes!" (There was actually lots of screaming on Ashley's part and lots of barking from Moose too!) Steve placed the ring on Ashley's finger and as the couple held each others hands and looked at the ring, Moose put his paw on top of their hands. The couple claims it was his way of saying "Go team!" and giving his blessing to become a happy family!