After months of Mike calling and convincing Brooke to take on a coaching job during her first year of teaching, she finally agreed. The first coaches meeting was at a bar - she was already hooked! Brooke arrived early with Mike not long behind her. As he walked into the bar, he found Brooke reading a book and sipping on an IPA - his kind of woman! Conversation was easy and enjoyable right off the bat as they waited for the other coaches to arrive. Fast forward a couple hours - and a few rounds of tequila - and the entire staff were having too much fun and decided to go back to Mike's Rockville apartment to continue the "coaches meeting." When he arrived with enough Taco Bell to feed a small army and poured her a whiskey and Coke to go with it, it was love at first bite and yadda yadda yadda now they had to keep a secret for the entire season...and the rest is history!

September 18th, 2021 was a typical Saturday. Mike and Brooke woke up, drank some coffee, and headed out for a woods walk with their pup, Nietzsche. As the walk was coming to an end, they stopped off at the "Nietzsche Beach," a small sandy area where the lad just loves to swim and splash around. After Mike finished playing rocks with him (a fun game where we throw rocks in the water and Nietzsche chases them), he asked Brooke to come over to where he was standing. Little did Brooke know, this was all part of the plan! Mike's brother, Matt, and sister-in-law, Alison had been hiding in the woods across the stream with enough equipment to shoot a low budget film. Matt (being the amazing film-maker that he is) had even built a marker of rocks for Mike to know where to stand so they could get the best shots. It took some coaxing - "it's too hot" and "I'm getting bitten by mosquitoes, can we just go home?" - but Mike was able to convince her to make her way over. He hugged her tight and told her how much he loved her. So much, he said, that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. "Would you like that?" "Of course, Michael." And, with that, he dropped down to one knee, pulled out the most perfect ring, and asked Brooke to marry him - she said yes!! A quick photo op at the Beach and then off to the final part of the plan - a surprise engagement party at the house! Enough decorations and champagne for a New Year's Eve party made it fun and festive, closest friends and family present made it special and unforgettable.