January 2020. What a fantastic time to move your life across the country, right? Surely the world stays intact for the foreseeable future. Well this is when Michael decided to take a leap of faith and pursue his career in the Pacific Northwest, a place he knew absolutely nothing about and the people he grew up with thought that Seattle made up all of Washington. Regardless, Michael made the move.


By that point, Allison had spent several years in Seattle placed right in the heart of Capital Hill. Did y'all know Washington has a desert? Well it does and she's from Yakima, WA (yes the place from iCarly). With years of schooling finally over and working as a professional by day, she was experiencing the best Seattle has to offer. 


While moving into his new place, Michael got a NOVEL of a text from the leasing agent who helped him find his apartment. We will spare you the details but it basically asked if he wanted to go out and explore the city with some friends. Being that he was in a new city and wanted to experience it, he figured the worst that could happen is she is weird and he leaves.


Turns out Allison was what she likes to call 'arms length friends' with the chick. She had asked Allison if she could go out with her with the new guys she had met. With Allison dreading what this random dude is going to look like, she is pleasantly surprised to see a bombshell of a man walk into the bar (Allison totalllllllyyyyyy wrote this). Allison and Michael instantly hit it off nerding out about space, music, traveling, and everything inbetween. Allison had even declared that Michael had passed her vibe check which you can imagine is a very big deal. They spent the entire evening together exploring downtown Seattle eventually ending up at a dualing piano bar. With $40 in his pocket and a woman to woo, Michael did what any man in his situation would do to seal the deal with Allison... request the pianists to play WonderWall. After that moment, Allison and Michael were inseparable.


Only a couple weeks after meeting, Allison adopted probably the dumbest but kindest Golden Retriever, Olive. This dog brought them even closer together as they raised her. Michael would take her all over the city getting secret dog menu items from restaurants and letting her sit in his lap while he drove. She has been here since the beginning of their story and they are forever grateful for her. After a while, they decided to adopt an Australian Shepherd, Mars. The most loyal, the most loving, the most talkative dog in the world. These dogs have summited mountains, braved backcountry ski tracks, and have obliterated a lot of bones. These dogs are the embodiment of good and get the experience the adventures of life with us.


Allison introduced Michael to an entire new world. A world he didn't even know existed. From the glacial mountain tops of the cascades, to the lush green and blues of the Olympics. Their reach expanded even further when they joined The Mountaineers, an organization made up of people from all walks of life who taught us all of the skills needed to become leaders for expeditions both on rocks and glaciers. They grew with this org and they are forever grateful for the lengths of the Earth they are able to reach now because of the wonderful people within it.


At this point, Michael had the ring in hand and was prepared to propose at the summit of Mt. Rainier for their scheduled Mountaineering expedition. Welllll the weather had other plans...for three weeks IN A ROW. To the point where by the third week, the snow bridges had completely collapsed making Mt. Rainier unobtainable. Laying in bed frustrated, they came up with the ABSURD idea of driving 10 hours south to California to Summit Mt. Shasta and immediately drive back all in two days with absolutely no notice. Yah, sure like they would do that... So that's EXACTLY what they did. With their equally batshit crazy friend, Sahand, in the back seat, they set off to California. Traveling up sunny sandy Shasta battling frigid temperatures and sandy boots, they made camp for the night. Waking up on the mountain to a gorgeous sunrise and barely any sleep, Michael proposed what felt and looked like on top of the world.


So there you have it. Five moves, two dogs, plenty of dead Home Depot plants, and a shit ton of mountains. No amount of words can express the love we have for eachother but we will continue to grow it within this chaotic, ever changing world.