H: My Freshman year of High School I was chatting with my girls about who we thought was the cutest boy at school, and I pointed at Blaise's soccer poster with his cutie picture and said. "him". We started talking on Twitter a year later (For my Gen Zers: Like for a TBH). Blaise and I still argue about who made the first move, so we'll let you decide! _______________________________________________ B: I 100% made the 1st move. I actually saw Haley for the 1st time my junior year in the school lunch line. I was truly blown away. From that day, I found her Twitter, followed her, updated my profile photo, and then sent a post for a "Like for a tbh". Haley thankfully liked it, and I proceeded to make the "1st" move in the DMs. She was an obvious 10, but I had to play it cool.

H: Our first date was at Chipotle! Honestly, it was probably one of the most awkward first dates ever—I was so shy and he was so cute! Blaise picked me up after my shift at Einstein's Bagels in his matte black Cadillac, absolutely reeking of cologne. He broke the silence by playing this hot new song, "I'm the One" by Justin Beiber + DJ Khalid. _______________________________________________ B: Haley was the worst texter I've ever met. It was incredibly challenging to understand if she was actually interested in me or not. After almost a month of bland texting, we finally hung out in person. I was incredibly nervous, but my hair was flowing, I smelled good, and I was extremely fortunate to be driving a nice car (thanks mom). While the date was awkward, I really believe I carried this "date" from start to finish. I played a bunch of my favorite songs in the car, learned more about her music interests, and asked her several questions. Funny enough, Haley even received a call from her ex while I was driving her back to her car. I thought the date went as well as most first dates would go.

H: We "Officially" started dating! Romance isn't dead- and these Vans with Blaise's face on them are proof! We look like such babies here!! _______________________________________________ B: I remember intentionally taking things slow, and we were in a talking stage for 3 months before I asked her to officially be my girlfriend. She was just very calm and cool to me, and I felt like I needed to match her energy. I think I saw somewhere that you can customize Vans with whatever you want, and I thought it'd be a funny way to ask Haley. Definitely bold, but I was confident she'd like it.

H: High school sweethearts in the making! I went to every one of Blaise’s soccer games, Fat Head of him in hand, cheering him on like his biggest (and probably most embarrassing) fan. _______________________________________________ B: By this point in time, it was really special to have someone like Haley in my life. She quickly became my best friend, and I was incredibly comfortable being my complete self around her. We loved being around each other. And yes, the fat head was always a big hit. I still have people bringing that up to this day.

H: A few high school dances, countless laughs, and two graduations later, we were still each other’s biggest supporters and dance partners! _______________________________________________ B: Haley couldn't dance to save her life, she's come a very long way from where she was at the start. But I loved every moment with her by my side.

H: Big changes ahead! Blaise graduated high school in 2018 and I graduated in 2019- We both started our college journeys—him at CGCC and me at Northern Arizona University. Cue the three-hour long distance relationship and countless road trips to visit each other almost every other weekend. _______________________________________________ B: I was obviously upset that she wanted to go to NAU, but I never wanted to sway her from doing what she wanted. It was challenging at first to go from having the person you hung out with almost every day to them no longer being around. I wasn't worried that we couldn't make it work, and I was willing to stick it out. I was more worried about how her environment may change her interest in me, and my inability to protect her during all that time.

H: Long distance lasted all of one semester... I knew Blaise was my person so the college parties/going out didn't call to me, and I wasn't really sure why I was going to college. I wasn't passionate about a specific career and was feeling pretty lost. It was perfect timing for me to come home though because Covid made its debut that Spring. Shortly after moving back, Blaise and I took the next big step: moving into our first apartment together! _______________________________________________ B: It doesn't matter how confident you are, it's never enjoyable hearing about your girlfriend going out to frat parties with her friends while you are back at home alone working at Skechers. When Haley made the decision to come back, I was undoubtedbly relieved. This time away showed me that she truly felt the same way I felt for her and gave me a ton of confidence that this is someone I can deeply trust. It made the idea of moving in together that much easier!

H: After a year of apartment life, we were ready to invest in our future together. We bought our first home! Honestly, I didn’t even recognize it in this photo because we’ve been slowly renovating it. Now, the outside is white with a navy door—our perfect first home. _______________________________________________ B: We were incredibly grateful to get to have a home together after living the apartment life. I spent so many days going up three flights of stairs, carrying water jugs, etc. It was such a blessing to feel like my life with Haley was continuing to move forward.

H: We became parents—well, dog parents! I stumbled across a breeder who still had a few puppies available. It took a little convincing to get Blaise to agree to "just meet" them, but the moment we saw our sweet girl, we knew she was meant to be part of our lives. After meeting her, we went to dinner to "discuss" the decision, but instead, we found ourselves excitedly brainstorming puppy names. _______________________________________________ B: I didn't want the responsibility of a dog, but Haley absolutely persuaded me to get one. (Women, am I right?). Just like many things Haley makes me do that I don't want to do, it was a great decision and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

H: Our little family living life & making memories together. _______________________________________________ B: Haley is always making me wear matching PJs.

H: I said YES! Blaise and I took a weekend getaway to Laguna Beach. Before our dinner reservation at The Larsen, we headed to the beach to watch the sunset. As we turned a corner, Blaise pointed to a stunning floral arrangement in the grass and said, "Look how pretty those are," before leading me toward them. That’s when it hit me—he was proposing! Afterward, we celebrated with dinner on The Larsen’s patio, sipping champagne and soaking in the moment. I asked Blaise a million questions on how he pulled this off and suprised me! (He tricked me because he didn't get his haircut and he get his haircut for every special occasion!) Back at our hotel, the floral arrangements from the proposal were waiting in our room, along with another bottle of champagne. We ended the night FaceTiming our families at 11:30 p.m., still glowing with excitement (+the champagne)! We drove 5 hours back to Arizona with the floral arrangements in the back seat! _______________________________________________ B: Easily one of the most challenging things I've had to do. Haley loves California and the beach, so when she mentioned that she wanted to go back, I knew that this would be the perfect opportunity for me. Throughout the process of picking where to stay, I continued to keep my cool and leave it up to her. However, I was already convinced that I wanted to propose in Laguna Beach because there was a florist/engagement planner I had been speaking to that worked out of Laguna. My plan was to propose right on the beach outside of our hotel, Casa Loma and go straight to dinner after. Thankfully, Haley agreed to go to Laguna and we booked the trip. For the ring, I knew exactly the kind of ring Haley wanted after being with her for 7 years. Going to buy a ring behind Haley's back was extremely tough. I was thankful to have Dima's mom, Rita help me find a ring and diamond that would work perfectly. I had to drive out to North Scottsdale on 2 separate occasions. Both times, I had to turn off my location to make sure she wouldn't know where I was at. On one of those 2 occasions, I had to lie to Haley that I was going to go play basketball at Optima in Scottsdale, but at the North Scottsdale one, almost an hour away from where we live. On my drive back, I actually ended up behind her car since she works in Scottsdale. I was smart enough to bring my basketball stuff. I have no idea how I got away with that one. Once I had the ring, I kept it hidden. I FaceTimed my brother and mom to show them the ring. From there, I ended up messaging Haley's parents that I got her a gift and wanted to get their thoughts, so I coordinated to come over to their house when Haley was at work. I came in with a Lululemon bag and put it on the table to trick them that it wasn't what they already likely assumed. I then proceeded to ask for her parents' permission for me to marry their daughter, in which I struggled to say without being emotional. Thankfully, I got a yes! I then ended up showing them the ring and went to my Dad and Vikki's house after to show them too. At this point, the plan was completely in motion, I had the ring, I had the blessing, I practiced what I was going to say, our trip was booked, and I had the engagement planner ready to go for our trip. Our first day in Laguna was a day for us to just get familiar with the area and explore like any trip. However, the following day was the big day. We started off our day at the cafe down the street and spent the whole day traveling to all the cool little coves and bays around the area. My goal up to this point was the same, propose on the beach right at sunset on our way to dinner. Once we were done exploring, Haley and I got ready for dinner and watched a movie in the hotel. As I looked out to the beach, it was incredibly crowded with people. I remember being so worried that my plan wouldn't come together. While Haley and I were sitting next to each other watching the movie, I was messaging the engagement planner that the beach was not going to work. Thankfully, she let me know that there was another spot nearby that would work at the cliff. Because I had no idea where that was, I had to look it up while Haley was right next to me. I was so worried, I couldn't even express how hard it was to keep my cool. I found out the location was the opposite direction to the dinner spot near one of the coves we visited earlier in the day, so I had to think on my toes. Haley and I had a late lunch, so I mentioned to her that I wasn't all that hungry and that we should push our reservation back an hour if she was down (I needed her to be down). I added that we should go look at the sunset back at the cove we went to earlier, and then go to dinner at 8. Funny enough, the reservation was always at 8. I told her 7, so we had an hour for photos during the proposal. Thankfully again, she said she liked that idea. At this point, the last thing I needed to do was get the ring out of my suitcase and on my body. Haley was getting ready, and I'm moving this ring box from inside my shoe to inside my pants to just make sure she does not see it, as I'm getting ready. I was able to make my way into the main room while she was watching the movie from the connected bathroom, and I quickly tucked the ring box into my sock. I intentionally tested before the trip that the sock would hold the ring and that my pants would cover it. Once I was dressed and had the ring in my possession, Haley wanted to take a photo in the bathroom mirror. If I were to have put the ring box in my pocket, I would've been screwed. (Don't get a big ring box). We then started walking towards the Cove to watch the sunset. Throughout the walk, I was looking for the flower setup and music. I had no idea where it was specifically, but I was so relieved when I found it. From there, we walked up, she was shocked, and I did the thing. I only remembered about half of what I wanted to say, but I got it across. It was such a special moment, and I'll cherish it forever. Once we were done with photos, the engagement planner helped me bring all of the flowers back to our room, and I met up with Haley at our dinner reservation at 8 right down the boardwalk. She asked me a ton of questions, we saw dolphins in the water, the moonlight was perfect. It was truly one of the best days I've ever had, and I've never been more relieved to have made it happen. Let's get married!