Chad and Geri met 12 years ago through a mutual friend. They attended different colleges, but when they got the chance to see each other there was a spark. Between Spring of 2010 and Winter of 2011, there were a handful of visits, Skype calls, and Chad's impromptu trip to London where Geri was studying abroad. In December 2011, Geri invited Chad to her family's New Years Eve party on a whim and to her surprise, he said that he would come. The two of them had a good ol' time and on the morning of January 1st, 2012, Chad ask Geri to be his girlfriend. The new couple quickly made big plans, which included meeting Chad's parents and attending the 49ers vs Giants NFC Championship game. (Good news - the Giants won!) A mere 6 weeks went by (but who's counting) and on the eve of Valentine's Day Chad broke it off.

Fast forward 5 years to Spring 2017. Out of the blue, Geri sent a text message to Chad with no expectation of response but after only a few moments, her phone lit up with Chad's name on the screen. They exchanged a few messages, but neither of them ever expected what was to come. The text messages continued, sporadically at first, but they became more and more frequent as time went on. At this time, Geri was flying the friendly skies and would occasionally send Chad photos of her adventures. In July, Geri nabbed her first trip to Anchorage. Chad had never been to Anchorage, and so he decided to meet her there. For the first time in years, the pair reunited and it was magic! They tore up the tiny town of Anchorage exchanging stories and laughing until they cried. At the end of the trip they parted ways in the airport, but the daily communications continued. The two planned more and more visits and quickly became inseparable. In February 2018, the pair went on a little adventure to Yosemite and as they hiked down from Upper Yosemite Falls, Chad asked Geri to go steady.

Fast forward nearly 5 more years to July 2022. By now Geri and Chad had moved in together and their family had grown with labradoodle, Luna, and kitties, Mowgli & Junipurr. The couple enjoyed going on hikes with Luna and on the morning of July 23rd the pack set out on Rocky Peak trail. They had hiked this trail many times but they had never made it to the peak of Rocky Peak, so that was the goal for this hike. It was a perfect summer morning with some soft cloud cover. When they made it to the tippy top and stood above the clouds, Chad got down on one knee and popped the question.