Diane and Kyle owe their beginnings to 175 grams of white plastic. On different academic paths at the University of Rochester and separated by two years, they likely never would have met if it weren't for a silly club sport called ultimate frisbee.

While ultimate was responsible for putting them in each other's path, they quickly grew close as kindred spirits. They were dating by November of Kyle's senior year, and inseparable by graduation.

Kyle worked for an alternative energy company in Rochester while Diane finished her undergrad courses, accelerated BSN nursing program, and got a job as a nurse at Highland Hospital. They soon decided, however, that their next step together would be to venture out to a new city and properly begin a life together.

Luckily, a tremendous opportunity presented itself. Diane's brother Michael was getting married in Australia. Any reasonable person would logically conclude that if you were going to travel half way around the world, you would be wise to take five weeks and explore as much as you can.

Since they were obligated to quit their jobs to take such a trip, Diane and Kyle took a trip around the U.S. the summer before to figure out what city they were going to move to when they got back. Austin, Charlotte, and Washington DC all had redeemable qualities, but none held a candle to Denver.

So the following January, with their backpacks and the help of planes, trains, and automobiles, Diane and Kyle took a 5000 mile loop around eastern Australia. It was the sort of experience for which you have no regrets quitting your job.

Kyle worked with a very accommodating real estate agent who sold his house in Rochester while he was fourteen time zones away. By the time Diane and Kyle got back to the U.S. it was simply a matter of packing everything into two cars and driving west.

Diane had a phone interview for a nursing job from a rest stop in Minnesota, and Kyle soon found a job at a small aerospace company. They moved into their second Denver apartment because the first one wouldn't let them get a dog, then moved into a house because the second apartment being on the fifth floor wasn't conducive to owning a dog.

By the third summer in Denver (and after eight years of dating), Kyle knew that it was finally time to take the next step. He bought a ring before a Fourth of July camping trip, imagining proposing amongst the serene sounds of mountain wilderness in the glorious light of sunset. Even though it ended up being on the bank of the Yampa River eating a string cheese after a gray rainy day, he was thrilled when Diane said yes.

Registry

Kyle and Diane are currently trying to put money aside for the down payment of their first home. As an alternative to the options below, gifts of cash to support this directly will gladly be accepted.