As many of you know, and for those who don't, we have known each other for many years but we weren't always so fond of each other. For years, we did not get along which is why it was such a surprise to our friends when we started dating... and no one would have guessed we would end up here!

In June of 2020, shortly after Hailee had moved home from North Carolina, Matt started frequently commenting on her snapchat stories. Hailee was shocked (but also intrigued).

Matt made the first move by giving Hailee his phone number and from there we quickly moved our conversations from snapchat to text messages and phone calls. It was after the first phone call in July 2020, where we talked all night until Matt had to go into work that morning, that Hailee knew that this was different and maybe Matt wasn't so bad after all.

During that first long phone call, Matt asked Hailee to go clothes shopping with him for his new job that started soon. We went to Kohl's and because this was the summer of 2020, ordered Olive Garden take out. We both consider this our first date.

Our second date was just as exciting. Hailee had just purchased a new townhouse in Elko New Market and needed a couch. We spent the day going to furniture stores couch shopping! (Is this dating in your 30's?)

After that, we were pretty much inseparable. We talked daily and spent most of our time together ice fishing, hanging out doing puzzles, cooking meals. traveling and just genuinely enjoying each other's company. It wasn't long before we decided that both of us were serious about the relationship. In January 2021, while at an Airbnb in Northern Minnesota for Hailee's 33rd birthday, we decided to make it public and became "Facebook Official".

We spent the next (almost) 2 years hopping between spending time at Matt's house and Hailee's townhouse. During this time, in October of 2021, Matt sold his house and bought his childhood home which just happened to be 2 blocks down the road from Hailee's childhood home (though we didn't know each other then)! We spent months renovating the house to make it our home and after the renovations were complete, Hailee sold her townhouse and moved in with Matt in October of 2022.

One of Hailee's favorite things to do in the summer is go to the Minnesota State Fair. Since 2021, we have gone every year, multiple times a year. This has quickly become one of our favorite activities together. We even started attending the pre-fair event held in the spring, the MN Kickoff to Summer at the Fair.

On May 28, 2023, we had plans to go the MN Kickoff to Summer at the Fair with a small group of friends and family. Hailee had NO CLUE that this was going to be the best State Fair adventure yet! On a bright, sunny day, at our favorite location, Matt got down on one knee and asked Hailee to marry him!! We spent the rest of the day celebrating. It couldn't have been any more perfect! To top it off, after watching the movie The Hangover, on June 2, 2023 we spontaneously jumped on a plane and headed to Vegas for the weekend to celebrate our engagement!

Normally, this is where the story would end... But we added in a few more BIG life events after our engagement. In July of 2023 we found out we are expecting! With the very exciting news of a baby on the way, we decided to sell our house and purchased our forever home in October of 2023.

We are now patiently waiting for little man's arrival, due in March 2024, and excitedly planning our big day where we get to celebrate our *unexpected* love story.

This may not have been how we planned it, but it sure feels meant to be!

Photos