Kyle and I first met in college at the University of Hawaii. He was on the baseball team and I was on the beach volleyball team. We were both in relationships at the time and you could say he did not leave the best first impression on me. I ended up spending a lot of my time at his house my senior year because I was good friends with his roommate Isaac, who was dating and would later marry my teammate Heather. However, during that time we only had one unpleasant conversation over a seat on his couch and that was about it.

After we graduated we both ended our relationships and the next year Isaac and Heather got married in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Bowling Green is about an hour away from Nashville so that is where I stayed with my brother (also named Kyle, I know it’s unfortunate). I brought my brother along because my mom would not let me travel across the country by myself.

As most of you know, I do not drink alcohol often, so going out in Nashville with me I felt was going to be a little less fun for my brother than it could be. Kyle Mitchell popped into my head because I knew he was in the wedding and would be in town and was always down to go out and they would be “the Kyles” and would have a great time. So I slid in his DMs trying to get a date for my brother.

Turns out he was already having a great time and was not going to be able to make it out. The next day at the wedding he greeted me with a big smile on his face and you guys does this man look good in a suit…. Heather you looked stunning, you absolutely did, but I spent most of the ceremony staring at Kyle thinking how did I miss this incredibly handsome man?? At the reception he ended up with a tie around his head (see above photo) and he really reeled me in with his dance moves and ability to truly not take himself seriously.

The next day he slid in my DMs and asked for my number and suggested we go to the Grad sometime. The Grad was a country bar with dancing in Davis and that was where we ended up going on our first date about two weeks later. I thought it was a great idea because I hadn’t really dated anyone since my last relationship and he wasn’t a total stranger so he probably wouldn’t murder me and it would be good practice for when I wanted to really get out there and start dating seriously again. Yes, I was treating it as a practice date.

He showed up in his work boots and jeans and that was it. I was done. We dated for a few months before making it official and dated for about 3 and 1/2 years before he proposed along the river at Yosemite.

Long story short, this was not love at first sight, but it was unexpected and beautiful and everything I needed. God has a funny way of guiding you towards things He meant for you and His timing and His plans are perfect. Always.

The end.

I first met Mikayla outside the Nagatani Center at the University of Hawaii, which is the study hall building for UH athletes. As I walked past her I asked her if she was the girlfriend of my teammate and she said yes. We introduced ourselves formally and then we went our separate ways. Mikayla in short was very short with me and obviously didn’t want to talk to anyone. The rest of Junior year we would only interact with friendly nods or smiles as we pass each other on campus.
Senior year, Mikayla’s teammate Heather was dating my roommate Isaac. Since Mikayla’s boyfriend abandoned her and went back to his socialist country, she would hang out with Isaac at our house to pass the time. We only spoke briefly with each other in those moments as I was dealing with my psychotic girlfriend the entire year. The one conversation I remember having with Mikayla at my house involved myself, her and a couch.
Lets get the story straight right here, right now. I did not kick her out of my spot on the couch at all. I simply walked out of my room after getting screamed at by my previously stated psycho girlfriend and sat down on the two person couch. Isaac was sitting on the righthand side of the three person couch. Mikayla exited the kitchen and was disgusted that I sat down on the couch she was sitting on. How would I know that’s where she was sitting? She stormed her way over to the dining room table near the front door and sat down in the chair enraged with what I had done. Isaac noticed something was up with her, and asked what was wrong. She then stated that I was sitting in “her spot.” On my couch! I had no idea she was sitting on this couch and there was another open spot on the left side of the three person couch. Initially I found it ridiculous that I move just so she could sit on one couch instead of the other. Being the host that I am, I offered to move to the other couch to be the bigger person. It was too late, she already made her mind up that I was a couch stealing turd. She left shortly after that and never thought of the incident again.
Fast forward one year. I get asked to be a groomsman in Isaac’s wedding. The night before the wedding, myself, Isaac, and the rest of the groomsmen decide to celebrate over whiskey on the rocks. Near the end of our bottle I get a direct message from none other than Mikayla Tucker. She claims to want to set up a date with myself and her brother Kyle, for a night on the town in Nashville. I knew that was a lie, she was just using her brother as an alibi to go on a date with me. I informed her that I am very sorry but I was already drinking and couldn’t make it out.
The next day, at the wedding reception I was doing my thing, dancing, actin a fool, (per usual) and my super sweet dance moves caught her eye. I noticed her giving me the eyes and I decided to oblige. We slow danced to two songs and I was pleasantly surprised with her lack of two left feet. We decided to take a break from dancing and sat on the stage and began to talk. She asked me where I learned to dance. I replied, “some people are born with brains, some people are born with super sweet dance moves, and some people (pointing to myself) have both (jokingly of course).” We made plans to go on a date to the Grad, which was a country line dance bar which I loved to go to.
We met each other at the Grad and had a great date. We had great conversations and she even drank a beer! I respectfully did not try to kiss her on the first date. Instead I took her to get ice cream, which looking back now, she for sure enjoyed more than if I kissed her. After saying our goodbyes, we, over text, set up another date; it wasn’t until that date where we had our first kiss.
40 months later I asked her to marry me by a stream at the base of El Capitán, in Yosemite. The rest is still to come.