Our Story

Graduate school is what brought us to Montana, but we met through the great institution of kickball. We each found our way to the Pink Erasers team of the great Missoula Le Kickball league, which formally requires “a positive ‘tude and a sweet outfit,” (see sample picture above) and we bonded during our first game by sharing a Young’s Double Chocolate Stout. Nick was floored that Laura knew what that was, and Laura was floored that Nick was willing to give one away. Neither of us were single at the time, and wouldn’t be single simultaneously for a few years, but we enjoyed lots of time together and formed a strong friendship. Spending time with the Pink Eraser crew on and off the field was an important stress relief from graduate school, and was an amazing social group. We saw each other at kickball, events around town, and the legendary homebrew parties thrown by Nick.

Nick had a crush on Laura from their very first meeting, but the timing wasn’t right so he figured it wasn’t going to happen. Laura was slowly falling for Nick over the years and took a while to realize it. Finally, in the winter of 2011, Nick was just out of a relationship and Laura was also single, but she was thinking about who could possibly be good enough for Nick. Then it dawned on her, and she told him how she felt. Nick was astounded and confessed that he like her since that first Young's Double Chocolate Stout. She famously came home afterward and told her roommate and friend Anayansi, “I got Nick!” And the rest, as they say, is history! But here is the rest of the story.

Missoula was where we spent all of our time as friends, and the first year of our relationship. We made it through two years of long-distance while Nick worked in Las Vegas. After that, we moved to Seattle together where Laura matched for her Psychology internship. We lived in Seattle in a small apartment for over two years. Nick knew he wanted to marry Laura long before, but was waiting for the right time.

In the summer of 2016, Laura asked Nick if he wanted to accompany her to visit her family in Michigan. This was the moment Nick had been waiting for. He found a time alone with her folks to ask for her hand in marriage, and they happily said yes. Returning from the trip, Nick worked with a local jeweler to design a ring, and planned a time to propose. On our 6-year dating anniversary, February 17th, 2017, Nick proposed at our apartment in Seattle over a home-made dinner that included bacon and Laura's favorite wine, and Laura enthusiastically accepted.

After the engagement, in the fall of 2017, we bought our very first house in Seattle, and are joyfully setting in.

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