Ian and Makayla met during freshman year at the University of Arizona. Makayla's sorority won a philanthropy volleyball tournament (Sky High with Theta Xi), but forgot to sign up ahead of time. So, she and her friends took to pestering Ian, the fraternity t-shirt chair, until they got their well-deserved shirts.

The two didn't interact much again until senior year, when Ian reached out to Makayla to meet up with friends during the day, and she didn't respond for 6 hours. Ian was already cozied up in bed when he heard from Makayla that her and her friends are out and he's welcome to join. Ian woke up his roommate, Matthew, to get him to come wingman.

A few weeks later, after hanging out a few times, Makayla hit a pillar in her apartment parking garage. She asked Ian to come to the car repair shop with her, and she offered to buy beers after. Both of them noticed how well they got along, but neither were willing to admit they had crushes on each other.

Ian and Makayla "exclusively talked" for an entire year. Meaning they weren't DATING dating, but they weren't dating anyone else. During this time, Ian graduated college and moved to Seattle to begin his career. Ian and Makayla continued doing "long distance talking" until she finished up school. Six months later, Makayla also graduated and moved to Seattle.

After a fun day at the beach, Makayla and Ian began officially dating January 4, 2022 in Ocean Shores, WA. Makayla fell asleep in the car ride home, and woke up the next day with body aches. They both had Covid :)

Ian told Makayla he loved her for the first time as they sat on a ferry ride after a date on Bainbridge island.

The two continued on with their adventure-driven lives: hiking, snowboarding, paddle boarding, and so on. They both love to enjoy God's creation and He continues to bless them with the energy to do so.

O LORD, how manifold are your works!

In Wisdom have you made them all;

the earth is full of your creatures.

Psalm 104:24

On Ian and Makayla's second date, Ian asked Makayla a seemingly simple question: "do you believe in God?". Makayla thought about it, and said "sure, I guess I do". This ending up being a pivotal moment for both their lives and their salvation. Upon moving to Seattle, the couple settled into their church home at DCC and gave their lives to Jesus together.

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

John 14:6

On October 5, 2024, Ian and Makayla had some friends, Alex and Erin, in town and they planned a sunrise hike at Silver Peak trail. This was a especially odd, since Ian and Makayla hike most weekends in the summer, and they hardly ever leave before 8am.

Makayla challenged Ian's plan in many ways: "why can't we go at 7 or 8am instead of 6?", "Alex has done this hike before, can we do a different one?". Ian out- stubborned her, and picked her and Erin up at 6am sharp.

At the top of the mountain, with Mt. Rainer in the distance and a 360 degree view of the Cascade mountain range, Ian frantically looked for flat ground. Makayla tried to soothe him, explaining that most mountain tops are rocky, and it probably won't be flat anywhere. Ian counters, our friends need a flat place to sit and eat their sandwich lunches. Makayla counters back, it's only 9am no one is hungry for sandwiches right now.

Ian asked Alex to take our photo, because Alex has the new iPhone 16 Pro. Ian told Makayla to "look over there" and pointed out into the mountains behind them. When she looked back, Ian was on one knee with a ring in his hands. She said yes!

Then the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him."

Genesis 2:18