Our Story
How We Met
April 25, 2009
We are both involved with a non-profit organization called "Invisible Children". They had an event in Denver in April of which Taylor was the volunteer nurse and Michael came down from Ft. Collins to participate. After the event, we both independently went to meet up with the same friends.
Michael:
She walked in and I was taken aback. Who is this cute girl? She was on the phone with someone and I immediately began to eavesdrop on her conversation...is she talking to a guy? Then she said it..."I love you and I'm gonna make pancakes for you in the morning"...dreams...crumbled.
Taylor:
As I hung up the phone WITH MY ROOMMATE, Jordy, I couldn't help but notice the guy in the room who was wearing the same shirt as me. I was instantly attracted. Why did he have to be so great? And so easy to talk to?!
We laughed the night away. Neither of us planned on staying too long, yet we didn't end up leaving until midnight. Something was keeping us there?
Michael:
As the night grew on I grew more and more intrigued by this girl. I also began to get the feeling that her phone conversation wasn't with a guy after all...hope was restored.
Taylor:
We exchanged numbers because I was going to be in Ft. Collins later that week (how convenient!). I thought for sure he wouldn't call, but he actually did! And then I avoided the call because I was so nervous!
A few weeks later we went on our first date in Denver (on a school night!) and we both went home independently proclaiming "I think I've met the one."
Our initial instincts were right on...
Taylor Anne Brown
The Lucky Lady!
I was born and raised in small towns around Atlanta, Georgia and spent the majority of my childhood playing soccer, traveling with my family, exploring the great outdoors and trying to keep up with my three older brothers. I attended The University of Georgia and it didn’t take me long to discover my true passion and calling in life: nursing. I joined a sorority (AOPi) and tried my best to devote as much heart and energy to my schooling as I did my social life. I also discovered a deep love for SEC football and traveled out of state to as many away games as I could….still can’t believe I’d agree to marry a guy from LSU!
After my sophomore year at UGA, I spent a summer away in Estes Park, Colorado as a camp counselor at Camp Timberline. Needless to say, my life would never be the same... I was able to take the following spring semester off of school and spend time as a nanny for the Young Life area director in Ft. Collins, Colorado, a town that instantly stole my heart. I vowed to return someday and raise my family there (who would have guessed my future husband would share the same dream?).
Nursing school at The Medical College of Georgia began in the summer of 2005 and continued to confirm the passion I had for this chosen path. I absolutely loved the experience and the friends it gave me, though I could have never predicted what was ahead. In January of 2007 (my final semester of nursing school) I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and spent the next 10 months undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments while finishing my classes and clinicals and passing my nursing boards. I tell everyone now that it was the best thing that ever happened to me—a chance to be reminded of the true beauty of everyday life and the urgency to follow dreams and REALLY live.
About a month after finishing treatment I loaded my car with all my belongings and drove across the country to Denver, Colorado. I returned to Camp Timberline that summer and started working as a nurse at Rose Medical Center in Denver in the fall with plans to move back up to Ft. Collins within a few years. Let’s just say that meeting Michael was a confirmation of those dreams but obviously sped them along more quickly than I had planned. No complaints! I now live in Ft. Collins with three amazing girls and got a job at Poudre Valley Hospital in town. I still can’t believe how it’s all worked out so perfectly but I can say that I am deeply grateful for the life I have been given and the continual blessings along the way!
Michael Paul Fontenot
The Dude
I was Texas born and raised, but with a south Louisiana twist. I grew up my entire life in the same house in Tomball, Texas outside of Houston. But my parents, and all of my relatives, were from a small town in the heart of Cajun Country called Rayne, Louisiana. Nearing the end of high school, I applied to one and only one college…LSU.
I followed in the footsteps of both my parents and older brother, and soon after, my younger brother, in attaining my bachelor's degree from Louisiana State University. I majored in Secondary Education knowing all along that one day I dreamed of being a high school math teacher and football coach, but I also knew that life could wait.
While skipping my graduation ceremony at LSU, I flew across the country to the great state of Colorado to fulfill my desires to live life to the fullest. My first job out of college was as a whitewater rafting guide for Noah's Ark on the Arkansas River. Being a raft guide only paid me for a few summer months out of the year. So I moved up to the snow during the winter and worked as a snowboard instructor at Copper Mountain Ski Resort. After a few years of transition work between the seasons, I was ready to start my career…teaching and coaching.
I moved to Denver with some great friends and found my first teaching job at an inner-city high school there. Being a math guy, it wasn't long before I figured out that if I was going to continue doing what I loved and make enough money to support a family one day, I would need to get a master’s degree. So I moved north one hour to the town of Fort Collins where I commuted to the University of Northern Colorado and received my master's degree in Sports Administration. While working on my degree I volunteered as a football coach at a high school and fell in love with the town and people of Fort Collins (and so will you if you come to our wedding!) After finishing school I stayed in Fort Collins and began teaching again. I now teach Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 at Poudre (that's right poo-der) High School and coach football there as well.
The Proposal
November 29, 2009
(Told from Taylor's perspective)
I woke up abruptly one Sunday morning to a tapping on my window at 6:15am. At first I thought I had overslept for work....then I thought I was being robbed.....so I was very relieved to find Michael at my door.... All I was told was to put on some warm clothes (including snowboarding socks?) and eat some breakfast. He came back 20 minutes later and drove me about 30 minutes south to Longmont.
Once in Longmont we met 3 strange-looking men in a Waffle House parking lot (I was intrigued to say the least) and I soon found out that we would be going on a hot air balloon ride (something Michael and I have dreamed of doing someday). We got to help the men set it all up (which was really fascinating) and then took off for an hour ride in the sky. It was so peaceful.....the feeling of floating was like nothing I've ever experienced before.
After our balloon ride Michael and I headed back to Ft. Collins. We pulled over at a small trailhead we have been wanting to check out and Michael then told me he had a few early Christmas presents for me. He said he had two framed pictures and I could unwrap them both but I could only choose to keep one. I unwrapped the first, flipped it over and saw some cute African boys playing basketball....I loved it and wondered how the next one could possibly be better. I unwrapped the second one and flipped it over to find a picture of Michael with his classroom of boys in Uganda.....on the chalkboard behind him he had written "Will You Marry Me?". Needless to say, I liked the second picture better.....I turned around to find Michael down on his knee and I'm not even sure I said yes through my shock and tears (but I think he got the point). The ring is a family heirloom (the setting from Mom's side, the diamond from Dad's) and it couldn't be more perfect for me.....and neither could the man that comes with it!
