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Everyone Loves a This Valentine's Day, we talk to three special couples who call Yucaipa home. We hope your story, whatever it may be, have the happy endings these couples enjoy. Mike & Trish Sultzbaugh were long time Yucaipa residents before falling in love. Mike grew up here and his mother still lives in his childhood home. Trish moved to Yucaipa from Redlands in 1981 and has lived here ever since. "I always liked the rural atmosphere. I wanted a little piece of property like I grew up on. And there were a lot more horses and livestock," Trish said. Both Mike and Trish were on the job when they met. Trish was working at a hair salon on 4th Street and Mike was making a delivery to the Eagles Lodge when Mike accidentally blocked an elderly woman's car. The woman just honked her horn repeatedly until Mike had to come back to see what was going on. Wondering what all the commotion was about, Trish also came outside. After meeting Trish, Mike would stop by to chat whenever he was in the area. Although there was an obvious attraction between the two, Trish was afraid to get too involved. "I had lost my last husband three years prior to meeting Mike. I didn't think I was ready to be in a relationship," first date. Smiling, Trish said, "With his love, patience and understanding, I couldn't help but fall in love with him." They have been together ever since. After about a year of dating Trish knew she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Mike. "He was always so kind and caring to both me and my children. He loves them as his own," Trish said. Trish recalls a time when her daughter wanted to her she couldn't go alone, so the only way she could go was if Mike would take her. Her daughter turned to ask him and he immediately said sure. They ended up going her senior year too. "It's the little things he does that makes me know I made the right choice to be with him for the rest of my life. You just can't help but love him," Trish said happily. Every Valentine's Day Trish decorates Mike's truck where 10 OUR YUCAIPA | FEBRUARY 2014 he parks it at work early in the morning. One year while she was decorating, she stepped back into a hole and tore a muscle in her calf. It was so sore she could hardly walk. When Mike came home she was sitting on the bed, with her leg propped up with ice on it. Mike came and kneeled down by the side of the bed and gave her a little stuffed bear holding a heart. She gave it a hug and started to put it down when Mike said, "Hey I think there's a little zipper in the heart." Trish opened it to find a ring. Mike then asked her to marry him. "I was crying so hard all I could do was nod yes. It was very much a surprise!" Trish said . Exactly one year from the proposal date, almost to the hour, Trish and Mike got married in Las Vegas with just agrees, "It was perfect!" Mike says he likes having his anniversary on Valentine's Day because it's easier to remember. He also says he has the secret to a long, happy marriage, "Happy wife, happy life." Trish said her secret is their 24-hour rule. If they have a disagreement, they can be mad, but only for 24 hours. Then they make up! They also never say anything in anger that they will regret later. "You can say I'm sorry, but you can never un-hear something hurtful," Trish said. Trish and Mike will be celebrating their 10th anniversary this year. They have four children between them, two boys and two girls, and four grandchildren, three girls and one boy. Valentine messages: Trish: "831." (Apparently Mike will know what she means.) Mike: "I just want to say thank you for choosing me for your forever Valentine."

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