First date! What was supposed to be a quick dinner turned into hours of talking and walking around Austin's Domain district.

Goin' steady. After about 2 weeks, we figured out this was something special.

Moved in! As the Covid Pandemic burned on, we moved in with our friends Hanna Oh and Brian Nguyen. Sunflowers were grown. One scared Jp on the regular.

The age of Oro begins! Mr. Upsetti-Spaghetti came to us a couple weeks earlier than expected. A whirlwind trip to pet stores and San Antonio brought our boy home.

SURVIVED! A heatwave at Enchanted Rock on Jp's Birthday almost went very badly. But we waited through the 110˚F heat, and got out of there!

As Covid restrictions eased, we FINALLY started to meet each others' friends (like Elissa Morales and Joelle Williams here). Also, Oro discovered his Babushka era.

We love hiking, but our favorite spot (St. Edwards in Austin) was hit hard by storms. After the deep freeze in 2021, the near-heat-stroke of 2022, and more climate threats on the way, we start talking about leaving Texas.

Dutch and his sister (Dani Peters) run a 10K, with Oro escaping his leash to chase after them! Dutch grabbed him and carried him over the finish line. All three got medals.

We finally get Oro to visit both of our families in Missouri and Texas! We're still not sure if he likes swimming. We know he likes sun-bathing at least!

Engagement announced! We made the choice in secret while visiting Vermont in November, 2022, but announced it later. This picture was not that exact moment.

Oro discovers burrowing. Including into our clothes. He was thrilled. We were not.

Turns out central-east Texas has fantastic Renaissance Faires. Thanks to Dutch for making these happen!

With Jp's aunt and uncle (Nancy Lynch and George Kegley) leaving Texas, we chose to follow them up to Mount Vernon, Washington. It was a long drive, so we took breaks, like here in Denver.

We make it to Washington! Dutch found Blueberries, Oro discovers the ocean, and Jp starts the wedding planning.