On June 29th, 2018 we went on our first date. It would have been a week earlier if someone (Mike) would not have been sick the prior weekend. It was the first time I have ever spent 12 hours with someone and wanted to see them the next day.

That day was full of adventures; we met for coffee, went to REI to get Mike some things for his upcoming backpacking trip, and had lunch. After we went to a soap store downtown, grabbed ice cream, then a walk in the park, followed by doing virtual reality (where I had to walk off a skyscraper and almost fell over in the real world) and finally we went to a movie.

Our second date was even more interesting. We went to Fern Ridge Reservoir where I met his mom, bother, sister-in-law, nephew, and niece. It was a fantastic day and just the beginning for us.

That year we went to several concerts, I took Mike paddle boarding for the first time, and he got me back in to snowboarding that winter.

In the two and a half years we have been together we have traveled all over Oregon, down to California to see my family, and over to Utah to see his dad’s side. We have made several trips to Idaho to see my parents and family friends, you learn a lot from spending 7-9 hours in the car together. Like, I should do most of the driving because he falls asleep (I have pictures to prove it).

My favorite adventure together was a trip we took to Bend to adopt our dog. I knew I wanted her from her picture; Mike was not so sure, but as soon as he saw her, he said we were not leaving without her. She is a huge part of our trips and goes everywhere.

She was even with us when Mike proposed. We were on a Jeep trip to the snow, which is something we love (so much so that our dog’s name means snow) and he asked in the middle of the forest. My favorite part was when he said, “I knew you were a keeper when you knew more about guns than I did on our first date.”

I cannot believe all of the things we have done together and been through. We have done indoor skydiving, golfing (I actually enjoy it much to my surprise), traveling, whale watching with my mom, and joining a jeep club. We have survived quarantine for the last ten months and have not made each other too crazy.

I cannot wait to see what the future has in store for us or where our next adventure will be!