In May of 2019, I was sent to New Zealand for an internship with an Auckland law firm. Shortly after getting there, I was invited to a movie night where a certain Kiwi boy just so happened to be attending as well. After that movie night, Ryan and I spent essentially every day together for the remainder of my two month trip. We hit many of Ryan's favorite spots on the North Island, including Wenderholm Regional Park where Ryan and his family call home. Towards the end of my New Zealand stint, we ventured down to the South Island for a big road trip as well.

Ryan came over to visit a few times in 2019 and 2020 and we traveled all around the Western United States. We also made it to Hawaii on his last trip. I was set to spend about half of the 2020 summer in New Zealand, but the pandemic hit shortly after Ryan returned home from Hawaii, making it impossible to see each other until November 2020.

Ryan was finally able to make it back to the US in November, and we were engaged a few days later!

After a crazy 2020 and far too many months apart, we decided, together with our families, to have a civil ceremony in my parents' backyard. It was a big two weeks to get everything ready, between flowers, decorations, coordinating outfits, making a two-tiered cake, and many Zoom test runs. My immediate family was able to attend in person, and Ryan's family all Zoomed in from New Zealand. My brother, David, performed the ceremony and Ryan's brother, Joel, spoke during the ceremony. Following the ceremony, we had a virtual wedding dinner where our parents spoke. We can't wait to celebrate with both of our families in person when we can all travel together and celebrate our Wedding Part II in the Laie, Hawaii Temple.

Since our December wedding, we've continued exploring the US together and can't wait to get back to New Zealand this coming summer once I've (finally) finished graduate school and Ryan has finished his first year as a fifth grade teacher!