"Your love is like rolling thunder

You rattle my bones and make me shake

My love, you're the 8th wonder

It's no wonder I can't look away."

-The National Parks, 8th Wonder

If you have never had the privilege of hearing any of the songs written and produced by the Utah based adventure folk band, The National Parks, take this as your opportunity to introduce yourself with the work of this group. Their music provides not only a great soundtrack as you read this love story, but it might just become the soundtrack to your next road trip adventure!

The love story of Jensine and Connor is artistically summarized in the above referenced song as these two found a love with the kind of pure, one in a lifetime beauty that exists in the seven natural wonders of the world. The love Jensine and Connor found in one another felt like the special type of awe and inspiration that one feels in their soul when seeing the depth of the Great Barrier Reef or the peaks of the Grand Canyon. If you ask either Jensine or Connor their love feels like the 8th wonder of the world.

So, grab your favorite popcorn and let's begin the love story of these two souls.

The foretelling of their love story begins in June 2022 in Lake Tahoe, CA. Connor’s mom Lisa, had a feeling in her Mothers intuition that he would surely meet a girl at all the weddings he was attending that summer. As much as he wished that was true, he dismissed his Mothers' premonition since he saw it as unrealistic to meet a girl at a wedding or even potentially hundreds of miles from where he lived. Secretly, he wished that she was right…and she was. As we all know, Mothers’ are always right.

In the Summer of 2022, Jensine was living and working in Medford, OR as a Physical Therapist at a local hospital. She was a new homeowner, and unapologetic mother to a bustling flock of chickens. Jensine took pride in doing all of the things, and never missed the chance to fill her calendar with adventures in the great outdoors. Jensine had resigned herself to the fact that she would just be a “single chicken momma" since her dating experience in Oregon was disappointing. Full of both self awareness and respect, Jensine refused to compromise for a partner who did not inspire and support her hopes, dreams and share her adventurous spirit.

Connor was living in Seattle, WA and spent the majority of his time working night shift hours as Batman in Gotham City…a.k.a a Police Officer for the City of Everett. His hard work and dedication to his profession, led him to being appointed to the department's SWAT team as the team's youngest Officer. With his primary focus on his career and the demanding schedule that comes with it, he did not have the time or energy to search for the Cat Women of his dreams. Instead, he preferred to spend his free time pushing himself physically in the weight room or in the mountain peaks of the PNW. It turns out that Connor was pretty good at catching criminals, but not so good at capturing a girl that shared his same dreams and values.

Both Connor and Jensine, wondered from time to time when God would grant them a life long partner that would support and inspire them. Prior to their meeting, both Jensine and Connor were keenly aware of who they were as individuals. They were both confident, knew their own identities, had high expectations for their future partner and shared a similar timeline in life.

Now that we have an idea of the timeline of where both Jensine and Connor were individually in the Summer of 2022, we come to the joyous event that brought about their serendipitous meeting. Jensine and Sarah started as Physical Therapist colleagues in Southern Oregon but quickly became the closest of friends as they frequently took continuing education classes across the country that ensured easy access to exploring national parks at the same time. Connor and Sarah's fiance, Zack, were in the same fraternity at Oregon State University and spent many weekdays pranking each other and partying at the fraternity house. So when Zack and Sarah announced that they were engaged and getting married, they asked Connor and Jensine to be a part of their bridal party. Both Connor and Jensine accepted these invitations, thereby setting their meeting date at the Vanhoesen wedding on July 30th 2022.

Jensine and Connor first saw one another at Zach and Sarah's wedding ceremony rehearsal at their wedding venue on a hot and smokey day in Southern Oregon. Connor, who had flown in directly after a 12 hour graveyard shift, was short on sleep and reminded of just how de-acclimated he was to the once familiar dry heat he had known growing up in Redding, CA. Connor was sleepy, sweaty and primarily focused on not falling asleep during the ceremony walk through. His only recalled observation about Sarah’s bridal party was that he was envious of the bridesmaids who came prepared with mini fans and umbrellas to stay cool during the ceremony walkthrough. Jensine will tell you that her initial observation of Connor was his strong presence and perfect posture.

After the rehearsal, Jensine and Connor were more formally introduced as they were seated at the same table for the rehearsal dinner. A few words were exchanged by Connor and Jensine throughout the evening, but there were a few powerful conclusions at the end of the night. Connor was captivated by Jensine’s natural beauty and was immediately attracted to her energy and charisma. It was clear to him that Jensine was a confident woman who knew herself, what she wanted, and was certainly not afraid to share it with others in a straightforward manner. Feeling a bit shy, sober and not completely confident in how to approach Jensine, Connor decided he would wait to attempt to talk and connect with Jensine on the wedding day. Connor left the rehearsal dinner tired but excited about the possibility of talking to Jensine at the wedding and maybe sharing a dance.

Jensine found Connor very attractive but was absolutely certain that he was taken as she couldn’t fathom how a ridiculously good looking man like him could be single. She found his line of work intriguing and the fact that both of his parents were also therapists. Jensine left the rehearsal dinner early, as she needed to go home to check to make sure the newly installed automatic chicken door was working and that her chickens were safe from the neighborhood raccoon.

The next day at Zack and Sarah's wedding reception, Jensine attempted to get Connor to join her on the dance floor with the bridal party. Connor, knowing that dancing is not one of his many gifts in life he slyly walked away, but made a plan that he would redeem himself and ask Jensine to dance during a slow song he could shuffle along to. Connor watched as Jensine danced the night away until a slow song played. Connor saw his opportunity and caught Jensine exiting the dance floor and asked if the offer for a dance was still valid, Jensine accepted and the two shared their first dance together. Connor was thrilled that he finally had the chance to hold Jensine's hand. That dance turned into a conversation that spanned not only the remainder of the wedding reception but continued through the night as Jensine accepted Connor's offer to continue their conversation at one of downtown Ashlands drinking establishments.

The next day, Connor flew back to Seattle, all the while thinking about how captivated he was by her outer and inner beauty and the spark was ignited. Connor knew that his time with Jensine left him with a distinctly different feeling that he desired to explore more. Back in Seattle, he was unsure of how to keep the spark he had felt with Jensine in Southern Oregon alive. Somewhat shy and nervous if Jensine may have felt the same way based on their short interaction, he felt unsure if he should reach out to her. Fortunately for Connor, Jensine had felt that same spark and Connor had made enough of an impression on her that she felt no hesitation with reaching out to him via text to keep their communication flowing.

Those text messages quickly turned into phone calls and then FaceTime calls that ran into the late hours of the night where the day's events, life events, dreams, goals and aspirations and everything in between was discussed. Just as Connor worried about how a relationship could proceed given the distance between them, Jensine suggested that they meet at the halfway point in Portland, Oregon to ultimately determine if their connection was truly real. Two weeks later, they found themselves exploring downtown Portland, hiking, swimming and chasing waterfalls in one of the most incredible places in Oregon, the Gorge.

As the dreamy weekend in Portland came to a close, both Connor and Jensine found themselves pushing their departure time back to their respective cities back further and further, not wanting to leave one another. Both felt the same magic that occurred in the valley on the night of Sarah and Zack’s wedding and decided to give a long distance relationship with each other a try. After all, they had all the ingredients needed for the beginning of a beautiful love story.

The next months were an exciting time full of adventure and travel for both Jensine and Connor. Both demonstrated their commitment to each other and to their relationship by creating a plan to consistently travel to be with one another in Medford, OR and Seattle, WA or anywhere in between which included, Zion National Park, Puerto Vallarta, México, Los Angeles, CA, and Jensine and Connor's hometowns to meet one another’s families in Grand Rapids, Michigan and Redding, California.

By December 2022, Jensine made a big move to Seattle, WA. This was a move that she had been contemplating for some time prior to meeting Connor. Jensine will tell you that Connor gave her the best excuse she could have hoped to live in and explore a city she had always been interested in. Connor was overjoyed with Jensine moving to Seattle and appreciated the investment Jensine showed in changing her life to merge with his. By this time, both Jensine and Connor had proven their commitment to one another and to building the relationship they had laid the foundation for. Connor had felt his love for Jensine when they first met in Portland, but he finally professed his love for Jensine in December to which Jensine responded, "it's about time!"

Through the adventures and mundane activity of daily life and peaks and valleys in between, Jensine and Connor remained on the same page with all the aspects and aspirations for their lives together that they had discussed. Completely confident in their love for one another and willingness to invest in each other based on the love they share, both Jensine and Connor knew they found their lifelong partner in each other.

Eleven blissful months later, Connor got down on one knee and asked Jensine to marry him on Roxy Ann Peak overlooking the Rogue Valley in Southern Oregon on a weekend getaway from the big city. This was a special place for Jensine as this was where she often came to pray and reflect on the good times and the bad times. It was also the location that Connor had attempted to tell her that he loved her three months into dating. Connor knew that the location would be ideal to present Jensine with an engagement ring, a small superficial representation of his love for her and of their commitment and love for one another. Jensine joyfully accepted the engagement ring, an exclamation point on the love story that Jensine and Connor will tell you has been the greatest adventure of each of their lives as individuals and is an adventure they look forward to continuing for a lifetime!

Jensine and Connor feel so fortunate to be able to host our family and friends in the celebration of our love story and for you to witness their commitment at their upcoming wedding. They are looking forward to celebrating with each and everyone who has played an important role in making them the people they are today capable of loving and caring for each other.

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