As many modern couples these days, we met through an online dating service. Kadie still teases Derek about his silly soccer photo he had on his profile (like the kind little kids take, posing in their uniform on one knee holding a soccer ball) and how there was something about that dorky pic and humor that made her want to meet him.

After talking online for a couple of weeks we decided it was time to meet and Derek planned our first date at Pinball Jones in Old Town. We later found out that we were both so excited for our date that we showed up early; Derek grabbing a slice of pizza and Kadie wandering stores to kill time before arriving. We awkwardly made our first in-person introductions and then enjoyed several games of pinball, wandering and talking while we played.

Even though it was a rather chilly winter evening, we did not want our date to end, and eventually made our way over to The Exchange to grab some donuts at FOCO DOCO, where we huddled under a warmth lamp, eating our sweets and getting to know each other better. When Kadie asked Derek why he got a hot chocolate instead of coffee, he explained that coffee “tastes like hot dirt water.” They immediately knew there was something real here.

We had parked on opposite ends of Old Town, so after walking Kadie to her car, she gave Derek a ride over to where he parked. Derek thanked her for a lovely evening and said he got all the way to his car before he was already kicking himself and dashed back over to her open car window and asked if he could give her a kiss. It was sweet and perfect and made Kadie’s heart flutter.

Soon thereafter we started to regularly spend our days without children, hanging out, going on adventures and falling for one another. By mid-February we took our first (of many) trips to a hot springs and spent a long weekend in Salida, CO.

Photos