We had matched on Bumble. We had matched on Hinge. A modern day match made in heaven. By the time we took this first photo together, we had been seeing each other for a couple of months and went to one of our favorite places for the day, the James River.

We bonded over our love of dogs, craft beer, and the social determinants of health. We discovered that our values and morals were perfectly aligned, and sometimes we clean up nice, too.

Next step: family. Laura eased Ali in with a full-blown Kauffman Family wedding at the farm. Ali got the full farm experience and immediately fell in love with the place that is so special to Laura's family. Shade Mountain Farm ("the farm") in Central Pennsylvania has been in the Kauffman family since 1927. Laura's mom and her siblings grew up there, and it continues to be a haven for family gatherings.

Just like that, we became a family of 3. Ali became a kickass Physician Assistant, and our families and friends merged to celebrate her graduation. Ali's nephew, Gio, even approved of Laura (aka Slendergirl) and Payton (aka Cheesepuff).

One day Ali came home from her pediatrics rotation and said "I really like the name 'Maverick' for a kid." Laura said, "Veto," and so we adopted a handsome coonhound instead. His name is Maverick.

We closed on our house in Church Hill in Richmond, VA. We had to be sure it had enough bedrooms for the pups and friends to stay. A big step we both worked for, and could not be happier to be doing it together!

Maverick needed a wingman. We became a family of 5 adding little baby Goose, an orange tabby cat into our jubilant home. #godolphins

Ali proposed during a trip to Portland, Maine in front of a beautiful lighthouse, celebrating with lobster rolls and Allagash beer for the rest of the day. Couldn't have been a more perfect proposal (until Laura's of course).

Laura wanted to propose at Libby Hill Park in Richmond. 2.5 years prior, Ali had planned a picnic during which she was going to ask Laura to be official at her favorite park, Libby Hill. But Laura spiraled into a rant about not needing to define relationships or labels. Therefore, Ali pulled the plug on that conversation. Fast forward, Laura asked Ali to not only be official, but to be her wife at Libby Hill. NOT PICTURED: Upon arrival to this beautiful park, we discovered two iconic trees had been struck in a recent lightning storm. Furthermore, a memorial was posted for a Richmond City public worker who had been tragically killed while helping to clean up the fallen trees. Laura persevered and didn't let the tragedy prevail; she proposed directly in front of the poor man's death scene. Ali still said yes.