While we celebrate this date as our anniversary, there is some discrepancy around the exact intentions of this day. According to Lora, she asked Allison to dinner as a friend after class one night. According to Allison, Lora asked her out on a date. Either way, June 12th marks the date we first connected. Our apologies to the staff at Lure Fish House Camarillo for staying almost two hours after closing--we lost track of time.

Lora and her friend snuck away to Pasadena to custom design Allison's engagement ring. By pure serendipity and no prior planning, the ring Allison gave Lora happed to be made from the same type of stone, a perfect pairing.

Mid-pandemic, we got engaged on our balcony in Newbury Park.

We moved 2,000 miles to Minnetonka, MN, embarking on the first, of what will become many, cross-country road trips from California to Minnesota.

In peaceful protest and civil disobedience, we are a team. (In case you were wondering, our red hats say, "Made Ya Look. Black Lives Matter.")

We survived our first midwest winter and fully embraced the snow-filled adventures Minneapolis has to offer. Even Pawlina participated on occasion, much to her displeasure.

Exactly 1 year until the wedding, planning begins!

Second anniversary adventures included: valet parking a cargo van at Shutters in Santa Monica, exploring fancy hotel bathrooms, running in the ocean after dark and remarking that the water was gloriously warm, and hearing on the news the next morning that the Santa Monica beach was closed due to a massive raw sewage spill the day before (that would explain the water temperature).

Our official engagement photos in the snow!