It all started in pharmacology class, first semester of nursing school in 2019. Allegra walked in day one with a black eye (from hitting her head on the bed frame), a shaved head (from brain surgery the summer before), and a leather jacket (because she thought it was cool??) and I was convinced she was a badass biker chick. Then she opened her mouth. I quickly learned she is simply very clumsy, somewhat prone to injury, and definitely does not ride motorcycles. We were just study buddies at first, but I quickly learned she has the biggest heart of anyone you'll ever know; she will always have your back, and she makes the best teammate. We decided at the end of the first semester to give it our best shot. After a rocky first few months, we have since been doing life together so beautifully. While there have been many mundane days, we have packed a lot of fun into the last six years. If there's anything that is important to us, it's really living life to the fullest. Here's a glimpse of our highlight real.

As we began creating the foundations of our life together - and figuring out how to enter the medical world as recent graduates - we were thrown into a world of chaos with pandemic medicine at the University of Utah. Early on, Allegra decided one of her goals was to travel nurse for at least a year. I gave her the ultimatum that if I were to join her, we would get a puppy when we returned to permanent positions 😉 (stay tuned!!). While on a weekend trip to Durango, Colorado, we impulsively decided to sign a contract for Roanoke, Virginia, although we really had no idea where we were headed. We lived in an apartment on the river, with the hospital in view and the Appalachian trail in our backyard. We stayed for three months, and had the opportunity to spend quite a bit of time with my extended family in Charlotte, North Carolina. I was able to nail down a ring for Allegra with the thought that we were on our way to spending our lives together. We got to hang out with the mini ponies in Chincoteague, spend a long weekend in DC, and share a lake house with a few of our buddies. Overall, the first assignment was tough, but we grew to learn that we are great travel buddies, and it was ultimately so fun to explore together.

A few weeks into our time in Virginia, we decided to book a van-life week in Iceland. Allegra told me a proposal in Iceland was definitely off limits. I took it to heart and immediately ignored her. I knew that would be the most epic place and it would definitely be a winner.

We accepted our second assignment in Salem, Oregon. We lived in a house far too big for just the two of us, with way too many ants invading the piano. We spent a lot of time splashing in puddles, skiing different mountains in the Pacific North West, and exploring tons of waterfalls. Alexa spent a week with us, and we dragged her to one of our favorite bands in Portland, meeting some really cool folks along the way. We loved the food scene in Portland, the Sports Bra, and the fun we had - but were excited for the rain to go away.

We headed to Seattle next, and really started to fall in love with the travel scene. We were locked into the night shift routine, and discovered we could really pack fun trips into our days off. We spent a lot of time with friends both old and new, and they helped make Seattle feel like home. The spring and summer we spent there on the water were absolutely beautiful, and we took full advantage - we camped, hiked, biked, and explored the state whenever we could. in between the long night shifts and our many adventures, we solidified our trip to Europe, which included a few days in Amsterdam, a week in Denmark with the Nielsen family, a week in Iceland, and a few days in Scotland with Lauren.

Our time in Denmark was absolutely amazing. We learned what it means to live a Hygge life. We slowed down, drank a ton of tea, and really just spent quality time with beautiful humans. We biked the city of Copenhagen, lost half a tooth, discovered we NEEDED a lab pup just like Arthur, and really just had a blast.

Then we set off for Iceland. I knew that in order for our proposal to look the way I wanted it to, it needed to be on our first day there. I told Allegra she should wear her nice pants because we would be meeting the crew who would drive the ring road with us - and she's all about a good first impression. She didn't question me. I also told her she might want to wear mascara and wash her hair that morning because we weren't confident when our next shower would be. She didn't question that either (and my plan was unfolding perfectly!). I had her ring in my passport book for the first two weeks of our trip, but it was time to move it to my pocket. Luckily, she is slow in the shower, so I had plenty of time. Next, I told her we were on a strict schedule because we couldn't be late to the dinner meet and greet. We were to hit the hot springs first and then head to Haifoss. What she didn't know was that our cutie Polish photographer Leszek was meeting us at dusk at the waterfall, so we needed to be there at 4:30. Luckily, we were right on schedule, and Allegra was so excited to just take in all the beauty of Iceland that she didn't even notice. After a freezing, rain-blowing-sideways hike down to the base of the waterfall, I was able to take a moment to share with Allegra why I chose her and why this is all so worth it. Leszek got some incredible photos of our love. IT WAS AWESOME.

Fast forward a little bit, and we wrapped up our contract in Seattle. We were headed back to SLC. About three days after being home, I decided it was time to look at puppies. Allegra was firm that she wasn't ready, but we had an agreement, and I was determined to make her keep it. We were in Jackson Hole with my family on a little ski trip and I decided to browse KSL Classified. A little fox red lab was calling my name. We looked at her photos all weekend, and Allegra agreed that we could go meet her the upcoming Saturday. Of course, our plan to simply meet the puppy quickly turned into bringing cash and a kennel - just in case. And within no time at all we towed home a no-name puppy. We tested a few different names over the next week, and Maple stuck. She is our princess pup; she runs the show, and we couldn't be happier.

We have settled into life as a family of three. Obviously, there has been much more to our life together than I have shared here. Much of our life consists of frequent date nights, weekend trips, hard conversations, big ski days, teaching Allegra that two sticks are better than one, little fights, and a whole lot of love. We can't wait to see how this next chapter of our lives unfolds. We know we will continue to explore, create, love, and grow - always together with our little Mapes.

We are thankful for all the people in our community who have supported us on this journey and continue to help us navigate this wonderful life. Thank you for always being here for us.