Mandy and I met at Beaver Creek, a restaurant that she was working at. Our love burned bright, but not as bright as the fire that would engulf that very restaurant just four years later.

If I knew back then that ten years later this would be the only picture of the two of us there, I would have worn a nicer shirt.

We love to travel, and we've been all over together, from Mackinac to Los Angeles to the Virgin Islands.

This photo is the first one taken of the two of us, while we were on our first trip together, to Florida, just two months after our first date. That might sound like the first ten minutes of an episode of Forensic Files, but we had a great time and Mandy WAS seen alive again.

In October 2014, we moved into a house together, and just like that our partnership of two became a family of four. This was a great house for pool parties, Christmas mornings, and everything in between, and it became a true home to us.

When our relationship survived a new house, a new position at work, and new schools, all while learning how to live with each other, a six-year-old, and a teenager for the first time, we knew it was built to last.

On Christmas of that year, this big baby came to live with us, when he was eight years old. For more than five years, he wrestled with me and drank beer with Mandy. Brady was the best dog we ever had (before or SINCE) and we miss him every day.

For more on Tom Brady, check out his Facebook page:

https://m.facebook.com/profile.php/?id=100010521582497

Even though we are very different people, Mandy and I are surprisingly compatible in our desire to build stories together. We've been on white water rapids and to the top of a mountain, we've seen Hamilton and Dave Chappelle, we've been over the highway on the motorcycle and over boulders in the Jeep.

Mandy is the best partner I could ask for, and I can't wait for this next great adventure with her.

Months after losing Tom Brady, we moved these two idiots in, and they have given Mandy (and sometimes me) fits ever since. They are loud and gross, they have a catlike enthusiasm for destroying cherished items, and they shed more than what one might think is biologically possible. But as you can see, they are adorable, and I (and sometimes Mandy) love them like crazy.

Emphasis on crazy.

We moved into our current home in October 2021. This time, we did things a little different. We are both co-owners, plus Mandy was added to my will and given durable power of attorney.

In other words, to show Mandy that she is the love of my life, I gave her the legal right to end it.

Over the years we've been together, Mandy and I have been not only partners, but also parents to these amazing two young people. Managing both of these roles took some adjustment for sure, but over time Mandy's kids, both exceptionally intelligent, talented, and good, became our kids, and they made becoming a dad, for the first time at age 36, easy for me.

Damon and Rylee are deeply connected to everything that Mandy and I are and everything we have, part of our story and our lives. And both of us love them and are proud of them, every day.

Ten years and one day after our first date, I proposed to Mandy, and -- and this should not be a surprise at this point -- she said yes. I have never been happier with anyone, or with my life, than I am with Mandy, and I am excited beyond words to be on this path to becoming her husband.

On behalf of Mandy and myself, we are both very excited for you to be with us to celebrate our wedding. Thank you for visiting our page. We will see you in Detroit in September!