As far as our stories go, this one is as typical teenager as it goes (sorry parents and grandparents). Once upon a time, two best friends had a New Years Eve party to celebrate going into 2019! Unfortunately, the party got busted as the clock struck midnight and everyone had to be seated in the living room while waiting for rides home. As luck would have it, we sat next to each other. Two strangers (despite being at the same school together) met due to a New Years Eve party busted and formed a simple connection around the aftermath of it all.

Summer of 2021 we reconnected after having lost contact for a while. Race was home from college and we were practically inseparable! We did lots of little casual hiking dates, our first one at Angel Falls and kicked back listening to 70s greatest hits. When Race went back to school in Bangor, we'd still see each other every weekend we could! We truly became best friends that summer.

On September 20th, 2021 Race decided he wanted to show me Cadillac Mountain for the sunrise- little did we know we needed to reserve passes. We ended up setting up shop to watch the sunrise at Sand Beach in Acadia. We were up all night with Red Bulls and blankets, listening to the waves and nature, cuddled up in blankets when Race asked me to be his girlfriend. It was an easy and obvious "yes".

Once Race was done with track and field, we decided to try and find a place to live together. The process of finding an apartment was probably the most frustrating things ever. In the meantime we lived with our parents/grandparents and when we had the money we would rent a hotel room for a few days out of the week because we were still so inseparable. The process was long and hard but finally we scored our first apartment and have been roommates since June 2022!

Race and I have always wanted a dog. We pictured something like an Australian Shepherd or some other big dog (Races preference, naturally). July 2024, Miss Ellie came into our care. One day my memere was picking me up from work and in her car was a screaming, yelping, inconsolable little chihuahua mix. She was the smallest thing I've ever seen in my life. The second I picked her up and held her, she nuzzled into my chest and I was completely done for. She was quiet and happy in my arms, she chose me. Taking her home to Race was the most hilarious thing in the world, first of all we were living in Sebago with roommates and he was not ready for a dog. I don't even think I was, but this little creature chose me and damn if I wasn't going to make her happy. "What the hell is even that, that can't be a dog!" is somewhere along the lines of what Race said in between fits of laughter. But sure enough, this little dog nuzzled her way into his heart as well. On days I was at work, Race would send me videos of her learning how to use the stairs, or playing in the grass. Thankfully we also had Memere as a support system, taking her during the hours we were both at work. Ellie is still very vocal and picky on who she likes (sorry Cole), but she is the best joy in the world

Like our story with Ellie, we always knew we wanted to be parents. On Fathers Day of 2025 we found out we would be! Very unexpected and very unprepared, we still loved everything about the prospect of being parents. I wasn't very sick, but I was extremely sensitive to smells and all I ever wanted was Burger King and brownie sundaes. Race made sure our every need was met, taking care of me and baby so so well.

When we went to the first ultrasound I was so nervous, we both were. My symptoms weren't all as bad as I thought they'd be so I thought something was wrong with the baby. Once that ultrasound came on, I had a gut feeling she was going to say multiples. I had it in my gut the whole time, but because my symptoms weren't crazy I shrugged it off. Always trust your gut, because sure enough there were two little beans on that screen jumping around like CRAZY. From there we had ultrasound appointments every two weeks to make sure everything was on the up and up and they were beautifully healthy babies.

The day we lost them will be a day we never forget. 16 weeks in and Belles water broke with nothing insidious to cause this. Unfortunately, both had to come out due to this and the risk it posed on all three of our lives.

Its a tougher part of our story, but it's still a key part in who we are today and who we plan to be in our future. Blaming one another was never something we considered to do and if anything we've been closer than ever. While we had such an astronomical loss, we gained the realization of just how many supporters we have in our lives. We are so thankful, still, for everyone who continues to rally with us.

Four years of love, loss and growth got us to where we were on our anniversary! We decided on a nice easy morning followed by apple picking and cider tasting. We started picking apples and got to a more secluded spot when I turn around and there Race is on one knee, ring in hand. Shocked was an understatement, I think I blacked out. I think we both did! I very obviously said yes and we celebrated with drinks and dinner!