Alex and Tyler met on a blind date and referral from mutual friends, Justin and Janelle Brinn. Justin and Tyler were wrapping up a mountain biking trip in Colorado when Justin decided that that Tyler needed to meet Alex, a gal that also had some wild hobbies. That next Monday, Alex got a text from Janelle inviting her on their weekly Road Bike Monday ride to meet Tyler. "He is cute, he is taller than you, he is kind, he owns his own house," Janelle said. Alex was just thrilled to meet someone that sounded like a fully formed adult and not a man-child she was used to encountering in the dating scene. She gave the warning that she was an ER nurse (it was covid times) and met up for a double date right after her shift that same day.

The date went so well Alex fell off her bike.

Tyler continued to court Alex, impressing her immensely with his birdhouse skills and ability to fix things around the house (and outside the house, and under the hood of a vehicle, and mostly anything in the garage really...etc. etc.) that Alex realized she no longer had to call her dad every time she stepped into a hardware store. Tyler was the first man she dated that actually made her life *easier.*

We're going to count our first GNCC Ironman weekend together as our dating anniversary. Alex pulled the "what are you going to call me to your mom?" card, and Tyler said, "well, you're my girlfriend."

Tyler let Alex use his prized truck for her gardening shenanegains, a sure way to securing her heart forever.

She taught him how to snowboard,

He taught her how to cycle

...and motorcycle

They was like peas and carrots.

*Lovely trip to Portland in moss and waterfall season to meet Tyler's brother for the first time*

six months later they did the U-haul thing and moved in together

and soon after that, adopted their pride and joy, Oscar

They immediately took him on a 7 hour kayak trip the second day they got him...

...and introduced him to all of their other favorite hobbies as well.

3 weeks after getting him, they took him on a 9 hour road trip to the Northeast Georgia rainforest, securing his temperment as a puppy that likes to travel, mountain bike, hike, and chase waterfalls.

However, a dog that does it all cannot be left behind.

So Tyler and Alex bought him a Ford Transit and built it out into an adventure van so Oscar can travel anywhere with them (except for places where 4x4 is strictly necessary, because that was an extra $50k)

Our family of three has had many adventures.

In February of last year, Tyler popped the question on a ski trip in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, known for that sweet, sweet champagne powder (fluffy snow). Tyler, Alex, and Oscar were staying in Oscar's adventure van at highly romantic KOA campground, and Alex had no idea that her mom had given Tyler the civil war-era family heirloom ring several months before that. Therefore, she certainly didn't know he had it zipped in his ski jacket next to the Fireball Whiskey shooters and pocket beers that are customary to carry on you for ski lifts or black diamond breaks. When they hopped off the back side of the mountain and skiied along the ridge to drop in the double black diamond they were planning to play around in, Alex caught sight of a great view and yelled at Tyler to stop for a beer. Instead of the requested beer, he pulled out the ring and asked, "do you want to keep going on adventures the rest of our lives?" Alex said "PUT THAT THING BACK IN YOUR POCKET BEFORE WE LOSE IT BUT YES."

They started planning the wedding of their dreams at a summer camp next to Klinger Lake, Alex's second home in southern Michigan.

See you at the Camp in June!!