Our Story

We had the great fortune to meet just weeks before the pandemic took hold of the world. Over the course of just a few weeks, our dates quickly transitioned from cider tasting in Sonoma, skiing in Shasta, and discussing Eric's tour logistics at breweries to setting up lawn chairs in the driveway 6 feet apart. As the weeks passed and both the virus and the CDC guidelines evolved, our relationship did too. By late Spring 2020, we accepted that “normal” was a thing of the past, and we officially became a part of each others bubble.

From that pivotal point, we were rarely more than six feet apart. We embarked on road trips to destinations such as the Pacific Northwest, Western Montana and Southern California. We hiked all over California and mountain biked whenever possible. We learned to adapt to our new role as virtual educators/tech support for our students. As time passed, our bubble grew larger and our families grew closer. We were thrilled to finally be able to safely fly again, and we spent the month of July 2021 visiting Eric's family and friends in Nashville and Rugby, Tennessee; Yellow Springs, Ohio; and Asheville, North Carolina. We returned to in-person teaching for the 2021-22 school year, and we supported students in readjusting to life at school. Most recently, we spent the summer traveling in New Zealand finally being able to visit Kylie's sister Meredith.

On April 6, 2022, Eric proposed to Kylie at the end of the journey of The Road to Hana in Maui.