We first met in the library at Hamilton College when a group of freshmen swimmers were congregating during the first week of school. Our first conversation was about how we had the exact same blue North Face backpack. Little did we know then how much we would have in common... We went on to swim together during that first year of college, becoming close friends. At the end of that year, on the infamous "Class and Charter Day" spring concert, things got *romantic.* We officially started dating in September of 2013. From then on we spent the rest of our time in college swimming, studying and having the MOST fun. After graduating in 2016, we both went off to medical school, Lauren at the University of Virginia and Alex at Tufts University. In December 2016, we adopted our first child, Duca, named for the insect we did research on together in college (Manduca sexta, yes, we are nerds). We spent the next few years co-parenting via many long phone calls, FaceTime videos and drives up and down the east coast, always looking forward to the time we got to spend together. We ended up getting engaged in November 2019 at Fort Williams Park on cliffs next to the ocean in Portland, ME. Unfortunately, Duca passed away this winter, but we know he would still love to be our flower boy in spirit. We graduated medical school in May 2021 and started our residency together in July, Lauren in OB/Gyn and Alex in Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern (Parkland). Since moving to Dallas we have adopted 2 new kitties, Tony and Pepper. They are helping to ground us and keep us sane as we navigate the first few months of residency. We are so excited to come back to New England to celebrate with you all in October!