On a chilly December 1st night in 2010, Ava met up with a small group of girl-friends to go ice-skating outdoors in DC. They met up at JeanMarie's house where Alex was one of Jean's roommates. Alex wasn't supposed to be home that night but had a cold, so he stayed home instead of working his bar shift at the Westover Beer Garden. He had a knitted Peruvian winter hat on and Ava couldn't help but notice his blue eyes and handsome face! Alex couldn't help but notice her too. The ladies soon headed out to DC. JeanMarie had to come home early for a pet-sitting job, and the group felt bad because they had to wait so long for tickets to the outdoor rink, Jean didn't end up getting to ice skate at all. Wanting to get more time to see the lovely JeanMarie, the girls headed back to her place to play board games, and Alex joined in on games of Apples to Apples (this was pre-Cards Against Humanity era). Ava was charmed by his clever wit, and they hit it off talking about random science and wildlife subjects like octopus (Ava's favorite subjects!) and didn't stop until about 4AM. Ava gave Alex her phone number on a note which he still carries in his wallet. They pretty much became joined at the hip since that night and the rest is history, they haven't gotten sick of each other yet! Alex lost his Peruvian hat on a trip to Yosemite in 2016, and Ava still misses seeing Alex in it.