If you know us well, you know when someone asks us, "how did you meet" we often respond with two different answers at the same time. Obviously, we didn't meet on Christian Mingle or Farmers Only. We met on the Bumble app in October 2020. Bumble for those of you that don't know, typically the female gets to swipe first, it's a whole different ball game when you're a lesbian! We still don't know how this works but either way, we both swiped and here we are today. After a few days of chatting back and forth on Bumble, numbers were finally exchanged. From day one, both of us have been smitten with each other. Waking up to sweet good morning messages, filling each day with lots of emojis, and ending the day with sweet good night texts. Many conversations getting to know each other’s past, present and sharing ideas of our futures selves. Before Corie would feel comfortable to meet in person, she had to make sure Darcy was a "real" person and not a crazy creep, she insisted on having a FaceTime date. Thank goodness for technology, we might not be sitting here today. Finally, we met in person, meeting halfway between our two homes, (Corie coming from Denver and Darcy coming down from the mountain) into Ft. Collins. We met up for dinner and drinks where Darcy smashed a lobster roll. She didn't care how messy it was, she wasn't there to pretend to be someone she isn't. Corie took notice of the confidence and loved every minute of it!! Because we lived in different cities, it would take roughly an hour and half to get to see each other. We would try and spend as many minutes as possible when not working. Tina Johnson, Darcy's mom would always graciously open her home to us - feeding our bellies, warming our hearts and providing all the amenities of our local all-inclusive resort! We would have fun "staycations" and many of our favorite memories were made at moms house! Spending tons of time with family and getting to meet new friends as a new couple. While Corie and Darcy were working their way to love, one of Corie's best friends Carly Habein (who also lived in Ft. Collins) would often remind Corie how amazing Ft. Fun was. Corie finally bit the bullet and sold her home in Denver and moved to Ft. Collins so that she and Darcy could live together and spend more time when not working. You're right, Carly!! Ft. Collins is an amazing place to call home. Our first trip away was to Durango, CO so we could visit Corie's extra set of parents, Brian and Lawanna (Lu) Leslie. Corie knew that if Lu (and Bender) signed off on Darcy, she was one of the good ones! THANK YOU, Lu! Lu and Brian have opened their home so many times and we couldn't be more grateful for their support, their generosity and their overwhelming love for us and Bender Bennie Boo Boy! Since our first date, we've spent every day getting to know each other more and more. We're not the typical couple that had the "honeymoon" experience up front. We've laid out all our cards - the good, the bad and the super ugly. We've seen each other at our complete best and our most embarrassing worst. We've experienced so much love, many adventures, grief and heartbreak. Through each storm, we have learned more about each other, and we've become closer and more in love. For each adventure, we become even more connected. Cabo was our first vacation and has deep roots to our relationship. We hope you'll love it as much as we do.

In true Lesbian fashion, we both wanted to propose but Corie was the first to pop the question. Truth be told, on one of our many adventures, there was a scary moment where Darcy almost drowned. Sorry, mom, you're just learning this story!! Long story short, Corie knew that she didn't want to waste another moment. Most people think of lesbians being super liberal. While we are compared to a lot of our family, Corie is fairly conservative and a little old fashioned. No kissing on the first date... Corie asked Garry Johnson, Darcy's dad, for his blessing. Of course, he said yes and he shared how happy he and Diane (Darcy's bonus mom) were for the both of us. When you ask Darcy who her favorite person is, in the whole world, she will tell you it's her dad. He's truly a standup guy who is one of our best friends. It was important to include him and Diane in the story. With their help, the proposal took place on their beautiful property in Ft. Collins. A few months before the first proposal, Corie and Darcy decided to adopt date night, once a month where it was a surprise. We would alternate months and September was the kick-off to date night. In true overachiever style, Corie planned the ultimate date. But before the date, Corie arranged to take a few photos for the upcoming holiday card. The photos were going to be taken on Garry and Diane's property where one of Darcy's sister’s, Stacey would be our photographer. Little did Darcy know; this was the setting of the proposal. When they arrived, Corie had a picnic set up in the field where Bender played an important role. On his collar read (Darcy was asked to take off to make him more comfortable). "Will you be my forever mom" and on the other side "Will you marry my mom, please! Love Bender". Darcy said, YES! From then, we had lots of life changes. We sold our business, and we moved across the country to live in Portland, OR. This is where the second proposal took place. As we were settling into Portland, Darcy purchased a ring and kept it safe until the time was right. Countless ideas and thoughts on how to top Corie's proposal? It was perfect! Darcy knew she just needed to do it her way... simple yet meaningful. In July 2023 we finally planned our first camping trip together and Darcy thought "this could be it." Now, we had never been camping before so Darcy knew that if it went well, it could be the perfect time. On our last night we hiked up to the sand dunes with Bender. He loves playing in the sand and we wanted to wear him out before bed. Darcy set up her camera under the guise of Bender running around in the sand. After playing for some time, she convinced Corie to come back into frame of the video and asked for her hand in marriage. We had a lot of firsts that weekend, but Darcy proposing to Corie was the best first she has had to date. Now, we're ready to profess our love to our tribe! We can't wait to say to say, "I do".