Dublin High School, 1999. Erik was a senior. Jenni was a sophomore. The flirting may have started before the volleyball unit, but that's when they both remember looking forward to having "that class" with the other person. Her: I remember trying to figure out how to rig the team assignments to make sure I was on his team. Him: I remember playing "pepper" with her....and some point we went to McDonald's.

After Erik graduated from high school, Jenni and Erik continued to talk and spend a lot of time together. One day while chatting on AIM (RIP AIM/AOL) , they realized they were both headed down to southern California within hours of each other. Jenni and her mom planned a trip to Disneyland to watch her sister march in a parade. Erik was heading down to San Diego for Spring Break. They joked that Erik should swing by and say "hi" to Jenni and her mom on the way. Jenni, somewhat facetiously, told Erik the plans she'd made with her mom to meet up with her cousin at the Walt and Mickey statue at 11:00am, not thinking there was any chance he'd actually show up. As Jenni, her sister, and their mom were waiting for Jenni's cousin (who's officiating the wedding), Jenni's sister shouts, "Erik?!?!". Sure enough Erik wasn't joking and made a stop in Anaheim on his way to SD. (Pretty risky move in 2000 before cell phones. If Erik had been 5 minutes later, he would have missed meeting up with Jenni all together that day!) That evening, after the day at Disneyland, Erik and Jenni shared their first kiss. After over a year of growing closer, they officially became a couple! It was the start of something beautiful... They dated for a little over three years. There were many laughs and sweet memories made, but ultimately the trials of growing up and growing together at the same time proved to be more than their young relationship could weather. The break-up wasn't easy or pretty, and in 2003 Jenni and Erik went their separate ways.

Jenni and Erik ended up (re)connected through Facebook, but they didn't really interact. Then in October of 2015, Erik stumbled across a silly memento from one of their earliest dates. On a whim he sent it to Jenni in a message. That was all it took to open the door of communication wide open once more. For weeks Jenni and Erik spent hours every evening catching up and sharing details of their current lives. It was all as effortless as it had been in high school. After several weeks, Jenni suggested they take their renewed sense of companionship out for lunch, but Erik declined. Jenni asked again, Erik declined. Finally Jenni told Erik she was going to be in town getting her car worked on and she could really use a ride to grab a bite to eat and kill some time. Erik, rather reluctantly, agreed. It didn't take very long for Jenni and Erik to realize that despite many years that had passed, the strong connection between them was undeniable. A quick lunch turned into an entire afternoon of laughing together... that almost led to Jenni forgetting to pick up her car. Once again, Jenni and Erik continued to grow closer and closer, flirting with the idea of giving a relationship another go... Her: It was eerily similar to how our relation began when we were teenagers, except this time I was raising a 10 year old daughter and a 7 year old son, I was working 7 days a week, and preparing to go back to school full time. From what I remembered about our previous break up, I was fairly confident he wasn't going to want to date me again. Him: From what I remembered about our past relationship, I was pretty sure she wouldn't want to date me. But after a few months they entered into a new relationship, this time full of adult responsibilities, initially with a 40 min commute between then instead of a 4 min drive across town. Over the next 5 to 6 years they transitioned slowly, but somewhere in-between the dates to their favorite breweries and cheering on the kids at soccer tournaments, between romantic dinners and late nights helping out with homework, this story about a couple transformed into a tale about a family. Erik and Jenni also slowly learned their past as teenage sweethearts brought many expected and unexpected challenges. Thankfully, over time they learned these were potential opportunities to grow, heal, and learn how to better love one another. Their story is not a fairytale full of "meant to be" poetic lines, but rather a gritty testament of two people choosing each other over and over again, on the best and the worst of days.

In June of 2021, while in Kona, Hawaii ( along with Nyla, Mason, and Jenni's family) Erik surprised Jenni with a proposal set on the beautiful Kona Coast. Her: I suspected he might be getting ready to propose. We were getting ready to head to a luau near the end of the trip. All of the adult couples were dressed up and taking photos with the beautiful scenery behind us. I could tell something was a little off. I'd say I was suspiciously optimistic. We had talked about it... A LOT. Then he hands me a jewelry box. It wasn't the right size to be a ring, but I thought maybe he was trying to throw me off with the box. When I opened the box it was a necklace with a pendent that said "OHANA" (family). All my anticipation about a proposal kind of melted away as I thought about the significance of him hand selecting something so meaningful and beautiful. Then we walked down towards the sand for a few more photos, at my dad's suggestion; Which I thought was bizarre, because we were running late and my dad's not one to nonchalantly suggest we show up late when there is an open bar waiting. As we posed for a few more photos with the ocean behind us, Erik turned to me and quietly said, "You know ohana means family.... I was wondering if you'd like to be part of my family forever?" He quickly pulled out a ring and dropped to one knee before I immediately started crying and pulling him back up so I could hug him. Nyla and Mason were there, and I learned he had asked Nyla earlier in the day "How would you feel if I asked your mom to marry me today?". I also learned he was worried about telling Mason before the proposal because he didn't want the surprise ruined, but he had made sure all four of us were there together when it happened. It was extra special getting to share in it with family, and every time I look at the photos I realize I'm seeing it through my dad's perspective since he took the photos. Needless to say that was best luau ever. Him: I'd actually been debating between proposing in Hawaii and another meaningful event we had coming up in a few months. Then while we were were on vacation I decided I wanted to propose in Hawaii. It just seemed like the right time and place. So I talked to Jenni's dad while BBQ's burgers during he vacaion and he gave me his blessing. I definitely purchased the pendant as a decoy. I knew Jenni wanted a non-traditional ring (if any ring), and one of the local jewelers had the perfect piece to symbolize me, her, and the kids officially becoming one family. Turns out it's a good thing I chose to propose in Hawaii, because we are still waiting to attend the other special event due to multiple COVID postponements.