Our story goes back to before we were born. Our moms and Mark’s aunt knew each other from church and high school. Years later, our fathers connected over dogs—Mark’s dad is a sporting dog trainer, and Lauren’s dad wanted a hunting dog. And so it began. As babies and children, we spent a lot of time together—birthday parties, pool days, sledding and ski trips, field trials and training days. Our lives were intertwined from the start. Eventually, though, we lost touch. Mark, being a few years older than Lauren, had his own friends. And though Lauren and Mark’s sister Megan were friends as children, it is tough to maintain a friendship as kids when you don’t live close (in the days before social media at least!) So years went by before we really spoke again. Lauren went to college. Mark spent a year in Chicago. It wasn’t until early 2015, when Mark started working for Lauren’s dad, that we saw each other again and spoke as adults. Then, at Mark’s cousin Erika’s wedding, a spark was lit. We spent the entire night together, just talking and drinking a little too much. Lauren started making it a point to come to her dad’s shop more often. She got Mark’s number and texted him for updates while he ran his (now our!) dog Autumn at the springer national. There were many visits to the new litter of puppies in Blairstown… the signs were clear! One day, Lauren brought her friends Christine and Robert to visit the puppies. The four of us went to the Post Time Pub for dinner. Mark paid for Lauren… and so it became a double date! It wasn’t long until we set up our first real date at Sushi Hana on December 9, 2015. We’ve been together ever since.