finally!

On May 12, 2017, Jaclyn was home on Kaua‘i for the summer before her senior year of college. Her family was celebrating her brother Eli’s high school graduation with dinner at Tidepools at the Grand Hyatt Kaua‘i — where Ohi‘a happened to be working as a valet runner. When Jaclyn’s family pulled up to the valet stand, her dad recognized one of the attendants and stopped to talk story. Meanwhile, in the background, something unexpected was happening. Jaclyn and Ohi‘a caught each other’s eyes and exchanged smiles. Jaclyn remembers Ohi‘a looking so clean-cut in his Hyatt uniform, with bright eyes and an eager smile. Ohi‘a remembers noticing the cute girl all dressed up for dinner and wondering who she was. Before dinner, Ohi‘a asked Jaclyn and her sister if they needed directions to Tidepools. As they walked away, Jaclyn turned back for one more look — only to catch Ohi‘a smiling back at her too. Later that evening, fate stepped in one more time. While waiting for their car after dinner, Jaclyn’s mom realized she had forgotten her credit card at the restaurant. In classic Ohi‘a fashion, he immediately volunteered to run down and retrieve it — making a pretty great first impression on the whole family. That night, Jaclyn and Ohi‘a connected on Instagram (very 2017 😂) and started hanging out the very next day. The rest of the summer was spent exploring Kaua‘i together and getting to know one another. When Jaclyn returned to college for her final semester, they made long distance work until Ohi‘a moved to Arizona in the summer of 2018. And the rest is history 🤍