Madi was travelling in Australia after finishing a wine vintage. Jono had just bought a house with his dad and was remodeling it. They both matched on Hinge and made a connection. The first date was at The Loose Moose in Surfer's Paradise, QLD on August 4th, 2020. They walked along the boardwalk for a few hours talking before they remembered they were hungry. They ordered ribs and laughed until the restaurant closed. Then they walked across the street and bought a bottle of 2018 Oyster Bay Pinot Noir because Madi made it and they drank it on the beach in the moonlight. They kissed on the beach, ran into the sea, and Madi lost an earring. Then they danced in an empty parking garage and Jono asked if Madi would help him do his taxes. Needless to say, they went on another date shortly after that, and then another, and another....

Madi was in Australia on a yearlong visa that was expiring in February of 2021. Jono and Madi were really hitting it off and growing closer when her housing situation suddenly ended in October of 2020. Jono didn't want Madi to leave just yet and invited her to move in with him so that she could extend her stay a bit longer. She agreed and was quickly welcomed into the inner circle of family and friends. What would have been a step taken maybe a year or two down the road was suddenly a decision made after 2 months of dating but they had fun and grew closer together. Madi had the full Australian experience and Jono figured out quickly if he could handle all her quirks. She introduced everyone to American Thanksgiving and he showed her a good ole fashioned Australian Christmas BBQ lunch. The family took her as one of their own and Jono's friends became hers as well. The time finally came for her visa to end, and the departure was full of snot filled tears and soggy facemasks. Jono and Madi facetimed, called, and texted each other every day they were apart.

From the day Madi took off in Australia on February 8th 2021 to the day Jono landed in LAX on December 4th they facetimed, called, and texted each other. They laughed together, cried together, played DnD, watched movies, cooked together, consoled one another, talked endlessly and supported each other while 7800 miles apart. Jono was able to finally visit the USA after a long year of covid and Madi took him on a whirlwind tour of the West Coast. An East Bay wedding, LA for a day, SF for the weekend, and iconic CA Highway 1 drive, NHL, NFL, eating our way across the central coast, skiing in Boise, a White family Xmas, and plenty of friend time. It was a great month of seeing Madi's greatest hits of the US and they got to spend an extra 3 weeks together on the couch sick with covid after the holidays. It was a bittersweet goodbye when Jono had to go back home but they knew that they still loved each other and they wanted to make this being together thing permanent.

Before Jono flew home from his USA tour, he and Madi had many conversations about what the future holds for both of them. Upon his return they made a decision about getting a fiancé visa to move to the USA to get married. He proposed via mailed flowers to Madi with a note and a ring. "Wanna get married?" Madi gave her answer over facetime with Yes! Madi quit her job at the winery she was working at and moved all her things to Boise, ID to be closer to family and wait patiently for Jono's arrival. They submitted their visa in March of 2022 and they received their official approval on September 22 of 2023. It only took 18 months to process (and they were told it would only take 9!)

Jono returned to Australia, they got engaged, and he began organizing his affairs at home. They began the process of collecting all the information they needed for the K1 fiance visa and calling friends and family for blessings and advice. They updated resumes, applied for new jobs, began moving things around and preparing for their new lives together. Jono finally moved to the USA on October 26th 2023. The morning he received his fresh new social security card they arranged a courthouse wedding. This last minute wedding was done while Madi was at work and got her office to throw together a wedding with her boss as the officiant. It was a perfect day of laughter and celebration. Now they are settled into their regular lives and could not be happier. The big celebration will give all their loved ones far and wide plenty of time to plan the big trip to America to see Jono's new home and to collide their two worlds together in one big weekend of eating, drinking, floating, and dancing.

We made it to 1 year of marriage under Idaho State Law. It has been a total blast. Jono got a job at Micron in Change Management and gets to work from home. Madi is still loving recruiting with TEKsystems and 2.5 years into that. There are no plans to expand our family while still living in the USA unless that expansion involves more pets as mentioned below: Maxolotl the Axolotl is two, thriving, giant, adorable, and strange. He recognizes us and comes out every morning for food. We found out that He is actually a She (but we are too used to his pronouns to change) and he has grown from a tiny 2 inch long lil guy to now being about 13 inches long and chunky. The hamSTARS have been rotating since Jono moved here. RIP to Oscar, Simon, Penny, Bowser, and Mario. Still thriving is Gamgee although he avoids all human contact. We even gave away a hamster to Madi's little brother and Luigi was thriving with a thousand treats every day there too. Jono has made a great group of friends here and has become a regular at Liga, our local soccer pub. He joined a kickball league and has made even more friends with that. Madi joined the Fronton Association's Women's Pala League, a Basque racquetball type sport and she is getting better every week. She also is in the works of a small market vendor business called Hex & Hovel with her best friend Lakin making and selling handmade renaissance themed items like chainmail crowns, historical board games, spell candles, jewelry, etc. and rented a studio work space for that. Life has been good this first year married just working out the bumps, spending time with loved ones, and enjoying life together.