It all started with a match, on Coffee Meets Bagel, an online dating app. Her profile expressed her love of travel, and we began chatting briefly, before making plans to meet at a coffee shop in Pasadena. You wouldn't have known it was our first date - perplexed maybe, by the site of two people practicing suturing on a piece of leather in the middle of a café. It was love at first stitch. From there we visited LA rooftops and Griffiths' observatory. Our love of travel brought us together and the silly jokes sealed the deal. Working toward similar goals, Kari finishing up NP school, and I starting my RN, provided us the strength to power through the challenges. Studying most of the time, we often dreamt of escaping to far away destinations. Frequent trips to Sacramento brought me closer to Kari’s family, and with our passion growing, our time apart was too much and we moved in together. Two bedrooms, a roommate, and the beach 1 mile away, we started outdoor adventuring with hikes and trips to the beach. After NP school, Kari and I officially started scratching our traveling itch with trips to Bali and Cuba. As time passed our love grew, I knew from first stitch I wanted to suture our lives together forever. I started designing a ring that exemplified Kari’s passion for the outdoors and selected Banff, Canada as the proposal destination, as Kari had always wanted to visit. In a beautifully crafted moment a very “surprised” Kari watched me wobble down to one knee, as I, barely able to speak, asked her to marry me in one of the most picturesque spots. From there, Kari started working as an NP helping the underserved in LA. Her passion for the disadvantaged always lit a fire under my love for her. As our careers mature we hope to find ways to advance that aspect of health care. We now have our own place in LA and will soon be moving up North. What the future holds? I have no idea, but I know whatever path we walk it’ll be full of happiness and toots (Zack's!)