Nicole had just moved to Texas in early 2021, and it was Super Bowl weekend. Her friend, Michelle, invited her to a Super bowl party at Michelle's house - where Nicole could, "meet some people outside of work." Little did she know that Michelle and another friend, Jen, had laid the foundation for Nicole + Karl to meet. Karl had lived in The Woodlands since 2014, but to be honest he was starting to wonder if it was time to move on. Karl was at the same Super Bowl party with his own friends and, when they told him about Nicole, Karl knew the fix was in, but he was ok with it. Michelle and Jen had unsubtly assigned Karl to "take care of" Nicole since she was so new in town. Everyone had a great time, but it would be several months later that they would cross paths again. Because sometimes Karl is a dummy. One Saturday in early summer Jen invited Nicole to join her, Karl, and their friends at a local pub. Nicole was reluctant to go since there were contractors at the house working on a remodel job, but a break from the noise was perfect. Nicole + Karl had a great time laughing and chatting for several hours, but again they would not see each other for a while. (Why? See above.) It wasn't until that December that things got into motion. Michelle hosted a pre-Christmas party and Nicole + Karl reconnected that night, hanging out most of the evening. The night went by quickly. Suddenly, everyone else had gone home and Nicole + Karl were among a small handful in the kitchen at 3 a.m. (Sorry Jim!) Going home, Nicole was disappointed that Karl still hadn't asked for her number. But the next day, she got that first text from Karl and everything fell into place. Over the last 2+ years, they've traveled on many adventures, fell in love with each other's families, moved in together (and found a place to store most of Karl's DVD's), completed dozens of puzzles, and cooked hundreds of meals. Karl changed jobs so he could be more available for his new family, and today they continue to laugh, love, and playfully disagree about Mariners v. Red Sox. Most recently Nicole + Karl had their first child, a daughter, named Harper Kirby Shaw. She's the star of the show. And everything keeps getting better!

02/07/21 - First met 12/23/21 - Reconnected 01/14/22 - First date 03/21/23 - Engaged 07/29/23 - First child 04/21/24 - Married