New employee orientation. We’ve learned that Kelly sat behind Lucas. Kelly doesn’t remember sitting behind Lucas but it’s okay because Lucas didn’t remember sitting in front of Kelly. Nothing significant to report. Life went on.

Kelly and Lucas both participated in a local school’s STEM Night. Kelly ran the robotics station. Lucas ran the liquid nitrogen station. At the end of the night, Lucas asked Kelly if she’d help him pour out the remaining liquid nitrogen, per the standard operating procedure. While Lucas poured out the liquid nitrogen, Kelly asked Lucas if he’d like to go rock climbing someday. Lucas said he was interested, but would probably be no good at it. A couple weeks later, they went rock climbing. Lucas was no good at it.

Lucas (wearing a tie!) picked up Kelly at her apartment. He handed her an envelope with a “1” on it. Inside was a riddle that she had to figure out to guide them to their first destination. After reaching each destination, Kelly had new riddles to solve in order to guide them to the next location. After dinner, they played a game of chess at Lucas’s apartment, then had cupcakes by the river. Kelly got 16 bug bites that took a few months to heal. We honor our first date by visiting some of the same places each Juneteenth.

One Veteran’s Day on the Rappahannock River, Lucas belayed Kelly. Kelly belayed Lucas. At the top of the climb, Lucas called down to Kelly, “did you see this cute little rock up here?” Kelly replied, “No?” Lucas called back, “Okay, I’ll bring it down for you.” After touching the ground, Lucas went down to one knee and asked Kelly to marry him. Now we’re inviting the people we love most to watch us tie the knot!