We met almost 10 years ago in Cañon City, Colorado, rafting the Royal Gorge. I (Lillian) had a massive crush on Kieran but played it incredibly cool. After a year of being just friends, Kieran finally asked me to be his girlfriend. A week later, I left to New Zealand for about 8 months for reasons unknown, but I was 21 and feeling free. After our long-distance stint, we reunited for another season of rafting the Gorge. We shared a camper outfitted with a twin bed, four shelves, and a dead mouse ("Mr. Squeakers") that was sun-baked into the countertop. Our days were filled with biking, rafting, and running under the high desert sun. After our summer-lovin' phase, we moved to Steamboat Springs, Colorado for the winter. Kieran thrived, coaching competitive snowboarding, while I waitressed at a struggling ramen restaurant. In Steamboat, we met some of our dearest friends and had some of our most trying adventures. About 1.5 years later, COVID hit and the ramen restaurant finally met it's fate. I figured that I should probably go to law school, again for reasons unknown. In 2021, I got into Lewis & Clark Law, and we moved to Portland. That was our toughest year to-date; I was an anxiety ridden mess and Kieran wasn't sure what he wanted to do for a career (although his skateboard trick repertoire really took off). In March of 2022, we found ourselves crying on the broken couch in our 400 square foot apartment right off of the freeway because things were ... not as fun as they once were. A month later, Kieran was accepted into OSU Cascades Masters in Counseling Program and would be moving to Bend the upcoming fall. For the next two years we were back and forth from Portland to Bend, visiting each other on the weekends until we finished our respective degrees. Finally in 2024, we officially began putting down roots in a place where we are incredibly happy. Kieran is the mental health counselor at Redmond Proficiency Academy (RPA), and I am an attorney for a firm that I like, most of the time. We are so grateful for our community here in Bend, and our friends who have made this place our home. Not to mention, Pluto (aka Pluey) our sweet little dog whom we love dearly.