Join us for our Greatest Adventure

We met the old fashioned way, online dating! Aaron swiped right on Mali, Mali swiped right on Aaron, and not surprisingly Mali threw the first cast and Aaron took a bite. The first time we talked on the phone was the morning after Aarons 40th birthday, needless to say, he was feeling the effects of a fun night out, while also rushing to pack and fly to spend the weekend in Boulder, Co. We scheduled a date at the climbing gym for the following week, Mali was really stretching outside of her comfort zone by agreeing to meet Aaron, even though he lived more than 20 miles away, but figured since she already had to be in Pasadena for work that day, it wouldn't hurt to meet the guy with the kind eyes and cute dimples on the drive back. Aaron walked into the climbing gym with an iced decaf coffee for Mali, the biggest smile we have all grown to love, and we hit it off immediately. A bouldering climbing date turned into Aaron asking Mali if she wanted to go for a beach walk with is dog, (enter Hank) which rolled into dinner at Pier Side in San Clemente and a near panic attack by Mali. In his calm and EMT trained way, Aaron talked Mali through a few deep breathes, and the first date was sealed with... a kiss on the cheek. Less than a week later, date two was on the books, Pedro's burritos, followed by a magical day of surfing at San Onofre, and we were near inseparable aside from when Aaron was working.

The start of our relationship was a whirlwind of surf, climbing, and Hank filled adventures, with a smattering of work in between- rock climbing in Red Rocks, Nevada spearfishing off the coast Concerts and lots of sunset surfing... It was all fun and games until Aaron got the call to take the trip of a lifetime to Tavarua Island for a month long trip as a volunteer boatman. Fun got more fun for Aaron, while Mali adjusted to life without her favorite adventure side kick, and the two spent their first Christmas, New Years, and Mali's birthday apart. However, the two were soon reunited when Mali got the call from halfway across the world saying "book a ticket now to fly out tomorrow, you can come to Tavi!" 32 hours later, a huge suitcase and surfboard bag full of supplies, Mali joined Aaron in Fiji to spend the next 10 days on a private island in paradise, 2020 was off to a great start! Or so we thought...

We returned from Fiji more smitten and connected than ever, and Aaron headed off shortly after on another epic trip snowboarding in British Columbia. But it didn't take long before news of some mysterious virus rolled up on our own shores, and we wondered if our adventures were about to be halted. Approximately one week after we first said "I love you", we were forced into Aarons 500 square foot apartment together. Being that Aaron works as a firefighter medic, and Mali had two roommates, the normal back and forth dating and sleep overs was no longer going to work. Aaron cleared out a closet, Mali showed up with a few suitcases, and we hunkered down for the 30 day social distance quarantine... 30 days turned into 60 and amidst the stress of frontline care, we learned the dance of trying to live together in the middle of a pandemic, and then, a racial reckoning. Mali and 4 other woman would birth Encinitas4Equality in late May of 2020, and Mali would return to living in Encinitas to run E4E full time as a volunteer, while Aaron continued to navigate being a frontline medic in a highly stressful time. There was always an unspoken assumption that Mali would move to San Clemente, so that Aaron could be closer to work, and the home he owned, yet when E4E continued to build momentum, and the work of racial justice became more and more time consuming and consequential in Mali's backyard, Aaron made a huge sacrifice and left the home he had known for many decades to move to Encinitas. In Oct 2020, Mali, Aaron, and Hank moved into their house with the perfect backyard and countless fruit trees, and decided to call Encinitas home.

Somewhere between an election, a pandemic, the start of a nonprofit, two stressful jobs, the isolation of missing friends and family, we started to unconsciously retreat into ourselves and our own respective coping tools. For Mali it was throwing herself into running Encinitas4Equality, for Aaron it was diving deep into healing work, neither was a negative thing, but they were both separate directions and for awhile, we loved each other, but didn't always know how to make the other feel that way. We still found ways to adventure together, the 10 day trips to Baja California were gifts from god, no cell phone service, nonstop Hank snuggles, long days and low tide beaches, wrapped us in a cocoon of love and hope, reminding us that when all else felt bleak, our perfect trio, and the back of a popup camper, was still our happiest place to be. Yet even Baja trips had to come to an end, and life was always there. One of the most incredible things about meeting each other late in life was both having such confidence and assurance in who we were as individuals, both bringing our mostly best selves to the table, and having done a lot of evolving prior to falling in love. The downside to this was, we were both two very self confident, self assured individuals, who were very happy with our own ways of doing things, and intertwining our lives together, sometimes felt like untying our own individual lives. Therapy is an amazing thing, and we don't pretend to have a fairy tale relationship that didn't have bumps along the way. Considering our lives before each other were pretty bumpy, and that we both knew the importance of self care, self love, self awareness, we found ourselves in a beautiful room overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Del Mar with a very stern, yet brilliant therapist, who helped us learn to listen first, and then love deeper. As Ram Das would say, it was all grist for the mill, and what we have been able to create, has been nothing short of magical.

Mali turned 40 December 31, and not being one who shy's away from an epic party, she organized a 40th birthday bash in Kauai to celebrate with 11 of some of her favorite loved ones. Mali had surrendered the idea that Aaron would propose while in Kauai, yet the day before they were set to leave for the trip he started acting a little suspicious and Mali began to wonder if he would pop the question in paradise. Every perfect moment, Mali kept thinking Aaron would creep up behind her and get on one knee,but it didn't happen when they were on a catamaran under a waterfall,it didn't happen when they went for a walk together at sunset or when she blew her candles out on her cake. The morning they were set to leave,Mali asked Aaron if they could extend their trip 5 more days.The sun was finally coming out and 20 foot waves were on the horizon, sun, swell and five days alone together was exactly what they needed.Having the house to themselves meant lazy mornings snuggling, afternoons surfing, and relaxing nights walking to sunset.The final full day of their trip Mali started the day asking Aaron about his ideal timeline for marriage, kids, and all those things men love to talk about at 8am. Later that evening, after a day of surfing and hanging out at the beach, Aaron and Mali decided to hang out in the hot tub at the house.They started talking about names for their future kids, negotiating over the possibility of hyphenated last names, & plans for the future. Aaron thought this would be an ideal time to pop the question, so he went to grab the ring he had been carrying around the last 10 days, and surprised Mali by raising it out of the hot tub water!Tears immediately began to flow by both Mali & Aaron & when Mali couldn't wait for Aaron to get the words out, she just blurted out "yes! Yes! wait i think you have to ask me" - "Do you want to marry me?" was about all Aaron could muster through tears, and the two... well we think they are going to live happily ever after.

August 13, 2022 will be 3 years and one week from our first date, and we can't wait to celebrate our 3 year anniversary by saying "I do". We truly hope you are able to join us, but understand with covid, travel, summer plans, and other obstacles it may not be possible for all our loved ones to be there in person. Know you will be there in our heart, and are all in some way part of the journey that made us who we are as individuals, and then as a couple. We carry you in our heart and thank you for your role in our lives.