Gallery

Jan 2020: Our first baseball formal, just two months into dating

Jul 2020: Jackson's first time in Hawaii

Dec 2020: Sam’s first Christmas with the Pentz family, spent working on an alpaca farm.

May 2021: Jackson's second time in Hawaii. He started to claim he was a local

Oct 2021: Sam and Jackson dressed as a Monarch butterfly and butterfly researcher for Halloween. Sam’s always loved unique costumes—she’s been a loofah, a cereal killer, a peacock, etc.

Mar 2023: We took a quick spring break trip to Charleston, SC. Our first getaway together post-COVID

Mar 2023: Love in Charleston

Apr 2023: Sam with both moms—Amy (Jackson’s mom, on the left) and Sally (Sam’s mom, on the right)—in Boston for Sally’s run in the Boston Marathon. This has become an annual trip for both families

May 2023: We graduated while battling the flu, but they were still excited to pack up and head to St. Louis, MO the next day with Sam’s parents to start our new life.

May 2023: We graduated! Jackson with a BS in Environmental Science, Economics (BA), and Sam with a BS in Anthro-Human Biology and Economics (BA). Both secured full-time jobs at McKinsey

Aug 2023: Tutu and Papa (Sam's grandparents) treated us to a traditional Hawaiian Luau in Maui

Sept 2023: Our 2nd Cardinals game with friends

Oct 2023: Jackson threw a 23rd birthday party for Sam in Forest Park (her favorite place in St Louis) with 10+ friends they have made while living in St Louis for a few months

Dec 2023: Jackson is cuddling with some of the jellycats, celebrating their first Christmas in St Louis. Sam convinced Jackson to get a nice fake tree from Costco

Feb 2024: We went on an axe throwing date with our friends Daphne and David. We discovered that Jackson is very good at throwing sharp objects... be careful

Mar 2024: We went on a one-week trip to Paris. Our first international trip together

Mar 2024: We visited Paris Disneyland, sparking Sam’s Disney obsession. Since then, we’ve explored Disneyland, Disney World, and Tokyo DisneySea

Mar 2024: We visited Versailles, and Jackson fell in love with a pastry he got right outside the gates. He still talks about that cream puff to this day

May 2024: Dinner with Amber and Jack at Louie (Our favorite restaurant in STL)

Jun 2024: Crashed a Midsummer party

Sept 2024: Here we are at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, decked out in all Tangled gear, right next to the Tangled bathroom; Sam’s favorite Disney movie!

Sep 2024: Sam convinced Jackson to join her at the Renaissance Faire in St. Louis. If you don’t know Sam, she’s all about anything fantasy

Oct 2024: Sam decided to dye her hair brown (just because) without telling Jackson. For Sam's bday, Jackson surprised her with a photoshoot in Forest Park, St. Louis

Oct 2024: Fall in Forest Park

Oct 2024: Jackson organized the second annual Sam’s birthday picnic in Forest Park. We had a big turnout and felt so incredibly loved!

Dec 2024: A little foreshadowing of Jackson officially joining the family — though, as you can see, Keith and Jackson are only halfway in the picture.

Dec 2024: In Hawaii for the 100th time

Dec 2024: Catching the sunset from the top of Mauna Kea. You should definitely do the same if you have the time on the island

Dec 2024: Daisy (Sam’s dog) and Jackson chilling by the waterfall hangout in Sam’s parents’ backyard

Mar 2025: We met up with Sam’s parents in Japan and ended up staying an extra week. We got to explore Tokyo, Kyoto, Nagoya, and Osaka!

Mar 2025: We turned into "Lost Boys" from Peter Pan at Tokyo Disney Sea. Peter Pan is one of Sam's top faves, right after Tangled!

Mar 2025: Sam has noticed that most of her phone photos are of Jackson eyeing food as if it were his soulmate. This one was taken while we were in Japan

Apr 2025: We ran the St Louis Marathon! Jk, Sam ran the 10k, and Jackson ran the half with Carson. Kennedy was smart enough not to run

May 2025: Here we are at Louie... I really don’t want to admit how often we go, but let’s just say the waitstaff knows us by name

Sept 2025: Before we headed to Tuscany and got engaged, we spent some time in Rome and completely fell for the city’s charm. Here we are, taking it all in front of the Colosseum!

Sept 2025: We arrived in Tuscany and instantly declared it our favorite place in the world!

Sept 2025: Little did Sam know Jackson would propose 10 mins after this photo was taken (09.18.25)

Sept 2025: This was minutes after Jackson got down on a knee and Sam said yes

Sept 2025: The day after we got engaged, we took a day trip to Pienza, Italy — because nothing says "We’re officially stuck together" like pasta and wine!

Meet Amy and Chris, Jackson’s parents! They both grew up in New England and met in college. Now, they live in Suffield, CT, where Sam and Jackson have spent most of their Christmases together

Meet Sally and Keith, Sam's parents. Sally is from Miami, and Keith is from the Big Island. They met at Stanford and later moved back to Hawaii to raise Sam and John

Jackson loved the zoo as a kid, and he still hasn't outgrown it

Young Sam and her brother John

Baby Jackson and his older brother Greg