always & forever ; forever & always

It all started in March 2018, in a place that felt like it was made just for us — Southington Offroad Park. Among the mud, trails, and roaring engines, with Desiree in her Jeep and Dan in his Durango, they crossed paths for the first time. What began as a shared love for offroading quickly turned into something much more. Desiree wrote her number on a business card and left it on Dan's truck.. a card that he still carries with him to this day, stowed away in his wallet as a reminder of the girl who rock-crawled into his life. By April 2018, we were on our first official "lets hangout and get to know each other more" date at Johnny J’s in Springfield, where Desiree jokingly (but not really) put Dan to the test — could he keep up with her chaotic, fast-paced life? Spoiler alert: he passed. That summer was full of adventure. From road-tripping to Shamokin, PA to meet Desiree’s Jeep sponsor and second family at the time, Affordable Offroad, where Dan famously broke his driveshaft but kept right on wheeling with the crew. After traveling to Virginia for the Puzzled car show, we quickly realized that life was better when we were tackling it side by side — no matter what broke along the way. Over the years, our lives blended together in the best ways. In August 2022, we took our first family vacation with Desiree’s family to Myrtle Beach, where we made things permanent in more ways than one — getting matching tattoos that read “always and forever” and “forever and always.” That same month, we were both part of Dan’s sister’s wedding, where we managed to steal the spotlight (just for a moment!) with a surprise bridal party clothing swap that had the entire room laughing, cheering, and completely shocked. In April 2023, life surprised us in the smallest, most unexpected way when Dan brought home a plant… and a tiny stowaway. That’s how we accidentally adopted our Gray Tree Frog — known as "Persephone" to Desiree and “Frogger” to Dan — who quickly became a beloved part of our little family. A few months later, in August 2023, we traveled to Disney World with Dan’s family. In the most magical place on earth, at the Grand Floridian, Dan asked Desiree to spend forever with him — and of course, she said yes.. but not before a few choice words from Desiree that spilled out from the surprise (IYKYK!). Our love story hasn’t always been easy. In October 2023, we found out we were expecting, only to experience a heartbreaking loss in November. It was a moment that tested us deeply, but it also showed just how strong we are together. We have continued our fertility journey since, and hope to welcome a healthy baby into our lives one day soon. Through everything, we’ve built a life filled with love, laughter, and unforgettable memories. We’ve moved more times than we can count, eventually finding and purchasing our forever home in November 2023. We’ve cheered on friends through weddings, babies, and life milestones. We’ve filled our days with concerts, from Florida Georgia Line to Jelly Roll, Breaking Benjamin, Papa Roach, and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. We've been to comedy shows, countless mini golf dates, and tons of adventures with our awesome friends and their amazing kids. In 2024, we hosted our very first Thanksgiving together, a tradition we loved so much we carried it into 2025 — and plan to continue for many years to come. Our story isn’t just about the big milestones — it’s about the little moments in between. The laughter, the chaos, the unexpected detours, and the way we’ve chosen each other through it all. From offroad trails to forever, this is just the beginning of our love story.