Just Gugel it!!

We went to Sutherlin High school together starting the school year 2010-2011 when James was a freshmen and Natasha was a Sophomore. We had mutual friends and performed together in drama plays. James remembers his crush starting on Natasha while watching her in the Alice in Wonderland play. Later that year in the summer, we were both in Sutherlin's Centennial play. Our characters interacted during this play. The following year, James would frequently say "hi Na (Natasha's nick-name in high school)" and waved to her while passing in the hall. After school, Natasha would give James rides home occasionally.

To back up a month, Natasha had just gotten out of a relationship at the end of July. The next week was fair, which Natasha spent every day at helping her mom with the Waldron's booth. James had been texting her all week asking how she was doing and telling her it would get better.... Little did he know that it would get a whole lot better! On the last day of fair as Natasha was leaving with her mom to the car, James was outside and gave Natasha a hug telling her she deserved better. While walking to the car, Natasha's mom asked "Who was that? He seems nice." Throughout the rest of August and into the beginning of September, James and Natasha would text back and forth and talk to each at school. One day, James finally asked Natasha on a date. Dinner and a movie! He said he was really wanting to watch the newest Resident Evil movie. Natasha agreed not knowing what the movie would be about but was just excited to go to the movies with James! Natasha chose Rodeo for dinner which is her favorite place to eat in town. James was very much a gentlemen helping Natasha into her seat and buying both the movie and dinner. Afterwards they went to Walmart to just walk around and talk. Natasha believes they might have bought some gum while there. They then went to Stewart Park where they sat in the car and just talked about each other's lives and family. P.S. since this date, Natasha has seen all of the Resident Evil movies.

So I'm sure you all thought James and Natasha started dating after their first date...wrong! James did not officially ask Natasha out until they were standing in front of a classroom (Natasha's next class), and James said "Why don't we just date?" and then he kissed her! How romantic James...

Being as Natasha and James only had one year left together in high school, they tried to join many activities together. They were both in National Honor Society where they worked on fundraisers together and went on various trips with NHS to see plays and eat at 5 Guys. They were both in Future Business Leaders of America where they competed together at Grants Pass and both placed for State competition. For the last semester of school, the drama class performed The Secret to Life. In this play, Natasha and James were actually dating; however, James' character proposes and Natasha's character says no. Plot twist!

In 2016, Natasha and James both graduated from Umpqua Community College. James receiving a transfer degree to then attend OSU, and Natasha graduating from the nursing program. In the following year, James and Natasha moved to Corvallis to their first apartment. James studying bioengineering while Natasha worked at Mercy Medical Center and attending online classes through OHSU.

Natasha's parents go on various buying shows throughout the year for Waldron's. In 2017, the show was in Memphis, Tennessee, so James and Natasha decided they wanted to tag along. Natasha's mom, Sasha, has more free time than Natasha's dad, Tom, so the three of them spent most of their time together. Of coarse, they had to go to Graceland to see Elvis' house. This was quite an experience! (Look in the photo section on this website to see uploaded pictures of trip) They also drove over boarders to visit Arkansas and Mississippi (there are pictures of the river as well!). Another cool experience was viewing the inside of a Bass Pro shop, which from the outside was a large pyramid structure. On the inside, there is a "creek" with alligators, restaurants, and a hotel. One of the restaurants is at the highest point of the building and an elevator has to be used. Once on top, people can view all of Memphis on the walk out balcony (also in pictures).

While spending their money on rent at an apartment in Corvallis, James and Natasha decided to start looking at houses for sale. The market was definitely a seller's market with houses being sold 10-20K over the asking price and bids being placed on houses as soon as they hit the market. House hunting was even more difficult in Corvallis with prices being higher and the demand being higher as well. Because of this, they then started looking at homes in Albany, which is only about 25 minutes away from Corvallis. When James and Natasha found the current house that they live in, they put an offer in in June. The sellers' agreed; however, they could not move out until October. Once moved in, many projects were placed into motion, such as painting each room light or dark blue, new flooring (carpet and hard wood), new appliances, and some new furniture. This last October, a garage door opener was installed. The next big projects include adding more parking space, more cement porch space, and landscaping adding in beds of flowers and a raised garden.

Similar to the Memphis trip, the Niagara Falls trip started out as a buying show for Waldron's Outdoor Sports. James and Natasha flew into Columbus, Ohio for the show and then drove up to Lake Erie (Which is beautiful!) when the show ended a couple of days later. After Lake Erie, they continued through Buffalo, New York and then into Canada. James and Natasha enjoyed about 3 days enjoying the views of Niagara Falls. They did the Maid of the Mist experience, explored the Cave of Winds, and enjoyed dinner with an amazing view of the falls. On their last night, they went on the Ferris wheel enjoying the sights of the falls and then raced down to the garden courtyard to make it in time to observe the fireworks over the falls. There was also a light show going on with the fireworks. While watching, James took that opportunity to go down on one knee asking Natasha to marry him.

After many years of studying, James graduated from OSU in bio-engineering with honors. After the wedding and honeymoon, James will then try to start working. Once James gains more experience in his field, he may go back to school to continue his education into his Master's and possibly even Doctorate's. James' goals would be to either work with prosthetics and/or stem cell research.

This year's buying show for Waldron's Outdoor Sports is going to be located in Indianapolis, Indiana. James and Natasha are planning on flying to Nashville, Tennessee to visit this famous city. After about a day and a half, they will drive to Knoxville to explore the Smoky Mountains. Afterwards, they will drive through Kentucky to make their way into Indiana. Natasha is hoping to show James where she use to live in Kentucky and to visit a family friend while there. Once in Indiana, the show lasts about 2 and a half days and then flying back to Oregon to finish last minute preparations for the wedding.

James and Natasha are planning on flying to Orlando, Florida to visit Disney World and Universal Studios. After about a week there, they then plan on driving down to Miami where they will set sail on a Carnival Cruise. This Cruise will take them to Jamaica, Cozumel, Belize, and the Cayman Islands. They will snorkel, parasail, hike near ruins, and even use advance technology to walk on the ocean floor. The cruise will last 1 week. On return, James and Natasha will drive to the Glacier National Park to visit and then down to Key West enjoying the view of the overseas highway. After spending a few days there, they will fly back to Oregon.