You could say our story really began playing in the dirt as kids at the Ramona baseball fields where our Dads coached Paulina’s older brother Marlen and Joseph’s baseball team. If Paulina wasn’t at her own soccer games, she could usually be found running around between the snack shack and the field where the boys were playing. During those early years, we also remember running across the street from the Schwalbach’s house to play at Ramona Oaks Park and playing out in the Bernd’s yard before our families sat down for dinner together. In the summer of 2005, Joseph’s family moved from Ramona up to North Idaho, while the Bernds stayed in Ramona. Other than the Bernds stopping to say hi for a day or two during their 2010 Yellowstone trip (when we were both teenagers), our Dads were the ones who remained friends and stayed in touch over the years, regularly calling each other to catch up and check in on the families. In mid-2022, Paulina, being who she is, reached out to Joseph as he was beginning to recover from his open heart surgery. Instead of a short and simple “We’re all thinking about you” chat, we hit it off immediately as the conversation flowed into what we had both been up to since that 2010 visit, including what life was like up in the PNW and which hospitals in the area had good reputations. Already looking for a change of pace, Paulina moved up to Spokane in late 2022 to begin a new job at the same hospital where Joseph had his heart surgery, and arrived just in time for the first snow. It didn’t take long for both of us to realize the potential we saw in each other, especially after Joseph floated the idea of hiking snowy Mineral Ridge in Coeur d’Alene in late December 2022 for our first date. As the day approached, we waited for each other to chicken out since the forecast was calling for a high of 8 degrees. But there we ended up going, trudging up the side of the mountain in knee-deep snow, making up our own trail as we went. Fast forward to roughly a year later, Paulina and Joseph hiked Mineral Ridge again, but this time to watch the bald eagles fishing in Lake Coeur d’Alene (or so Paulina thought). At the top of the ridge, and with Paulina’s attention focused on an eagle in the distance, Joseph got on his knee and proposed. This past 1+ year has been filled with some of the best unexpected surprises. We are thankful for each of you and the crucial role you’ve played in shaping us into who we are today. It’s with much joy and anticipation that we look forward to celebrating our wedding day with you this summer!