Luke and Kendall met at the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2019. Kendall made the first move when she saw him at the gym. The Chicago polar vortex that year offered Luke the first chance to take Kendall out into extreme environments, a precursor to their move to Alaska. They started going out together frequently in the weeks after that. They both knew pretty quickly that they had found something truly special and became inseparable. Their lives became more wonderfully intertwined as they got to know each other's families and friends. Luke met Kendall's parents, Joel and Lisa, that spring. They liked him so much that they let him take her away in a white van to Kentucky for a spring break volunteer trip. Kendall met Luke's parents, Dave and Julie, on Mother’s and Father’s Day, respectively. At the time, it seemed like a coincidence, but it must have been fate that Kendall met her future mother-in-law and father-in-law on those special days. The universe works in mysterious and wonderful ways. Luke and Kendall had an exciting first summer together. They went on a camping trip to Zion National Park. They may have lost all of their camping gear and phones to mountain chipmunks, but they left with a deepened bond after exchanging "I love you's" on the top of Angels Landing. Kendall was lucky enough to meet nearly the entire Grooss clan all at once that summer during Kristina and Tucker's wedding and festivities in San Francisco. Kendall initially had to write out a list to keep everyone's names and relations straight, but they all felt like family by the end of the weekend. The dark times of the COVID-19 pandemic were brightened with the arrival of a new member to their unit. Luke and Kendall welcomed Dante, their bargain COVID puppy, in April 2020. Luke, Kendall, Blair, and Julie all isolated together during the beginning of the pandemic. Although it was a scary time, they made the most of it watching movies, drinking beer, cooking homemade meals, and raising a baby Dante together. Luke and Kendall moved down to New Orleans in May 2020, immediately after school. They leaned on each other for support and grew together as they navigated their new jobs. Luke and Kendall loved their time living in New Orleans. They were blessed with friends and family support down there and miss it dearly, but they can laissez les bons temps rouler anywhere! Luke and Kendall moved west into Texas for school. In Fort Worth, they added their newest member of the family, Bane, a pure-bred Cane Corso from Craigslist. They’ve not been dry of slobber since! On the move up to Alaska with the help of Kendall’s father and her sister, Bailey, Luke proposed to Kendall. The proposal at the Buckhorn Exchange in Denver was magical and filled with stuffed animals, and Kendall totally didn’t have any idea about it at all and was surprised 100%. The group set off north to Alaska from there and accomplished the harried drive in 2 weeks' time, 2 flat tires, 2 wildfires, 4,000 miles, $15,000, and 60 straight hours of President Nixon’s biography. Ultimately, they made it to their new home and love it enough to stay. We’re excited to share the Alaska experience with you! “You should never go to Alaska as a young man, because you’ll never be satisfied by any other place as long as you live.” ~ John Muir