We met for our first date at Burgers & Brew in Davis, CA. Kalie had said she was tall in her online profile, so Stefan was a bit nervous. He actually stuffed some crumpled up paper towels into the heel of his shoes to give him a 1/2 inch boost. The date went well. Dinner followed by ice cream just down the street.

This was the date that made Stefan pretty certain he and Kalie would end up together for a long time. They spent 8+ hours together. Kalie met Nala for the first time. They went and saw Interstellar at the local movie theater (which they rewatch on their anniversary nearly every year). They had a great dinner at a local Thai restaurant. All of those things were fun, but the truly important part was how easy everything felt. They never ran out of things to talk about. Books, movies, TV shows, hobbies, school, life, etc. They seemed to have nearly everything in common.

Without any roommates lined up and with the rental market in Davis being so crazy, it just made sense to move in together. They found a lovely house on Koso Street in Davis that ended up being their home for the next 5 years.

Near midnight, on their 2nd to last day in Paris together, Stefan brought Kalie to one of their favorite sites under the guise of doing an impromptu photoshoot. She knew exactly what was happening. Sweating bullets even though he already knew the answer, Stefan set up his tripod and they took photos from different parts of the area surrounding the beautiful Basilica of Sacré Coeur. Then, he dropped to his knee and proposed. She said "yes". And then... 1 minute later... Kalie dropped to her knee and proposed back, ring and all.

Feeling the urge to move somewhere new and start a new chapter in their lives, Kalie and Stefan packed everything in the world that they cared about into their two cars and a U-Haul tailer and drove for 20+ hours from Davis, CA to Portland, OR. They spent the first 3 months living in a long-term AirBnB while they explored the city and figured out what they wanted to do next. There was so much nature to enjoy. Pocket neighborhoods each with their own distinct atmosphere and food. And the coffee! Oh boy the coffee!