We first met in physics class at Cedarcrest High School in Duvall, Washington, becoming friends when Kailyn shared her pretzel snacks and Austin made her laugh with his pufferfish impression. We started dating shortly after Kailyn surprised Austin with a smooch at the prom afterparty.

That summer after high school, Austin had plans to attend Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon in the fall, and Kailyn's family was moving to Northern California. On July 28, 2014, we chose to continue dating from a distance, just to see where things would go…

Kailyn joined Austin at Linfield in February 2015. Here we are with the visiting wellness llamas!

In Spring 2017, we adopted a cat named Pebbles, and she lived with Austin at his frat house. You can find her official photographs in the Pi Kappa Alpha 2017 and 2018 composites. (Her birthday party was legendary.)

We bought an inflatable kayak! One time, Kailyn fell asleep while Austin was paddling back, and we lost one of our oars.

We graduated from college – and recreated our high school graduation pic! Kailyn earned a B.S. in Electronic Arts with a Psychology minor; Austin earned a B.S. in Applied Physics with a Mathematics minor.

Here we are kayaking again, during a day trip to beautiful Couer d'Alene. We were long-distance for 2 tough years while Austin went to grad school at University of Idaho in Moscow and Kailyn stayed in Oregon for her job.

We adopted Pebbles's first brother, Baker! This is when they first met, during one of Kailyn's visits to Moscow (a half-day's drive from McMinnville!).

With some of our best friends, we kicked off 2020 on a wonderfully auspicious note, blissfully unaware of the Covid era to come.

Austin moved back to Oregon and finished his Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from afar, not too bummed about missing his graduation ceremony. During the pandemic, one of our favorite pastimes was playing games, like Gloomhaven.

We escaped outdoors with some close friends, for a surreal backpacking trip in Washington's Cascades. This is a view from over 5,000 feet above Seattle.

We visited Leavenworth for Kailyn's 26th birthday – and brought our new puppy, Pacha! We hiked and rolled around in the snow, ate Bavarian sausages, and drank gluhwein to our souls' content.

We traveled to The Netherlands for Austin's work! We loved the tripel beer, the Van Gogh museum, and the cobbled canals – and, importantly, the Belgian waffles in Belgium.

In Summer 2022, we moved into our first home in Forest Grove, Oregon and have loved our local adventures. Here we are at Hagg Lake, just a 15-minute drive away.

For Kailyn's 27th birthday, we stayed at Black Butte Ranch near Bend, Oregon. At the end of our nighttime snowshoe tour, we warmed up on a snow couch carved by our guide and drank a local hazelnut liqueur.

We ended up in Utah for Kailyn's work and made sure to stop by Zion National Park! Austin went horseback riding for the first time, and we basked in the beautiful sunsets.

At Lake Chelan in Washington, we discovered that Kailyn loves jet skiing – and that she's a speedy jet ski driver! Austin had to hold on tight.

We dressed up for Halloween as Rocky and Columbia from The Rocky Horror Picture Show! It's now an annual tradition of ours to gather with the same group of friends and kick off the spooky season, with themed treats, costumes, and general revelry.

We traveled to Cabo in Mexico! We brought back tans, tequila, and a daintily painted salsa bowl.

We attended the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas! We dressed up in sparkles and leather, danced with friends 'til we were sore, and stayed up to watch the sun rise over the desert.

And here we are, engaged. ☺️ On a hilltop in Oregon wine country, 10 years after this love story began, Austin proposed to the tune of a perfect sunset. She said yes, and we spent the rest of the weekend on the Oregon coast, cherishing every minute.