Can't wait to celebrate!

Part-time campus jobs at CU are notoriously sought after. You get paid above minimum wage to do one hour of work and then complete your homework. In our case, do your homework quickly then socialize for the rest of your shift. And so began Tara and Ryan's friendship filled with memories from Halloween costume adventures, intramural flag football, trips to Mexicali (if you know you know), house party shenanigans and bringing in the New Year together. While both of them were busy fawning over someone else, it never occurred to them that we would be perfect for each other. However, after hearing Ryan's tales of thoughtful date plans organized for someone else, Tara was smitten. Luckily the stars aligned, after much patience, and they were both finally single. During a backyard barbeque and after a few games of beer darts the time seemed right. However, fate had other plans: after a brief tryst they both graduated and landed jobs that took them to opposite sides of the globe.

During their time apart, Ryan got ripped doing P90X, did a couple tough mudders, moved to Seattle and continued his badassery in climbing mountains. Meanwhile in Africa, Tara was leading groups of volunteers on environmental/community development programs and living out of a backpack. Sensing he was missing a key aspect of his life, Ryan reached out to her and said, "hey." Tara was immediately smitten (again). But alas, life had other plans still and she continued traveling the world until her last US stop brought her to Seattle. She agreed to spend the weekend together: persuaded by promises of bad movie nights, sushi, beer and charcuterie - apparently, the way to her heart is food. After a brief but unforgettable weekend, they once again parted ways: Tara off to Belize and Ryan... Didn't go anywhere. Isn't it great that the holidays bring people together, though (foreshadowing)? Both back in Colorado for New Years, Ryan swept Tara away to a condo in the mountains where he made her an offer she couldn't resist. Although, her response was, "are you sure? I'll give you 24 hrs to think about it."

After the 24hr deadline, Ryan did not rescind the offer. And thus, they were officially dating. Wow, that took awhile, but we made it! 1 month in and Tara said, "I'm moving to Seattle!" High hopes and no regerts, she loaded up her PT Cruiser with all her belongings and hit the open road. She broke down within an hour (definitely not a bad sign), but that's a whole other story. Guys, she made it. It's fine. 5 years, dozens of adventures, multiple internationals trips, a few mishaps, more than a few mishaps, 3 apartments, and 1 dog later, it's easy to say that they made the right choice. The rest, as they say, is history. If you made it this far, thank you for reading the slightly dramatized rendition of our love saga. We are so excited to celebrate the beginning of our next adventure with you all - The saga continues!