In September of 2021, and on the morning before their first date, George texted to see if they could push the date back a couple hours. He said that he needed to help a friend fix a flat tire and that he would be late. Krista knew that George had been at Oktoberfest the night before, and was a little unsure about the text. Her friend (and now matron of honor) Alicia encouraged her to give him a chance. Turns out, he really was just fixing a tire (because George is just a nice guy!) Their first date was lunch on the South Hill at the Two Seven Public House. At the restaurant, they immediately felt at ease with each other and conversation flowed naturally. Not wanting the date to end, they went to Manito Park and walked around the gardens for several hours. The entire time, Krista hoped George would hold her hand...but he was too nervous. For the second date, George invited Krista to bike with him in Colville. She drove up the next week and followed George on his mountain bike straight up the switchbacks of the Colville mountain trails. George remembers being impressed with Krista's tenacity, and that she didn't want to stop mountain biking even when she was tired. After the second date, they had already decided that it was worth making the 1.5 hour drive each week to see each other. In January of 2022 (only 4 months into dating), Krista slipped and fell on black ice and fractured her leg in multiple spots. The injury was significant enough to require a late night ambulance ride and surgery to repair the fractures. Even as she was sitting on the sidewalk waiting for someone to find her, her first call was to George. He knew the right decision was to drive up immediately from Colville to be with her. They both cried and said I love you for the first time the morning after the surgery (both wishing they had said it earlier). George immediately moved in to help with recovery. They shared embarrassing moments, laughed a lot, cried a little, and found each other easy and enjoyable to live with. George helped Krista continue her Bloomsday streak with not one, but two races in a wheelchair...Plus, George fell in love with Duezy, Sampson, Mack and Maisy (Krista's small herd of pets)...and his cat Charlie tolerates them all pretty well too. Having dealt with so much early on in their relationship (not to mention surgery #2 a year after the first), George and Krista decided that they loved each other very much, and could deal with the ups and downs together. That in fact, they were better together. And now, Krista calls George her silver lining...