We met in January, 2021, two months after Kristen moved to Washington. We travelled a lot together, including to Finland, New England, the American Southwest, and Hawaii! We bought our first home in November, 2022 and then our camper in 2023 to travel with our cat, Edgar, and dog, Jarvis. We are so excited to continue our story by getting married this October!

Tim is from Vashon, Washington, an island located west of Seattle in the Puget Sound. Tim attended Montana State University - Northern where he graduated with his Bachelor of Science in Diesel Technology. He immediately began working for Wartsila, a Finnish company, traveling the world working on marine engines. He was promoted in 2023 and has unpacked his bags to work from home.

Kristen grew up in northwestern Vermont. She attended New Mexico State University where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Forensic Science. She worked on a bioarchaeological excavation in Romania and went on to earn a Master's in Forensic Science at the University of Florida. She continued moving around the country until she settled in Washington, where she continues her career as a Medicolegal Death Investigator.

We have made the decision to combine our last names! We did think about doing a hyphenated name but wanted something simpler. "Smithson" has roots in England, Scotland, and Ireland, which we both have ancestry from. Also the Smithsonian Institute is named after a Smithson, which is pretty cool.