5 years ago: the story of us.

5 years ago today, i met the love of my life. i've decided to share with you the story of how we met:


i was studying abroad in the spring of 2006. i had tried desperately to get an job lined up for the summer prior to departing for ecuador, and even arranged for an interview at the place that sparked my interest in the outdoors. the short version: lack of communication on their part and other things falling through and then it was the end of April and i had no job for my return to the US in mid-May.


my mom and i began a frantic internet search for job opportunities. i emailed several places, most of which didn't respond, one of which offered me a job for summer '07 (which i ended out taking), and one who responded right away. the one who responded right away is where i ended up. 


andy's side of things: andy was required to complete two internships as part of his bachelor's degree in environmental ed. his cousin had worked at this environmental ed center years ago and recommended it. andy didn't have any other ideas lined up, so he went with this option.


training started while i was still abroad, so i was late coming in. most everyone else arrived on saturday or sunday with training starting on monday. i was just returning to the US after 4.5 months on sunday, so i shipped out on wednesday morning.


i joined the group (andy and the other 2 interns) who was learning how to teach "canoeing" classes. i had extensive experience with teaching canoeing and andy had extensive boating classes during his associate's degree program, so when our boss began asking us questions, andy and i were the only two answering the questions. (i thought he was 16 when i first saw him. he was actually 21).


it must have been fate. it's possible we could have never met, or our paths could have crossed (the original job i interviewed for that year would have put me within the same park boundaries as the env. ed center, and i could have gone through team building training with andy).

i'm so happy that things worked out for us, even though i fought the idea of us being a couple. i had just come out of a rough break-up (from a long-distance relationship), and i knew that andy and i would be long distance once the summer finished. but for some reason, i just couldn't let him go. and 5 years later, here we are :)

here are some photos to take you down the memory lane of us.

(if you read my previous blog, many of these are the same, but they just represent us so well!)

(something i just noticed, the progression of andy's hair!)

2006

July 2006 - my 21st birthday. i think this is our first picture together...

July 2006 - our first picture as an official couple

October 2006 - Boston Harbor, Boston, MA

December 2006 - New Years Eve, PA

2007

January 2007 - me learning how to use a .22, PA

December 2007 - New Years Eve, PA

2008

April 2008 - Fallingwater, Mill Run, PA

May 2008 - my graduation, Boston, MA

June 2008 - Siesta Key, FL

July 2008 - Mt. Tammany, NJ

2009

July 2009 - my sister's wedding rehearsal dinner, NJ

October 2009 - Halloween, Siesta Key, FL

2010

July 2010 - Allegheny National Forest, PA

August 2010 - Dingmans Ferry, PA

September 2010 - Watkins Glen, NY

 2011

January 2011 - The Alamo, San Antonio, TX