Matt and Ann Marie technically met in August 2016 at an annual conference for all the Air Force litigators and judges in Washington D.C.. Matt was working as a senior defense attorney and Ann Marie as a senior prosecutor. Appropriately their seats were on opposite sides of the conference room. Sparks didn't fly between these two though until a month later, when they found themselves seated on opposite sides of the courtroom in lovely Alamogordo, New Mexico. The two battled about whether or not Matt's client tried to shoot his friend (he did). They debated whether the Government subjected Matt's client to illegal pretrial punishment (it did... Oops). They argued about whether or not the cat had eaten the mouse or the mouse had just escaped (it was eaten). After the trial, the two had a drink. That drink went pretty well because bright and early the next morning before their joint 0600 flight Matt texted Ann Marie and asked her out while they were waiting for the plane to taxi to the runway. The rest of the story is love.
Matt pretended not to notice when Ann Marie "coyly" invited him to join her for an Ohio wedding that just so happened to be over Thanksgiving weekend... meaning he would be required to meet every important person in her life in about 3 days. It only took three days though for Matt to charm all of those people, from her parents, to her sister and brother, to her best friend. All of whom promptly told her not to dump this one for once! Somehow after being grilled by future Co-MOH and best friend Kelly about his intentions for what-may-have-literally been hours, Matt somehow decided (it might have been the whiskey) that he loved Ann Marie and told her so. She couldn't have agreed more.
The life of an Air Force litigator is busy and mobile, so Matt and Ann Marie had to be creative to see each other! They both had trials that sent them to Spokane, WA in January 2017 and they managed to squeeze in a little snowmobiling fun in Idaho!
Ann Marie and Matt were so excited in July of 2016 to celebrate Ann Marie's sister, Elizabeth's, wedding to Tye. The day was full of so much fun and love and was, of course, absolutely perfect. Little did they know though that Elizabeth had a little superstitious scheming of her own going on. As perviously mentioned Ann Marie's whole family just adores Matt and they weren't willing to let this one get away. So the subtle hints became a little less subtle when Elizabeth, without warning, underhand tossed the bouquet to Ann Marie. Ann Marie's dad didn't miss a beat and made sure to seal the deal with a quick handshake!
Overlapping TDYs to beautiful Great Falls, Montana? Sounds like the perfect excuse for a quick trip to Missoula to see a carousel, a church, and a farmer's market, but mostly just be together.
Wood fired Pizza, sangria, and games with friends? Basically a perfect Friday in Sacramento.
The whole crew headed up to Seattle for the perfect (future) family Thanksgiving! We had a great time checking out the city, visiting the space needle, going on a cruise of the Bay, and generally enjoying being together. We topped the trip with a nice thanksgiving dinner and a Seahawks birthday cake for Ryan! In the end, everyone left full and very thankful to have so many wonderful people to love.
What is Christmas without a bit of ice skating? This can be hard to come by in California, but luckily the Vacaville ice arena delivered. In the end this was just one of so many wonderful outings we have all taken, but there is something about playing tag with your boyfriend's very cute kids that makes you fall in love and makes everyone start to feel like a beautiful little family.
New Years Eve 2018 was one for the books. Matt and Ann Marie dressed up in their best 1920's gear for a flapper cruise around San Fransisco Bay with some of their favorite friends. The whole night was beautiful, but what really took the cake was when Matt took Ann Marie up to the top deck and had the DJ play their song. As the boat passed under the Golden Gate Bridge Matt got down on one knee and asked Ann Marie to be his forever (or something like that, she pretty much blacked out as soon as he bent down). After Matt confirming that all of the tears meant yes, the two rang in the new year to fireworks exploding over the City and in their hearts.
That's a thing right?
Ann Marie is a firm believer that you can't ever truly know someone until you've traveled with them... and all the other traveling they had done... well whatever she wanted to go on another trip. On one of their first dates Ann Marie and Matt both discovered they really wanted to see Peru, so they did it! And it was absolutely amazing. From the monkeys in the rain forest to the llamas on top of Machu Picchu. Peru had it all, but the thing these two liked best? 10 uninterrupted days together.
It was a busy summer for this group! Matt, Ann Marie, and the boys packed up their California dream and drove it to Virginia! Along the way they got to stop and see so many amazing things. There was a visit to Temple Square, where they took this picture; next they put their feet into the Mississippi river, went fishing in Nebraska, and so much more. Along the way to their new home, Matt, Ann Marie, and the boys stopped in their forever homes of Akron and Buffalo to tell their families "It's official! We are back in the East where we belong!"
After our long journey, we made it to Virginia and are settling into our new house. We are loving living so close to DC and slowly figuring out our new jobs. It was great having the boys all summer and showing them their nation's capital. Nate got to step up his style a bit and we loved celebrating his birthday in Old Town Alexandria, where we managed to begrudgingly make the boys stand still long enough to snap this picture!