May 2020: Beach Life
After the first kiss, things started off moving slowly. Heather was shy at first, not quite ready to accept Brian's advances. They spent most weekends together at the beach, spending lazy days in the sun and nights playing games and watching movies together. As the summer started to pass, things become more serious with the new couple, with constant talk and most free nights being spent playing card and board games together into the late hours of the night.
October 2020: First Trip
The first trip Heather and Brian took together was to Florida with a group of friends to Anna Marie Island for a couple days at a friend's vacation home. At the end of this group trip, Heather and Brian took off for their own short vacation together, going to stay at Disney to enjoy the reopened parks together and take in Harry Potter World of which both were big fans. The wand purchased from this trip is still proudly hidden away from visiting eyes.
November 2020: First Game Together
One of the many things that Heather and Brian found that they shared together, was a passion for football. Knowing this, Brian surprised Heather with tickets to one of the first live games of the covid season in Charlotte to see her favorite team, the Carolina Panthers. While the stadium wasn't as packed as normal, it was still a great time seeing the panthers win at home.
Thanksgiving 2020: Meet the Family
With the holidays approaching, Brian received an offer from his brother's family in Atlanta to come down for the holiday and possibly bring along this new girl he was so infatuated with. Brian readily accepted, asking Heather to join him as he truly did want to show off his new girlfriend to the family. Staying with his brother and family, Brian and Heather had quite an eventful time, with Heather learning that Brian's family is quite into gaming and his nephews are always look for new playmates, sometimes quite energetically.
December 2020: A Very Northern Irish Christmas
After returning from Thanksgiving in Atlanta, Heather decided that she should also show off her new boy toy to the family back home and the couple decided to book flights to Dublin to spend Christmas together in Northern Ireland. After Brian spent an adventurous day getting a same day passport in New York, the couple managed to sneak past border security to arrive at Heather's parents' house for the holidays. Despite the restrictions in place, Heather and Brian had a fun time visiting as many of the outdoor sites in Norther Ireland as they could fit in on the trip as well as meeting the larger part of Heathers family.
February 2021: Super Bowl and Meet the Parents
After returning from Ireland, Heather and Brian planned another short adventure, this time heading down to St. Petersburg, Florida to be in town for the super bowl. Brian was hopeful that his team would be playing in it, and it was a good time for Heather to meet Brian's parents. Brian's hopes about his team were in vain, but Heather did get to have a nice dinner and evening with Brian's parents and they spent a fun weekend relaxing at the pool and attending the Super Bowl festivities in Tampa before heading home.
April 2021: April in Paradise
After a relatively quiet March, the couple decided that a vacation someplace a bit more tropical was in order. So, for their first romantic vacation together, they decided to visit an all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic for 8 days. The trip was everything they hoped for, relaxing in the Caribbean sun during the day and enjoying the view from their room at night. It was the first of many romantic getaways for the couple, spending time with just each other. It remains as one of their fondest trips and locations that they have visited, though little did they know that a short 2 years later, they would be planning their wedding in the same location.
Summer 2021: Hurricanes and Summer Life
After the trip to Punta Cana, life began to settle down to staying at home with one major change. Brian brought Heather to a Hurricanes hockey game, and while not her first game, it was the first time she really got into the sport. This eventually led to the couple getting season tickets together to watch the Canes for the next 2 seasons. Unfortunately, the playoff season was short, so the couple moved back to their favorite past time, spending time at the beach. They both enjoyed a summer spent getting closer together and spending more and more time living with each other and becoming more comfortable being with each other, leading to a new development.
August 2021: The Big Move
By the end of the summer, big changes were happening. Heather got her inner HGTV on and redesigned one of the bedrooms into a new office/library with built in shelves and desks. Brian took full advantage of this with all his books when they both decided he should move in with Heather and start living together. Brian cleaned out his bachelor furniture, packed up his books and took the plunge. By Labor Day, Brian had cleaned out his old apartment and the couple started to settle into their new home life together.
September 2021: Keep Pounding
After Heather and Brian enjoyed the panther’s game so much last year, they decided to go back again, turning the yearly visit into a tradition. They spent Saturday exploring the downtown area of Charlotte, enjoying a new city that was open this visit. This game was for opening day and the couple once again enjoyed watching another Panthers win.
September 2021: Travel to the Big City
One of Heather's passions in life is seeing musicals, and one of her favorites ever is Hamilton. She had also never seen a play on Broadway before, which is something they both decided to rectify. They found tickets to a show in late September and headed up to New York City, opting to stay in Times Square to see the all the tourist sites. They spent two days walking around the city seeing the different sites and even finding an Oktoberfest celebration to join in before going to see Heather's first play on Broadway. The play that night lived up to expectations and was a wonderful evening in the city.
October 2021: Back to Nature
In October, Heather had a friend getting married in Highlands, NC and this was a good opportunity to introduce Brian to more of her close friends as well as visit beautiful western North Carolina during the fall. They rented an air bnb on a small lake that included a canoe in the rental, which Heather quite enjoyed getting chauffeured around in.
Halloween 2021: Buffalo Bound
Heather had the opportunity to watch her favorite team play on multiple occasions, but one thing Brian had never done was make the trek to Buffalo, NY to see his. Heather surprised Brian with tickets to a game and the fights were booked and the warm weather gear packed as they prepared for the icy pilgrimage. The game day was cold and slightly rainy, but that didn't stop the couple from enjoying a Bills win and a surprisingly fun night out on the town in downtown Buffalo.
November 2021: Thanksgiving in the Tropics
Brian's brother contacted him with an invite to join his family for Thanksgiving in Costa Rica for a week. It was the beginning of the dry season and probably one of the best times to visit, so Heather and Brian both jumped at the chance. They enjoyed the hot springs and sloth spotting tour in La Fortuna and walking and dining in the canopy of the cloud forest in Monteverde before driving back to San Jose to fly home after a very fun trip.
December 2021: Family Gatherings and Goodbyes
On one of the Last days of the Costa Rica trip, Brian and his brother received word that their dad was not doing very well, and things did not look good. When Brian and Heather landed back in the States, they decided to pack up for a long trip and drive to Florida to help Brian's mom and see his dad while they could. For 1 month they stayed in Florida with Brian's mom and dad, helping around the house and having a few small adventures to themselves. As Christmas approached, plans were made for family to come down for the holiday, but as it approached, Brian's dad took a turn for the worse and he passed away on the 21st of December. It was a hard time for Brian and he was grateful to have Heather there with him.
February 2022: Birthday Abroad
After ringing in the new year, Heather and Brian decided on another tropical trip to escape the cold winters of North Carolina. This time they decided on Cancun, Mexico as a destination neither had been to before. It was great experience, going over Heather's birthday with Brian surprising her with Flowers at their dinner the first night. It was another great romantic trip for the couple to enjoy in the tropical sun.
March 2022: Weddings, Weddings Everywhere
In March of this year there was some fortuitous timing as Heather and Brian had two weddings to attend overseas, both of which happened to land on consecutive weekends. Heather and Brian packed their bags again for another trip over to Northern Ireland to be there to celebrate with the two happy couples. This visit to the UK had a lot more going on for visitors with most of the covid restrictions lifted. They were able to visit a few more outdoor heritage locations as well as spend a day in Belfast itself before heading over to Blackpool for the second wedding, experiencing the beach coast of England.
June 2022: Goodbye Miss Molly
Molly was a strong personality, not exactly demanding, but making sure she got her treats and meals on time. She always seemed like a little unstoppable force always there for a cuddle or possibly to snap your fingers off trying to get a treat. In late June, Molly's blood condition was acting up and she needed a visit to the hospital. We were hoping that she would be out in time for us to head to the beach and on the 29th we had an early call with the vet saying she was doing well and in good spirits. Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse a short time later and Molly passed away that morning. This was a sad time for Brian and especially Heather and both would miss hearing her stomp around the house.
Summer 2022: Life's Better on a Boat
In July, Brian's family came up to the beach house for the 4th of July and everyone was all set to go out on a rented boat for the day when disaster struck. A named storm was approaching North Carolina and while it was still quite a ways away and not a real threat to the area, boat companies shut down for insurance reasons and left the family high and dry. This led to a suggestion by Brian's mom. Why not join a boat club instead? Finding one only a mile away from the beach house, Heather and Brian soon joined up and soon became slightly addicted to being able to take a boat out almost any day they wished.
September 2022: Holiday in the Mountains
In mid-September, Brian had a work trip out to San Francisco, so the couple decided to take advantage of the free flight and spend a weekend in California before the conference. Brian had previously visited Yosemite and fallen in love with it and wished to share that experience with Heather. They spent two days exploring the national park including a drive and hike in the snow at 11,000 feet and a chance encounter with a bear on the trails of Yosemite Valley. Despite how that may sound, it was a magical trip enjoyed by both.
September 2022: The Tiny Terror Arrives
After the Yosemite trip, Heather headed back while Brian stayed for the week for his conference. Upon landing back in Raleigh, Heather picked up Brian from the airport and they both took the trip along with Maggie to eastern Tennessee to pick up their newest family member. Sully had arrived in their lives and things would never be the same. There was a slight adjustment period with crate training as well as a need to train Sully to sleep through the night. This also grounded the couple for the near future, no longer being able to just hop on a plane and travel at will with a new puppy in the house, but the new lovable ball of fur and energy has been a wonderful family member.
March 2023: Seeing Friends by the Sea
With Sully in the house, travel had pretty much screeched to a halt, because it’s hard to not have your puppy with you. This changed once when Brian was once again heading to the west coast for work, and they decided to extend the trip a bit to visit one of Heathers good friends in America in San Diego. Despite the worry of leaving Sully, they both enjoyed a fun visit that included meals over-looking the beach, a nice electric bike ride on the pacific coast highway, and even a session of paddleboard yoga that had both slightly worried about the cold water and stiff wind, but wound up as quite a fun experience.
May 2023: Saying Yes To Yarsawich
As the year carried on, Brian had a hole burning in his pocket. A ring had been purchased and all that was left was to ask Heather if she would bless him and be his wife. Delays were had, as every weekend from March until May was a rainy mess, ruining the plans of an outdoor beach proposal. Brian came up with a new plan and on one May night when Heather was out with some work friends, he cleaned up the deck, set out some candles and opened a bottle of port to share. When Heather arrived home, they sat out on the porch drinking the bottle until Brian surprised Heather by pulling out the hidden ring and asking her to make him the happiest man alive. She said yes and that is why we are here today.