IN THE BEGINNING...

1988: Oakland Junior High School, Lake Elmo, MN:   We met in the 8th grade, but really didn't become friends until a 9th grade art class (taught by the now retired Mr. Franz) brought us closer.  We ended up "going together" during parts of 9th and 10th grades, and after our break-up, continued to admire each other from afar.  We attended the same Big10 college, the University of Minnesota, and during the summer before our junior year (1994), a filing job at an internal medicine clinic in St. Paul brought us back together. 

Our 9th Grade Dance... circa 1989

LATER...

After graduation from college (Amy earned her B.A., Ryan is full of B.S.) in 1997, we went on our first overseas trip together.  Ten weeks in France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Holland, and Belgium.  We didn't want to come home! 

We were married in September 2000.  We knew that our honeymoon would take us back to Europe.  This time we chose the UK and Ireland.  We had a great time talking craic and having a pint or four with every meal.   It was a great way to unwind from the whirlwind of wedding festivities.

We returned to Europe in 2001 (three days after 9/11) with free tickets courtesy of IcelandAir.  This time we wanted to concentrate on certain areas, festivals, and states of inebriation.  We began in the Czech Republic, then onto Oktoberfest in Munich, and ended the trip in Amsterdam.  Again, we'd have preferred a longer, if not indefinite, stay. 

Our amazingtravels are not purely international.  We hit four National Parks in less than a year.  Proudly, we drove to all four, logging more miles on our 1992 Honda Accord ( we call it the "Minnesota SUV edition").  When the weather permits (not often enough for us), we camp all over the Midwest and have been known to drive crazy distances to find warmer weather. 

As if all of that isn't enough travel, our families live all across this great  country of ours.  Amy's two sets of parents reside in San Francisco, and on the coast of North Carolina.  Ryan's parents are in Atlanta (his boyhood home).  Ryan's brother, Ian, is a pro golfer that lives out of his Honda Accord (nice choice, if we do say so ourselves) byway of Orlando, Florida.  Amy's brother, Tim,  lives with a bevy of animals, and works on their parent's soon-to-be-vineyard in northern California, officially calling himself the "Vineyard Manager."  Unofficially, we call him the "Ranch Bitch."

All totaled, we've hit the vast majority of our 50 states and better than 17 foreign countries; even Canada - twice!

CURRENTLY...

Amy is student-teaching in order  to finish her Master's degree in education.  She hopes to find a position teaching 6th or 7th graders in the Portland area when we return.  Ryan kissed the stockbroker world good-bye in 2001, and now sells tons of stuff on eBay for a living.  He hopes to continue his vocation in Portland and leave his suits and ties in storage.  In our free time we enjoy camping, rock-climbing, geocaching, and planning our upcoming trip.  Until we sell our loft, we'll continue to live in St. Paul, MN with our 14lb., blue/cream tabby, Biggin.  He enjoys sleeping, eating, drinking out of his new water fountain, and stepping on people when they're full.