We met at Best Buy in Appleton. At the time, Justin was the Sprint rep, and Lauren had just started as the mobile supervisor. We spent almost 40 hours a week working together in the mobile department for about a year, but despite what this story probably sounds like, there was absolutely no dramatic workplace romance happening. No flirting. Very professional. Extremely normal coworkers.

Funny enough, we both ended up putting in our notices around the exact same time and left Best Buy within a week of each other. Then the start of COVID hit, and after a month or two apart, Lauren eventually sent Justin a text asking if he wanted to go on a date. A few days later, for our very first date, we watched Fourth of July fireworks from the back of Justin’s truck on Harwood Road. Somewhere between the fireworks and talking for hours, the whole “just coworkers” thing officially ended.

We spent years growing together through everyday life, new experiences, countless conversations, and a lot of laughs along the way. Somewhere in there, Justin slowly won over the approval of Lauren’s very opinionated blue heeler, Loki. And to be fair, Loki also had to slowly win Justin over too. Eventually Justin moved into Lauren’s apartment, and our little life together really started to take shape.

We got engaged while visiting Shannon and Austin in Colorado during a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. After spending the day exploring Estes Park together, Justin proposed at the top of one of the overlooks surrounded by the most beautiful views imaginable. Even though Lauren could very obviously see the ring box in Justin’s pocket basically the entire day, the moment still felt completely overwhelming in the best possible way. It became one of the most special moments of our lives. We were also incredibly lucky to have Shannon and Austin there with us to celebrate and to secretly help capture the moment so we can relive it forever. (And Miles too, even though we didn’t know it yet 😉)

After years of apartment living together, we spent a long time searching for a home of our own. Between the housing market and multiple offers, it definitely took some patience before we finally found the right place. In July 2024, we officially bought our first home together in Little Chute. Since then, we’ve loved slowly turning it into home together through projects, gardening and learning together as we go. Some of our favorite memories here have been the simplest moments. Working outside together, planting in our garden(s), watching and taking care of all our critters, spending time with Loki in the backyard and building a life together.