If I were to actually try to tell you about us and all of our adventures, it would be pages upon pages and require lots of your favorite, warm reading beverage (like Chai!). So instead, I’ll just give you a summary. Who knows, maybe a more detailed version will come later if we ever settle down and start writing some of the books we always talk about J
So, let’s see…April and I met in the summer of ‘04 at InterVarsity’s School of Leadership Training in “da UP” (that’s “the upper peninsula” of Michigan, in case you’re not in the loop). During the month-long camp, we hiked, swam, sailed, explored, and laughed a lot. By the end, I thought we knew each other pretty well, and I thought there was potential for more. April thought otherwise…
I spent the next six months pursuing April. This was complicated by the fact that she was at Miami University in Ohio (finishing up a degree in Speech Communications and Statistics), and I was many hours away at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Indiana (working on a degree in Computer Engineering and Language & Literature). Though our friendship was growing, her feelings for me…were not.
Things changed when April finally loosened her grip on her heart and allowed God to be the one in charge of her love story. Turns out that His version of the story included me after all! After a few more months filled with conversations, meeting family and friends, and April’s multi-page questionnaires (those were great…), I finally made “The A-List”, as we like to call it, and I got to go on my first date ever - after asking her to be my girlfriend…again J
In the spring of 2005, April graduated and we trekked back to “da UP” where we met. I presented her with a miniature wooden sailboat I’d carved myself (it represents so much for us) and a ring, and asked her to be mine forever. When I put the ring on her finger she responded by handing it back, and, after pausing (for an eternity, as I recall), she said, “Oh ask me again!!” And so I did (and she said “yes”)…again.
My senior year was a balancing act of wedding planning and school projects, but somehow it all got done. On June 17, 2006, at 11:30am (exactly 14 months, 18 hours, and 33 minutes after we started dating), we got married. Our ceremony and reception were on the beach at an Ohio state park. It was a fun and joyful day, and best of all: I got to marry my best friend! It’s always sort of funny when people look at our wedding pictures and ask, “Did you guys get married in Hawaii?”
Then we were off a little cabin in the mountains of New Mexico for our honeymoon. While we were there, we hiked the two tallest peaks in the state (the second was by accident, but that’s another story), checked out the art scene in Taos (complete with the Solar Music Festival), and met Santa Clause (did you know he sells delicious smoked meat in a little grocery store in Angel Fire, NM and lives in Oklahoma?)…among other things. J
From then on, the adventures have just kept coming. My friends call it the “Reinhard Effect.” It seems nothing is quite normal when we’re around. Our blog is full of bizarre journeys (like buying a Geo Metro convertible in Minneapolis, MN while visiting April‘s brother in Columbus, OH), unusual happenings (like getting pulled over on suspicion of grand theft auto only to find out the city didn’t properly transfer our license plates - so we were fine), and general fun (like weekend 500+ mile road trips in a van with 5 people, 1 cat, and 3 dogs).
It is our goal to live life to the fullest with Christ as our foundation and centerpiece. To be interesting people who never stop learning and have a great love for life. To never be afraid to try new things. To always be good stewards of the earth and our resources. And to avoid collecting junk! Oh, and we would also love to live in some sort of “mobile” home (RV, boat, 18-wheeler…) so we can travel all the time, bicycle (and motorcycle) across the United States, write books, and be speakers (April wants to be a subwoofer).
Whatever life holds in store, we’ve got God, each other, and an adventurous spirit! Like some of our favorite explorers say, “Adventure is out there!”, and we say, “Bring it on! Waa-hoo!”