Austin's art scene in 2012. Sabrina was selling leather goods in a flower crown & Javier was filming the event in a white fur vest. He told her to join the dance floor during the third song, & just as she found him, confetti exploded over the crowd. He'd timed it perfectly & gave her his number. She made him wait three months before calling, then friend-zoned him anyway. He courted her patiently, for as long as it took. Turns out the confetti was just the opening move. He had a whole plan.

During the pandemic, the four of us lived in a 200 sq ft RV for 6 weeks, homeschooling our kids across national parks. Javier taught the Triassic, Jurassic & Cretaceous in the desert dirt beneath Joshua Trees. We threw snowballs under giant redwoods and turned our bedroom into a living room and back, every single night. Learning to live and laugh at mistakes (Javi forgetting to cap the RV sewage 😬) in such a tight space taught us to communicate and be beginners at something, together.

Put a down payment on a home of our own. The past few years tested us. Sabrina’s father passed unexpectedly, Javier worked in Houston Mon–Fri for 18 months while we were in Austin, Sabrina had emergency surgery, & we moved three times. Through it all we learned to truly check in, canceling everything to get honest about what we each need, then giving each other the freedom to answer. We’re ready to finally root down with a garden for Sabrina, an office for Javi, & room for our family to grow.