KC always wanted to go on tour to play live music around the country, so he took 3 weeks off from his job at Birkenstock to hit the road with his friend, Dennis Haneda (The Courtney Janes). The second show was at Mars Cafe in Des Moines, Iowa, where Brianne spent a significant amount of time when she wasn't in classes or the studio at Drake University. The two of them locked eyes, and KC asked "Do you know how long it takes to get to Minneapolis from here?" She did not. The show went on, as did the texting and late night phone calls after KC and Dennis continued the tour. Six weeks later, Brianne would move in with KC.

If you would like the extended version of this story to hear about Tasha at the Marriott in Indianapolis, the limits of where you can take a rental car after your car breaks down mid-tour, acquiring the Toyota Matrix that KC still drives to this day, or where we bought Brie’s one-way ticket to San Francisco three week after meeting, send us a note.

Rosie wasn't so sure about another lady being in KC's life.

Born and raised southwest of Chicago, Brie grew up a Cubs fan. And once you're a Cubs fan, well, you're always a Cubs fan. Brie got off her one-way flight to San Francisco on August 6, 2008 and moved in with KC and Rosie in Novato, CA. That was home before moving to San Francisco in February 2010.

You wonder what life was like before we met. We're not sure we recall. This is one of our first family photos in 2008 at Stinson Beach with our first dog Rosie.

In Fall 2009, KC surprised Brie with tickets to see Ray LaMontagne, one of her favorite musicians at the time, in Dublin, IRELAND. It would be her first trip outside of the country. Although they were living on frozen dinners from Trader Joes at the time (read: broke) they were both up for the adventure of backpacking and willing to sleep in hostel bunk bends, and eat free croissants for breakfast (and lunch).

This was our first big adventure together, and it spawned so many more travels!

Can you name any of these places?

We wouldn't be the couple we are today without the extended family we've made in California. So many adventures, game nights, Friendsgiving, baseball games, concerts, travels. We love all of you!

Music is a HUGE part of our lives. We bonded immediately over our shared passion of music!

After going stir crazy after the lock down, we did a road trip across the country to places where Covid didn't exist (hah!)... like Des Moines, IA. This is the last time we went to the place where we met and it's still going strong!

Our Covid fur baby! Pelican (aka Pelly) was adopted in August 2020 at a rescue near Fresno, CA. Brie came across her profile on petfinder (dot) com and it was love at first sight site. Kinda like back at Mars Cafe!

Pelican? Hmm, what a coincidence. Or is it?? Several years prior, we said goodbye to our little Rosie pup and couldn't bear going home without her so we went to our favorite pub, Pelican Inn, to raise a glass and shed some tears. KC was recounting a story from a friend: after putting his dog down, him and his son went surfing they got caught in a small rip current. Another surfer noticed, and swam out to check on them. Everyone was okay and grateful for the kindness of this stranger, who finally introduced themselves as "Charlie". The same name as their dog who was just put down. WOAH! After hearing this story, Brianne wondered, "when are we going to get our sign from Rosie?" In that very moment, we both noticed a framed pencil drawing of a pelican on the pub wall. In the upper corner of the artwork, the artist had penned their name: "Rosie" with a heart. Brie said, "She finally got the bird" and they both burst into tears and declared their next dog would be named, "Pelican".

For our fifteen year anniversary, we did a roadtrip to Santa Barbara, CA. KC proposed to Brie in a card. (It also might have fallen on our pal's wedding day, hence why we look so dapper. Of course we kept the news our little secret.)

What took so long? Yah, yah, we know, we know...