Matt is from a dairy farm outside Madison, Wisconsin, and my family is from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. We met in late 2005 at the University of Iowa, where Matt was working on his master’s degree in horn performance and I was finishing up bachelor’s degrees in nursing and oboe. Five months later, I was working as a labor and delivery nurse, Matt continued his studies, and we decided to get engaged. Within a year, in June 2007, we got married in front of family and friends in Zihuatanejo, Mexico. The following month we moved out to Washington, D.C., where I started law school at George Washington University. Matt happily accepted a job working in national arts accreditation in Reston, Virginia. After a semester of law school, I realized it wasn’t a fit and that I wanted something more grassroots and hands-on. I’ve since rekindled an old nursing-school dream of becoming a midwife, and am hoping to attend Georgetown University for their 16-month master’s program starting in the fall of 2008.
During our time in D.C., we underwent a minor break-in and an attempted vandalism on our car, and Matt was commuting 3 hours round-trip to work every day. So in something of a leap of faith, we talked our way out of our lease and moved out to Reston, where I then accepted a position as a labor and delivery nurse at the local Hospital. Now we can both walk to work–something we used to fantasize about when we lived in the city–and we’re hoping to spend the next few months just working and letting the dust settle…
In our free time, we love to cook, we enjoy the outdoors, and also like to read and watch movies. Other than that, our favorite thing of all is just spending time at home together with our two cats, Patches and Scratches!
Matt & Katie 