Kristina & Jake

Jake was basically made to be a dad. He's fun and silly, and with kids he has boundless energy to play their games. Growing up, he and his brothers were constantly playing sports and games, usually making up the rules and breaking them just for fun. He's a very creative person - he's always making up a game, or telling a joke, or writing music. He loves humor. The first thing people learn about him is just how funny he is. He even dabbles in standup comedy at open mic nights occasionally! Jake likes to cook for me and our friends. He'll look for smart ways to make our food healthier without it being noticeable and has a few classics that he's put serious work into perfecting. He once made pizza every couple of weeks for about 6 months, in a quest to get the dough just right! Jake most enjoys spending time with friends and family. He is the kind of person who will drop everything in his life to help someone that he loves. He gets that from his Dad, who is his role model. He's happiest when he's serving other people. Whether it's cooking or helping them move or making them laugh, he has a strong desire to connect with others. He's also a very analytical and philosophical person. He likes to understand how the world works and has an intense desire to make it better. Fortunately, he gets to do that in his job as an analyst in the hospitality industry!

Kristina is the kind of person that accomplishes everything that she sets out to do. She puts incredible energy into making my life better and easier, and continually seeks out ways to improve the lives of the people around her. She loves to make plans and see them through. Kristina particularly likes planning trips, hangouts, or little fun things for our friends and family. Sometimes they're elaborate - like getting her 7 best friends to Florida for the weekend - but usually it's just getting a group together to play a board game or spend some quality time catching up. Kristina's favorite movies are "You've Got Mail" and "Pride and Prejudice", both because they're great and for the nostalgia - she and her best friends have watched them often since high school, typically while baking cookies. She loves most animals, dogs in particular. She'll talk to strangers about their dogs, and isn't embarrassed to use a "dog voice" to tell a good puppy just how good he is, even when other people are around. She is a very smart and diligent person who loves solving problems. That makes her great at her job as analyst for a financial services company.

When we bought our house in 2016, it had good bones but few other redeeming qualities. It had barely been updated since the 80's and still featured carpet in the bathrooms! Over the course of four years, we remodeled room-by-room, doing as much of the work ourselves as we could. Jake has become quite the plumber and Kristina's tile work could pass for professional. We've been able to build our home into exactly what we wanted. It's full of character and our personalities, including a level of durability and safety that will allow our kids to be silly kids that don't have to be overly cautious - every outlet is already tamper proof and the flooring is waterproof! We have two bedrooms set aside for future children and haven't painted the walls yet, but did find some fun animal wallpaper for the kids' bathroom.

We live several hours from any of our family members but have a strong chosen family of friends that live near us, including our church home group. Most of them already have kids and are so excited for us to become parents too. Our closest friends are largely people we've known for 10+ years, but we've loved expanding our group in the last few years as friends have gotten married and new friends have moved to town. We try and travel with our friends when we can, usually to float the river in Austin each summer. More often though, we spend our hangout time playing board games, cooking or trying new restaurants, or just sitting around talking.

We've lived almost our entire lives in Texas, but have made it a priority since we got married to travel at least once a year. Several years ago we even had the opportunity to live & work in England for a year and a half! We wanted to experience something different for a while and took full advantage of the opportunity to travel around Europe while we were there. Our favorite trips have included driving around and exploring beyond the typical tourist spaces. We usually find much better restaurants that way! We're looking forward to continuing our travels with children, though we'll probably lean more toward road trips and a slower pace for the first few years. We both grew up taking road trips and flying some, so hope to bring that same adventurousness, exploration, and flexibility to our kids.

Most of our hobbies are things that one of us does and the other appreciates but doesn't participate in. Jake can't help but be musical. He's always singing a song that he's making up as he goes, or playing guitar or piano, or just listening to something that he loves. He has a passion for music and is excited to share that with our kids. He's also a very athletic non-athlete and any gathering with his brothers winds up with a football being tossed around. Kristina's biggest hobby is traveling; she's always planning a future vacation. She loves experiencing other places and cultures, particularly trying to capture a moment or place in a photo. She will walk, hike, or drive the extra mile for a great picture. She also loves collecting antique furniture and books.