The Genesis of J y J

Ahhh... 1999. Can you smell it? The beautiful young lady in this photo is my great friend Kat. Kat hails from a giant island in the Indian Ocean known as Australia. She is pretty much responsible for introducing Jake and I, but not in the usual "I have a friend you might like" sort of way. Nope, Kat locked lips with Jake one summer, but they both decided they liked each other more as friends. And yes I am wasted in this picture.

In the spring of 1999 I graduated high school. Coincidentally Jake knows my cousin Micaela. See Jake's step-mom Penny, and Micaela's mom (my aunt) are best friends. So Micaela and Maura knew Jake since they where kids. Little did I know that we would all hang out together for the entire summer.

How could I not fall for him?

...we did some drinking,

but sometimes too much.

By August, I knew. I told our good friend Chris aka Boyd (orange shirt) "I'm going to mack Jake". Mack? I cant believe I used that term. Anyway, we declared ourselves a couple the next day. August 4, 1999.

We did the oh so common "ignore your friends just so we can gaze at each other", but that didn't last long. Our friends are our glue, and we are so blessed by the people that surround us.

...and I'm pretty sure its official when you get portraits done at Walmart.