Café Brasil and a hike through the Santa Cruz Redwoods, visiting the Garden of Eden swimming hole

A fun weekend at Copperopolis Reservoir!! Enjoyed Garrett's beautiful lake house, celebrated Jesse & Colleen's engagement, and had a blast integrating Jared with Mia's friends. Had so much fun we barely took pictures (thanks Moselle for the polaroid!)

They spent a lovely week in OBX with Jared's parents, grandparents, aunt, sister, Miss Pat, and Miss Marie. Mia officially joined the annual tradition and loved every minute!

The pair spent every weekend together, supporting each other through the intensity of working at Tesla and exploring Northern CA wilderness whenever possible.

The Hammond Home in Santa Cruz provided many memories with John, Arisa, Mia, and Jared - plus a dog, 2 cats, and an unknown number of chickens, ducks, rabbits and birds in the backyard.

Before they knew it June rolled around, and with it another OBX Beach Vacation. This time Mia was invited for both weeks!

with the wedding of Chaz & Kendra! Thankfully Jared thoroughly enjoyed Northern Michigan and agreed to come back each summer.

Or rather, Mia fell for a craigslist scam and HAD to rescue this teeny 'English Cream Golden Retriever' - Jared was a great sport, and quickly fell in love with their little rice cake, Mochi.

Big Sur, Pinnacles, Yosemite

An epic cabin weekend with many wonderful humans. None pictured, only Mochi enjoying the snow.

The more experiences they had with Mochi, the more the couple noticed "non-golden-retriever" traits in the little bear

turns out Mochi is 100% Great Pyrenees! No wonder he's such a ferocious guardian. Jared and Mia immediately looked into training support to give Mochi more structure and strict rules to prepare for his size as a Giant breed dog.

Mochi's first cross-country road trip!

He was so excited to meet his horse-friend Nick, and of course grandma, grandpa, and extended family. Mochi thrived in Maryland, further solidifying Jared and Mia's decision to find a home of their own in the state.

plus stops at the Petrified Forest and in Nashville to meet his "Baba" Carolyn, and play with dog friends Ruby, Domino, and Maisie

The couple continued with weekend adventures between busy work weeks, falling more in love as time went on. They bonded over shared values and desire to build a family. Mochi provided extra challenge, from resource guarding to general aggression and unpredictable outbursts. Together they built new skills in dog training, further solidifying their partnership.

They continued the search for real estate in MD. Thanks to tireless hours from Laura, they eventually found a home that checked all the boxes. Well, they found three homes, but their bid finally won on the third!

they enjoyed another couple months in Santa Cruz, visiting Yosemite and redwood forests, preparing for the cross country move.

The couple packed up a pod, the Tesla, plus the van and trailer to begin a multi-part moving journey.

Several Hammond birthdays to celebrate! met up for music and good food

Annual vacation round 3

And drive cross country one more time!

Final destination: La Plata, MD

They immediately got to work on the new house, tearing down walls, ripping up old carpet (thank you John Ford!), and renovating the backyard barn to serve as a chicken coop.

Time flew by making yummy food, spending weekends with family, and working on many many home improvement projects!

They settled into life "in the country" (according to Mia) and before they knew it was time for the holidays.

Both were ecstatic when the counters Finally made it past the ports and they could finish the kitchen. Next up, floors!

Mochi loved chasing crabs on the beach!

Mia's happiest birthday yet! They celebrated in DC over sushi and then a night on the town (HBD Nate!!)

and so were the matching pajamas!

Started the year off RIGHT with the beautiful wedding of Erin & Mike

Camping in MD for Jared's 30th Birthday

Mia was thoroughly spoiled by ALL her ladies!!

And secretly got married in June!

Our first 'First Dance' in Michigan, festivities for the 4th of July and so much fun we didn't take any pictures

Lots of yard work

Enjoying nature, kayaking outings

The beautiful wedding of Cat & Josh!

And next Garrett & Christine!

First in California

And then Maryland

Fall brought another successful Friendsgiving celebration

And finally,

We'll continue adding updates here and can't wait to celebrate with everyone in September!