Our tale begins in the unlikeliest of places: with a lizard. Specifically a chameleon that Lexi rescued shortly before Christmas 2016. As it turns out Lexi did not have all the necessary equipment (or knowledge) to take care of such a delicate creature, and so I came to discover that she had swept into the Big Al's - where I was working at the time - in full panic mode to get all of the information and essentials she needed. The story I came in to the next day was about a "crazy chameleon lady" who was all-a-flurry and would likely need supplies to feed her new pet. The woman I eventually met was so much more: she was kind, patient, and attentive.

Lexi put in the effort to learn everyone's name AND remember them; she greeted us all by name after only a few short visits and often asked after staff members that were absent [L: still do]. These expressions of her character endeared her to me immediately and we quickly developed a friendship and bonded over our shared love of animals. As Lexi's visits continued we began to discuss things that were not animal-related; it was one of these conversations that set us down a very different path.

To this day I'm still not sure what look I had on my face but during one of her visits (sometime in March 2017) Lexi wanted to know what was bothering me and pressed for an answer. Something about her convinced me to open up: I had been having a rough week and spending a great deal of time thinking about my father. Lexi had been having a rough time as well with tax season and suggested that she needed a vacation. So it came to be that we began planning our first adventure before even going on our first date. Several dates (and rescued animals) later we are happily planning our next great adventure.

One of the strongest connections we share is a love for animals. We both had some sort of pet growing up and love to interact with just about any animal we encounter.

The first of our animals to enter our lives was Karma the chameleon (the reason we met). Karma had led a stressful life prior to coming into Lexi's care but quickly developed into a beautiful and content little tree cow. Her attitude was mercurial, and she was quick to let me know how much she preferred mommy.

We added to our menagerie with Puff the bearded dragon, who was later joined by sisters Nikki and Emma. Puff and Nikki continue to be entertaining and and loving in their own unique ways.

My three geckos: Lily, Violet, and Briar have been the most recent addition and provide a unique challenge as they are nocturnal. We still find ample time to love on them and get some affectionate kisses in return.

Rescuing and caring for animals (all of our current pets are rescues) continues to be a passion of ours and will likely contribute to several more adventures.

In the three-ish years that James and I have been together, our parents had never met each other. We had spoken about trying to make it happen, but it never seemed to work out.

At our Sunday family dinner after Valentine's Day, Mum and Dad reminded us of their upcoming social and travel plans. At the beginning of the week, James started hatching his plan. He called up his mum and started pitching the idea of getting the two families together, and would they be available this coming weekend to come pay us a visit? They were available (being retired, social calendars fill up quickly) and agreed to make the trip up for the weekend.

The next conversation was with me; James really tried to sell it. My parents were available, his had already agreed to come up for the weekend. My issue was that we were supposed to have friends of ours over that weekend and I now had to cancel. I reluctantly agreed to try to reschedule our social plans. By some stroke of providence, the wife of that couple ended up asking me to reschedule first. I guess this meeting of the parents was meant to be. I subsequently advised my parents that they would be coming over for supper on Saturday to meet James' family. [J: It was an easy sell since I had already emailed Arlene inviting them over haha]

James and I put in a lot of work over the course of the week to prepare for our dinner party and make sure everyone would be comfortable. And then the day arrives.

The evening was lovely. The parents hit it off immediately as we noshed on wine and cheese. We had a great meal of Tuscan chicken, served over pasta, and salad. For dessert, I made an apple crisp (Dad's favourite) served with a homemade caramel sauce.

We moved back to the living room, bellies full, to keep enjoying each other's company. James eventually tried to start a toast about how lovely the evening has been, how nice it is to be among such wonderful company... all sorts of positive things.

Dad started running with James' sentiment to continue the conversation, as did I [J: which was VERY frustrating ;p]. James was standing behind me at the time so I could not see his facial expression. The mothers saw something in his eyes and quieted down; it took a little longer for the rest of us. Eventually, James was allowed to continue his lovely speech.

I truly had no idea where this whole evening was going until he got down on one knee beside me and started reaching into his pocket. I went into shock for a few seconds, made a sound (probably "yes") and nodded. Next thing I know dad is calling for him to put the ring on my finger and then I started happy crying. [J: He had to call for me to put the ring on because you wouldn't give me your hand!]

We continued the evening with more bubbles, some photos (James' tripod meant we could get everyone in the photos), and some joyful noise. [J: #sorrynotsorry neighbours]

Looking back, it was perfect. Family is the most important thing to both of us, and it meant so much to have our families there for that special moment.