While living on Austin's Rainey Street, Brisket and Zilker met as puppies and took a liking to each other at their building's dog park and Ning and Nathan met for the first time. This is a picture from that day.

With so many dogs and friendly people on the same street, a wider friend group emerges and hang out regularly. The next two years are full of lake days on Ryan's boat, rooftop cookouts, Ning's Lunar New Year parties, and happy hours on Rainey Street. Ning and Nathan and their dogs grow closer through the friend circle that remains close to this day.

Our first official date! Nathan asks Ning if she wants to go see Macbeth at the Curtain Theater - Austin's replica of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. The two start dating seriously and get to know each other better. Meanwhile, they realize they've traveled to many of the same places prior to meeting, experiences that informed a shared world view, work ethic, and values.

Ning and Nathan take many road trips out west, appreciating its vast open spaces. They traverse The Narrows, summit Angel's Landing at Zion National Park, catch a concern at the Gorge Amphitheater, and spend extensive time hiking and stargazing in Big Bend.

Ning joins Nathan to meet his full family for Christmas in Australia. Upon arrival, it turns out to be a group intervention to get Nathan a haircut... and wear more sunscreen.

The roadtrip test! After three months of COVID lockdown on the Reid farm in Ohio, the couple take advantage of remote work and .89 cent gas to hit the road. With two dogs, two jobs, and an 11x7 foot camper, they spend the summer living/working out of national parks, visiting friends, and hiking. They travel about 5000 miles in total along the continental divide, making it north to Canada and west to Oregon. Despite the cramped living quarters, two crazy dogs, tire blow outs, broken AC, and all-night drives between high pressure work days, the two manage not to kill each other, make it work, and pull off the trip of a lifetime.

The two combine their passion for hospitality and host large parties to celebrate their friends and special occasions. They work as a team to pull them off and grow even closer while building connections with friends.

Ning joins more Reid family trips and help celebrate Randall and Connie's 70th birthdays in Europe. Ning joins in on the family dance parties and proves herself a worthy rival in post-dinner games.

After COVID concerns ease, Nathan gets a chance to meet the Tay family and host them in Texas. They Airstream camp in the Hill Country, tour vineyards, and carve some pumpkins. A few months later Nathan joins the Tays on a trip to Scandinavia. They tour the early summer gardens, explore the museums, and make good use of Denmark's music / dance scene.

Later that year Nathan also joins the Tays in New York. The family enjoys re-tracing where Ann and Marc started their life, where Ning was born, and her parents' first apartment next to Central Park. The crew sees Hamilton on Broadway and treats Nathan to fantastic food spots. Nathan has a ring burning a hole in his pocket and plots a time and place to pop the question.

After a Sunday morning tour of the Natural History Museum next to Central Park, Nathan says he's hungry as an excuse to leave early and head towards a restaurant in Central Park. He knows the Shakespeare Garden is on the way and stops them mid-journey to step into a private area. After recounting a memory about that first Shakespeare date back in Austin, and with her parents' first apartment just a stone's throw away, he gets down on one knee and pops the question. She says yes!

Ning & Nathan look forward to hosting everyone in Austin and celebrating back where it all began. Can't wait to see you there!