Ivan and Jeanine connected on the dating app "Bumble". The premise of the app is that if you both indicate you like each other, the female has 24 hours to message the male first. Jeanine asked Ivan what types of beers he liked - Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout was his answer, and Jeanine approved of this answer as a stout lover herself. They continued messaging, eventually moving the conversation to texts. They had their first date at Craft House in the Ballston Neighborhood of Arlington.

Ivan and Jeanine took their first photo on Jeanine's Birthday at Liberty Tavern in the Clarendon neighborhood of Arlington.

Ivan (bravely) decides to meet all of Jeanine's immediate family, and her brother-in-law's immediate and extended family in Massachusetts for a weekend of Finch/Robitialle traditions including an Ugly Sweater Party and Grandma Finch's Cookie making. Ivan made an excellent impression on all the family and we are pretty sure they liked him more than Jeanine. They were begging him to come back to Massachusetts for Christmas, to which he politely declined.

Ivan had visited his family for Thanksgiving in 2016 but couldn't get the time off to go back to South Texas for Christmas. Ivan called Jeanine on December 22 asking "if the offer still stood" to spend Christmas with my family in Massachusetts. Of course, the answer was YES. Ivan bought his plane ticket and arrived on Christmas Eve. If you haven't spent a Christmas with the Finch/Robitialle clan, it's A LOT (to be fair, we are always a lot, so it's extra on Christmas). Ivan smiled through it all Including a cold, late night, outdoor assembly of a large gift with Jeanine, Jake, and Jen for a Christmas morning surprise. Jeanine and Louise were driving back to Northern Virginia after Christmas and Ivan was going to join. Jeanine wasn't feeling great so after about 45 minutes of her driving, she asked Ivan if he would mind driving for a while... which turned out to be from the north end of Connecticut all the way home... for those of you that don't make that drive all the time it's about 7.5 hours out of an 8 hour drive, on a good day, when there's no holiday traffic...

Despite everything written so far, Ivan decides to spend NYE 2017 with Jeanine.

After so much time spent with Jeanine's family, we wanted to make sure that we got to Texas as soon as possible for Jeanine to meet Ivan's Family. In March of 2017, we flew in to Houston and drove down to Weslaco Texas. We stopped to meet Ivan's parents, brother, and aunt along the way at one of their favorite restaurants King's Inn. We spent a few days in Weslaco catching up with Ivan's friends and family and introducing Jeanine to true Mexican food, not the Tex-Mex she was used to. After our visit, we drove to San Antonio, Austin, Waco and finally back to Houston for our flight back to DC. We drove about 1400 miles on that trip and had a blast.

In 2017, we covered a ton of ground. We traveled all over South Texas, New Orleans, Cozumel, Mexico, Colorado, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, and exploring around DC and Virginia. It was a blast to explore and get to know each other better.

2018 led to more exploring and traveling. We went to Michigan, Massachusetts, Texas, Florida, and the Bahamas; We ran our first (and last) 1/2 Marathon; took our first camping trip together; and even went axe throwing!

2019 and were still going strong into our relationship! We went on a three night backpacking trip in West Virginia and spent lots of time with family and friends. In June 2019, Jeanine started a new job with CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, to celebrate, we had dinner at the Inn at Little Washington, which was such a delight! Ivan's family visited over the 4th of July, and we got to show them around DC and Virginia. We took a backpacking trip at the beach where we bit off a little more then we could chew trying for 10 miles out to a beach front campsite. We made the most of it and somehow survived! We rounded out the year spending Thanksgiving in California with Jeanine's Mom and Ivan's family. We took a cruise to Catalina Island and Ensenada, Mexico. Ivan surprised everyone with a day trip to Disney Land after our cruise, and despite it being very chilly, we had a blast!

2020 - We all have mixed feelings about this year and maybe some PTSD thinking about what a year it was for mankind. Ivan and Jeanine were so fortunate to be able to work remotely at the start of the pandemic, and we were even able to spend time in Houston, Texas while Ivan's mom went through cancer treatments at MD Anderson. We bought a Peloton; made bread; wiped down our groceries; masked up; took a lot of Covid tests; celebrated weddings, graduation's and birthdays via zoom; went many months without hair cuts, and so much more. In September 2020, we decided we needed some more chaos in our lives and adopted Opal at 8 weeks old! We learned a lot about how to be dog parents and enjoyed watching her and her silly ways!

It's 2021, and Covid is still lingering around. Ivan and Jeanine adjusted to the ebbs and flows of cases in our area. We were able to safely spend time with family and spent lots of time outdoors. We took a trip with the Solis Family to Niagara Falls and were stunned by its beauty. Opal became a water dog with lots of encouragement and exposure from us. We camped in Pennsylvania; took Opal on her first canoe trip; and bought our first piece of art together as a couple. We also bought a house together in Arlington, VA, which gave us more room for Opal to run around and for us to host guests! It was a big step up from the one bedroom condo we lived in, we couldn't have been happier with our new place!

In 2022, we spent time settling into our house and spending time with family when we could. We took several trips to Massachusetts to see Jeanine's Family and spent some time in Cancun with Ivan's Family. In September, we drove from Virginia to Colorado and back with Opal (to her displeasure)! Jeanine photographed a wedding in Colorado and didn't trust flights to not be canceled. We had a blast camping and exploring there and back. We spent Thanksgiving with Jeanine's family and got to spend Christmas with Ivan's Family. It was so wonderful to spend time and make memories with everyone. Unfortunately, Ivan and Jeanine's luck ran out, and we both got Covid in December 2022 for the first (known) time. Thankfully, our symptoms were mild, and we both recovered pretty quickly.

In January 2023, we started out with a wedding in New Orleans, which was just magical and one of our favorite cities to explore. We also took our first trip ever to the White House! Ivan's mom and brother were able to visit us over the summer, we had a blast traveling around DC, playing games, and relaxing together. In October, we took a trip with Jeanine's mom, sister, and Aunt Martie to California for a family reunion with Jeanine's Grandmother's family. While we were on the West Coast, we got to visit with the Cantwell's (Jeanine's mother's side of the family) and explore Southern California. Ivan and Jeanine took a long weekend getaway in Puerto Rico, and we rounded up with year with Ivan graduating from George Mason University, earning a Bachelors in Insider Threat Analysis.

It's 2024, and we thought "hmmmm we've made it through so much together already, let's go ahead and get married to make it official"! Mostly, we just want to celebrate our love with you - our friends and family. You all have stood with us through the good times and the hard times. Let's have an evening of merriment and joy! Can't wait to see you at the wedding!