We met online! We are both so thankful that we each had friends encourage us to try a new online dating website, as we never would have met each other "IRL." Even though we have so much in common, Iliana was working hard and living in Washington, D.C., and Rey was commuting to near Baltimore, M.D., from northern Virginia several days a week for work, while spending all of his free time playing and coaching sports. Rey made sure to plan really fun dates, including ropes courses and zip lines, breweries, and delicious restaurants, and Iliana did her best to keep him entertained with all of her random trivia! Since then, we've supported each other through "sickness and health," major career changes, traveling the world together, buying a house, getting a dog and a horse, and becoming essential parts of each other's biological and chosen families. We decided to elope in 2021 in magical Hawaii after being stuck in our house for COVID! Then, in 2022, we had a big party and invited all our family and friends to celebrate; it was the first time every one was in the same room since COVID, and it was such a fabulous day for everyone. We have the absolute best community of friends and family, and they are so eager to meet the next member of that extended family!

Rey spent several months in Germany for work early in his career, a time during which he took advantage of being in Europe to travel as much as he could. Iliana started traveling internationally soon after her mother died in 2005, given travel was one of her mother's most favorite things, and travel is something that both she and her sister love to do together. While Iliana still makes time to travel with her sister, and Rey still makes time to travel with his friends, we both agree that our favorite travel partners are each other. Together, we've been to several U.S. states, Iceland, Spain, Aruba, Curacao, the Dominican Republic, Greece, the U.K., and our favorite country, Canada! We always take time to plan our next trip, and we cannot wait to introduce our child to the big, wide world and all the remarkable things in it!

We work hard every day to be the best possible partners we can for each other, and we are both the other's biggest fans! We both spend a significant amount of our lives outside, spending time together and spending time separately improving in our respective passions--Rey is an extremely talented amateur golfer, and Iliana excels at "A" rated equestrian events. Each of us whole heartedly supports the other's chosen vocation and sport community. Some of the best friends that we've made have been the incredible people we've met while participating in our favorite activities. We also love to spend time outside together in all seasons, including for hiking, swimming, boating, and especially skiing.

Besides the time we spend outside together or with our friends and family, we enjoy exploring the D.C. metro area. There are so many wonderful cultural activities, fabulous restaurants with foods from around the world, museums, concerts, and day trips; we never run out of things to do. Most importantly, we always make time for our friends and family, both in our local area, and in other states around the country. Finally, some days we just like to be homebodies and enjoy relaxing at home in our cozy house that we love, cooking, watching movies, listening to music, and spending time together.

Iliana is one of the most selfless people I know. She puts her family and friends first and would literally give her shirt off her back, if someone needed it. I have such a close-knit group of family and friends, and I'm so happy since day 1 it's like she's always been part of my group. After our years together, she loves them just as much as I do, and they love her. I am lucky to have met Iliana, because she's opened my eyes to and helped me to appreciate all different types of art, culture, and different cuisines. I would never in my life experienced and explored on my own all the varieties of restaurants, activities, and museums. Her knowledge of random facts is astounding and impressive. Our nieces and nephews are lucky to have her in their lives consistently; she always asks about them and never hesitates to ask them directly if they need anything. I have no doubt that she will be the best mother to our child; she's always working to anticipate the needs of everyone in our lives, and stay in tune with how they are doing.

Rey is literally everyone's favorite person! He's the funniest, most dependable, athletic, and supportive human being I know, and all of his friends and family think of him the same way. There's a reason he has 13 godchildren and has stood in more weddings than anyone I know. I'm so extremely lucky to have met him and for him to be my partner. He makes me laugh every single day, and he makes me a better person! He extremely practical and helps me talk through any issues in our lives, consider all options, and make the best decisions. He also has fantastic instincts, upon which I rely all the time. He's going to be the very best dad--the best coach, the best bodyguard, the best dance teacher, the best hugger, and the best role model.

We got our sweet and sassy poofy floof named Whiskey during COVID. Iliana had both a small dog who went to college and law school with her, and a big dog who went to graduate school with her, and who took up a lot of space in her small Washington, D.C. apartment (she wouldn't have had it any other way). Rey grew up with a big dog, as well, but hadn't had a dog in years. Given that we love to travel, we decided to get a hypo-allergenic lhasa apso, so we can have her around all our friends and family, even if they have allergies, and so she can travel with us!

People cannot believe how good Whiskey is--she's super smart and has spent a lot of time in dog training, so nothing scares her; she loves adventures and absolutely everyone. Iliana's nephew says "she's a real, live stuffie"! She's particularly good with kids, as she'll play for hours with them. She's also a celebrity at her day care and recently won a Halloween costume contest! Please enjoy our little video to see Whiskey in action.

Iliana comes from a family of Idaho ranchers and Mexican vaqueros, so her family was not surprised that she's loved horses since she could walk. She started riding competitively in college, where she went to ride every week outside of Austin, Texas. She got back into riding when she moved to Washington, D.C., and finally got her own horse, Cole, in 2019 after she and Rey moved to Virginia. Rey always tells people they got a horse before they got a dog! Iliana boards Cole at her trainer's farm just outside of Washington, D.C., in Northern Virginia, and located on Iliana's way home from work; she's so lucky to have a top-notch trainer and lovely home for her horse so close to her home and her work.

Iliana refers to Cole most often as the "goober." He's brave and athletic and takes such good care of Iliana when they compete over jumps in all different locations in Virginia and Maryland. Cole's big personality and love for "cookies" and peppermints makes him a favorite with adults and children, and Iliana always lets the little girls at the barn ride him whenever they want!

We so appreciate the time you've taken to read our stories and "meet" our friends and family! Please know that you deserve the best next step for you and your baby, and we would be thrilled to be a part of your journey. We hope to meet you soon!