Matt and Lauren met in high school, the Maine School of Science and Mathematics to be clear.  They never really ran in the same friend circles until years later.

Matt and Lauren reconnected through mutual friends just before Lauren departed, for the far away coast of New Zealand.  They kept in touch mostly through Lauren's love of instant messages and Matt's abnormal sleep schedule leading to them talking at what passed as a normal time in Auckland, and a totally abnormal time in the USA.  

Through these late nights and cutting edge experimentation with low price international telephony a strong bond of friendship was formed. 

Matt visited Lauren in New Zealand for the first time for Christmas 2005 and was greeted warmly.  They then traveled around Auckland visiting the city lights followed by a very long car trip of both Islands.  The highlights included the magnificent scenery of Milford Sound, Marlborough, and Fox Glacier.

Then, in 2009, Lauren planned to come back to America for the summer and told Matt they definitely needed to make plans and spend time together. Matt managed to pack a Red Sox game at Fenway Park, a delicious Thai Dinner, a drive to New York City, and one of the last Nine Inch Nails Concerts into those 4 days.  

In those 4 amazing days they both realized how strong their bonds were.  Lauren helped Matt take the next step in his life journey to healthy living.  Promising to be there for him as he struggled with weight loss.  After a difficult goodbye in New York City, the two of were electronically closer than ever. 

One thing lead to another and Matt returned to New Zealand for Christmas 2009, 4 years to the day from his last visit.  After two weeks of spectacular sun, sandy beaches, mountain climbing, and stair running, Matt was sadly forced to return to a snowbound Boston. Matt then returned to care for Lauren through knee surgery and to drop off a star covered laptop.

This lead to 3 months of nightly (often closer to "morning" for Matt) Skypeing sessions punctuated by another trip to New Zealand and the beautiful Waiheke Island in May 2010, where Matt and Lauren spend several days walking on beaches and drinking wine in the sun of a New Zealand Indian Summer. 

Lauren returned to the states in June to celebrate her birthday in LA with Nicky and Sarah (see "Bridesmaids") before coming to Boston. Lauren and Matt enjoyed a summer of picnics, weddings, and Corea, Maine.  They bundled together to prepare for the snowiest winter in years.  Lauren's initial enthusiasm for the snow dies quickly.   

After all of this time and this long journey on a cool January evening after a delicious dinner Matt took Lauren to her favorite statute from a childhood book, and stumbled through a series of indecipherable words with a lot of meaning and love behind them.

She said yes, and they started working on a Website :)