Our Story

About Grant

Grant is just a small-town Iowa boy living in the city. He comes from strong roots where he was taught to work hard and take care of others from a very young age.

He grew up playing all of the sports as a young lad and working hard at jobs. He worked summer jobs doing carpentry, electrical, plumbing, concrete, field work, selling sweet corn, and working at Subway (he still loves those cookies). Him and his brother, George, were first generation college students and both proudly graduated from the University of Norther Iowa. Grant then graduated from the University of Michigan with a dual Master’s degree.

Grant has always loved working with kids, so he decided to become a teacher upon graduating from the University of Michigan. Grant started teaching middle school math in Gary, Indiana. He then went on to teach high school math in Chicago, Illinois. In 2015 Grant was given the opportunity to open a new high school in Denver, Colorado. It was a dream location for him because of the mountains, and a dream job for him to start his own school. He takes a lot of pride in the school he created and the education he helped provide the students and families of the community he still lives in. Grant has continued serving as a principal in a middle and high school since then, and he continues to pour his heart, soul, and too much time into the work he loves.

While Erin wishes Grant’s favorite time of year was Christmas or her birth month, it is actually elk hunting season. Spending time in the mountains chasing elk is what truly nourishes his soul. Grant also loves spending time renovating his home, working on his vehicles, camping, and really anything else that is active. Sleeping in or sitting around just isn’t his thing.

Sporting the combover and side-dimple to get the ladies

Grant was not getting the ladies with this haircut.

Playing football to get the ladies as well

About Erin

Erin grew up in the busy suburbs of Northern Virginia, about an hour south of the nation’s capital. From a young age, Erin had a creative energy that she channeled into doing various arts and crafts and devising schemes to torment her younger sister. While she didn’t take well to sports and lost every game during her one season of soccer and basketball, she did somewhat excel at dance and even got most improved. She proudly displays this certificate above her bed and reminds Grant of this when he makes fun of her dance moves.

During her formative school years, Erin’s teachers saw her as a shy and timid child; however, her family would say she is anything but. As the token middle child, she was determined to be seen and heard. This often resulted in Erin locking her younger sister in the basement and exuding loud and excessive flatulence to impress her father. Erin’s father is still impressed by this.

Moving on to the high school years, Erin was very studious and very much a perfectionist. Getting a ‘B’ would send Erin in tailspin, flipping furniture and cursing the day calculus was invented. She has yet to use the subject in real life and still holds a grudge for Leibniz and Newton. Following her nerdy high school years, Erin would go on to study Marketing and Management at George Mason University and eventually stumbled upon the field of graphic design & web design.

While climbing the corporate ladder after college, Erin lived in a handful of locations on the outskirts of Washington, DC and eventually moved to the big city. To get back in touch with her nerdy roots, Erin decided she wanted to get a Master’s degree in design. This ultimately led her to leaving the east coast behind and moving to Denver in 2017. Fast forwarding the next four years and skipping over some sad parts about becoming a widow, Erin has since found her Prince Charming and an amazing father for her two crazy dogs.

In terms of hobbies, Erin loves running (even though she is slow as molasseses) and has made it a personal goal to run a half marathon in every state. She just put #18 in the books, with her favorite cheerleader - Grant, in tow. She also enjoys reading, watching trash TV, force snuggling her dogs, going out in public with her nieces and pretending they’re hers, eating carrot cake, getting popcorn stuck in my hair while eating it on the couch, making cheeseballs, writing self-deprecating bios, and annoying Grant. She really enjoys that last one.

About Us

How They Met

We must first start by thanking Bumble. Erin saw that Grant was a school principal and that his mom vouched for him saying, “he was a good catch.” She felt pretty confident that she wouldn’t be murdered and swiped right. Grant saw Erin’s picture of her sitting on her front steps of the home she had just purchased and thought to himself, “I have never seen anything more beautiful in my life.” It was at least a good enough picture for him to swipe right. They went on their first date at the GVR Beer Garden on June 25th, 2020. Their first date was filled with plenty of banter and laughs.

*“The Bumble Picture.” They both forgot what Grant’s Bumble picture was, and Erin would not allow Grant to reactivate Bumble to figure it out.*

Their Time Growing Together

Over the past 1.5 years, Grant and Erin have spent much of their time together. Due to COVID, most of that time has been at home; however, they have been able to go on a few adventures. One of their first outings was Grant taking Erin up to the mountains to set up trail cameras before elk hunting season. He pushed her a good 10+ miles that day to see what she had in her for an outdoors women. Erin faked it just enough to pass that test. (Hey all! Erin chiming in here to say that Grant is lying. Grant was quite winded during that hike…) But that night, staring up at the stars from atop a mountain by their tent, they started to learn more about each other and form a deeper friendship and admiration for each other.

*Grant pausing to take a picture with Erin so that he could catch his breath*

A few other adventures along the way included a week long road trip to the Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Zion National Park, and Bryce Canyon National Park. They have also traveled to Florida, the Carolinas, Iowa, and most recently, San Antonio.

*Grant introducing Erin to lake life in Iowa*

*Grant’s first time at the Atlantic ocean at Erin’s sister’s wedding*

For fun, Erin and Grant regularly partake in -

Watching movies together with their three dogs who are now allowed on the couch (convincing Grant to allow this is one of Erin’s greatest accomplishments in life)
Relaxing with a glass of wine (during this time, Grant is often double fisting with a bottle of bud so that he can stay true to his roots)
Making fancy dinners for each other (because Grant’s version of fine dining is Subway)
Grant asking what the hell Erin is watching when she has her trash TV on in the mornings while getting ready (it’s usually Real Housewives)
Erin serenading Grant in the car and showing off her cool dance moves
Grant working on some project outdoors, while Erin sunbathes and reads in a lawn chair
Taking the dogs to the park and asking themselves why the hell do they have three dogs
Gardening and trying to convince the dogs vegetables are not chew toys
Talking about their future family (and how dogs and children are different, so Erin will not be a push over with their kids)

Their Engagement

Long story short, Erin ruined everything (Hey again - Erin here! I can confirm this statement is true). Grant had asked Erin’s immediate family for their blessing in taking her hand. He planned a camping trip to that same spot where they had first camped and spent one of their earlier nights together under the beauty of the stars high up in the mountains. Grant had a bottle of wine in his pack and trail cameras he was going to set up—one to take pictures and one to record the moment. The plan was to leave right after work on a Friday and head up to the mountains. Again, Erin ruined it all. She texted Grant about 2:00 on Friday and said that she was too tired to go camping. Real cool, Erin, real cool. Determined to still propose that night, Grant adjusted and decided to take Erin out to the GVR Beer Garden, the place of their very first date and a place they had not been back to since their first date. They reminisced on their first date and the memories made since then. Grant asked Erin if she wanted to walk around the lake across the street before they went home. On their walk, Grant asked her if she wanted to relax at a picnic table, and when Erin turned around that young Iowa lad was on one knee. As Grant was saying all kinds of nice compliments and how he looked forward to their future together, Erin began crying and hitting him in disbelief. She eventually got around to talking and said YES!