Mike was immediately taken by the cute blonde staring back at him in August, 2007. Soon after they began dating, it became clear to Mike that Stef's values, sense of humor, interests, and personality were the sorts of things that he was looking for in the girl that he would one day choose to spend the rest of his life with. Three years removed from their first date, Mike is more confident than ever that he's found his perfect complement, and looks forward to what the future has in store for him and his best friend.
What was it about Mike that made Stef look twice when he tried to get her attention? Well, he was wearing a Nintendo t-shirt, for one. Stef was intrigued... was it possible that there was still one funny, smart, cute, single man left in the world? Within a few short months, it was apparent that Stef had hit the Y-chromosome jackpot. Stef and Mike appreciate and value in each other the qualities that other people merely tolerate... how many other men would agree to spend a romantic mountain getaway indoors watching season 3 of Star Trek: The Next Generation on DVD?
In August of 1997, new to the town of Beaumont and looking for something to do one night, Stefanie and her sister Jennifer wandered into a video rental store to rent a horror flick. There they met Alysha, who reached out to the new girls and invited them to a party that night. Thus began a close friendship that has been going strong for 14 years! Stef and Alysha are now sisters not by birth, but by choice!
Mike met Chris way back in 1992, at Parkview Junior High School. They became friends by virtue of being the first two kids dropped off at the school each morning, and soon discovered shared interests in comic books and hockey. Over the years, Chris has moved around the continent, from Ottawa to San Jose to Edmonton to Vancouver and back to San Jose, but his friendship with Mike has endured time and distance.
Stefanie and Jennifer met on a hot August day in 1983, when Stefanie became a big sister for the first time. Jennifer was everything she could have hoped for in a little sister and more! Over the years, they've shared a mutual love of Japanese horror films, great music and even greater books. Although Jennifer moved away a couple of years ago, distance has proven to be only a minor inconvenience for these two sisters, who remain as close as ever!
Like many great relationships, Mike met Mark online way back in 1999 after joining a fantasy hockey league that Mark ran. They quickly bonded over a mutual love of hockey, gaming, and websites coded in PHP/MySQL, and regularly meet up whenever they're in the same province. More recently, Mike served as ballast for a flag-winning run of Mark's prized sailing sloop: Panache.
Stefanie met Rhiannon shortly after she started dating Mike. Rhiannon put Stefanie through her paces to make sure she was good enough for her friend and luckily, she passed! Since then, Stefanie and Rhiannon have bonded through a trip to Mexico and countless dinners with the rest of the "Collective".
Chris and Mike are part of the legendary "Collective", a group of engineer-friendly friends that have remained close since high school. Over the years, Chris and Mike have dabbled in Tennis, Curling, Chess, and Archery, while maintaining healthy competition on various Xbox and iPhone games.
While May 14th will be a special day for Laura's brother, it will also be a big day for herself as she gains the sister she always wanted! When Laura and Stefanie met, they immediately knew they'd be good friends. Laura is an intrepid world traveler, and Stefanie has always aspired to be one too. Both Stef and Laura look forward to many opportunities for family travel together in the future! Laura and Stefanie have also bonded over a love of terrible chick flicks, shopping, and support of social causes.
As far back as Mike can remember, he's always considered his cousin Shawn to be the brother he never had. Many of Mike's fondest childhood memories involve trips to Canada's Wonderland in Toronto, where he and Shawn would ride roller coasters for days at a time, and ski trips to Banff, where Mike would safely navigate the slopes while Shawn attempted feats of aerial insanity. Mike is also godfather to Shawn's beautiful daughter, Amber.
