Anna and Shawn are the type of couple that can do anything together and have fun. They also love the outdoors, (hiking and camping especially). So we knew an adventurous session in the mountains would be right up their alley. ⁠

How did you meet?
“Anna’s close friend needed a place to live for a few months and Shawn had a Craigslist ad posted for one of the rooms in his town home. Anna’s friend moved in with Shawn. Anna came over to see the new place and hang out with her friend and Shawn and her had great rapport and were immediately comfortable and sarcastic with each other. Anna met Shawn on a Friday, she broke up with the guy she was dating the next Monday and Shawn got her phone number on Thursday. Aaaand that was that.”

Think of a really good day you’ve had together. What was that like, where were you, what did you guys do?
“So it was Shawn’s first day off in about 2 1/2 months (and he was literally working 7 days a week). We first went to our breakfast spot to eat a hearty meal after celebrating the night before, just the two of us. Afterwards we just spent the day walking around town, stopping at random shops and talking most of the time. We went to a bookshop, stopped at a restaurant for some beers, got some ice cream and sat in a park just enjoying each other’s company. We also walked around neighborhoods looking at houses that we might like to buy sometime. Honestly? It wasn’t any day that you write home about or say “omg! let me tell you what we did!” But it was just us, carefree, spending a day together with the most perfect weather and just laughing constantly and exploring. We laughed, I cried (I’m a happy cry-er). It was lovely. And we were both surprised that this day was the first thing both of us thought about when we read this question. We’re not needy, we just need each other. If we’ve got that, then the day will be heavenly.”

What thing do you love most about Shawn?
“It’s hard to pick just one, but there are a few that are tied together. I love Shawn’s unassuming confidence. I’ve always been a very confident person and meeting someone on my level is not easy. I’ve honestly never met someone so comfortable in his own skin and so quiet about it. He will sing out loud in public with me. He’ll wear goofy clothes. He’ll dance like no one’s watching when he knows full well that everyone is watching. And he just doesn’t care. It makes people feel so at ease with him and it’s so wonderful I get to spend all my time with someone who is so comfortable with himself inside and out. He also has a sense of humor that can make me crack up even when I’m upset. His wit is sarcastic and harsh. And, again, it’s hard to find that in someone, but somehow we found it in each other. It means that we can be so comfortable to just be ourselves around each other, in ways that other people just don’t understand about 70% of the time. But I love it. He just makes me feel so at ease in all the ways that I never found with anyone else. Ugh, I want to go on about all sorts of other things now too, but I guess I’ll stop there. Before he gets a big head when he reads this…” Anna

What thing do you love most about Anna?
“There are so many things that I love about this woman, but if I had to choose just one it would probably be her personality (I swear that we didn’t coordinate this when writing these answers even though they will sound very similar!). She has this immense self confidence about her that I haven’t seen in too many other women that I’ve known. She knows exactly who she is and isn’t afraid to show her uniqueness at all times. She is not concerned about what other people think about her and goes out of her way to be different so she doesn’t blend in. She’s also caring and kind, at the same time though. She likes to say that ever since she was little she has tried to look out for the “little guy.” She never likes seeing people being taken advantage of and tries to put more balance in relationships that she sees as being too one-sided (corporate, personal, etc.). And her sense of humor is so well matched with mine. We are both sarcastic and witty 90% of the time, always joking around. Usually my sense of humor can get me in trouble in relationships, but this was the first time that I could just completely be myself without hesitation. I’ve never been with someone who allows me to be my true self at all times.” Shawn