In our leisure time, we like to spend as much time outdoors as possible. We enjoy running, gardening, hiking, stand up paddle boarding, camping, spending time on the river, and winding down by the fire underneath the stars.

On days where the weather isn't necessarily the most conducive for being outside, we like playing board games, reading books, and catching up with friends and family on Zoom or FaceTime.

Honestly, we are looking forward to sharing all of these experiences with a child! Instead of changing our life, we want to incorporate the child into all of the things we love to do. We can't wait!

Kurtis is extremely inquisitive and resourceful. He is always seeking opportunities to expand his knowledge base and challenge himself with a new task or project. Kurtis is forward thinking and considers the long term vision. He is very methodical in his approach and quite the planner. Kurtis is also extremely thoughtful towards other people and has a sense of humor that will light up a room.

Ryan is very level headed and able to approach all situations with a calm demeanor. He is an excellent implementer with an innate ability to connect the dots. Ryan has a tactical approach to ensure tasks are executed seamlessly. He has a very warm personality and an extremely generous person. Ryan is also a great caretaker and focuses on expressing gratitude.

Our favorite vacation spot is off the coast of Washington state in the San Juan islands. We found this gem of a location a few years ago and absolutely fell in love with it!

To get there, you drive north of Seattle a couple of hours and then get to drive onto a ferry to take it across the water to the islands. Once there, it is absolutely amazing and peaceful. There is so much wildlife to enjoy and there is a pod of resident Orca whales year round. The surrounding area is very pristine. In addition, there's a quiet little downtown area on each island where you can walk to each of the shops and restaurants.

Further inland, there are farms and wineries peppered throughout the countryside. The lavender farm is our favorite! There are also many hiking trails on each of the islands, so there are plenty of viewpoints to take in the beautiful sights!

We can't wait to bring a child to the San Juan islands and experience the vacation spot as a family.

We live in a quiet and family friendly suburban neighborhood in the Pacific Northwest. Our house is only a few steps away from an elementary school, and the district is top rated in the state. We have 3 dogs of varying sizes, chickens, and a betta fish. The house is ranch style with a fenced back yard with plenty of room to play with the pups. We have five bedrooms and two bathrooms with a patio on the side of the house where we love to spend summer nights by a fire.

The community offers movies in the park, music festivals, and holiday celebrations including a tree lighting ceremony, parades, and 4th of July pancake breakfast. There is a river within two miles of our house with a beach for picnics and an access ramp for paddle boarding, rafting, or kayaking.

There are several families in the neighborhood that have children who will grow up with this child. The neighborhood also has a couple of playgrounds and hiking trails that we frequently enjoy on our walks.

Most of our family members live in South Carolina. We typically see them twice a year including a week together at the beach on an annual basis. This family trip is a tradition which includes bike rides, swimming, games, and cooking meals together. One of the traditional meals is a build your own taco bar.

In between visits we connect on the phone, Face Time or Zoom 2-3 times a month. We also have a light hearted text thread where we communicate daily and share details about our lives paired with various memes or GIFs. Our nieces and nephews are varying in ages, so we dedicate time during family visits to enjoy a fun experience based on their interests. The closest family member is an uncle that lives about 4.5 hours north.

Our family is extremely excited about our plans to adopt. They are looking forward to welcoming a child into the family and showing him/her an abundance of love.

Greetings!

Ryan and Kurtis here and we are stoked to have the opportunity to share our profile with you! It is with abundant appreciation that we provide this snippet of our life with you.

We recognize and respect the roller coaster of emotion you may be experiencing as you consider making an adoption plan for your child. It takes a ton of strength to make such a plan, and we wish you peace throughout the process trusting that your decision will bring an alignment for your child's best interest.

We grew up in South Carolina and moved to the Pacific Northwest about six years ago. We live in a quiet neighborhood with a fenced backyard, walking distance to the local elementary school. We have 3 pups that are best friends and some chickens that provide delicious fresh eggs. Both of us have remote jobs as well as own a real estate business. We have flexibility over our schedules and are anticipating taking the first several months off from work to spend time with the baby after placement. In just a few short years, we look forward to walking them to school each morning and hearing all about their day when we pick them up in the afternoon.

The pillars by which we run our lives (as well as business) can be summed up with the following core values: we're passionate about what we do; we are authentic in our interactions and hold ourselves to a high level of accountability; we make decisions with integrity; we are resourceful in our approach- if we don't know an answer/solution to something, we find it out; and we seize the day- yes, carpe diem! We have fun in the moment and have an attitude of gratitude for whatever the occasion is that we are experiencing.

We enjoy spending as much time as possible outside. A few activities we do as a family (often with our siblings, nephews, nieces, friends, and their children) include stand up paddle boarding on rivers/lakes, bike rides, tending to the garden and chickens, and going for walks/runs. Time in Mother Nature is grounding and nurturing for us. Some of our favorite memories involve sitting around a campfire listening to crickets chirping, telling stories, and watching lightening bugs blink.

We embrace openness in the adoption journey and know that everyone's comfort levels may be different. We recognize that relationships created through adoption develop best with respect and care which may evolve over time. At the end of the day, we want to provide a child with unconditional love, emotional and financial support, as well as a safe and stable home. We look forward to helping a child thrive and grow up to be the best that they can be as they make their way into the world to make an outstanding impact.

Thank you again for taking the time to read this letter and getting to know us better; we look forward to meeting you!

With gratitude,

Ryan & Kurtis