After a stressful week, we decided last minute to drive the three hours out to the coast for a quick overnight vacation. Within an hour we were packed and on the road, without a planned destination. We do love an impromptu adventure! We found a hotel room right on the water and woke up early to watch the sunrise from the balcony. It's so cold this time of year that it was easy to keep socially distant with it being the off-season. We bundled and masked up to fly a kite on the beach, ride bikes along the boardwalk, and pick up some taffy at a local candy shop. What a restful and memorable getaway.
Quick Facts
Robert
- Age: 32
- Race/Ethnicity: White
- Religion: Christian
- Denomination: LDS/Mormon
Lauren
- Age: 34
- Race/Ethnicity: White
- Religion: Christian
- Denomination: LDS/Mormon
Preferences for a child
- Newborn to 1 year of age, 1 to 3 years of age
- Either
- All, Twins, Triplets or more, Sibling groups
- All
- Any child, Open to discussion, Down Syndrome
Post Adoption Contact / Level of Openness
- (open to all contact, phone calls, an in person visit before adoption placement, sharing photos and letters after placement, visits at a neutral location after adoption placement etc)
- (open to an in-person visit before adoption placement, phone, email, sharing pic/letters after placement)
Favorites
This is the cute house where we live- on a historic street with friendly neighbors, a fenced backyard, 5 bedrooms, and lots of room to play and be together.
We love doing archery together, although Rob didn't prepare Lauren for breaking her first arrow.
We love to go to aquariums and zoos and to visit historical sites- we try to be local tourists wherever we live.
Building things- this is the playground Lauren designed so our son has a fun place to play during the pandemic.
We get a kick out of dressing up for Halloween, comic cons or any other excuse. Here's Rob as Poseidon for a party.
Hedgehogs are the cutest. Ours is named Stubble and here he's learning to read, of course.
Recommendations
Jessica Nielson, Friend
" I can, without any reservation, recommend Rob and Lauren as adoptive parents. I have known Lauren for twelve years, and she is one of my best friends. I met Rob when he and Lauren got engaged about six years ago. Together they make a strong team. Lauren was my college roommate. Her sense of humor and her positive outlook on life were some of her most easily recognizable traits. However, I also came to know her as a woman of conviction, passion, and strength. At a period in life where most people our age were figuring out who and what they wanted to be, Lauren knew. She knew who she was, what her purpose was, and she was unashamed to own it. She was unapologetically herself in the best way possible--the kind of confidence I admired then and continue to admire to this day. Some of the greatest things I’ve learned from Lauren are trust and patience. We share a faith, but Lauren’s has been tested in ways mine has not, and she has come out stronger because of it. While others would have complained and given up, Lauren stuck through her trials, learning and growing from them. I was thrilled when she told me she was engaged to Rob. When I met him, I found him to be a man of intelligence and kindness, and I have been struck by how well they complement each other. One great desire of Lauren’s life was to be a mother. When she told me that she would probably never be able to have children, we cried together, but she surprised me with her courage in a difficult situation. By miracle, she got pregnant, but it took a significant toll on her health. Lauren and Rob are wonderful parents to their beautiful son. They are attentive, kind, and loving. They make him their priority. For one example of many, they worked together to build him an entire train playground in their yard when public parks were deemed unsafe due to the pandemic. I am fully confident that they will show the same care, love, and devotion to another child who may be blessed enough to come to their family. "