We met as freshman at Ohio Northern University.

While only friends through school,we ended up living in Toledo after college at the same time. Our friendship developed into a relationship and the rest was history! We were engaged in December 2017 and married in August 2019. We relocated to the Columbus area in 2017. Ever since then, we’ve been exploring local breweries, restaurants, and farmers markets. We also love to support the local sports teams and regularly attend Buckeye, Columbus Crew, and Columbus Clipper games. We enjoy travelling and exploring new areas; delicately balancing Katy’s preference of a relaxing beach vacation and Jim’s need for Rocky Mountain hiking.

We’ve started to create some of our own family traditions like an annual fall day where we pick out pumpkins and apples. We also continue some of our favorite traditions from our childhoods- making homemade pasta sauce with Katy’s mom from the family recipe and Jim serving as his family’s Santa at their annual Christmas Eve get together. We can’t wait to share these with our future child and continue to make new traditions as a family.

ABOUT US

Jim has his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering

And is a professional engineer in the State of Ohio, specializing in storm water management. He grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, came to Ohio for college, and never left. Jim likes to experiment in the kitchen whether it’s grilling, smoking, or even trying his hand at baking; his ice cream is a 10/10! Outside of work, he fancies himself an amateur gardener, woodworker, and DIYer. When all the work is done, Jim likes nothing more than watching some Chicago sports, relaxing, playing video games, and spending quality time with the family.

– Katy

about jim

Katy has her PhD in Cancer Biology from the University of Toledo.

She works in clinical research at The Ohio State University James Cancer Center. Outside of work, Katy volunteers with a women’s organization for college students, loves taking walks with Jim and their dogs, and exploring Columbus. She is a born and raised Ohioan, originally from the Warren/Youngstown area, in Northeast Ohio. Katy is a huge supporter of Cleveland sports, The Ohio State Buckeyes, and Columbus Crew. She is the book worm of the family and loves to relax with a good book. Katy’s favorite thing is when the weather is warm and the family grills outside and spends the night by a bonfire.

– Jim

ABOUT Katy

We have three pets in our home: two dogs and one cat.

Jack the cat is a 12-year-old male who Katy rescued her first year in graduate school. He earned the name “Captain Jack” due to the scar on his left eye. He enjoys cuddling on a soft blanket and is known to have quite the “motor” as he is always purring around his people. He doesn’t mind his dog siblings but loves whenever he gets a quiet moment at home.

Bryzzo was the next addition to our family. Now 7 years old, it’s hard to believe he was once a 6 lbs. puppy. He’s part labrador retriever, part golden retriever but entirely a gentle giant. He is our “Velcro” dog, he follows us wherever we go and always keep us in eyeshot, kind of like our protective shadow. He was named after two players from the Chicago Cubs 2016 championship team, Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, who were commonly referred to as Bryzzo in team marketing. It’s easy to picture him laying outside of any nursery or child’s bedroom quietly standing guard as a good big brother.

The last pet member to be added to our bunch was Scarlett. Named after The Ohio State Scarlet and Gray, she was some much-needed girl energy in our home. She’s 4 years old now, but even as a puppy, she always loved lounging on pillows and blankets and wants to cuddle up and sleep on whoever sits down on the couch. She’s part beagle and part bulldog; and has the howl to prove it. She loves giving kisses to her family and we can easily see her waiting patiently at the base of the highchair at meal time.

We currently live in a neighborhood within Hilliard, Ohio. We enjoy taking our dogs for walks and frequent the community park in our subdivision. It has walking paths, a playground, and a pavilion-the perfect place to spend time in the summer. The neighborhood hosts events like Easter Egg Hunts and Block Parties there throughout the year. We also love Halloween and Christmas time in our neighborhood. There are a ton of children that run around on Trick or Treat night and every one decorates their front yards for the festivities. Similarly, we love when we can take a bundled up walk around Christmas time and enjoy everyone’s lights and displays.

In the heart of Hilliard is a small area known as Old Hilliard. It is a walk-able, family friendly area where a number of events are held throughout the year such as summer concert series, visits with Santa, and a huge 4th of July parade and festival. We love the bike trail that runs from Old Hilliard throughout the community that stops at other parks and neighborhoods along the way including our favorite dog park to frequent with Bryzzo and Scarlett.

ABOUT our home/pets