The first time I met Rachael, she was barely 15. I was a leader at a local youth conference. She and Zach were put in the same group and became fast friends. That friendship turned into a little bit more… and over the years, even though they lived 1.5 hours apart, we got to know Rachael a lot more

They dated on and off over the years, but took a big official break when she graduated high school and Zach was entering grade 12. She headed to France to be an aupaire and Zach finished high school (their official good bye when she left for France….)

The following year, they both decided to serve missions for our church. He went to Tahiti, she went to Thailand. They figured they would see what happened between them when they both came home from their missions. 

The official mission goodbye:

Well, they both were called home in the middle of their missions due to Covid… and that time home solidified their relationship. They did both decide to head back out to complete their missions. Zach went to Alberta and Rachael went to BC. They officially reunited in the summer of 2021, headed to BYU and got married in June 2022. 

The rest of history… or history in the making.

They decided this year to be a bit adventurous. Zach is studying for his MCAT and they decided it might be fun to go back to France to her aupaire family from years previous. He would study. She would help out the family who just had another baby.

And that is where they are celebrating her birthday. Well, actually, I think they are catching a flight to Portugal for the weekends. The benefit of being in Europe!

Then they plan on coming back here for part of the summer  after their time in France. Rachael will work, and Zach will continue studying, until he writes the MCAT in August. Then back to BYU they will go where she studies nursing and he’s in neuroscience.

They are a very driven couple! Fun, ambitious, hard working, dedicated, loyal and kind. 

But since it’s Rachael’s bday – I’ll focus on her a bit. 

She’s fiercely independent, but also open to connect. While Rob teases her about being “scattered” (it’s an ongoing joke between them), she is on top of things and gets the job done. She doesn’t offend easily and has a great sense of humour. She seeks advice, but also figures it out on her own. She’s humble, and confident. 

She accepts Zach’s shenanigans, but also puts him in his place. She is kind, but firm, and a plus in my books is she’s a communicator.  She loves to travel and is frugal (although is often teased about it – but she takes it all in stride. We had a lot of similarities in how we were raised, so I respect that side of her immensely:) 

She’s an all around great gal and we’re so happy to have her in our family! 

Happy Birthday Rachael!