We enjoy quiet and reserved activities at home and in the neighborhood over a night on the town. We primarily work during the week at our jobs at two local engineering firms. Karalyn supports her company in their Human Resources department, and Brandon is a team leader specializing in computer-aided design. Evenings are for winding down, relaxing, and snuggling with each other and the dogs. Weekends often are generally reserved for getting things down around the house, volunteering with our dog, Duffy, and spending quality time together or with family. Karalyn also attends a non-denominational church service on Sundays.

Even though we like the quiet life, we still do love exploring our city! We try to incorporate new experiences into our lives a couple times a month. We enjoy things like baseball games at Kaufmann Stadium, trips to the zoo, and shopping on the Plaza! We've participated in local charity events too!

Now that COVID restrictions have decreased, we have been traveling more and we know that we want to continue the tradition of family vacations. We try to do things that neither of us have never done before. (Sometimes that's hard, because Karalyn's family traveled a lot when she was a kid.) But … we still have our favorites such as Clearwater, Florida and Walt Disney World!

We have many interests and ways of spending our free time. We look forward to sharing all of the activities listed below with a child!

Karalyn's top five favorite leisure activities:

Brandon's top five favorite leisure activities:

Our top five favorite leisure activities to do together:

Both of us grew up with dogs as members of our families and we knew we wanted to carry that tradition into our married life together. Our dogs have taught us how to grow in love, responsibility, in caring for others, and in loss. Most days start and end with doggie cuddles and we always manage to find time to play during the day. They bring us love and joy and help us get through tough times.

Ours guys are both older and mellow. Duffy is our loveable giant who shares his calming demeanor with the staff at a local area hospital as a volunteer a couple of hours a month. He loves his cousin, our niece. He gently tries to kiss her every time he is with her. Hutch is the newest member of our little family; he is stealthy but cuddly and sweet. He just wants to be close to his people.

We worked with a builder to create our 4-bedroom house on a corner lot in a Kansas City, Missouri suburb during 2019 and moved into it during February 2020. Our favorite feature is the three large picture windows in our great room where we see the sunsets and the occasional wildlife and watch our two dogs, Hutch and Duffy, in the yard. We enjoy spending time in our lower-level of the reverse-story and half watching our favorite sports teams, movies, and TV shows, and playing games.

We sometimes visit a local park just a couple miles away. The park features a paved walking path, a large playground and a gazebo with picnic tables. We've often imagined taking a little one there for a fun-filled family afternoon. Our neighborhood is quiet but is growing with new homes. Lots of young families are joining the community so making friends in our neighborhood should be easier. We take advantage of the community swimming pool during the summer. The pool area also has a splash pad. A playground sits right outside the pool gates. We envision this being a kid favorite during the summer!

We live about 30 minutes south of downtown Kansas City so there are year-round activities and barbecue to explore. Kansas City is where our hearts are. Karalyn has lived in the Metropolitan area her whole life, and while Brandon grew up in Oklahoma, he was born here and was thrilled to find a job in the area after graduation.

We live a few miles away from Karalyn's mom and dad, who still live in her childhood home. We regularly spend time with them sharing meals, conversations, and supporting each other. Karalyn is close to her sister and lives a few minutes away. We've enjoyed some fun extended family vacations with them to the Caribbean and Hawaii.

Brandon's mom, and brother's family are in Oklahoma, and his dad and stepmom are in Arkansas. We see Brandon's mom a few times each year. When she comes to visit, we spend time playing games and always have pizza and a movie night. We don't see his brother's family as often, but love getting together whenever we can. They drive up to visit us for our annual Fourth of July get together where we cookout and shoot off fireworks, and we generally travel to visit them around Christmas. Brandon's niece was born in 2023 and we have enjoyed spending time with her and watching her grow. Having a cousin close in age to grow up with could be exciting especially during the hoidays. While we don't see Branon's dad and stepmom very often, Brandon and his dad regularly text during the fall and winter about their favorite sports team, the Kansas City Chiefs.

Thank you for reviewing our profile. If you have read our profile, hopefully you've read about what is important to us. Now we would love to introduce you to ourselves at a more personal level.

We both grow up with various hobbies and interests. Karalyn has always enjoyed the performing arts, especially music. She sang in choirs and learned to play the piano a little. She excelled playing her flute and piccolo through college. She also was a varsity cheerleader in high school and has always enjoyed musical theater. Brandon grew up playing basketball and running cross country and track. We look forward to exposing a child to a variety of activities and will be fully supportive in whatever interests they wish to pursue.

We met in college over 17 years ago and married in 2010. We have forged a relationship built on meeting each other's needs and desires through hard work and support. We often find through stressful times our strengths complement each other well. If one of us is having a hard time, the other is able to use our strengths to lift the other up. If one of the dogs gets sick, we work together to organize schedules to them to the vet right away to get them feeling better. If these logistics require additional help, we have extended family close by to help us. This creates loving and supportive network where a child can live to their full potential. We want to pass this legacy of love we are cultivating together to the next generation.

We enjoy exploring our city and all that it has to offer, including parks, nature trails, museums, and more! Just recently we went to a major league baseball game and enjoyed seeing all of the animals at the Kansas City Zoo. After a fun day out, we like to relax at home and unwind while watching a movie, playing board or card games or cuddling with our dogs, Hutch and Duffy. COVID introduced a new hobby to our family, LEGO brick building! We've built several projects, including a Star Wars AT-AT, the International Space Station, and a Disney Parks Castle. We share "Master Builder" duties and would love to welcome a new builder into the family!

Traveling is one of the ways we create built-in family time away from work. Brandon loves the beach and the ocean! Karalyn loves everything Disney! This is why Florida and Aulani Disney Resort have become quick family favorites! Traveling has allowed us to experience and learn about many different things including cultures, history, and nature. Karalyn also grew up on family road trips to National Parks. We look forward to the opportunity to share these types of experiences with a child.

We recently came across a quote from Jamie Lee Curtis that we think gets to the heart of how we feel about adoption. She is quoted as saying, "We look at adoption as a very sacred exchange. It was not done lightly on either side." We want to reassure you about any choice you make. Should you choose adoption for your child, we look forward to sharing moments your child will have through letters and pictures and are open to sharing impromptu moments via texts or email as well.

Thank you for your time and interest in our profile. We look forward to connecting with you soon!

Brandon & Karalyn