The best way to describe our lives is adventurous. After committing to each other in our wedding vows to remain each other's life-long adventure buddy, we have traveled to multiple countries together, explored the US's Pacific coast, and skied many miles. As often as possible, we include our incredible dogs, Oliver and Friday on these trips. We are big college football and basketball fans and regularly attend games at the University of Washington. We are also both former gymnasts and cheerleaders and can still be found flipping into lakes at the tops of mountains or having handstand contests with our niece. We love having adventures with our family and friends, where we spend time camping or BBQing in the backyard.

Mikey's love of learning has led him to try many hobbies and activities. He has done an incredible amount of work on our house, gotten into woodworking, making our dining room table and other furniture in the house, and taught himself how to make cakes look like incredible works of art. Dave's love of the outdoors extends into his garden, where he's started growing berries, herbs, peppers, and other food. He also enjoys cooking and creating new dishes from the food he's growing. Together, we love to attend concerts and shows and spend time on the water. We can't wait include a little one in all of our adventures to come.

Dave About Mike: Mikey is one of the most caring, resilient, hard-working, and talented people I've ever met. He works with children with special needs and their families in their homes and shows incredible patience and compassion while doing so. His love of learning and general interest in the world and how it works means he's always trying new things and picking up new skills. He is a dedicated and loyal brother and friend and he goes out of his way to ensure that the people he cares about feel special and cared for. And while he did not grow up with the most privilege, he's pushed himself and worked hard to create a life that is comfortable and a full of love.

Mikey About Dave: Dave is the most loving, dependable and fiercely protective person I have ever met. Dave prides himself on being the best teacher he can be through ongoing patience, and consistently having high standards for his students. Dave is regularly praised by his colleagues, and recognized for his excellent level of teaching. Dave is continually evolving as a person, and amazes me at his adaptability to the events in our life. He has a strong sense of family, and is dedicated to maintaining close ties with all of our loved ones. Dave is the rock and foundation of our home, and is the love of my life.

Our families come from diverse backgrounds and experiences. Dave's work with high schoolers from all around the world and Mikey's direct interaction with families of varying cultural backgrounds and his ability to speak multiple languages, including Spanish, Korean, and Arabic, makes us feel ready to adopt of a child of any background.

While we are both of European decent, we are acutely aware of and sensitive to the different perspectives and experiences of other cultures. If the child we adopt is of another race than ours, we are committed to listening and learning about their racial identity and will work hard to ensure that that identity is not lost. We will work with our child to empower them to understand their cultural heritage and listen to their perspective. We are aware that children's sense of identity changes as they grow older and will work with them every step of the way to feel connected to all aspects of themselves.

As a same sex couple, our child will have a noticeably different upbringing than most of their peers. We will communicate early and often about what that means for our child and surround them with extended family and loved ones to ensure they feel supported and understood. We will also rely on the cultural diversity of our neighborhood and plentiful opportunities that arise to participate in cultural events and activities.

We live in a beautiful neighborhood in western Washington close to the Puget Sound with views of the Cascade and Olympic mountains. At times, we can hear the sea lions barking in the harbor while we enjoy a BBQ or bonfire in our backyard. With a variety of outdoor activities nearby, like parks, hiking, and skiing, we love to get outdoors to explore the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. Just up the hill from our house is the largest park in the county that has an indoor swimming pool, children's play area, water features, and a petting zoo. We love to take the dogs for walks in our diverse neighborhood where we've gotten to know neighbors with families of all different backgrounds and ethnicities. On most afternoons you can hear children playing in their yards or at the local elementary school one block away.

We have also put a lot of hard work and love into our house to make it feel like a welcoming home. From remodeling our bathroom, refinishing our hardwood floors, and replacing aging windows, we've worked to create an inviting and warm place for us to entertain family and friends. In the summer, we love to spend time outside on our new deck in our completely transformed backyard where we grow some of our own food and lots of cut flowers. Living a mile away from downtown, we also have access to an incredible children's museum, activities on the waterfront, and a weekly farmer's market.

Originally from southern California and now living in the Pacific Northwest, we aren't physically close to our families anymore, but we still maintain a close bond and make efforts to travel to see each other regularly.

Dave's parents and two brothers and their partners live in the Los Angeles area still and each year at Christmas we make the drive down with our two dogs to visit and spend time together. With both of his parents retired educators, they make their way up to us at least 3 or 4 times a year. They are almost as excited as we are about the opportunity to grow our family and can't wait to become grandparents.

Mikey's family is large and spread out throughout the western US. Each year he makes time to visit some of his seven siblings and is the trusted older brother whenever they need advice or someone to lend a hand.

However, our extended family not only consists of our immediate families, but the many great friends we've made here in the PNW. Each Thanksgiving and during summer vacations we spend time with some of our best friends at their family gatherings and feel so lucky to have been adopted into so many of their families and traditions. They can't wait to have another little one running around either.

Hello and thank you so much for considering us to become the adoptive parents of your child. We are humbled by the strength you are showing in what must be one of the most incredibly difficult decisions you will have to make. We'd like to introduce ourselves to you here and hope that you find us to be a great fit for you and your family during this daunting process.

We met in southern California while participating in an adult gymnastics class. After about a year of getting to know each other, we took the jump and began dating in 2015. At the time, Dave had started his career working in the inner city as a high school math teacher and Mikey was codirecting an agency that provided in home behavioral therapy for children and young adults with special needs for over 100 families. After four years, we decided to make the move back up north to the Seattle area since Dave attended the University of Washington for his undergraduate degree and fell in love with the Pacific Northwest.

After our move, we bought a house, got married, and got two amazing dogs, Oliver and Friday, along the way. Since moving into our 1950's house, we have put in many hours renovating it to make it a functional and comfortable home. Dave continues to work as high school math teacher and will travel to Chicago in November to present at a national conference on social-emotional learning. Mikey started his own agency in the Puget Sound area and now employs therapists and provides direct services to help families in our region with behavioral health.

We promise to provide your child an environment full of love and enrichment. We love to travel and have been all over the western United States and abroad. Mikey's love of languages means he's picked up a few along the way. We plan to immerse your child both English and Spanish and will be happy to learn other languages that they become interested in as they get older. Dave's background in education and coaching means he's ready to provide the support necessary for a successful school experience.

We are a fun-loving and easy going couple that have found a great community of friends in Washington. We love being the "uncles" to the little ones that are already running around in our lives. We spend time with them, and their parents, regularly; attending sporting events, boating on the lake, or just for a BBQ on a Tuesday night. One of the reasons we felt confident enough to begin this journey was because of the support of our friends. With most of them already having kids themselves, they can't wait for us to experience the joys of parenthood and are also ready and willing to step in whenever we'll need support.

We promise that we will be open and honest with you throughout this process and care for your health as well as your child's. We would love to maintain communication with you throughout this process. In our experience, being clear and honest has been a key aspect of success to both parenting and the adopted children's well being. We are happy to send pictures and letters throughout your child's life and are open to potential visits in the future when the time is right.

We are eager to get to know you and want to reiterate that we are so impressed with your strength. We promise to speak with your child about that strength that you showed and will make sure they know as much about you as you are comfortable with.

We are so lucky to have this opportunity to become parents. As a same-sex couple, you are providing us the opportunity to do something both of us have dreamt about, but aren't able to physically achieve. We feel ready for not only for the joys, but also the challenges, and are committed to being supportive and loving parents to your child. We respect your courage and promise to honor you by loving this child unconditionally.

With love and respect,

Mikey & Dave