Paige

As a baby, Paige could never sit still for long in an infant chair, stroller or high chair. She would stiffen her arms and legs and twirl her feet at high speed while giving out a yell or two until she got your attention. Then she would flash you the biggest smile with the brightest eyes that said “Hey, I need to get a move on NOW”! Ever excited to keep moving, exploring, and learning, when Paige entered the world she came “fully equipped” to handle the extraordinary life that she was about to lead.

Paige was born in Ohio and at five years of age moved with our family to Saudi Arabia where she spent most of her growing up years as a “third culture kid” traveling the globe during school breaks. Paige seems to have a knack for blending in wherever she goes! This also included adjusting back to her “own country” after a family move to Washington state for high school and college. Paige’s drive enabled her to achieve academic scholarship in pre-med, letter in varsity sports, volunteer in the community, and make new friends. Her interest to “keep moving” continued when she was selected to be part of a goodwill ambassador group of high school students to Japan funded by Bill Gates, studied abroad several semesters in college, and worked in Korea with Kyle for 18 months as an English teacher in the public school system after graduating with a BS degree.

Paige met Kyle while they were students at PLU and we could see they easily fell in sync with each other which led to being very much in love. Besides the fact they share the same energy level, varied interests, and make great travel companions, we are most impressed with the value they both place on staying connected with family! We look forward to welcoming Kyle into our family and sharing in their adventures as they “move” into their future together!
– Cynthia and Paul Dofton

Kyle

Growing up in the small coastal town of North Bend, OR never stopped Kyle from dreaming big. From a very young age, he was installing the cable TV and computer components for his mom, building catapults with his dad and honing his “negotiation skills” on his older sister. Kyle has always had a knack for mastering whatever project he takes on.

An intense will to succeed is perhaps his most defining characteristic. Even a minor setback with a hip disease as a youngster couldn’t stop Kyle from becoming an all-star high school soccer and baseball player. This mentality has followed him throughout life allowing him to become a talented musician—composing a song for his parents’ 25th wedding anniversary, playing the piano at a friend’s wedding and jamming on the trumpet for a scholarship at Pacific Lutheran University, where he meet the love of his life.

Traveling in over 30 countries from Argentina (where he learned Spanish) to Scandinavia (for a music trip) to Central America (for an internship) and everywhere in between, he’s lucky to have found such a beautiful woman who shares a similar background and can explore the world with him.

– Kent and Laura Palaniuk

Our Story

She was 19, he was 20. She was leaving in a week for a semester in New Zealand, he had recently returned from one in Argentina. In that short breath of time, a chance encounter at a college party would set their fate forever. Sounds dramatic? Their relationship would proceed to be anything but drama, more like adventure!

We spent the next six months apart getting to know each other thanks to the world wide web (shout out to Facebook!) and upon Paige’s return from abroad we became inseparable. We had one year of college to grow as a couple before Kyle decided to fly off to Costa Rica for 6 months and Paige started her senior year. We were able to have a Costa Rican zip-lining, spelunking, hot-springing, beach bumming adventure over Thanksgiving that year and were eager for our reunion. However, only 6 months after Kyle returned from Costa Rica we decided to take a big step as a couple. A big step of moving abroad together! South Korea was the place!

Neither of us ever dreamed of being teachers and certainly had no training in place. Our young, perhaps naïve minds thought it would be the ideal situation for us: experience a new culture, a new job, and take the time to travel Asia. It sounded easier than it was going from a modern Western to an ancient Asian culture. We faced the language barrier, workplace conflicts, huge culture shocks, and being far away from our loved ones. However, we thrived with the challenges and embraced anything and everything unique: noreabong (karaoke) nights, jim-jil-bongs (Korean bath house), bizarre food, late nights in Busan, vibrant friends, soccer matches, swine flu, grueling hikes in the Korean mountains, and lots and lots of kimchi! While living there we were able to go on incredible trips as a couple to Vietnam, Thailand, China, and Phillippines. Korea is the land that made us realize we were in it for the long haul and we departed with a very important souvenir: our feisty Russian Blue feline prince Kanji!

On our return from Korea, we faced a lot of obstacles adjusting to life back at home, getting jobs, deciding where to live, and what to do with our future. Little did Paige know, but Kyle was planning a proposal soon after their return. Unfortunately for Kyle, Paige foiled his plans for a romantic proposal in Seattle, so he had to make due and propose to her in the backyard of her parent’s house in Huntington Beach. She was so shocked especially since they were both still in their pajamas! Kyle, ever so smart, let Paige pick out the ring later that week and before long we were on a whirl wind tour around the country for the next five months celebrating our engagement and reconnecting with all our friends and families. We have now settled in Orange County, California and are slowly building our lives together with our jobs, our apartment, and our two cats Kanji and Jigae.

And that brings us to the wedding. We are looking forward to welcoming our friends and families to our wedding in California. We know that this will be a once in a lifetime chance to have everyone we love in one spot to celebrate our new life together. We can’t wait to see you there!