Erin and Jeff

I am so happy to feature this next couple on my blog- Erin and Jeff Kolbe. Erin is one of my dear, dear friends and one of the women who I am closest to in my life. We met our freshman year of college when we lived in the same dorm, and fell in instant friend love! We ended up rushing the same sorority, and the rest is history. Like I wrote in Alana's feature, we've experienced many amazing nights out, girl's trips, sleepovers, parties and fun times, and we've been friends for just about a decade now (times flies!). I value Erin so much, and I am so happy that I love her fabulous husband Jeff just as much! Jeff and Hank are quite similar, so no wonder I adore him so much. The Kolbes are a couple that you just love to be around- they're always smiling, and always positive. So, with that said, I truly hope you enjoying reading about them!





1) Names:

Jeff and Erin Kolbe

2) Years together and years married:

7 years together this past December and married for 4 years on March 10, 2010

3) How you met:

We met in the 5th grade. We were great friends all through school even into high school. We use to talk on the phone late at night in Jr high and would always be writing notes to eachother during classes. Jeff use to walk me home from school in jr high as well. We went through periods of having crushes on eachother but they were never at the same time. During high school we started to drift because we had different interests and different friends. After graduation I went to college and he went off to the military. We went about 3 years with out talking and then randomly ran into eachother through a mutual childhood friend. He got my number from her and called me. We picked up right where we had left off. We were great friends for the first 6 months we were back in contact. He came home a couple times for leave (excused time away from the military) and we hung out. There was a little spark but we were both preoccupied dating other people and just catching up after such a long time. Then he came home Xmas of 2002 and had leave for 2 weeks. We spent most of those two weeks together and realized that this was developing into much more than friendship. When it came time for him to leave we both agreed that this was something truly special and wanted to see if we could make it work. Now looking back, it was the best decision we both have ever made.

4) What would you say are the top 5 important things in keeping a relationship/marriage strong? Is there anything special you do for your partner/vice versa? What would you say your "keys to success" are in a healthy/fun/loving/etc. relationship?

Top five things would be:

1. respecting and supporting each other's indiviuality.

2. remembering the the simple actions that are highly appreciated ex: asking how your day was, remembering a big day at work.

3. Communication is truly key even though it can be difficult.

4. Fighting fairly... couples will always have disagreements, which is totally healthy. What matters is how you handle the disagreements.

5. Making sure each week you have some sort of quality time to reconnect. ( These are all things we have learned and continue to improve on along the way)

One of our favorite things to do is to go get a coffee and go for a walk. A walk is perfect catch up/ reconnecting time, and you don't have the distractions of cell phones, the TV or computer. We both feel feel the key to success is making sure you have fun together and laugh often. Avoid getting stuck in the routine of daily life.

5) What is your favorite part about being married/engaged?

Erin- My favorite part is always having someone there to count on. You have a constant companion for every aspect of your life. Its amazing.

Jeff- My favorite part about being married is having someone who understands and knows me completely. I can be exactly who I am.