What a year it has been for YoJo!

The year began with a joyous celebration of York’s parents’ 50th wedding anniversary in January. A golden milestone, the couple’s love and partnership set an inspiring example for everyone around them. The following month, Jordan took on a significant role in planning his grandfather’s 99th birthday celebration. The event, held in Alexandria, Louisiana, brought together 170 loved ones for an unforgettable tribute to a remarkable life. From heartfelt speeches to lively music, the gathering was a true reflection of the family’s enduring bond.

May brought another milestone as York celebrated his 40th birthday with style and sweetness. He organized a pastry crawl walk, indulging in delicious treats with close friends, and later hosted a memorable Glitter Drag Brunch with Daisy Weber Larsen, buying out the venue for an extravagant day of fun and celebration.

In June, YoJo took their niece Hayden to her first Dodgers game, a big adventure for the young (now) baseball fan. The day was filled with excitement as they also joined family and friends Matt, Sandy, Jon, Dana, Mason, and Felix for a truly special outing. That same month, Jordan stepped up as the Man of Honor for Melissa Livanos and Chris Morris' wedding, planning a bachelorette party in Las Vegas that was nothing short of legendary.

June didn’t slow down there. York and Daisy traveled to Las Vegas to see Lady Gaga in concert, enjoying an entertaining and unique experience. In July, YoJo headed to Healdsburg, California, where Jordan officiated Melissa and Chris' beautiful and intimate wedding. Later in the year, in September, Jordan once again donned his officiant hat for Corinne and Kevin's rural wedding in picturesque Bozeman, Montana. While in Montana, YoJo took the opportunity to reconnect with dear friends Matt, Carly, Goldie, Momma Reedy, and their extended family, marking one of their only big vacations as they continue to save for their dream home.

Professionally, York embraced a new challenge this year by transitioning to basically an assistant principal role at McKinley Elementary School. Despite initial uncertainty about working with younger grades, York has fallen in love with the role and hopes to make it a long-term position. Meanwhile, across the street at Santa Barbara City College, Jordan continues to thrive in his role, tackling the workload alongside a dedicated and hopeful team that envisions a brighter future for the institution.

On a broader note, YoJo faced the year’s election challenges with resilience and optimism. While the federal election’s outcome disappointed them, they remain committed to spreading joy and hope wherever they go. They continue to await approval from Santa Barbara County to break ground on their long-awaited casita, holding onto hope that construction will begin this winter.

Through the highs and lows, York and Jordan have shown that love, laughter, and resilience are at the heart of their journey, and they look forward to what 2025 will bring.

From our “house” to yours, happy holidays!

<3, YoJo

2023 was a year of change for us. We changed our environments - jobs and homes - all for the better!

Jordan started the year working in a new role at the County of Santa Barbara with Supervisor Laura Capps after almost seven years with the Santa Barbara Foundation. York finished his last year (after 12) in the classroom and works as a Teacher on Special Assignments (ToSA) at Santa Barbara Unified School District. We both found the new roles exciting, and we welcomed the change. Around Labor Day, Jordan was hired as Executive Director, Public Affairs and Communications at Santa Barbara City College, and he is settling in just fine at the new digs.

Work aside, York and Jordan found time for fun. From quick jaunts to Los Angeles or the Bay, Tour De York celebrating York's birthday with a bakery crawl, Hayden's Kindergarten Graduation, Palm Springs for Kyle & Jim's Wedding, Joshua Tree for Jamie's Bachelorette, Kauia visiting the Hardy Family, and Jamie and Chase's fantastic wedding. All was great and lovely, but the year's highlight was attending The Renaissance World Tour with Melissa and Greg!!

This year, York and Jordan moved onto the Shingle Compound with plans to build their own home on this little plot of paradise. Although permits are pending, York and Jordan look forward to the next chapter of their lives.

2024 is just around the corner, and we are excited for what adventures a New Year brings; we can't wait to make more memories with friends and family, all in our community, that make our lives so rich and plentiful.

Happy Holidays, and have a stellar start to 2024!

<3, YoJO

On this little corner lot nestled in Santa Barbara, well Hope Ranch Annex, but we call it Noleta - Kim and Peter Shingle created a slice of heaven that has grown into a family compound, including York's brother, Sage, his wife Allise, and kiddos Parker, Reid, and Elliott, who built their home on the property in 2016/2017.

Now, six years later, and thanks to California State laws, YoJo can add their home an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) to the property. Permits were submitted in the summer of 2023 to do a lot split to get the ADU just where we want it. This lot split was approved in December 2023, and the county's ADU application is under review with anticipation of final approval this winter 24/25.

2022 was quite the year for us. It seemed like this was a year of introspection for many of our friends and family, and we were no exception.

The ups and downs of COVID affected both of our workplaces and caused us to think long and hard about our jobs. While York decided to keep teaching (for now), Jordan found a new position that he will start in January 2023 as a District 2 Representative for Santa Barbara County, working for new County Board Supervisor Laura Capps. He is looking forward to something new and is grateful to take a month off between his posts.

The year has been one filled with traveling. Jordan's mom's health has continued to decline, so we have been down to visit with her rather frequently. While it's been challenging, we have balanced sad days with light in visiting Jordan's brother's family and close friends. We are so grateful for the incredible support we have received and extremely appreciative of everyone who has been there for us.

We also enjoyed leisure travel this year. In the spring, we visited friends and family in Austin, Texas. And we were honored to witness Daisy & Thomas's marriage at The Goat Ranch and Yosef and Tanya’s nuptials in San Diego, California. Come summer; we ventured on another Great Shingle Adventure to Seattle and the Olympic Peninsula with York's side of the family. It was beautiful and relaxing, full of greenery, water, and good memories.

Summertime means #SummerYork, and he traveled to Guadalajara, Mexico, with some of his teacher friends. York lived in Guadalajara after college and enjoyed seeing his old stomping grounds and eating his way across the city. He even snuck in a quick trip to Mexico City to see his old roommate Mirena and meet her two-year-old.

Once York returned to school, Jordan traveled to Europe for a friend's wedding. His first stop was Barcelona, where he met his friends Aimee and Anil. He loved the vibe of Barcelona so much that he contemplated taking up residence - sorry, York! Ever the rational person, he shrugged off that suggestion and continued to the green land of Scotland to celebrate Emma and Lee's matrimony. He met up with a lot of friends and had a great time exploring the historic city of Edinborough. The wedding was beautiful and intimate, and he's glad he had a kente cloth kilt made for the occasion - thank you, Suzanna Larson, for your impeccable sewing skills! The next and last stop on his trip was Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany. Where locals joked that Americans traveled quite some ways for mediocre beer - that aside, everyone dressed for the occasion and enjoyed all the festivities. While Jordan loved his trip (and is ready to return for another European adventure), he was very happy to come home.

This fall, we've been enjoying time at home in Santa Barbara. We've had several friends and family come to visit, including our cousins Marina, Andrew, and Gigi, which was a delight to share our little slice of heaven with them.

As we head into 2023, we are excited for what adventures a New Year brings; we are longing for the time we will spend with friends and family and are somewhat prepared for the unknown.

May your 2023 find you lit on love, joy, and peace.

<3

YoJo

What a year it's been. Just like everyone else we thought and hoped this year would be a reprieve from 2020. And while some of that has been true (thank you vaccines for allowing us to travel and attend a few weddings!), it has been a shift (and this is our privilege) to find joy when we are able.

York returned to in-person instruction in March and finished his last year at La Cumbre Junior High. He moved over to Santa Barbara High School to try his hand teaching older students. (well ninth graders). He is getting into the swing of things and is enjoying his time on a new campus.

Jordan is still doing great work at the Santa Barbara Foundation, working with clients with his graphic design business, and supporting Healing Justice, and supporting Juneteenth SB, and the Santa Barbara County Democrats, and the Santa Barbara Police Oversight Formation Committee, and Endowment for Youth Committee, and the... and the... and the... He's staying busy as ever. So it was nice he did get recognized at Pacific Coast Business Times 40 under 40 for the central coast. He's started brewing a few beers in the last few months, so keep an eye out for some ‘Killebrew’ tasting events coming up in 2022 (Thanks Evan!!).

This year we've been traveling to LA a lot to spend time with family and friends. While the drive isn't our favorite, we always manage to make the best of it, finding a brewery and joy wherever we are able.

This summer we were fortunate to travel to Kauai!

While we don't know what 2022 has in store for us all, we're certain that we'll continue to get through by continuing to focus on the friends and family that nourish us.

Much love to you all,

YoJo

We were fortunate this year to visit the beautiful Garden Isle of Kauai. While York had visited as a kid with his family, it was Jordan's first visit to Hawaii. We had an incredible time. We started our 10-day trip at our friend Vala and Kyle's house. They moved in December 2020 with their three kiddos and were kind enough to open their home to us for a few days. We got to visit their favorite beaches, enjoy the sun, and play in the water with the kids. York even got to swim with some sea turtles at Kalapaki beach. We enjoyed all the fresh food the island had to offer and had a great time. After a few days, we bid them farewell and met up with our friends and quickly nicknamed ‘Puka Bretheren’, Anil, Ari, and Michael Baris.

We rented a condo in Poipu with them and spent our days at beaches, hiking the Na Pali coast, taking a zodiac tour up the south side of the Na Pali, and maximizing our relaxation in the warm sun and water.

Jordan got his wish when he got to play beer-die on the beach for his birthday, and the boys even indulged him by wearing speedos and Puka shell necklaces (hence ‘Puka Bros’). York's highlight was hiking Na Pali (and all the Mai Tais of course).

We can't wait to go back for another visit sometime soon!

It is hard to imagine what life was like in January and February of 2020 as COVID-19 has consumed our worlds. In March, we all made a shift to accommodate and attempt to curve the spread of a virus. And now, as we close out 2020 we find ourselves with greater numbers of lives lost and infected.

There are some silver linings to this year, for one, a long-overdue focus on social justice and envisioning a society that is equitable for all, two: a shift towards trusting technology like platforms such as ZOOM (although we all have the Zoom fatigue), and three: for YoJo a renewed spirit in loving the land - this year our COVentures took us from beach trips to several opportunities at Lotusland, to Big Sur (Jordan’s first time!) and beyond. Road trips filled our world as working remotely allowed for extended stays in some of our favorite spots.

We continue to feel blessed, lucky, and grateful for the opportunities we were able to enjoy this year, while so many have struggled or been less fortunate. This year, we encourage our friends and family to take stock of all the fortune you have and give back if you are able. Feel free to contact us to learn about some of our favorite nonprofits. Our hope is that we are able to spread some love, cheer, and joy safely so we may end the year on a high note.

From our family to yours, we wish you a safe, beautiful, and fun holiday season! <3 YoJo

The fourth and final leg of our YoJoMoon was Croatia!

We landed in Split on the evening of August 4th to what seemed to be a parade in the town square. We were a bit alarmed as this parade had militia carrying assault rifles and other armories. We made our way to our apartment to relax and then head back out to dinner where we then found the town square packed with people, singing national songs and holding red flares. When we inquired the next day we learned about August 5th being Croatia’s Victory Day, as the celebration was honoring 24 years of Croatia Independence. Needless to say, we were a bit relieved at the news and enjoyed the rest of Jordan’s birthday with wine and a lovely walk around Split’s Diocletian’s Palace and harbor.

We learned that Diocletian’s Palace is where Game of Thrones filmed the dragon dungeon scenes and even had a museum that had a Tyrion and Daenerys look a like to greet visitors. More photos of Split.

On August 6th, we took a ferry to the island of Brak and the town of Bol. Bol was more our speed, a small sleepy town nestled on a hill.

Our accommodations were on the tallest point in the town where we had a lovely view of the channel between Brak and Hvar. We took many walks up and down the hill to go to the locals’ beach where the water was crystal clear. We read and relaxed to the sounds of the Adriatic Sea. Enjoying every moment. More photos of Bol.

We left Croatia on Saturday, August 10, 2019, where we flew to Paris for a six-hour layover and then finally an 11-hour flight home to California. We are so grateful for this opportunity.

Click to view all photos of Croatia.

Why Croatia? We wanted the last leg of our trip to be the most relaxing and near a beach. Jordan has always been obsessed with the Adriatic Sea and Croatia so it seemed like the prime choice to visit.

The third stop on our YoJoMoon: Sweden!

Friends mean a lot to us and so a trip like this would not be complete without visiting some of our Swedish friends. First up, Joy and Lars in Adelsö!

We landed in Arlanda International Airport that is between Stockholm and Uppsala on July 28, 2019. Joy and Lars met us at our bus stop in Bromma and took us on a tour of their county, Ekerö, which is a series of islands located on a massive sweet (fresh) water lake name Mälaren.

Their house is beautiful, made of brick with modern flairs and of course very beautiful paintings done by Joy herself. Fox and Maja are the dogs that watch their land. We (mostly York) went on walks in the forest behind their home, went chanterelles hunting, and Fox took a keen liking to Jordan especially on our boat trips. More photos of Adelsö.

One boat trip we took was to the Viking Island of Björkö where we learned so much about the Viking people. Birka was the capital city of the Vikings, one of the largest settlements in Europe. The island had a museum and replica’s of how the vikings lived. Some locals still live like them to keep the tradition alive.

The Vikings would bury everything in large mounds that are all over the island. We also learned that Joy and Lars island, Adelsö, is where the Viking King lived - right down the street from their home! More photos of Björkö.

Another boat trip was to have a nice lunch at Joy and Lars’ secret island, where Lars had proposed to Joy. We also took the boat to Taxinge Castle Café, where we ate way too many sweets and dubbed it #CakeCastle.

By our fifth day we went into Stockholm, where we said farewell to Joy and Lars after we got StikkiNikki gelato. We stayed in a creepy maritime hotel that surprised us with port wine in celebration of our nuptials! The next day we explored Uppsala with our trusty guide and friend Jonas! More photos of Stockholm.

Jonas showed us the Viking Hills of old Uppsala, where Vikings not so successfully hid their gold. We went into town to walk around their central park, Stadsträdgården, view the castle, botanical gardens, and cathedral (beware of the statue of Mary) and had a few beers on the river Fyris. Uppsala is the birth place of taxonomy and classifying the science of naming, defining and classifying groups of biological organisms on the basis of shared characteristics (source).

Uppsala, is a perfect spot to visit, as the primary mode of transportation is bike or walking. We walked every end of the town, enjoyed local cuisine including some bomb Indian food at Taste of Bangla (highly recommended). More photos of Uppsala.

We left for our next leg, Croatia, on August 4, 2019!

Click to view all photos of Sweden.

Why Sweden?

Friends are very important to us and quite often we travel and have YoJoMoons to visit folks we love (family obvi included). This trip wouldn’t have been complete without visiting Joy, Lars, Jonas and the opportunity to meet his partner Henrik.

The second leg of our YoJoMoon: Iceland!

We landed on July 21, 2019 and relaxed in Reykjavik on our first day. The city and surrounding area is about 200,000 people and makes up two thirds of the entire country’s population. We walked the major parts in a few hours. More photos of Reykjavik.

Our second day we boarded a day bus to view the Golden Circle. The Golden Circle had three main points of which we ranked them in our favorite below. More photos of the Golden Circle.

1. Gullfoss - a majestic tiered waterfall that is literally overwhelming to view

2. Thingvellir/Pingvellir - a sacred place where Iceland’s Parliament was founded and where you can also see the North America and Euro-Asia plates rift apart

3. Geysir - a naturally occurring Geyser that spouts every 4-8 minutes

We learned oh so much about the Icelandic Horse. They are the purest of their kind from being in isolation and are now protected by the government. No other horses are allowed on the land to protect this breed. They have various colors and are stout like a pony, but never categorized as such.

Our third day was spent at the Blue Lagoon. We had a little too much fun as we relaxed and enjoyed the serenity of the hot spring. More photos of the Blue Lagoon.

The remainder of our stay we rented a car and headed east to view more waterfalls, natural lagoons, and what turned out to be another favorite Vatnajökull National Park. There we viewed York’s favorite waterfall in Skaftafell (section of the National Park), Svartifoss and hiked to view Vatnajökull Glacier - the largest glacier in Iceland. More photos of Vatnajökull National Park.

We traveled east to view Jökulsárlón. We got there despite the downpour and headed back to home base. The following day we made it to the Secret Lagoon, where we relaxed and made friends in the naturally occurring hot spring. We left Iceland for Sweden on July 28.

Click to view all photos of Iceland.

Why Iceland?

Our friend, Valla Hardy, is Icelandic and has shared so much about her country that we wanted to see it for ourselves. We also wanted to view the aurora borealis, yet couldn’t find enough time to go in the winter when they are most present in Iceland. Thus we landed at the end of July to view the island (sans the aurora borealis due to the long days).

We got married on November 17, 2018, among our closest friends and family. The nuptials were officiated by entertainer, and dear friend, Vivian Storm and witnessed by our Groomsbaes.

This was a highly emotional day for us as we all laughed, ugly cried, laughed, and danced the night away. We thank everyone that contributed to our community's style of throwing a celebration. We are so very lucky (in love).

Learn about how we met and how the proposal happened.

Our first international trip was in the fall of 2016 to Mexico City and Guadalajara. York showed Jordan the ropes as he has lived in Guadalajara before and also is fluent in Spanish. We both fell in love with the culture, quality mezcal, and good food. Special thanks to Mirena (York’s housemate from Guadalajara) who showed us around Mexico City!

Thank you to Emma Nicole Photography for these awesome family photos. <3