Bios

Mark

Well I’ll start with myself; I grew up in Laurel, MD right in between Baltimore and Washington, DC.  I always loved soccer and was always playing until I was old enough to make a few extra bucks refereeing and continued that until my mid-20s progressing up to the State level and even working a few A-League professional games.  I’ve transitioned into coaching, working with my son’s team and am now the volunteer assistant at the D1 College level.  I met my now wife when I was in High School and we dated for about a year but remained very close friends for years until we rekindled a few years later.  We got married in August of 2006 and never looked back.

I joined the Navy as an Electronics Technician in March of 2005, completed four deployments in the Arabian Gulf, Mediterranean Sea, South and Central America on board the USS Carl Vinson, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, USS Monterey and the USNS Comfort.  I have been to many countries and laid eyes on all continents except for Australia.  I volunteered and went boot on ground just days after the earthquake in Haiti to give aid to the locals.  I made some lifelong friends while active duty and gained the skills and education I wanted to be able to succeed professionally.  I separated after 10 years and making the rank of ET1 (E-6) and am a very proud veteran.

I completed my AA while still active duty, in Electronics Technology, completed my BS in Cybersecurity in December of 2016 after working and going to school full time for two years before deciding to go back again and get my MBA in May of 2019.  I worked in Washington DC as a project manager and was previously a field service engineer for a lighting control company traveling all over the US.  After living in Suffolk, VA for 6 years, work decided that we move back to the DMV and we were living less than a mile from my dad’s house where I grew up.  The kids loved living near their uncles and ¾ of their grandparents and cousins that they never got to spend a lot of time around while living in VA but they still miss their Gran in VA Beach.  We have since moved on to Lexington, VA. in the mountains for a much slower pace of life and I now work in Transportation Technology and it has been very rewarding.

I still enjoy sports, kicking a soccer ball or playing catch with Brenn and I just got my USSF “D” Coaching Certification and have been coaching his soccer team.  I love watching my Commanders even though they usually disappoint me, Manchester United, the Capitals, the Orioles and the Nats.  My happy place is either casting a line at the beach on a warm summer night or going for a run all by myself with no timetable or destination.  I love going for nature hikes with the family, food festivals, carnivals and amusement parks.  We have a Golden Retriever, and two cats in what I call Lauren’s farm.

Lauren

Lauren also grew up in Laurel but we never went to the same school and didn’t know each other though we had a lot of mutual friends.  Lauren worked at a dermatologist and then an OBGYN in Norfolk, VA.  She is a very caring person and would do anything for her friends and family, she especially loved living close to her parents and her brother in MD and her parents even bought land near us to hopefully retire to the mountains.  She is so animal friendly and I think secretly she is planning on getting a farm so that she could have all of the cute animals in the world.

Lauren is truly my best friend and my partner in crime.  She is my anchor and supports me no matter the situation.  If she thought that I would be happier to up and move across the country at the drop of a dime, she wouldn’t think twice and would start house hunting.  She hates cooking but has prepared a few great meals for me and makes my lunch every day for work.  I get a good morning text every single day telling me that she loves me and hopes I have a good day and usually that she is proud of me.  I am so proud of her as well!

Brennan

Our first born shares a lot of both Lauren and my traits.  He is very specific in what it is that he wants and has no problem telling anyone that they are not doing something the correct way, he usually follows the rules to a T.  We joke and say that he is our little Sheldon Cooper.  He is a Pokemon fanatic , loves playing soccer and really doing anything with the family.  He is in middle school and was one of the few kids that thrived working remotely during COVID and wishes he could still do online school.

Lilly

I don’t even know where to start with Lilly!  Lilly is 10 years old and is the goofiest kid that I’ve ever been around.  I could write a series of novels just about the Lilly-isms that we hear on a daily basis.  Lilly is a complete free-spirit and loves to dance whether there is any music or not.  She sings along with anything on the radio from Justin Bieber to Tim McGraw to DMX (edited of course).  Lilly is without a doubt our challenging child and we always joke and say that if she was our first-born that she would be an only child.  She can be as sweet as a princess and want to give hugs and kisses to everyone around followed promptly by talking back and refusing to listen.  The difference in boys and girls is way too real!