We met on the first day of orientation of vet school, we sat at the same table and chatted. We soon realized we had some common friends, and that Jase was the guy Bailey had heard about who had interviewed for vet school with a mullet. Bailey suspected they would be great friends! Our connection was further established when Bailey’s dad and step-mom sat with Jase and his mom at the white coat ceremony. Stacy quickly recognized Jase as Quinn’s son - with whom he had played football with in high school. Small world! Coincidentally Stacy captured this picture of the two of us at the white coat ceremony sitting close to each other as we would for the next 4 years.
Smith and Skelton were next to each other in the alphabet in the UCVM 2016 class so we ended up having adjacent lockers, being in labs together and overall spending a ton of time together.
We grew closer and started spending more and more time together studying, snowboarding/skiing and travelling to conferences. In this time Bailey also introduced Jase to horses and how cool equine veterinary work is.
Eventually, we realized we liked each other more than friends and started dating in second year of vet school. This lead to more conference trips, more study dates and more snowy adventures.
4th year was an exciting time full of change. We toured around North America doing externships and clinical rotations. Although a lot of our externships took us apart, we managed to cross paths some weekends and scheduled some clinical rotations in the same area so we could live together. During this time we lived in some pretty odd places; a loft apartment in a quonset in Northern Alberta, a make-shift basement suite with Bailee, and the no-power-no-water-bunkhouse on the farm in Nanton. Looking back, these adventures only brought us closer (literally - they were TINY!) and are fun to think back on.
Mac also found his way into the Smith-Skelton family at this time; nearing the end of 4th year Bailey was introduced to this fluffy, shy puppy as her patient at a rescue. Bailey thought this loveable guy would be the perfect little brother for Rowdy and a great partner for Jase’s big adventure to California.
Just like that vet school was over. Jase graduated with distinction, obviously a result of Bailey encouraging him to study all the time. It was a bittersweet day as it was a huge accomplishment for us both, but the following day Jase left for California to start his internship at Pioneer Equine and Bailey stayed behind to start at Moore Equine in Calgary.
Jase and Bailey spent the next year apart while doing their internships; Jase in California, and Bailey in Calgary, Alberta. We saw each other every 2-3 months and took the opportunity of these visits to explore bits of California including San Francisco and Six Flags. Despite the distance, we grew closer and our relationship stronger.
Following our internships, Jase accepted a residency in Large Animal Surgery at Purdue University in Lafeyette, Indiana. Wanting to be closer to Jase, without having to work on goats, Bailey took a job in Equine Sports Medicine based out of Lansing, Michigan. While we are still 4 hours apart, we decided this was a great improvement from the cross border travel we had previously been doing. We manage to see each other frequently on weekends and when Bailey’s work brings her to the area. We have taken advantage of our time in the states to explore the surrounding areas including Chicago and Nashville. However, we look forward to a time when the family can be together all the time!
On our 5th anniversary Bailey, Jase, Quinn, Shonna and Kristen endured a 2 hour hike through 2 feet of snow to an outdoor cabin in Elkwater. Bailey was none too pleased with Jase’s plan for a romantic day when we got to our destination. After Bailey’s expression of displeasure, Jase snuck away and set up a beautiful setting of rose petals on the snow and got down on one knee. Bailey’s mood instantly changed, although the burning hip flexors didn’t. It was an amazing day.
This gorgeous ring is extra special since Jase designed it with diamonds from the family; a diamond from grandma, one that Quinn’s step dad gave Jase’s grandma, and one Quinn proposed to Noreen with.
After COVID and border closures ruined our plans of any kind of wedding, Jase and I couldn't imagine the year taking one more thing from us, so we decided to elope. We planned a road trip and were married in Asheville, NC with a couple of friends (and Mac) as witness. It wasn't what we had envisioned for our wedding, but we were glad to be joined together, and boy was that trip a story to be told!
We bought our first house in spring of 2020 and made the move to North Texas. We totally lucked out with the best neighbours and really loved our home.
Our 2022 wedding plans were again postponed when we discovered we were expecting a little girl in September. On Sept. 6, 2022 we welcomed our Maisie Rae into this world and couldn't have been happier.
After 6 years state side we decided we had been gone too long! We packed up our house and family (1 baby, 2 dogs, 2 horses) and with the help of our Dad's made the move back to Alberta. We landed in Nanton on the family farm and quickly started to set up a new life.