The Dating Game

Jennifer & Eric Woodford

In many ways, Jennifer and Eric Woodford are the quintessential young Rochester couple. They both work 40-plus hours a week, have two young children, and are always on the go, whether it be running to a meeting at their church, Good Shepherd Lutheran, or coaching t-ball. Yet despite their busy schedules, they always manage to squeeze in time for one another. “We’ve been very lucky. We each found the right person,” Jen says.

Bio Box: Jennifer and Eric Woodford.

Occupations: Jennifer is a development officer for the Minneapolis-based Courage Center. Eric is a senior assistant county attorney for Olmsted County.

Married: 12 years.

Kids: Daughter Maddie, 8, and son Will, 5.

Where They Met: Northwestern University near Chicago.

How They Got To Know Each Other: They lived in the same dorm, where Jennifer was a card-checker in the cafeteria. (Jen was “surly with the potential for spunky,” Eric says.) Once a week, Jennifer was assigned to ice cream duty and on those days, Eric would go back for extra scoops.  (“His favorite flavor is mint chip,” Jen says.)

First Date: Carmen’s, a deep-dish pizza place.

Wedding Bells: Jen and Eric got married two weeks after graduating from college, before the couple moved from Chicago to Minneapolis for Eric to attend law school. “I look at our wedding pictures and think ‘who let those two children get married?’ We looked so young,”Jen says.

Home, Sweet Home: Jen, a native of the Chicago area, originally thought the couple would only stay in Minnesota for Eric’s three years of law school. “It took me six months to realize that we were never leaving this state,” Jen says. Eric, who grew up in Mankato, is a Minnesotan through and through. “You can take the boy out of Minnesota for awhile, but you can’t take the Minnesota out of the boy,” Jen quips.

Family Time: The Woodfords spend most of their spare time with family activities, including swimming, golfing, tennis, and exercising at the Y. Jen and Eric also coordinated and coached their kids’ t-ball team last summer. Fall and winter fun includes attending high school football and basketball games and enjoying family movie nights. “A lot of our time with the kids is also positive time for us as a couple,” Eric says. “It’s still pretty easy at this age. We have so much fun and such good kids that it helps all of us.”

Favorite Dates In Rochester: When they do hire a babysitter, the Woodfords like to go out with friends to the Redwood Room, Sontes, or City Café. “It’s just nice to go out, relax, have a drink and a nice meal, talk and not be rushed,” Jen says. The couple has resolved to see at least one non-animated movie a year. “Sometimes we’ve even pushed it off to New Year’s Eve,” she says.

On Maintaining A Strong Relationship: As their kids get older, the Woodfords are finding more couple time. They have a rare trip to Las Vegas planned next month, where Eric will run a marathon and Jen will run a half-marathon. At home, they take an hour now and then just to chill out on the couch together and watch their favorite TV shows, like “Top Chef.” “It’s so nice to spend an hour together and not think about anything else,” Jen says.