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¶ 34 Brent and Melissa had exchanged gifts over the years for birthdays and holidays, with one
such instance being her purchase of tickets to a Michael Buble concert for Brent’s last
birthday.
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Brent had also bought her children Christmas gifts in the past two years, including
a Visa gift card and blanket for Lea for Christmas 2020 and some games and a baking soda kit
for Ian in Christmas 2020 and 2021, respectively. Melissa had given Brent’s son a Christmas
gift in 2021, specifically a candle and some cookies, although she had not purchased the candle
with Brent’s son in mind. She did not believe Brent had ever bought a birthday gift for either
Ian or Lea.
¶ 35 Melissa and Brent celebrated various holidays and birthdays together, such as New Year’s
Eve in 2018 and 2019 and Christmas Day. Melissa and Brent traveled to Jacksonville, Florida,
to visit and stay with Brent’s mother and stepfather during the Thanksgiving weekend in 2019.
However, they had not spent any other Thanksgiving together and would not for the upcoming
year, as Melissa would be hosting and would have her children present. Brent would likely be
at her home Christmas Day after the children went to David’s house. The couple had spent
their birthdays in 2018 through 2022 together. She also believed that, when she celebrated her
birthday with Ian and other family members, Brent had also been present. Neither Ian nor any
of Brent’s family members had been present for Brent’s birthday this past June. She and Brent
celebrated her sister’s birthday together in 2020, 2021, and this past year, where they shared
the cost of taking her sister out to dinner.
¶ 36 With regard to vacations,
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Melissa testified that she and Brent had traveled together, with
some trips including her children and other trips just being the two of them. Aside from their
stipulated vacations, the two also took the following trips. In May 2020, she and Brent traveled
3
The parties stipulated to the following gifts purchased by Melissa for Brent over the past few years:
(1) Macy’s sunglasses purchased for $105.60 on May 29, 2020; (2) Tommy Bahama shirts purchased
for $237.60 on November 13, 2020; (3) an item from Sharper Image for $79.14 on November 17, 2020;
(4) an item from Williams Sonoma for $35.35 on December 19, 2020; (5) two Netflix gift cards for $60
and $30, respectively, purchased on December 9, 2020; (6) an item from Macy’s for $29.70 purchased
on December 23, 2020; (7) candles from Home Goods for $14.99, purchased on December 23, 2020;
(8) an electric toothbrush purchased for $113.27 on May 20, 2021; (9) an item from Dick’s Sporting
Goods for $165.19 on November 29, 2021; and (10) a fleece jacket from Land’s End for $55.96,
purchased on December 9, 2021.
The parties also stipulated to the following gifts purchased by Brent for Melissa during the same
time period: (1) an item from Bed, Bath and Beyond for $107.48, purchased on December 7, 2020;
(2) an item from WeatherTech for $45.91, purchased on December 10, 2020; (3) an item from Tiffany
& Co. for $349.38 on December 14, 2020; (4) an item from Target for $393.78 on July 12, 2021; and
(5) an item from Best Buy for $494.98, purchased on November 17, 2021.
4
The parties stipulated to the following vacations taken by Brent and Melissa: (1) Jacksonville,
Florida, over Thanksgiving weekend 2019 to visit Brent’s mother and stepfather; (2) Lake of the Ozarks
and Stark Caverns, Missouri, with Ian from June 29 to July 6, 2020, to visit Lea; (3) Starved Rock,
Illinois, during the weekend of October 16, 2020; (4) New Buffalo, Michigan, during a weekend in
February 2021; (5) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for the weekend of June 20, 2021; (6) Eagle,
Wisconsin, for the Fourth of July weekend 2021; (7) Starved Rock, Illinois, and Elkhorn, Wisconsin,
with Ian during Labor Day weekend 2021 (although Melissa testified on the stand that the year may
have been 2020); and (8) the University of Missouri to visit Lea on October 15, 2021. The various
expenses incurred by the parties during such trips are also included in the same stipulations. We recite
any additional testimony concerning these vacations to provide further context of their nature.