Meet the Parents: Happy Valley, California

East Coast transplants, these parents keep New York working hours in their West Coast time zone. That means the alarm goes off at 3:55 a.m. The trade-off? There's more time for family fun at the end of the day. How do they make it all work? Keep reading.

By Katie Herrick

Courtesy of the Flagg family

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Meet the Flaggs

Meet the parents:
Denise Flagg, 40; Alex Flagg, 40

Meet the kids:
Zach, 8
Tanner, 6
Elise, 3

What they do:
Denise and Mike both work in the financial industry (hence the East Coast hours). "The 3:55 alarm is not for everybody," says Denise, "but it means we are away for two to three hours that the kids are still sleeping, so we get to capture time at the end of the day."

How they met:
They had mutual friends in college, and Denise needed a roommate once she moved to San Francisco -- Alex and his friends had a spot. "We lived together and worked together before ever dating," says Denise. But thanks to Alex's skill as a "very persistent salesman" and a neighborhood friend playing matchmaker, they were together within a year.

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