The year is 2007, Bri and Patrick are in their sophomore year at Eastview High School. Patrick (as he often did back then) was studying for one of his several upcoming AP Honors tests. Bri (as she was known to do back then) was nagging Patrick for his notes and peeping over his shoulder at all of his answers. Both were excelling in their studies so in two years they could go off to college. During those fun filled high school years, the two of them formed a great friendship. Afterwards Bri got accepted to the University of Minnesota and elected to go there, as she was not able to meet the strenuous requirements of Winona State University where Patrick elected to go. The number of years each one stayed at college is pretty irrelevant to this story, so let’s just fast forward to November 11, 2017. It is a cold Saturday morning and the Nebraska Cornhuskers have come to town to take on The Minnesota Golden Gophers. A large group of friends have met in the tailgating parking lot just prior to 9:00 a.m. and the McGoldens are going down like water. Little did the crowd know, there were sparks in the air and it wasn’t coming from the stadium. The best decision of Patrick’s life was to attend that early morning tailgate and the rest was history. From going on vacations together, visiting breweries, attending comedy shows, moving in together, welcoming a sweet baby angel girl (Nellie) into their lives, surviving a pandemic together inside a 600 square-foot apartment and eventually getting engaged after going sky diving, the two of them could not love each any more. The year is now 2022 and Bri has matured enough that Patrick is ready to spend the rest of his life with her. If it wasn’t for Bri trying to copy Patrick’s high school study notes, who knows where we would be today.

Patrick and Bri enjoy trying new adventures together, from ziplining in Mexico, dog sledding in Duluth and a small plane ride over Lake Minnetonka. Over the years, many of our gifts to each other have been 'experiences' like these - so Bri thought nothing of it when Patrick got her a certificate to go skydiving for Christmas one year. The two of them had talked about doing it many times so when he got her that gift, it forced her to "take the plunge" - literally. They picked a date to go (September 25, 2021) and drove to Baldwin, WI on a cold and cloudy morning. Bri's nerves kicked in while they waited for their turn. Patrick assured her that he'd jump first and she wouldn't want to be without him, so of course she'd jump after him. When Bri was landing, Patrick was there waiting for her on one knee. She thought she might need to be hospitalized from all the adrenaline - the surprises didn't stop there though. Patrick had planned a surprise engagement party with our friends and families at Bri's parents' house later that day. It was the perfect day!