Brian gave me a tour of Notre Dame, and it was love at first sight. Or, at least, that’s how Brian likes to tell the story. The extended version goes something like this… Brian was finishing his first year of graduate school at Notre Dame when I flew to South Bend for the math department’s prospective student weekend. Brian gave me and the other prospective students a two hour tour of campus which, honestly, was much too long. But I made some friends and I really loved the faculty in the department, so I accepted the offer from Notre Dame. The summer after my first year, Brian invited me to play beach volleyball. I love sports, so I asked Brian to invite me to any other pickup games or events that he knew about. Well, being the extrovert that he is, Brian knew plenty of events. Group sports led to one-on-one lunch dates and theological discussions. I could feel God pulling us together. The more we talked, the more I respected his knowledge, honesty, and integrity. Brian is not what I expected; he is so much better.

Before Kathryn and I were dating, we went with a friend on a backpacking trip to the Smoky Mountains. During that trip Kathryn jovially mentioned to me that she couldn't marry a man who wouldn't backpack with her. Given that and knowing her love of mountains, when I decided it was time to propose, I knew I had to propose in the mountains. I wanted to propose someplace that would be special to both of us. I wanted to take us someplace neither of us had ever been before. I decided that Lake Moraine in Banff National Park in Canada would be the perfect place. We got up to Banff and spent the first day enjoying the festivities of Canada Day. For anyone who is concerned, I still prefer America and celebrating the 4th of July. Our fireworks are far more impressive. We hiked up Heart Mountain, which was beautiful, but all I could think about was that in 24 hours I would be proposing to Kathryn. To throw her off, I started the day by going white water rafting in the National Park. It was an exhilarating experience. One of the other rafts capsized and we had to work as a team to rescue everyone. After rafting I took Kathryn to Lake Louise. We just enjoyed walking around and being with each other. Lake Louise had an amazing restaurant where we enjoyed fondue, chateaubriand, and an assortment of Canadian wines. After dinner I took Kathryn to Lake Moraine. It was a gorgeous view with snow capped mountains and a piercingly blue lake. I filled with excitement as we reached the top and saw the Lake. I could not wait anymore and got down on one knee and pulled out the ring. Neither of us remember what I said; but looking up at Kathryn with tears in her eyes as she accepted my proposal, I couldn't be happier.