Maddie and Shane first met at their junior college in Spokane, Washington. As many of you know, Shane played baseball and Maddie played softball. They were introduced through their roommates—Shane’s roommate, Conner, was dating Maddie’s roommate, Brooklynn. In November of 2020, Maddie and some of her teammates were hanging out at Brooklynn’s apartment when Conner stopped by and brought a few friends with him—including Shane. After that day, Maddie annoyed her friends with her infatuation with Shane.

When everyone returned from Christmas Break, Maddie and Brooklynn started spending a lot of time with Conner and his friends. Maddie loved this, of course, because it meant more time around Shane. For months, the group—Shane, Maddie, Conner, Brooklynn, and their close friend Jhamante—became inseparable. On Maddie’s 20th birthday, Shane drove the whole group to Coeur d’Alene to go bowling. Maddie claimed she called shotgun because “it was her birthday,” but really, she just wanted to sit next to Shane. After that day, the two spent nearly every day together.

After that school year, they did long distance during the summers and lived together during the school years. Shane played baseball in North Dakota during summers of 2021 and 2022. Maddie tried to see him as often as she could. She traveled to Minot, ND and Glasgow, MT where they often spent time with his friends at Fort Peck Lake. After graduating from Spokane Falls in 2022, they moved to La Grande, Oregon, where Shane continued his baseball career at Eastern Oregon University. Maddie spent the first year working and cheering him on at games, and eventually walked on to the EOU softball team. They spent their last two years of college playing the sports they loved, studying Business, and building their life together. They both graduated in June of 2025 and moved to Glasgow, Montana - Shane's hometown- where Maddie accepted a job with Edward Jones and Shane started working for Aune Masonry. Once in Montana, they settled into work and spent lots of time with Shane’s family and their friends. In August, they moved into their new home together and adopted their first kitten, Kitty.

On November 11th—exactly five years to the day after they first met—Maddie planned a sunset date at Fort Peck Lake. What she didn’t know was that Shane had been carrying a ring for a month, waiting for the perfect moment. Since Maddie had planned the date herself, Shane figured she wouldn’t suspect a thing. And for once, he managed to keep a secret from her. That evening, as the sun set over the lake, Shane proposed… and the rest is the beginning of forever.