Lance and Maria met in 2018 through mutual friends and with the help of Marias father, Kirby. By attending the same church, youth group, both growing up in farming families, and Kirby conveniently asking Lance to come to their house to watch football or help around the farm, Lance and Maria hit it off pretty quickly. They share the same values and passions, prioritize their faith, could share a laugh about anything, and undoubtedly enjoyed getting to know each other. As Lance helped Kirby on their farm during that winter, Maria found herself visiting the shop a lot more than usual. Three months after they initially met, on December 21, 2018, Lance "asked" Maria to be his girlfriend. The word ask is in quotation marks as Lance said "Well, Im game if you are"- but we can give him the benefit of the doubt :). Lance and Maria enjoy watching movies, playing Phase 10 (as long as Maria wins), spending time with family, and making anything a fun adventure whether that was spending an evening in Bismarck having a date night, or spending time on either of their farms. Lance and Maria both have an interest in travel-especially mountainous areas. They made it a goal of theirs to visit a different national park every summer. Lance and Maria have visited Theodore Roosevelt National Park (2020), Yellowstone National Park and Wind Cave National Park (2021), Glacier National Park (2022), Saguaro National Park (2023), and Badlands National Park (2023). Their trip last summer was very special as Lance proposed to Maria in Glacier National Park on July 11, 2022.