When thinking about the beginning of “our story”, Sam and Brendan can pinpoint the origin to late 2019, where they met at a bar amongst mutual friends to discuss playing a game of Dungeons and Dragons. It is at this point where Sam, being the reasonable and responsible one, arrived on time and was talking to a few friends thinking it was going to be a fun afternoon of laughing, organizing schedules, and having a beer while playing pool. Brendan was doing his classic thing of arriving 15 minutes late due to poor planning and that oh so awful Flagstaff traffic. Being the last to arrive, and spotting his friends already sitting at a table, he made his way over and took the last open seat next to who would later come to be, his fiancé.

The first time Sam and Brendan met they were at completely different stages of their lives and careers. Sam was just starting her last year of college while focusing on her computer science capstone of tracking Alaskan Caribou while Brendan was in his first year of post-college life after a last-minute change of not joining the Peace Corps and starting a job with the Arizona Conservation Corps. Oh, and both Sam and Brendan were dating different people at this time. Neither of them met with the intention of having life play out the way it did but as they smiled and decided to share a bowl of Tex-Mex mac and cheese, their lives would forever change.

Over the course of the following year, Sam and Brendan would meet up for game nights and hiking trips, always pushing each other to see how hard the other could laugh and to escape the chaos of senior year and real adult life. As time went on, their friendship grew and, in that friendship, came the trust and confidence to become best friends. They were there for each other when their respective relationships came to an end, and were always willing to stay up late, talk, and drink way too many Sonic milkshakes to numb the stresses of life. As Sam’s graduation came and went, and the pandemic picking up into full steam, she started a job which was moving her out to the East Coast. It was at this point that they realized that they felt and wanted more of their relationship.

Being masters of great timing, they began to date just a few weeks before Sam left to go live in Reston, Virginia and Brendan would stay to finish his contracted time with his job at the Conservation Corps. And despite the great timing, they both showed that nothing would get in the way of their new relationship. They would travel out to see each other, spend their nights playing video games together online, and eventually have Brendan read the Lord of the Rings to Sam over Facetime to help her fall asleep. Sam and Brendan quickly fell in love with each other and knew that as tough as long distance during a pandemic was, if they could get through that, then they could get through anything.

Time went on and in July of 2021, Brendan was finally able to wrap up his time in Arizona and make his way out to Reston and to Sam. There they lived the life that they so fiercely fought for during the past year. Brendan was able to wear Sam down and start showing her all the movies that “everyone should see” while Sam showed him how to be a Cat Dad and how to survive on the East Coast. They spent the next years going on road trips, building computers (with minimal crying and swearing), partaking in weekly produce subscriptions which resulted in a fridge full of cabbage, and many days and nights of laughter and holding each other saying that the other was too good for them.

Brendan knew that Sam was the love of his life well before any ring was bought. He knew that she would say yes if he asked with a piece of string in their building’s parking garage, but he knew he wanted to make it special. As they decided to take their first international trip together to Ireland, he knew that Giants Causeway would be the perfect location. Months before the trip, he made sure the ring was in his possession, family and friends were made aware, and all he could do was wait.

Once they were in Ireland, and Brendan could breathe after going through security without having his bag pulled and the ring being exposed, they spent time exploring and basking in this new experience, laughing and being in the perfect state of happiness. Then the day came, and taking the bus from Dublin to Northern Ireland…in October…. the rain began…shocking right? Their tour guide said that Giant’s Causeway would be windy, cloudy, and wet, Brendan took the liberty to call an audible and change the plan. The group stopped at the Dark Hedges where the rain began to lighten up. He knew that this would be perfect…and it was. Being oh-so sneaky and telling Sam to face a field while he took her photo, he got to one knee and pulled out the ring. When she turned around, and well before Brendan could say a single word, she dove forward into his arms just saying “yes”.

Laughing and crying, they knew that it was not a question that needed to be asked. They were perfect for each other and would never stop building each other up and being the best fiancés that they could be. They took photos and got back on the bus and made their way to Giants Causeway…where the rain stopped, the sun came out, and it was one of the most beautiful sights both of them had seen on the trip. (I am not bitter… – Brendan)

They returned home to start the next leg of their life together. Since then, they moved twice in one year, expanded their family by getting a fish, and continue to tell and show each other every day that Sam and Brendan love each other to the Sun and Moon and back.